wine society news - cmaa · cmaa international wine society wine society news vol. 17 no. 4 fall...

By Patricia Reese

For those of a certain generation, organicproducts evoke granola-eating, tie-dye wear-ing, sandal-footed hippies buying fruit andvegetables that look like they bounced out of the delivery truck on its way of out town.

To some extent organic and biodynamicwines have suffered from this tie-dyedimage, especially in the past when earlyorganic wines tasted like they had beenbrewed in someone’s personal still — orworse, outhouse. But today’s organic winesare better — far better — than their prede-cessors, and by some accounts, better thanmost conventional wines on shelves today.

Sales of organic products are growing by 22 percent per year, with 39 percent of Americans using suchproducts, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA).Organic wine production is also growing. In the U.S., the OTAfound it had increased by 135 percent between 1989 and 2001.

Organic vs. Traditional Methods Organic methods are not rocket science, nor are they new.

Bob Blue, winemaker and general manager of the 300-acreBonterra Vineyards, that are part of Fetzer and Brown-Forman,

CMAA International Wine Society

Wine Society News

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 2004

Inside:Organic Wines Shed Their Hippy Image and Show

They Have the Right Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5Travels with My Son — Sharing a Wine Experience . . . 6-8Annual Chef’s Night Out Delights Palates

Once Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9St. Louis Chapter Members Enjoy a Sterling

Dinner at the University Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Archaeological Vines of Campania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-13Columbia Valley Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-18Washington State Wine Trivia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19The Grapestompers Society Wine Dinner Social . . . . 20-21It’s Time to Start Planning for New Orleans! . . . . . . . . . . 22Greater Southwest Chapter Gets An Education

from Wattle Creek Winery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-23Small is Beautiful and Profitable! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-24

has grown certified organic grapes since thebrand’s launch in 1992. He pointed out thatfarmers around the world in places likeIndia and China have practiced sustainableagriculture for several thousand years. Butmodern farming techniques began to over-take traditional farming methods starting inthe late 19th century. And in the 1950s, theuse of chemical pesticides and herbicidesbecame prevalent. Blue says many farmersbegan to ignore their “ancestral farmingknowledge,” which were time-proven tech-niques built on sustainability and a philoso-phy of wholeness, following instead the nar-row dictates of technology and science.

He likens the differences betweenorganic and modern methods to thosebetween allopathic and osteopathic medi-

cine. In allopathic (traditional) practices, doctors treat specifichealth problems. In osteopathic practices, doctors take aholistic view of their patient and the treatment, searching forconnections between the health problem and a patient’slifestyle, stress level and diet.

“Over the last 70 years we just sort of focused on the plant: Itneeds this amount of nitrogen, this amount of potassium, buthardly paid attention to the medium of the soil,” Blue said.Organic methods, however, force winegrowers to look at theirvineyards through a long-term holistic lens. They start by ana-lyzing the soil, seeing what it needs, instead of just throwing onfertilizer and practicing quick-fix farming.

To many, it would seem that to grow grapes organically ismore difficult because of all the products that are suddenly offlimits: “Often when we speak about organic wines, peopleimmediately think about what you cannot do. There is thisidea of giving up something or sacrifice,” said John Williams,co-founder and winemaker of Frog’s Leap Winery, whichgrows all of its grapes organically. “I want to put a bullet inthat idea. It is all about what you can do.”

“Organic farming is not ‘not doing anything,’” Williams contin-ued, “but it is a very engaged and active way of farming — much

Tie-dyed Wines?Organic Wines Shed Their Hippy Image and Show They Have the Right Stuff

(continued on page 2)

Organic methods force winegrowers to

look at their vineyardsthrough a long-term

holistic lens.

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 20042

early to ensure “a seat.” This dinner will truly capture theunique culinary and party spirit of New Orleans, and sur-prises will abound.

As you know, the Wine Society partnered with the WineSpectator School to offer discounted wine education pro-grams to CMAA members. I received my Wine SpectatorSchool courses brochure and the educational offerings areimpressive. Again, a note of thanks to Andy Curtis, CCM,whose vision made the online wine education courses areality, and also to Dolly for assisting Andy.

An announcement is forthcoming about an IWS memberrecruitment drive. Stay tuned! I reiterate that memberrecruitment is vital to sustain our great society, and I urgeall members to recruit a member or two and to extol thevirtues and benefits of IWS membership. Further, I hopemembers enjoyed reading the past newsletters, and I wantto reiterate that it is the Board of Manager’s objective thateach successive newsletter be better than the last. I thankall contributors to the newsletter; the sharing of yourknowledge, passion and experiences enrich us all. Finally, I adhere to the philosophy that while formal education isimportant, the greater opportunity for increasing knowl-edge is through personal exchanges of ideas, experiences,philosophies and technical information with fellow man-agers in an informal setting. I have yet to find any down-side to sharing a bottle of wine (or two or three) with fel-low club managers while discussing club business or expe-riences! I encourage you to do so soon!

In closing, I thank all IWS members for their support,passion for food and wine and enthusiasm to spreadthe virtues of wine and share their experiences. Havea great fall season.

Letter From the HostBy Tom Bertani, CCM

Organic Wines Shed Their Hippy Image and Show They Have the Right Stuff

Greetings to all International WineSociety Members! Hopefully everyonehad a fun-filled summer and enjoyedmany great bottles of wine.

Just as I had looked forward to thespring release of wines, so too do I eager-ly await the fall release. As monumentalas the 2001 vintage was for CabernetSauvignon and Merlot in California, the2002 vintage is being equally touted.While I have many favorite wineries, Iam particularly looking forward to therelease of Caymus, Napa 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, in my opinion one of the best $50 wines on the market.

As we draw nearer to the 2005 Conference in NewOrleans, I am happy to report that details of the IWS Pre-Conference Food and Wine Workshop and the wine work-shop are final and details of these Wine Society-sponsoredevents can be found in the CMAA Conference brochure. Ron Banazak, CCM (with assistance from Chip Brennan),Mike Kraus, CCM, Kathi Driggs and Melissa Low havesecured outstanding speakers and developed outstandingeducation for IWS members. Wine representatives and IWS members are reminded to start soliciting wine donationsfrom your chapters for the wine auction. Art Barajas, CCM,and his able assistant, Erik Estrada, are in need of generouswine donations. The 2004 auction was the best in the historyof the IWS, both in terms of quantity, quality and net pro-ceeds. It is the goal of the Board of Managers to match thatsuccess. I am looking forward to the annual IWS dinner tobe hosted at the New Orleans Country Club; based on theinitial details, Dolly Amman, CCM, and Mitch Marronshared with me, it will be imperative to make reservations

Tom Bertani, CCM2004 Host

(continued from page 1)

more so than the traditional way where you get a recommenda-tion from a chemical supplier about what to spray on the field.”

This means promoting beneficial insects like ladybugs andlacewings instead of spraying pesticides, using cover cropssuch as oats and peas instead of herbicides, using compost toenrich the soil, allowing animals such as chickens and sheepto roam the property as well as attracting birds such as hum-mingbirds to control unwanted pests and promoting goodsoil structure to cut down on irrigation. These methods obvi-ously do not work overnight, so patience and steely nervesare needed while they reach their full effectiveness, but theresults seem to be worth it for those that do it.

Reported benefits include: Fewer health problems for fieldworkers and fewer allergic reactions for drinkers in theabsence of chemical pesticides. With fewer or no sulfites inthe wine, those drinkers sensitive to sulfites might find theyno longer have headaches — if they drink in moderation, ofcourse. Fewer herbicides and pesticides mean lower costs.Organic methods allow Williams to cultivate 200 acres ofgrapes without any irrigation.

Other side effects of organic winegrowing include pushingwineries to expand in new social, environmental and busi-ness directions, such as going completely solar, using “green”building techniques, providing English lessons and living

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wages to migrant workers, growing organic gardens, eco-tourism and large amounts of personal satisfaction.

So what does science have to say about such methods? A 2002 study published in Science found that while overallorganic crop yields might be as much as 20 percent lower,organic farming methods produced more fertile soil, needed 34 to 53 percent less fertilizer and energy and reduced pesti-cide use by 97 percent over conventionally grown crops.

But the most persuasive gauge for the organic winegrowers isin the quality of their grapes. Blue finds traditional winegrowingmethods actually produce “more manipulated” grapes, andWilliams finds vines are more disease prone. “I believe that thegreatest wines are those deeply connected with soil they are grow-ing in,” Williams said. “This is the Holy Grail of winemaking.”

Organic SprawlAlso interesting is that the organic movement seems to

spread like, well, weeds. One vintner starts, then upon seeingthe results, his neighbor gets interested, word spreads, and thenext thing you know, the whole valley is going organic.

“In 1990, I could drive around any vineyard in late winter,early spring and see wild mustard and a lot of weeds,” Bluesaid. “Today, when I drive from San Diego to WashingtonState, I see organized cover crops everywhere.”

In Mendocino, especially, organic winegrowing has takenoff. Blue estimates that of its 13,000 acres of grapes, 3,000 are organically certified, compared with Napa’s 1,000 certified acres for 40,000 total, and Sonoma’s 500 acres for50,000 total. “The movement is coming from farmers andgoing up to academics,” he said. “It’s very much bottom up.”

Though Fetzer started growing grapes organically in 1987,its first crop of certified grapes wasn’t harvested until 1990because it takes three years to become certified. So between1989 and 2000, Fetzer went from producing 0 certified organ-ic grapes to 7,500 tons, Blue said. Currently, all of Fetzer’s2,000 acres are organically farmed.

Fetzer, which owns Bonterra and has been part of the Brown-Forman wine and spirits group since 1992, was one of the firstmajor U.S. wineries to go organic. And it has taken on the missionto spread the practice. Last year, Paul Dolan, Fetzer’s president,announced the ambitious goal of buying only organic grapes fromits 200 suppliers by 2010. Blue notes that it is a tough goal and the original deadline of 2000 was missed, “but we are still movinghard that way.” To underscore its commitment, Fetzer runs educational programs for growers, and in 2003 hired a manager of organic development, Ann Thrupp, a former EPA scientist.



From Traditional to OrganicWinegrowing Methods: A Convert Speaks Out

John Williams started hisRutherford, CA, winery, Frog’sLeap, in 1981 and bought his firstvineyard in 1987. His first act,before even buying the vineyard,was to have the soil tested. He wastold it needed a chemical cocktailthat included calcium, boron andnitrogen among others, and the

same company that did the testing, sold him chemi-cals to correct the imbalance. But after a year ortwo of chemical tweaking and testing, his vineyardsweren’t improving. So Williams, who admits to having “a little bit of hippy” in him, decided to give organic winegrowing a try after hearing thatFetzer Vineyards had taken it up. He called in“Amigo” Bob Cantisano, a “farm psychologist” and wine consultant.

In 1989, Frog’s Leap

went organic. “And we’ve

never looked back,”

he declared.

“It was like he had stepped right out of centralcasting,” Williams said, “right down to his tie-dyedshirt, sandals and socks, handle-bar mustache andsombrero.” Once they got over his appearance, they started listening to what Amigo Bob said.Williams recalled he spoke about the soil as a livingorganism, about how a healthy plant naturallyresists disease, about fostering a soil structure goodenough to make irrigation unnecessary. “When wecompared it to what else was being done, the lightbulb went off,” Williams said. In 1989, Frog’s Leapwent organic. “And we’ve never looked back,” he declared.

John Williams

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Finally, for those who think that organic only works wellon small operations, Blue responds, “Here is a serious, suc-cessful winery taking a chance and showing people that theyjust don’t have to do everything the way some of these com-panies and [agricultural] advisors tell us to do it.”

Marketing Organics 101The image of organics in general has improved immense-

ly thanks to upscale purveyors such as Whole Foods andWild Oats and the recent resurge in farmer’s markets.Their success has transformed the yogurt-splotched imageof organics and enticed mainstream customers across thenation to put organic products into their shopping carts.

While this is positive news for organically grown and organ-ic-certified wines (see sidebar), there is still room for improve-ment. There are winemakers who refuse to label their winesorganic — and retailers who don’t stock them — for fear of theold “bad-organic-wine” stigma, which still persists.

“For regular wine connoisseurs who may not necessarily beliving the organic lifestyle, the word ‘organic’ with ‘wine’ con-jures up sprouts and nuts in a bottle,” said Bruno Allaire, presi-dent of Dynamic Imports Corp., an importer of organic andorganically grown wines from around the world. “And a lot ofthese more sophisticated wine growers and producers don’twant to cheapen image of their wine. It’s hard enough as it is.”



Organic and biodynamic farmingmethods have much in common:Both avoid synthetic chemical pesti-cides, use compost and manure tofertilize, control pests using naturalmeans, use cover crops and rotationand promote crop diversity overmonocultures. Both take a holisticview of the vineyard. But biodynam-ics, first articulated by the Austrianphilosopher-scientist Rudolf Steinerstarting in 1924, goes a few steps fur-ther — perhaps over the edge, somemight claim.

It has been described as a “super-charged” version of organic farming,which regards the soil as a livingorganism and respects the interrela-tionships between the mineral, plant,animal and human kingdoms and thecosmos. Much attention has been paidto its eight special preparations, whichrun from the tame 504 (stinging nettletea) to the alarming 505 (oak barkfermented in the skull of a domesticanimal), both of which are applied tocompost, which is then sprayed on thesoil. Lunar and cosmic movementscan dictate the winegrower’s actions,for example, racking the wine whenthe moon is waxing.

These raise all sorts of questionsfrom “Honey, where’s Rover?” to “Isthere any scientific evidence that thisworks?” At least one study, publishedin a 1993 issue of Science, concludedthat biodynamic farming is more sus-tainable than conventional — andeven organic — methods, and morestudies are underway.

Despite the controversy and limitedscientific evidence, many A-list winer-ies (Burgundy’s Domaine Leflaive,Champagne’s Larmandier-Bernier,Spain’s Alvaro Palacios) have turnedto biodynamics, following the lead ofNicolas Joly, the undisputed parrain(godfather) of biodynamie, who hasbeen practicing it on his famed Coulée de Serrant vineyards foralmost three decades.

Bonterra has been certified as abiodynamic vineyard since 1990. Bluesays that some growers adhere morereligiously to biodynamic preceptsthan others. “Compost in a cow horn,these are the things that are a little bitodd and which get a lot of attention,”Blue added. “But the effect that [suchpreparations] have is much smallerthan the general philosophy.”

Organic Certif ications

In October 2002, the USDA passedregulations, which have made it easierto identify organic wines. There aretwo main categories for organic wine:

“USDA Organic Wine” can appearon the label if the wine is made from95 percent certified organic ingredi-ents, not counting added water andsalt, and no sulfites are added, but cancontain naturally occurring sulfites ofup to 10 parts per million (ppm).

“USDA Made with OrganicGrapes” can appear on the label if thewine is made from at least 70 percentcertified organic ingredients, notcounting added water and salt.Winemakers can add up to 100 ppm of sulfites. (Traditional winemakers can add up to 350 ppm in their wines.)

Biodynamic® certification can be obtained through the Demeterorganization, www.demeter-usa.org/.

California Certified OrganicFarmers (CCOF), www.ccof.org/, and the Organic Trade Association(OTA), www.ota.com, certify organic vineyards.

Organics and Biodynamics: A Quick Primer

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 20045


Allaire is on a crusade to change that image. Having orga-nized two organic wine competitions including the EcoWineFest held in Los Angeles in 2003, Allaire said he hascome up with a discrete and “clever way” to showcase suchwines on wine lists through the use of symbolism and a leg-end to denote those wines made from 100 percent organicgrapes. For those who still resist such labeling, he said, theymight be surprised by how many people today are alreadybuying organic products and might be drawn to such wines.

But at the end of the day drinkers should be drawn to thesewines for the same reason that winemakers are converting toorganic and biodymanic methods — quality. “The whole pur-pose of going organic is to make better wine,” Williams said.“You wouldn’t know Frog’s Leap is organic unless you reallylook — and the same goes for most other wines.”

Drinkers should be drawn to these

wines for the same reason that

winemakers are converting to organic

and biodymanic methods — quality.

The Ultimate Test: Taste

So for all the talk of sustainable farming practices, healthconsiderations, biodiversity and economics, what it comesdown to is what your taste buds tell you.

Williams finds that in opposition to many of today’s popular“big, impressive Hollywood” wines, wines made from organicgrapes have “a certain vibrancy to them, a certain groundness, acertain element of place,” which all goes back to the idea of terroir.

Fortune magazine recently conducted a blind tasting of 10biodynamic wines paired with 10 conventionally made winesfrom approximately the same sites and vintages. The tasterspreferred the biodynamic wines nine out of ten times.“Organic is delivering on quality, not just delivering on envi-ronment,” Blue confirmed. Sixteen of Fetzer’s 2001 to 2003varietals have won 52 medals since 2001.

“They [wines made from organic grapes] don’t get 100 pointsin the guides, but they are some of first wines to be sold outeverywhere,” Williams continued. “Someday, the movie-starwines will have to answer for themselves.”

Author Patricia Reese can be reached at [email protected].


Recommendations from Our Interviews

Frog’s Leap 2002 Merlot (100% Merlot)Rutherford, CA

Tasting Notes: Aromas range fromdamp earth and vanilla to raspberryand cherry. Robust flavors follow,plum and black berry enhanced bytouches of bittersweet chocolate andcrème brûlée. Soft and plush textureand tannins.

Retail: N/A (to be released in Oct. 2004)

Contact: John Williams, 800-959-4704, [email protected], www.frogsleap.com

Heller 2001 Cachagua Cabernet (79% Cabernet, 21% Merlot)Carmel Valley, CA

Tasting Notes: Complex aromas of vanilla and oak with touches of anise, coffeegrounds and mint. Currant/blackfruit flavors that are young andvibrant, finishing with lively acidityand a firm tannic backbone.

Retail: $18

Contact: Bruno Allaire, Dynamic Imports Corp., 310-450-9200, [email protected], www.dynamicimports.us

Bonterra, Merlot 2001 Mendocino County(77% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Syrah)Ukiah, CA

Tasting Notes: Ripe tannins with rich cherry-berryand currant flavors are highlightedby a gentle top note of sweet oakspice from barrel aging that carriesthrough the velvety finish.

Retail: $15.99 in California

Contact: Brown-Forman Customer Service,800-777-1636

Bob Blue

Cellar NotesTravels with My Son — Sharing a Wine Experience

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 20046

By Helane Bernath, Director of Marketing andMembership, Saint Louis Club, St. Louis, MO

In my numerous years of experience in the business world,I have learned that there are two assets that will help you inthe business environment: playing golf and having (at least)an intermediate knowledge of wine. As I have not yetlearned to play golf, I have concentrated on wine to my business advantage as well as my personal enjoyment. And,as each of my two sons turned 21, I have passed on thatmaxim to them. My younger son, Jesse, and I just returnedfrom four days in northern California, three of them in theNapa and Sonoma valleys — a repeat trip of five years agowith my elder son — where we packed in eight wonderfulVIP tours and tastings. I attempted to pick wineries of dif-ferent sizes and varying personalities, from the boutique-style to the opulent. We spent a night in Santa Rosa withfamily, then the festivities began!

Day 1— August 18After a day at Shell Beach on the Sonoma coast, we had a

nice sun “glow,” which was aided by the red convertible wedrove for the week (a must!). We spent the evening in NorthBeach at Club Fagazi’s Beach Blanket Babylon — a real treatfor my musical theatre major son. A spoof of pop culture, itis the longest-running, hit musical revue in theatre historyand a landmark in San Francisco.

Day 2 — August 19Thursday morning we set out bright and early for a day in

Napa. Breakfast was at a quaint diner in Healdsburg and ontoour first stop: Pine Ridge Vineyards at 10:00 a.m. Thegrounds are very well-kept and abound with bright floral set-tings. We were fortunate that harvest was just about to beginand at many of the vineyards, we were able to sample thegrapes, which were ripe and sweet. We noticed a recurrenttrend of demonstration vineyards, where a variety of thegrapes grown are displayed in one area. Without drivingthrough the vineyards, it is a convenient way to see the vari-etals as well as the different types of grafting and irrigation.Our tasting was held in Pine Ridge’s caves, beautifully set upnext to a display of yellow Dale Chihuly glass from the world-renowned sculptor. The sculpture is cradled within the wall ofthe cave, creating a very striking backdrop for the tasting area.

Tastings: 2001 Crimson Creek Merlot; 2001Rutherford Cabernet Sauvigon

Next stop: Trefethen Vineyards at 11:00 a.m. This wasalso our home base as we stayed two nights in the estate cottage. It is a VERY charming two bedroom cottage with

living room, kitchen (well-stocked for breakfast), adjoiningdeck (where we were able to view more stars than I’ve ever seen) and flower gardens — all right next to theirChardonnay vines. Trefethen is the only vineyard in the val-ley with contiguous property. The winery building is on the1886 historic registry and represents a fine example of gravi-ty-flow production. The hospitality was exceptional. On yournext visit, check out its new wine library, which opened inOctober 2003.

Tastings: 2003 Trefethen Dry Riesling; 1999Trefethen Library Selection Chardonnay;1998 Trefethen Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (My personal favorite — the 1997 vintage — won several gold medals.)

We had to step on it to make it to the next stop:Schramsberg in Calistoga by 1:00 p.m., so we dined on abaguette with a selection of cheeses and fresh peaches forlunch — a wonderful palette cleanser for the sparklingwines to come. Touring its caves is always an experience andbrings to my mind Poe’s Cask of Amontillado as they arereplete with stalactites, hanging cobwebs and 95,000 bottles.The frog statue in the pond at the entrance to the caves is intribute to Ramon, the only Master Riddler in the UnitedStates, who has been with them for 29 years. You mayremember that President Reagan would only drinkSchramsberg sparkling wines. Among the tidbits of infolearned were, You should not swirl champagne, but roll it in yourhand to coat the glass in order to draw most of the aroma up.

Tastings: 2000 Blanc de Blanc; 1998 J.Schramsberg; 2000 Blanc de Noir; 1998Reserve (Made with 81 percent Pinot Noir, known forits straw color, and more like the full-bodied Frenchstyle of Champagnes. It was just released and will betastier in a several months.)

Next Stop: Niebaum Copolla in Rutherford at 3:00 p.m.for a historical tour (we had seen enough steel tanks and oakbarrels for the day). The public grounds are amazing, resem-bling a movie set (no surprise) and were indeed designed byFrancis Ford Copolla’s set designer. The original winery,founded by Captain Gustav Niebaum, was called Inglenookand was one of the first wineries in the valley. In his questfor making quality wines, Captain Niebaum was the firstestate bottler in Napa Valley and also the first to introducepasteurization into the process. His motto was “pride overprofit.” Written in German on the chandelier in the Captain’sroom (the room is in its original form) is the quote, “Give me a glass of very good wine and happy can be this heart of mine.”


Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 20047

Travels with My Son — Sharing a Wine Experience

Following the captain’s death, under John Daniels’ man-agement, the glory years of the winery ensued. Daniels con-tinued to live by the captain’s code of pride. He was one ofthe founding fathers of the Napa Valley Vintner’s Associationand the first to market the valley by adding “Napa Valley” tohis wine labels. The 1941 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon hasbeen called the best wine of the century. But by the mid-60sDaniels could no longer afford the upkeep of the winery (bystriving to maintain high quality, the winery never made aprofit), and the front property was sold to Allied GrapeGrowers in 1964. In 1969, the winery was sold to a corpora-tion that turned it into a wine factory for making inexpensivejug wine. Alas, the well-respected legacy of the captain isruined ... until 1995 when Francis Ford Coppola, a man ofequal grandeur to Captain Niebaum, reunited the properties,named the winery Niebaum Coppola (to honor the founder)and began to produce quality wines (I love a happy end-ing!). In addition, he added an entertaining movie museumreplete with a “Tucker” car.

Tastings: Diamond Series Sauvignon Blanc,Pinot Noir and Syrah; 2002 Directors ReserveCabernet Sauvignon; 2001 Merlot Reserve;2000 Rubicon (Made from the best grapes on theproperty (93 percent Cabernet) and retailing for about$100/btl.)

The day ended with dinner at Bistro Don Giovanni inNapa. It was a warm evening with a gentle breeze, ideal forpatio dining. As I was sorry not to have time to visitRombaur Winery this trip, I chose a Rombaur Chardonnay.

Day 3 — August 20We made breakfast at the cottage and headed to our first

stop: Chateau St. Jean in Kenwood at 10:00 a.m. It is abeautiful estate with lush botanicals and gardens. We had alimited amount of time to tour, but we did enjoy walkingthrough the garden paths. The Saint Louis Club offers manyof the winery’s wines on its wine by-the-glass list, as they arereasonably priced, fine table wines.

Tastings: 2001 Fume Blanc, La Petite EtoileVyd; 2001 Chardonnay, Sonoma CountyReserve; 2002 Pinot Noir, Sonoma County;2000 Merlot, Sonoma County; 2000 CabernetSauvignon, Cinq Cépages

Next stop: Chateau Souverain Alexander Valley Grill inGeyersville for lunch. The chateau is on a hillside overlook-ing vineyards on all sides. With the beautiful floral plantings,it is truly breath-taking. We dined on the patio and basked inthe warm California sun. I chose the house Chardonnay

with a fruited chicken salad and Jesse had the house PinotNoir with a pulled barbeque pork sandwich. They were veryaccommodating to our time constraints.

In addition to the vineyards,

27 acres are planted with olive

trees for the production of olive oil.

It was a 40-minute drive to our next stop: Jordan Winery inHealdsburg at 1:00 p.m. Jordan is one of those wineries which is off the road, through an iron gate and up a winding road —very stately. I stayed at the Jordan guest house on my wine tripwith my first son. In addition to the vineyards, 27 acres areplanted with olive trees for the production of olive oil. They callthis production their “labor of love,” which helps them to be bet-ter-rounded, like an Old World chateau. The chef has his owngarden and grows all of his own vegetables, herbs and evensnails for the cuisine he produces at the winery. Everything iscomposted and all of the cut flower displays which are used fordécor and centerpieces are also grown on the grounds.

Tastings: 2002 Chardonnay, Russian RiverValley; 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma

Next stop: Toad Hollow in Healdsburg at 3:00 p.m. Aftertwo days of stately wine estates, lush botanicals and well-developed public relations tours and tour guides, Toad Hollowwas a refreshing change. We were greeted by Erik (namesakeof “Erik’s the Red Syrah”) with a glass of Amplexus CrémantBrut Sparkling Wine (We were told that Amplexus meansfrog sex). Our tour consisted of a tour of Toad Hollow’s newoffices (the old office building has been converted into a cot-tage), which took all of five minutes. We then proceeded to apicnic bench where we tasted seven additional wines. It was agood thing this winery was at the end of our trip, as Jesse hadby now learned (1.) that you do not need to drink all the winethat you are poured and, (2.) the value of spitting. For a col-lege student from the Midwest who feels more comfortablewith beer than wine, he enjoyed our visit to the Hollow themost. We learned that Todd Williams, winery owner andbrother of Robin, has a huge following of “Toadies” in the area. Todd’s abundant toad collection, as well as the whimsicalbottle labels, adequately represent the ambiance of the winery.They have a good time doing what they are doing. Anotherpiece of trivia — Todd has a cameo role as the bartender at the country club pool in Mrs. Doubtfire.



Travels with My Son — Sharing a Wine Experience

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 20048

Tastings: 2003 Chardonnay, Mendocino; 2003Pinot Noir Rosé, Sonoma; 2001 Pinot NoirReserve, Russian River Valley; 2002 CacophonyZinfandel, Paso Robles; 2001 Merlot Reserve,Russian River Valley, Goldie’s Vines; 2001 Erik’sthe Red Syrah, Dry Creek Valley; Risqué, MethodéAncestrale Sparkling Wine, Limoux

Next stop: Crashing at my sister’s house in Santa Rosaand dining on sushi. We did not drink ANY wine thatevening. As dusk approached, we headed back through themountains to our little cottage.

Day 4 — August 21The only disappointment of our trip occurred on this

morning. We awoke at 5:00 a.m. to take a 6:00 a.m. balloonride over the valley with a champagne brunch following. Wehad really been looking forward to this indulgence. The fogabove the valley, however, did not cooperate. An alternateride was offered about an hour away but as our intent was toview Napa Valley, we declined. That did give us a few morehours of sleep before departing for our final winery visit.

Last Stop: Hanzell Winery in Sonoma at 12 noon. Tosay that Hanzell is off-the-beaten-path is putting it mildly. We had specific directions from the winery, but until wearrived, we weren’t sure where we were. I don’t think thewinery gets many drop-ins. But the ride was well worth it.Hanzell is one of the oldest wineries in Sonoma, with itsfirst commercial vintage in 1957 from grapes planted in1953. They have used estate-only fruit since 1962. Whenwe arrived they were in full production, and we watchedworkers sorting the grapes that had been picked that

morning. The first malactic fermentation done in tanks,outside of a lab, was done at Hanzell in 1959 and it alsopioneered the use of French oak barrels. Much of theirequipment is custom-made to their design specifications. Ifound it interesting that every vineyard block is processedseparately and not blended until the end to allow “the vine-yard talk to us.” The winery has recently built new caves,using oak barrels as chandeliers. The staves are intact, butmuch of the barrel has been removed, producing a startlinglight design on the cave walls. We tasted on a small openbalcony overlooking the vineyards. It was wonderful end toour wine experience.

Tastings: 2000 Pinot Noir; 2001 Chardonnay(We also sampled their 2004s which have justbeen bottled. As expected before aging, theywere very sweet and looked like lemonade.)

Sad to leave the area, we dined in downtown Sonoma ata mexican restaurant off of the plaza and headed towardOakland, our departure city. A little shopping that eveningon Oak Street was a nice diversion. We left our unused ballon ride dollars at Banana Republic.

Our experience at each of the wineries was unique andmemorable. We were treated like royalty and enjoyed everymoment of it. Jesse came away with more than a basicknowledge of winemaking and an appreciation of the art aswell as the product. Reflecting on the highlights of the tripand what we would bring away with us. Jesse commented,“The most important thing I learned is not to be intimi-dated by wine. Drink what you enjoy and be confidentin your choice.” I felt that my goal had been reached.


Cellar NotesAnnual Chef ’s Night Out Delights Palates Once Again

By Tom Bertani, CCM

May 17 at Algonquin Golf Club, St. Louis, MO

“Food, Glorious Food...” Synonymous with Chef’s NightOut are the culinary delights prepared and offered by St.Louis’s most talented and decorated chefs. In view of atten-dees, chefs prepare an amazing array of their signature dish-es. This year’s event, held May 17 with the added bonus ofan intoxicating backdrop of the Algonquin Golf Club, car-ried on the tradition of the event’s excellence. Skirted foodstations were positioned around a glistening pool amid the

golden rays of a setting sun that reflected off of gleamingchaffing dishes and chef’s starched “whites.” Nature cooper-ated by offering up a beautiful late spring evening.

As for the past nine years, dollars raised from the eventbenefit Edgewood Children’s Center, which serves childrenwith severe emotional, behavioral and communication disor-ders by providing therapy and specialized education at threeseparate locations. This year’s Chef’s Night Out eventattracted a record 280-plus guests and generated a record$72,000 in donations to Edgewood.


Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 20049

Annual Chef ’s Night Out Delights Palates Once Again

Gravalox on herb brioche, lemon thyme crème fraicheJohn Bogacki, Westwood C.C.

Thai- style crab cake, Napa slawJ. Kevin Storm, Bellerive C.C.

Escargot and morels and other wild mushrooms in cream sauce, vol au vent

Aidan Murphy, Old Warson C.C.

Tavern-style fish and chips, gulf of Maine perch andYukon gold chips with a roasted tomato Andalouse sauce

John Kennealy, Noonday Club

Caper- and olive-crusted Ahi tuna, fava beans and asparagus salad

Paul Kampff, St. Louis C.C.

Southern fried catfish filet, remoulade, oak- and hickory-smoked pork ribs

Alan Hellyer, Missouri Athletic Club

Caribbean spiced grilled pork tenderloin with black beans and mango chutney

Gary Suarez, University Club

Braised Jamboneau of chicken leg, natural au jus and pistachio crème brule

Pierre Chambrin and the culinary staff, Saint Louis Club

Moroccan spiced tuna with quinoa, carrot slaw, barbeque glaze and mint oil

Chris Desens, Racquet Club Ladue

Lobster parfaitLisa Slay, Blue Water Grill

Smoked Shrimp with maple glaze, Pennsylvania Dutch barbeque sauce

Lou Rook, Annie Gunn’s

Assorted desserts included vodka haberno truffles(whoof!) by Neika Soissons, who also provided vegan Wellington with lemon caper sauce. Julie Ushercreated a sampling of cookies and pastries which disappeared instantly!

What would great food be without wine? I don’t want to find out. Again, as in past years, Tony Bommarito, A.Bommarito Wines, provided all the wines for the event.

Applause to all the chefs for sharing their immense talents and forgoing their day off; the food offerings weremagnificent. Thanks to Tony for the luscious libations tocompliment the food and the evening. And a grand thankyou to the staff at Algonquin and all of the clubs and vendors who supported this worthwhile event.


Culinary Offerings at the Annual Chef ’s Night Out

Featured Wines Included:

WhitesSchmitt — Wagner, Riesling-Spatlese, 2002;

Teruzzi & Putnod, Terre di Tuffi, 2002; Evensham Wood, Chardonnay, 2000, Rustico, Nino Franco

(sparkling), Muehller, Chardonnay, 2000; Weingart, Riesling-Spatlese, 2002; Salman Undhof, Hochterrassen and Quatro Venti,

Rosato Puglio, 2003.

RedsChianti Classico, Scassino, Terrabianca 2001;

Franus, Zinfandel, 2001; Cote de Beaune Village, Fichet, 2000; La Garto Merlot, 2002 (from Argentina, imported by Paul Hobbs);

and Domaine du Deffends, Varois, 1995.

Cellar NotesSt. Louis Chapter Members Enjoy a Sterling Dinner at the University Club

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200410

By Tom Bertani, CCM

The University Club in St. Louis was an oasis for morethan 60 chapter members, spouses and guests on a swelter-ing July summer day highlighted by a meal fit for Sybaritesthat was accompanied by outstanding wines from the portfo-lio of Sterling Winery. Kudos to General Manager Robert A.Gombas II, Manager Paul T. Kroll Jr., Catering DirectorGinger Basile and Executive Chef Gary Suarez for affordingattendees a most memorable dining and wine experience.

The setting of the dinner, the 22nd floor of the UniversityClub, provided not only a panoramic view of downtown St.Louis and an adjoining suburb, Clayton, but the room inwhich we were served was richly appointed and regal.Guests were greeted with tasty morsels consisting of freshtiny oysters topped with tomato salsa, mini pot stickers withsoy dipping sauce and salmon roulade with cream cheese andcucumber all enhanced and nicely complimented by a very

tasty Sauvignon Blanc. As golden rays of a setting sundanced upon the glistening silverware and numerous wineglasses, the dinner bell announced the commencement ofdinner. Joel Butler, MW, (Master of Wine, not to be con-fused with a Master Sommelier, and one of only 19 individu-als with the title of Master of Wine) made a short presenta-tion extolling the well-documented virtues of SterlingWinery. Joel is the National Wine Education Manager forDiageo, Chateau & Estates Wines. Then the feast com-menced; following is a brief description of each of the cours-es offered and accompanying wines.

Following dinner, a most deserving standing ovation bychapter members greeted the University Club management,culinary and service staff by a very appreciative and well-fedgroup. As attendees left the comforting confines of the U Club and entered the summer night, pleasant thoughts ofa most enjoyable culinary and wine experience providedrespite from the oppressive heat.

Gazpacho Water Martini

The soup served in a martiniglass was clear, garnished withBrunoise vegetables. The chefexplained that the clear liquidresulted from diced tomatoes

and cucumbers placed in cheesecloth that is allowed to cold

press into a container, thus cap-turing the very essence of those

vegetables, a process he bor-rowed from Charlie Trotter.

Wine: Sauvignon Blanc, 2003

Roasted Baby Artichokes,Edamame, (soy beans),Belgian Endive, ShavedItalian Black Truffles and 3 Year Old Gouda;

(memorable).

Wine: Winery LakeVineyard, Chardonnay,

Carneros, 2002

Cedar-Planked Wild AlaskanSalmon atop a Corn Griddle

Cake, Heirloom TomatoCoulis, Lobster Mushrooms

and Summer HerbRemoulade; (notable).

Ginger-Miso Glazed La BelleFarms Foie Gras with a

Shitake Mushroom Spring Rolland Eckert’s Farm Peach

Sauce; (sublime). The foie graswas marinated 30 hours, wipeddry and quickly seared, yum!

The fresh peach coulis, a touchsweet, complemented the foie

gras very nicely.

Winery Lake Vineyard, Pinot Noir,Carneros/Napa, 2001

Australian Lamb Loin SousViade with Pistachio-Potato

“Baklava” and Fig Reduction

Three Palms Vineyard,Merlot, Napa, 1999

Olive- and Herb-Crusted “55 Hour” Beef Short

Ribs, Braised Chard and Root Vegetables

The short ribs and vegetableswere simmered in 145 degree

water in a cryovac bag over twodays, thus allowing all the

ingredients to marry. This veryflavorful entrée was richly com-

plemented by the two wines.

Reserve Merlot, Napa 1998 (one of my favorite

wines of the night)

Reserve Merlot, Napa, 1999

Cheeses

Saint Andre, SocieteRoquefort, Petit Agout and Goatsbeard Farm

Goat Cheese.

Grapes and Candied Walnuts.

Reserve Cabernet, Napa, 1999

(an outstanding Cabernet)

I love cheese and, in fact, passed on dessert to savor the

room temperature perfectassortment of fromages, particularly enthralling

was the blue-vein cheese andSauternes, a perfect affinity.

Caramel Honey Ice Cream in an Apricot Soup with

Lychee Nut Noodles.

Chateau SudiurautSauternes, 1997

(my second favorite wine of the night)

The 1997 vintage was a great year for Botrytisresulting in Sauternes

with great concentration of fruit, evenly balanced

acidity, a long finish, complex flavors and

great aging potential, it was delicious.

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200411

Cellar NotesArchaeological Vines of Campania

By Dolly Ammann, CCM

Until very recently, the international wine market virtuallyignored the wines of southern Italy and for good reasons.The torrid climate of the south or Mezzogiorno was felt to betoo hot to produce wines of any quality. Grapes were viewedas only one of many agricultural products. The emphasis inthe vineyards was on quantity rather than quality. The areawas known for producingbulk wines that weretrucked north and soldfor blending wines, ver-mouth production orindustrial alcohol. Manyof the wines that werebottled tended to besomewhat rustic innature with few wines of distinction.

Burton Anderson, theleading American author-ity on Italian wine, wroteof Campania, the south-ern Italian region whosecapital is Naples, thatyou could count thenumber of noteworthywinemakers there on your fingers. This situation has certain-ly changed as in recent years there has been a dramaticimprovement in wine making in Campania lead by the houseof Mastroberardino. Major capital investments and improve-ments in both vineyard management and winemaking tech-niques have brought about a renaissance that is destined tobring the wines of Campania out of obscurity.

Campania is a region where serious Italian winemakersfocus on native or so-called “archaeological” grapes to producewines of style and elegance. There is a lot of exciting experi-mentation going on as winemakers strive to restoreCampania’s reputation from antiquity for noble wines.

During the days of the Roman Empire, Campania wasfamous for its wines. Its Falernum, Surrentin and Massicwere some of the greatest wines of the ancient world. Themost famous wine of all was Falernum. It was the grand cruof Imperial Rome much praised in ancient literature. It wasproduced on Monte Massico, an extinct volcano in acoastal range of hills overlooking the Tyrenian Sea. It was awhite wine made in both dry and sweet styles. Stylisticallyit was probably quite different from today’s wines. High inalcohol, it was aged 10 to 20 years as was the fashion of the

times. From archaeology we know that grapes in the vine-yards were trained up trees in the ancient Etruscans fash-ion or on willow trellises.

The GrapesMany of the principal grape varieties of Campania are

believed to be of Greek origin. The ancient Greeks colonizedsouthern Italy around 600 B.C. Capri, Ischia and Naples were

the earliest settlements.The Greeks brought withthem their wines, wine-making techniques, wineculture and grape vines.Many of southern Italy’simportant grape varietiestoday have names thatreflect their Greek origins such as Grecoand Aglianico, the latter derived from theLatin word Hellenicummeaning Greek.

In the early twentiethcentury there werearound 400 differentgrape varieties grown inCampania. Today, there

are only about 40 grown commercially. The most importantred grapes are Aglianico and Piedirosso, and important whitegrapes are Fiano, Greco, Falanghina, Code de Volpe,Biancolella and Forestera.

Aglianico has been called Nebbiolo of the south because of itsquality. Like Nebbiolo, it is a late ripening variety that is nor-mally picked in late October or early November. High acid and tannin levels give it excellent aging potential. It does best athigher elevations where there are large differences between dayand night temperatures. Wines made from Aglianico exhibit fla-vors of cherries, black fruits, tobacco and coffee. Campagnia’sfirst DOCG wine, Taurasi, is made from Aglianico.

Pedirosso, also known as Per’e Palummo in Neopolitandialect, is frequently blended with Aglianico. Pedirosso,meaning red foot, gets its name from its red triple-branchstem. Grown mostly in coastal areas, it has good color, highacidity and firm tannins. It is found in a wide variety ofCampanian wines. A good example is Casa D’Ambra Per’ePalummo from the Island of Ischia.

Fiano is an aromatic white grape that produces intriguingwines with aromas of honey and hazelnuts and flavors of


Harvesting Aglianico, Fiano and Greco di Tufo grapes at Feudi di San Greorio.

Many of southern Italy’s important

grape varieties today have names

that reflect their Greek origins

such as Greco and Aglianico

Archaeological Vines of Campania

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200412

apples, pears, pineapple, papaya and herbs. Among leadingexperts, Fiano is considered to be one of the finest whitegrapes of Italy. Its best example is found in Fiano di AvellinoDOCG. Top producers are Mastroberardino, Terredora DiPaolo and Feudi di San Gregorio.

Greco’s most important clone is Greco di Tufo grown in thehills of Irpinia in the province of Avellino where it enjoys tufa-ceous, volcanic soils rich in sulphur and minerals. It makes awine, with vibrant fruit qualities, that is the perfect accompani-ment to the popular local Campanian dishes of insalata di mare(mixed seafood antipasto) and spigola al forno (baked sea bass).Along with Fiano di Avellino, Greco di Tufo was elevated froma DOC to a DOCG in 2003 bringing the total Italian whiteDOCGs to 10 in number.

Falanghina was the white grape from which the Romangrand cru Falernum was produced according to Francesco PaoloAvallone, the founder of Fattoria Villa Matilde. He was aprominent Naples lawyer and Roman law scholar who came tothis conclusion after studying and researching ancient Romantexts. Today’s Falerno del Massico Bianco DOC is made with

Falanghina. It is a late ripening variety that produces wines ofdistinctive quality particularly when grown on hillsides withgood sun exposure. It makes wines with firm acidity, goodextract and flavor. An excellent example is Villa Matilde’sVigna Caracci Falnero del Massico DOC.

Code di Volpe is another of the ancient grapes describedby Roman naturalist and historian Pliny the Elder in the firstcentury A.D. The name means tail of the fox. An aromaticgrape with modest acidity, it makes an excellent blendinggrape. Grown on the volcanic soils of Mount Vesuvius, it isthe primary grape variety in the white Lacrima Christi delVesuvio DOC.

Casa D’Ambra on the picturesque Island of Ischia off thecoast of Naples, is well known for wines made fromBiancolella and Forestera. While Biancolella is also plantedalong the Amalfi coast and in Sorrento, Forestera appears toonly be planted on the Island of Ischia proper. Wines fromBiancolella and Forestera are aromatic with vibrant fruit andgood acidity. Both are excellent with the fish and seafooddishes of the island.



Top Producers Mastroberodino has long been the

most highly regarded vintner ofsouthern Italy. In the mid-twentiethcentury while the rest of the southwas languishing in mediocrity,Mastroberodino was producingDOC wines of quality fromAglianico, Greco di Tufo and Fiano.In 1980, a major earthquake origi-nating in Avellino destroyed the win-ery. After this catastrophic event, thefamily rebuilt the winery bringing instate-of-the art equipment thatincluded rotary fermenters and smalloak barriques. This new technologyinfluenced their winemaking styleand brought about a winemakingrevolution in Campagnia. A familywinery founded in the eighteenthcentury, Mastroberodino today is lead by Professor PieroMastroberardino, its tenth genera-tion winemaker. The company hasassumed a pioneering role as advo-cates of combining native grapes and

modern technolo-gy. For theiraccomplishments,Mastroberodinowas awarded theprestigious“VinitalyInternationalAward 2004” forcontributions toItalian wine’simprovementsachieved throughcombining tradi-tion and innovation.

The Mastroberodino vineyards spanacross areas of Irpinia that have histor-ically been centers of quality wine pro-duction. Only Aglianico, Pedirossa,Fiano, Greco and Coda di Volpe aregrown in their estate and contract vine-yards. In collaboration with the Italiangovernment, Mastroberodino replantedancient vineyard sites in the ruins ofPompei with vines identified from

archaeological and botanic research.The vineyards were replanted with 80percent Pedirosso and 20 percentSciascinoso, another of the area’s redvarieties. Villa dei Misteri 2001 IGTwas the first wine produced from thisarchaeological vineyard site. The winewas bottled in 1.721 liter bottles andoffered at a charity auction to raisefunds for restoration of the wine cellar

Mastroberodino vineyards in the ruins of Pompei with MountVesuvius in the background.

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200413


Archaeological Vines of Campania

in Pompei’s Foro Boariovineyard. This was the res-urrection of a wine praisedby Pliny the Elder whodied in the 79 A.D. erup-tion of Mount Vesuvius thatburied the city of Pompei involcanic ash.

Terredora Di Paolo isanother of Campania’smost progressive wineries.It was founded as theresult of a family dispute.Antonio and WalterMastroberodino split thefamily estate in 1994.Taking most of the estatevineyards with him,Walter founded his ownwinery. He continued thefamily tradition of work-ing with native grapes thattrace their origins toantiquity. The new compa-ny produces outstanding wines thatrival those of Mastroberodino.

Feudi di San Gregorio is a relativenewcomer in Campania. VitorioErcolina and Mirella Capaldo estab-lished the estate in 1986 with the firstcommercial vintage in 1991. Since then,with chief winemaker Mario Ercolinoand consulting enologist RiccardoCotarella, the company has garneredthe international limelight for their out-standing wines. The winery is located inthe hills of Ipirnia where the cooler cli-mate allows for slow maturation of thegrapes and the development of highquality fruit. The Ercolino and Capaldofamilies have invested extensively inmodern state-of-the-art equipment fortheir vineyards and cellars. Throughexperimentation they found that ageing Aglianico in small oak barriques results in a softer wine withmore depth and finesse than traditional

methods. Their wines, mostly madefrom archaeological grapes, are some ofthe most exciting wines being producedtoday in Italy.

Other excellent producers are CasaD’Ambra, Villa Matilde, FontanaGilardi, Ocone, Ferrara, Cantina delTaburno, De Conciliis, De Lucia,Cantine Gran Furor and Orazio Rillo.

2005 Italian Wine Tour

The CMAA International WineSociety is planning a trip to Italy inthe fall of 2005. If you sign up forthis workshop, you will have theopportunity to visit two of theseexciting wineries, Mastroberodinoand Feudi di San Gregorio, alongwith other outstanding wineries in Umbria and Tuscany. InCampagnia, the tour will include avisit to the ruins of Pompei and theRoyal Castle at Caserta. You willstay at Hotel Buca di Bacco on theAmalfi Coast in the picturesque sea-side town of Positano. This is theplace to enjoy some of Italy’s finestcuisine based on the freshest fishand seafood along with the fabulouswines of Campania.

References:1. Jancis Robinson, The Oxford

Companion to Wine (OxfordUniversity Press, 1991)

2. Burton Anderson, The Wine Atlas of Italy (Simon andSchuster, 1990)

3. Burton Anderson, BurtonAnderson’s Best Italian Wines (Little,Brown and Company, 2001)

4. Nicolas Belfrage, Brunello toZibibbo (Mitchell Beazley, 2003)

5. Joseph Bastianich & DavidLynch, Vino Italiano, The RegionalWines of Italy (ClarksonPotter/Publishers, 2002)

6. www.feudi.it

7. www.mastroberardino.com

Above: The cave and barrels at Mastroberodino.

The ruins at Pompei.

Society HappeningsColumbia Valley Revisited

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200414

By Dolly Ammann, CCM

This spring, the Inland Empire Chapter of CMAA hosted thesecond annual tour of wineries in Columbia Valley, WashingtonState’s primary wine grape-growing area. The Columbia Valleyis the state’s largest AVA (American Viticultural Area, i.e., a designated wine-growing region). It encompasses a third ofWashington’s land mass and includes the Walla Walla Valley,Yakima Valley and Red Mountain AVAs. Ninety-eight percentof the wine grapes produced in Washington are grown here.The Columbia Valley is home to many small high-quality bou-tique wineries and a handful of larger-volume producers.

The winter that had just passed was a severe one with manyof the vineyards experiencing damage from sub-zero tempera-tures. Temperatures as low as -21°F were recorded. We wouldsee some of this damage first hand as our CMAA group touredthe area. Hardest hit was the Walla Walla Valley appellationwhere some of the finest wines in Washington are produced.Most of Walla Walla’s 1,200 acres of vineyards were severelydamaged. The Yakima Valley fared better with milder condi-tions and will be the source for many of the 2004 vintagewines. This type of Arctic freeze hits the Columbia Valleyapproximately every seven to eight years. The last one was inthe winter of 1996. This is one of the hazards of growinggrapes and making wine in Washington state.

The Vintner DinnerThe first evening of our workshop was a gala vintner din-

ner at Meadow Springs Country Club. The evening’s specialguests were winery owners and winemakers from seven pre-mium wineries whose wines were poured during the dinner.

Alan Pangborn, the owner ofMoonlight Sparkling WineCellar, was accompanied by hiswife, Paula. At the beginning of dinner, he discussed CaféMetropole Blanc de Blancsparkling wine that was servedwith hors d’oeuvres during thereception. Located in Pasco, thewinery produces only 500 casesannually of method champ-enoise sparkling wine from pur-chased Chardonnay grapes.Alan says that every bottle ismade by hand. Alan startedMoonlight Sparkling WineCellar in 2001 after years work-ing as a winemaker at ChateauSte. Michele and Korbel.

Jeff Gordon from Gordon Brothers Estate was accompa-nied by his wife, Vickie. Jeff and Vickie are members ofMeadow Springs Country Club. Both are avid golfers. Jeff talked about the winery, his estate vineyards on the Snake River and the camaraderie of vintners in theColumbia Valley. It is a small family where everyone knowsand is willing to help each other. Gordon Brothers award-winning 2000 Merlot was served with a chilled marinatedbreast of duck. The wine has concentrated blackberry, cher-ry and plum notes with a bit of spice. Made with 98 percentMerlot and two percent Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine wasaged in French and American oak for 14 months.

Rob Griffin and Debra Barnard are the owners of theBarnard Griffin Winery. It is one of the larger wineries inthe area, producing around 45,000 cases a year, and was thelargest producer among the seven wineries represented atour dinner. Rob talked about his 2002 Reserve Chardonnaythat was served with fresh oyster corn soup. Only 71 caseswere produced of the 2002 Reserve Chardonnay. The wine isbarrel-fermented in French oak and aged sur-lie for sixmonths. It has a core of pear, melon, honey, cream and crispGranny Smith apple flavors intertwined with complex oakaccents. The wine is very Burgundian in style and one of my personal favorites.

Victor Cruz, owner of Cañon de Sol Winery, introducedhis winemaker and lifelong friend, Charlie Hoppes. Charlieis also the winemaker for several other Columbia Valleywineries. His own label, Fidélitas, is produced in the Cañonde Sol facilities. Fidélitas 2001 Syrah and Cañon de Sol 2001Meritage were served with the rack of lamb entrée. The

Syrah has concentrated cherryand blackberry flavors with asmoky undertone reminiscent of Syrah from the Rhone Valley.Only 240 cases were produced.The Meritage was made with 67 percent Cabernet Sauvignonand 33 percent Merlot. Thewine is dark to the point of inky with deep flavors of redand black fruit. Only 285 caseswere made.

Dr. Wade Wolfe, the ownerand winemaker at ThurstonWolfe Winery, introduced hiswife, Becky Yeaman. Heexplained that Becky actuallyruns the winery. He has a full-time job as general manager of


Martina Halsey (center) from the Field Club came all the wayfrom Connecticut to attend this workshop. She won two work-shop spaces at The Club Foundation silent auction. Martinaposes with husband Craig DeMott (left) and Jeff Gordon,owner Gordon Brothers Estate, at the vintner’s dinner.

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200415

Columbia Valley Revisited

Hogue Cellars. The focus at Thurston Wolfe winery is produc-tion of more unique varietals such as Lemberger, Sangioveseand Zinfandel. They also make Port. Thurston Wolfe was thefirst winery in the state to produce a Zinfandel. Very littleZinfandel is grown in Washington because it is a variety thatprefers a warmer climate. Most of the grapes for the 2001Zinfandel are from Zephyr Ridge Vineyard. Overlooking theColumbia River, Zephyr Ridge is a warm site with sandy loamsoils. The wine is 92 percent Zinfandel and 8 percent PetiteSyrah. Aged 16 months in American oak, the wine is a classicZinfandel packed with bramble and black pepper with oakaromas. The 2001 Thurston Wolfe Zinfandel was an excellent pairing with the exotic cheese course.

John Bookwalter was the last vintner to talk about hiswine, a 2001 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that wasserved with a chocolate hazelnut cherry torte with Cabernetsauce. Made with 90 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 10percent Merlot, the wine was aged in French oak for 22months. Opulent and silky, the wine shows concentrated fla-vors of plumb, cassis, blackberry and hints of chocolate witha smooth lingering finish. The rich chocolate torte was madewith dried cherries soaked in the 2001 Cabernet to ensure aperfect pairing.

Walla Walla ValleyThe next morning, we departed for Walla Walla by bus.

On the way, Krista McCorkle, the executive director of theWalla Walla Valley Wine Alliance, talked to us about thecharacteristics of the appellation. She discussed the severe

winter and how it had affected the vineyards in Walla Walla.The damage was so severe that some estate wineries will nothave a 2004 vintage. All of the vineyards in Walla Walla areplanted on their own vinifera roots. Only one is planted ongrafted American rootstock, and that one was planted earlyon before anyone realized that soils in the area are immuneto phylloxera. The unique soils in Walla Walla were deposit-ed by a series of cataclysmic Ice Age floods 15,000 years ago.These high-mineral soils are excellent for grape growing andgive the appellation its unique terroir.

Our first stop was at Woodward Canyon Winery establishedby Rick Small in 1981. It was the second winery to open in theWalla Walla Valley. Woodward Canyon limits its production to17,000 cases a year in order to maintain premium quality.Wines are made from estate-grown grapes and other grapespurchased from some of the finest vineyards in the ColumbiaValley. We tasted current releases — a 2002 Dry WhiteRiesling, an oaky buttery 2002 Columbia ValleyChardonnay, a Burgundian style 2000 Celilo VineyardChardonnay, NV Red Table Wine, 2001 Artist SeriesCabernet. We also tasted their second label Nelms Road 2001Cabernet Sauvignon and 2002 Merlot. Nelms Road are highquality wines in the wine-by-the-glass price range. Rick Smalltold us that he was dropping Pinot Noir to concentrate onItalian varietals, which are growing in popularity. They arenow producing Barbera and Dolcetto in limited quantities.

Next door at L’Ecole No. 41 Winery, our old friend Brook Follett led us through a tasting of another year’s great line-up of superb wines. The 2002 Columbia ValleyChardonnay made in an elegant Burgundian style showstropical fruit flavors with a vanilla finish. There were threeSemillons from different areas with different taste profiles.The 2003 Walla Voila Chenin Blanc is semi-dry with crispacidity, apple and grapefruit flavors and an orange blossomnose. Of the three Merlots in the line-up, my favorite was



Winery owners and winemakers at the vintner dinner: Standing —Jeremy Simmons, Meadow Springs CC, Vickie Gordon, JohnBookwalter, Debra Barnard, Rob Griffin, Dr. Wade Wolfe, VictorCruz, Charlie Hoppes, Alan Pangborn. Seated – Jeff Gordon, BeckyYeaman, Paula Pangborn.

Rick Smart (center) and visiting CMAA members at WoodwardCanyon Winery.


Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200416

the 2001 Seven Hills Vineyard Merlot. Made with 13 per-cent Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7 percent Cabernet Franc, itis a concentrated Merlot with blueberry, black cherry, mochaand vanilla flavors. Of their three Cabernets and blends, myfavorite remains the 2001 Pepper Bridge Apogee. Boldlyaromatic, this wine has spicy nutmeg and clove aromas withdark fruit flavors. The 2002 Columbia Valley Syrah is newto the L’Ecole line-up. Made with 98 percent Syrah and twopercent Carmenere it shows cherry and brambly fruit flavorswith spice and pepper notes.

Bud Stocking, one of the owners of Three Rivers Winery,greeted us when we arrived. It was time for a great lunchprepared by the staff of Walla Walla Country Club and tastings of more award-winning wines. The Three Riversthree-hole golf course was waiting for the second annualCMAA Horserace Challenge. This year’s winners wereDennis Yaminski, Oswego Lake Country Club, and MikeBeaver, Arlington Club. They both won a magnum of Three Rivers. The consolation prize, a small bottle of ThreeRivers Late Harvest Riesling, went to Jade Kiosse, OswegoLake Country Club and Hugh Graham, Rogue ValleyCountry Club.

The last stop of the day was at Pepper Bridge Winery to meet with its managing partner, Norm McKibben andSwiss-born winemaker Jean-Francoise Pellet. Norm had just received the exciting news that Wine and Spirits Magazinenamed Pepper Bridge 2001 Merlot the best Merlot pro-duced in the United States.

Pepper Bridge Winery is the only gravity-flow winery in Washington. All of its wines are made from estate-growngrapes. The estate’s 400 acres of vineyards were plantedbeginning in 1991. These are some of the top vineyards



Brook Follette and the tasting line-up at L’Ecole #41 Winery. Thewinery is housed in a 1915 schoolhouse located in what is referred toas historic Frenchtown. The name comes from the French-Canadianswho settled the area in the early 1800s.

The Horserace in Progress at Three Rivers Winery

Grand winners ofthe 2nd AnnualHorserace at ThreeRivers WineryDennis YaminskiOswego LakeCountry Club andMike Beaver,Arlington Clubtook home 1.5 Literbottles of ThreeRivers Syrah andCabernetSauvignon.

Jade Kiosse of OswegoLake Country Cluband Hugh Graham,President of the OregonChapter proudly display small bottleconsolation prizes ofThree Rivers LateHarvest Riesling.

Lynn and Tracy Kosenky from the Fircrest Country Club withwinemaker Holly Turner at Three Rivers Winery.

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200417


in Walla Walla and include Pepper Bridge, Northstar,Seven Hills and Les Collines. Pepper Bridge suppliesgrapes to 55 different wineries including prestigious names like Leonnetti, Woodward Canyon, L’Ecole No. 41 and Andrew Will. Everything about Pepper Bridgeis state-of-the art technology from the vineyards to the winery. The vineyards have computer controlled drip irrigation systems along with temperature — and moisture-monitoring equipment.

The Pepper Bridge vineyards were severely damaged over the winter. It was sad to see the bare canes and realizethat there would be no 2004 Pepper Bridge Merlot orCabernet Sauvignon.

On Red Mountain The next day we headed for Red Mountain and Terra

Blanca Winery. Red Mountain is considered by some to bethe finest premium-grape-growing area in Washington state.Its distinct terroir is created by sandy soils with rich layers ofcalcium carbonate and minerals. Keith Pilgrim purchasedthis 300-acre estate 11 years ago. He planted vineyards andestablished a winery. Today, there are around 80 acres ofvineyards planted mostly in Bordeaux varietals. There arealso experimental plots with around 50 different grape vari-eties and cones. The previous winter had taken its toll on theTerra Blanca vineyards but not to the devastating extent asin Walla Walla. Keith estimated that this year’s crop wouldbe down by about 30 percent.

Red Mountain is considered by

some to be the finest

premium-grape-growing area

in Washington state.

Terra Blanca was the first Washington state winery tobuild underground caves for storing and aging wine. Thefirst cellars that Keith built hold 1,000 barrels of wine at aconstant temperature and humidity. A new building current-ly under construction will house more underground caves aswell as production, bottling, storage and entertainment facili-ties. The building should be completed in the spring of 2005.Keith’s goal is to increase production to 50,000 cases.



Norm McKibben and CMAA managers in the cellars at Pepper Bridge.

Pepper Bridge winemaker Jean-Francoise Pellet with Jeremy Simmonsand Jamie Dawson.

Winterkill at Pepper Bridge vineyards showing dead canes with somenew growth just beginning.


Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200418

After a barrel tasting in the old caves, Keith took us to thenew facility to barrel taste some of his experimental lots. Thefun thing about barrel tasting at Terra Blanca is that it isblind tasting. Keith lets you guess the varietal before he tellsyou what the wine is.

After saying goodbye to Keith, we drove up the hill a shortdistance to Hedges Cellars to meet with Tom Hedges.Hedges Cellars is another of the premium wineries in theRed Mountain AVA. Very unlike most of the other winerieson Red Mountain that have simple tasting rooms, Hedgeshas the only French-style Chateaû in the Columbia Valley.Tom and Anne-Marie Hedges started the winery in 1987 as aspin-off from a wine brokerage business. In 1990, they pur-chased land on Red Mountain and established vineyards anda winery. The lovely French-style Chateaû was completed in1995. Anne-Marie was born in the Champagne region ofFrance. The chateau reflects her French heritage, and itsdécor, her exquisite taste.

Hedges Cellars is a company that built an outstanding rep-utation based on a limited portfolio of wines. Red MountainReserve is its high-end Meritage blend. Three Vineyards isanother Bordeaux blend featuring high-quality grapes fromthree different vineyards. CMS, standing for Cabernet,Merlot and Syrah, is in the wine by the glass price categoryand is an exceptional value wine. Their signature white winecalled Fume-Chardonnay is an unusual blend of SauvignonBlanc and Chardonnay. Hedges Cellars also produces a lim-ited amount of Port that is only available to members of itswine club. The Port is made from Portuguese grapes grownon the estate.

Yakima Valley

Hogue Cellars is the best-known winery in the YakimaValley and the third largest producer in Washington state. Production is around 580,000 cases a year. VincorInternational, a Canadian firm, purchased the winery fromthe Hogue family two years ago. The winery’s goal is to dou-ble the winery’s production. They have also made the deci-sion to convert their lower-tier wines, about 70 percent ofthe production, to screw caps.

We ended our workshop at Hogue Cellars. Dr. WadeWolfe led us through a blending seminar. The objective wasto illustrate how wines can be improved through the processof blending.

At the end ofthe day, everyonetook home a bottle of Hogue2000 ReserveMerlot.

On behalf ofall participants, I would like tothank JeremySimmons fororganizing thisfun educationprogram. Jeremyis the InlandEmpireChapter’sIWS repre-sentative.


Barrel tasting with Keith Pilgrim in the new underground cellars atTerra Blanca.

Tasting wines with Tom Hedges at Hedges Cellars on Red Mountain.Tom is a Commissioner with the Washington Wine Commission.

Dr. Wade Wolfe, the general manager ofHogue Cellars, discusses the viticultural areasin Washington’s Columbia Valley. (Note: Dr.Wolfe left Hogue Cellars this fall to concen-trate on his own winery Thurston Wolfe.)

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200419

Society HappeningsWashington State Wine Trivia

Workshop Test Questions

1. The smallest AVA in Washington state is:a. Columbia Valley b. Red Mountainc. Walla Walla Valleyd. Yakima Valley

2. The largest AVA in Washington state is:a. Puget Soundb. Walla Walla Valleyc. Columbia Valleyd. Yakima Valley

3. In terms of production, the largest winery inWashington and the 18th largest in the USA is:a. Leonettib. Columbia Crestc. Hogue Cellarsd. Woodward Canyon

4. Which of the following vineyard problems is aconcern in southeastern Washington:a. Phylloxerab. Pierce’s diseasec. Mildewd. Cutworms

5. An aromatic white wine with white peach aromaswould be:a. Chardonnay b. Viognierc. Pinot Grisd. Sauvignon Blanc

6. Washington is best known for the production ofthis red varietal:a. Syrahb. Merlotc. Petit Verdotd. Malbec

7. More than 2,500 acres of Syrah grapesare grown in Washington state.

8. Today, there are more than 200 bondedwineries in Washington state.

9. The first wineries in Washington weredeveloped after Prohibition.

10. Walla Walla Valley is an excellent growingarea for red Bordeaux grape varieties.

11. Most of the Merlot clones in Washingtonstate came from California in the 1970s.

12. The Wine Alliance is an association ofwineries and growers in the YakimaValley.

13. L’Ecole No. 41 was the first bonded win-ery in the Walla Walla AVA.

14. Walla Walla has the same number ofdegree days as the Napa Valley.

Multiple Choices True or FalseTrue False

q q

Answers can be found on page 24.

15. High carbonate and mineral soils in Red Mountainimpart ___________________ to the wines producedin this area.

16. American wine regulations require _________ percentage of the grape variety for the wine to becalled by the varietal name.

17. Walla Walla Valley has only _________ acres ofvineyards and much of the wine produced here ismade from grapes sourced from the larger ColumbiaValley AVA.

18. ___________________________ was the first AVA inWashington state established in 1983.

19. Jean-Francoise Pellet, Swiss winemaker at PepperBridge, was recruited from ______________ Cellarsin the Napa Valley.

20. AVA stands for _________________________________ ____________.

Fill in the Blank

True False

q qTrue False

q qTrue False

q qTrue False

q qTrue False

q q

True False

q qTrue False

q q

Society HappeningsThe Grapestompers Society Wine Dinner Social Offers Fun and Education

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200420

By Oliver Boudin

Last June, The Grapestompers Society of Texas gottogether for a informal social event. The GrapestomperSociety is the representation for the CMAA InternationalWine Society for the Texas Chapter. The society was createdin 2000 and began with only nine members. Today, the soci-ety has more than 30 members around the state. Each regionof Texas is encouraged to host a society and educationalevents during the year. The North Texas Chapter representsclubs from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, as far West asWichita Falls and as far East as the Louisiana borders.

The evening is always fun and offers many educationalbenefits. Each participant was able to sample each wineserved throughout the night, including a mystery wine.

Taittinger Millesime 1995Cream of rope mussels with saffron

Yellow tomato gazpacho with shrimp

Long Pinot Grigio 2001Chartreuse of Long Island duckling with duck liver

Sweet and sour apples and dried cherries

Pahlmeyer Chardonnay 2000Butter-poached lobster with red wine emulsion

Steamed stuffed cabbage with day boat dry scallops and truffle

Crispy potato, celeriac and salmon napoleon

Saintsbury Brown Pinot Noir 1999Stuffed saddle of Colorado lamb

with caepers and morels

Basil mashed potatoes

Baby vegetables

Beringer Reserve Cabernet 1994Florentine of red berries

Chocolate pave with roasted coffee bean sauce

Mini passion fruit soufflé

Warres Port 1977


The Northwood Club in Dallas Hostedthe Spring Wine Dinner with a Lovely

Food and Wine Pairing Including:

The Wine Society Would Like to Welcome

the Following New Members:

Mr. Chad BeckerFort Worth Club

Mr. Jack CarterButler National Golf Club

Mr. Anthony D’Errico, CCM

Westwood Country Club

Ms. Karen DonnellyUnion Club of NY

Mr. John R. Finley, CCMPrestonwood

Country Club

Mr. Steven D. Geisler, CCMThe Oaks Club

Ms. Kelly GibbonsRiver Club of New York

Mr. Kevin HarringtonPelham Country Club

Mr. Patrick KingArmy Navy Country Club

Mr. James G. KravcikHinsdale Golf Club

Ms. Debbie PagerieIndian Trail Club

Mr. Nathanael RabyCrystal Tree Golf and

Country Club

Mr. Alvaro Pablo ReyesPelham Country Club

Mr. Larry A. Rodgers, CCMRichmond County

Country Club

Mr. Dave SizeloveElk River Club

Ms. Maria Alejandra Uria, CCM

The Oaks Club

Mr. Hugh J. Van Veen, CCM

Eau Gallie Yacht Club

Mr. Matthew Wisniowski

The Country Club ofMeadville

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200421

The Grapestompers Society Wine Dinner Social Offers Fun and Education

Taittinger Millesime 1995A beautiful bottle, this was a delight to taste. This

champagne is made only in the very best years. Light,fresh and lively, the nose explodes with fresh tea aro-mas and summer flowers. Kiwi fruit, mango and whitepeaches entice the palate in a patchwork of flavors,fruits and magic: A truly wonderful cuvee.

Long Pinot Grigio 2001This winery was not familiar to some of our group,

but the Pinot Grigio holds up to any Pinot Grigio. Theforward is fruity and ripe ... very welcome. The for-ward start of a rich wine with persistent aromaticsreflect white fruit-lychee, white peach and Asian pear.Its texture is rich and silky, with honey and subtle, cooltropical fruit flavors, bright acidity and a long finish.

Pahlmeyer Chardonnay 2000This Napa Valley Chardonnay is classically styled,

with aromas of tropical fruit combining with citrusnuances that integrate fully with hints of creamy oak.The palate is sleek and balanced with mineral and cit-rus flavors and a finish that is long and lingering.

Saintsbury Brown Pinot Noir 1999Not as some of us remember it. However, this tradi-

tional rich Pinot Noir was showing cherry and plum for-ward oak flavor. It’s earthy with a long finish, and theacidity is always pleasant to the palate.

Beringer Reserve Cabernet 1994This wine was somewhat disappointing. Maybe our

expectation was too high but this wine shows little fruitand tannins, the earthy taste that we could pick wasnice, but we expected more body from this 1994 reserveCabernet. We didn’t want to let the fourth course of ourdelicious meal go by without a wine to match, so weopened a Nickel & Nickel and our main course was sud-denly back on track.

Warres Port 1977You have to try this! The highlight of the night came

from Warres — they’ve been producing Port for 300years. It is difficult to judge a wine with such tradition.But we all agreed on the elegance that this 1977 Portstill shows. The powerful wine had a well-balancedcharacter, and the tannins were still showing in thebackground. We all can appreciate the aging character-istic of the wine when tasting a new vintage. Readyfor some more!


The attendees were mostly from theDallas/Fort Worth area including:

Starting left back rows Ray Detullio,CCM, Lakewood Country Club, StacySteglish, CCM, Northwood Club,Christina Toups, CCM, Ridglea CountryClub, Oliver Boudin, Wichita FallsCountry Club, Dale Miller, CCM,Brokhollow Golf Club, Masoud Fazard,Dallas Petroleum Club.

Front Left Row, Margaret Detullio,Sally Rambo CCM, Retired ClubManager, Brenda Jones, RidgleaCountry Club.

Some Tasting Notes

Society HappeningsGreater Southwest Chapter Gets An Education from Wattle Creek Winery

By Christophe Hermine, International Wine Society Representative to GreaterSouthwest Chapter

On Tuesday, June 29, the Greater Southwest Chapter hadthe pleasure to host Christopher Williams, owner of WattleCreek Winery in Alexander Valley, for a wine workshop atDesert Highlands Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ.

Christopher and Kristine Williams established WattleCreek Winery in March 1994. The 56-acre vineyard andwinery are located just south of the town of Cloverdale inSonoma County, CA. A great deal of planning and care wentinto the selection of this property. The Williams, who arenatives of Australia, sought and found property strikinglysimilar to the warm Barossa Valley in southern Australia inorder to create the best possible marriage between geogra-phy and the varietals now produced at Wattle Creek. Prior

Society HappeningsIt’s Time to Start Planning for New Orleans!

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200422

The 2005 IWS Silent and Live Auctions are Fast Approaching. Have You Made Your Donation Yet?

It is never too early to start planning and procuring wineand wine-related items for the 2005 auctions. The earlier youand your fellow chapter members start gathering donations,the earlier you can ship them and the less you have to worryabout your donations arriving in time for shipping deadlines.Please keep in mind that you also can send multiple ship-ments as you receive additional donations over the next fewmonths. As long as each shipment is valued at more than$200 in wholesale value and you follow the shipping guide-lines as determined by the auction committee, then shipmentexpenses will be reimbursed by The Club Foundation.

Everyone making a donation needs to fill out a pledge form,which can be found online at www.cmaa.org/winesoc. All formsshould be submitted by e-mail to [email protected]. This will help make our job easier when tallying the totals for thecoveted Bucky Award.

Donations Should be Shipped to our Clearinghouse in New Orleans at:

GlazersAttn: Frank JacksonIWS Wine Auction

111 Riverbend BoulevardSt. Rose, LA 70087

Once again, we will be giving away four $1,000 EducationGrants in conjunction with the Bucky Award — one for eachsize chapter by category (small, medium and large) and onefor the “overall” chapter that donates the most goods bywholesale value.

We will be opening the Silent Auction at 3:00 p.m. onSunday, February 27, for a first glimpse at the items for bid. This event is open to all IWS members and one guestONLY. There will be a special table for silent bids that willbe closed out that evening at 6:00 p.m. That table of special-ly selected lots will then be removed from the auction andpresented to the successful bidders that evening. Again, thispreview is for IWS members and guests only and is one ofthe benefits of membership in the Wine Society. Remindyour colleagues of this great benefit!

So, start talking to your fellow managers, your membersand distributors about making their donations!

We look forward to raising more than $50,000 in NewOrleans!

Art Barajas, CCMCo-Chair 2005 IWS Wine Auction

Erik EstradaCo-Chair 2005 IWS Wine Auction

2005 Wine Auction HoursPreservation Room, New Orleans Marriott

Silent AuctionSunday, February 27 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Wine Society Member Preview

Monday, February 28 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 1 7:30 a.m. - 5:45 p.m.

Live AuctionWednesday, March 2 5:45 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.


Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200423

By Randal Caparoso

Why do restaurateurs feel compelled to put out wine listsof biblical proportions? Beats me. I’ve spent most of my pro-fessional life dedicated to the proposition that a small winelist—defined here as no more than 100 selections—is notonly superior to a big wine list but also just as appealingwhere it counts most: meeting customers’ needs. Here are some of the advantages of a well-constituted and well-maintained small wine list:

Profits generator. Our 200-seat Roy’s restaurant typically carried less than $25,000 in inventory at any given time yet regularly generated over $50,000 in monthlywine sales. Turnover helped boost profits. A wine programthat doesn’t constantly turn over hurts everything else youdo — especially menu pricing— because, besides service,

to embarking on this venture, they engaged Phil Freese, ahighly regarded winery consultant with worldwide experi-ence. Phil, along with Ulises Valdez and Jack Florence, Jr.,their vineyard managers, have been instrumental in develop-ing what has now become the Wattle Creek Winery.

The winery’s name is derived from Australia’s wattle tree, a member of the Acacia family with distinctive yellowblossoms. Images of these blossoms can be seen on WattleCreek’s labels.

The vineyard features split canopy trellising in the loweracres and vertical trellising on the gently sloping hillsides.Managing crop yield has been an extremely important com-ponent to the Wattle Creek wines as they have soughtintense fruit flavors, rather than the more herbaceous onesfound in higher yielding vineyards. The winery has managedto keep its crop yields low, between two to three tons peracre, which has produced impressive fruit intensity in thevintages released to date.

We tasted five of Wattle Creek’s succulent wines:Sauvignon Blanc with vibrant exotic lime and lemon citrusattributes; Viognier with lovely floral apricot blossom con-verging with an elegant flinty spice (I have to admit that Idid not find any of the sweet and overly powerful floral aro-mas that are found in some of the French or AustralianViognier); Chardonnay with lovely aromas of tropical fruits

complexed by toasted barrel attributes and mellow notes ofpear (three days after the tasting, I wish I still could taste thecreamy and mineral quality of this beautiful wine); Shirazwith terrific depth of color and lovely flavors of blackberry(the best Australian touch represented in this wonderfulCalifornian wine); Cabernet Sauvignon with lovely flavors of vibrant ripe berry and subtle hint of terroir (my favoritewine I tasted through the evening; what an elegant wine foronly $25, a must on any wine list).

Mr. Williams also spoke about some of the nuances inwine-making techniques between Australia and California.This Aussie, as a true wine professional and as a gentleman,did a fabulous presentation and all attendees enjoyed a marvelous wine education.

Right — Timothy M. Bakels, CCM, President to Greater SouthwestChapter. middle — Joe Brem, CCM, former Club Manager ofthe Year. Left — Christophe Hermine, International WineSociety Representative to Greater Southwest Chapter.

Greater Southwest Chapter gets An Education from Wattle Creek Winery


GrapevineSmall is Beautiful and Profitable!

strong-value/high-quality food is what customers careabout most.

Competitive advantage. Providing that your food, spirits, labor and fixed costs are under control, the small wine list provides more leeway with lower markups(40 to 50 percent pouring costs)—a crucial edge in competitive markets.

Built-in flexibility. Changeable at the drop of a hat, asmall list gives you the greatest chance of taking advantageof the best buys and the highly allocated wines, keeping theselections fresh, and finding the ideal matches for anythingnew and different your chefs devise.

Those are the benefits. Now here are the techniques thatmake it work:


Small is Beautiful and Profitable!

Vol. 17 NO. 4 Fall 200424

1. a.

2. c.

3. b.

4. d.

5. b.

6. b.

7. True

8. True

9. False

10. True

11. True

12. False

13. False

14. True

15. chalkiness

16. 75

17. 1,200

18. YakimaValley

19. Heitz

20. AmericanViticulturalArea

Pick your format and stick with it through disciplinedrotation. My 75-selection wine list at Roy’s easily ran inven-tories below $25,000, generating over $500,000 annuallywith standard 33 percent pouring costs. For smaller restau-rants (less than 100 seats and $2 million in annual gross rev-enue), a 50-selection wine list ($15,000 inventories) is entire-ly appropriate. When done right, it can still generate at least$25,000 a month by average industry standards (18 percentof sales), even with lower markups.

The smaller the list, the more flexibility you need tokeep it exciting. Make sure you’re printing in house on rea-sonably priced paper and using easy-to-change binders.

Consumers perceive a small wine list as being friendlier, and you can make it more so by including heartfelt descriptions and even food recommendations. Wine consumers prefer annotated wine lists over ones thatdon’t provide any guidance.

The selection process requires ongoing discipline. In thesmall format, representation of all of the basic wines fromaround the world is far less important than finding winesthat fit your chosen niche, match your food and “wow” yourguests. The wines more likely to do the latter are those thatare easy to appreciate (i.e., in ease of drinking and price) yetvividly flavorful, strikingly original and surprising. Stick towines that leave your customers begging for more!

Make your selections count by focusing on styles thatmatch multiple dishes, that is, silky-smooth wines that avoidexcesses like high alcohol and bitter tannin. Pinot Noirs andRieslings are a good place to start.

If your clientele demands big-name brands and classicor “comfort” labels, so be it. But be sure to mix these inwith your cutting-edge, “fun” stuff. With the myriad choicesavailable in the marketplace, there is no excuse for a dull list.

Sit down for heart-to-hearts with your distributors andsuppliers. They need to understand your selection process in order to help you find the wines that meet your needs —not theirs!

Staff training and enthusiasm are essential, but only a beginning. Servers actively involved in selling naturallygravitate toward wines that yield the best customer response.Eliciting their input and actively seeking more of the winesthey like to sell will strengthen your program.

It’s OK to ride with your successful selections forlonger lengths of time, but retain the attitude that change is

always good. Your constant goal should be to enlarge, ratherthan sit upon, your customer base; a small, profit-drivenwine program can do this if you embrace the freedom toinnovate that it provides.

There’s one constant in our business: Consumer tastes evolvewith increasing speed. It’s easier to keep pace with change byworking with a program that is short and sweet rather than bigand expensive. Staff- and guest-friendly. Small size makes a listeasier to manage, more meaningful to your staff, and more per-sonable for guests. The majority of guests prefer a less intimi-dating list and are more likely to return to a restaurant withsmall, personal touches and servers who can speak intelligentlyabout their food and wines.

Santé magazine is the premier provider of food, beverage, and business management information to members of the restaurant and hospitality trades. Every issue contains regularcolumns and feature articles on food, wine and spirits and such management topics as staff training, marketing, food and beverageprocurement, handling, presentation and service. For a free one-yearsubscription call 1-877-618-2711. For faster service subscribe on-line at www.santemagazine.com.

Source: Sante, the Magazine for Restaurant Professionals,September, 2004.

Washington State Wine TriviaWorkshop Test Answers

From Page 19


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