SIP · 2016-08-17 · “SIP doesn’t let us take anything for granted. I’m a big SIP guy...

6
The best wines, it’s always been said, are made in the vineyard. That doesn’t make winemakers superfluous, because they, too, make decisions that determine how grapes are grown. But if wine really is made in the vineyard, then most of the reason why California wines have attained such high levels of critical success over the past ten, fifteen years is because of improved performance in the field. Because of farmers, if you will—not winemakers, who often reap most of the glory. In the Central Coast wine region—stretching from San Francisco County all the way down to Santa Barbara County, accounting for some 90,300 acres of planted wine grapes (15% of California’s total)—there is a common thread running through the most presti- gious vineyards. The commonality? They are all farmed according SIP Certified standards, the statewide certification that is generally considered the country’s strictest program of sustainable grape growing. As of 2016, over 40,000 acres of California vineyards have been SIP Certified—reflecting dramatic growth since SIP’s inception in 2008, when 3,700 acres were first certified. What makes SIP—an acronym for Sustainability in Practice—significant for the wine trade? That is, what is it about SIP Certified that makes a direct impact on the quality of the wines we buy and sell in the market? THE STATEWIDE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM IS CREATING A SUSTAINABLE QUALITY REVOLUTION IN CALIFORNIA VINEYARDS BY RANDY CAPAROSO Harvest at Ancient Peaks in Paso Robles. SIP Certified means that employees are offered competitive wages, benefits and training. SIP CERTIFIED

Transcript of SIP · 2016-08-17 · “SIP doesn’t let us take anything for granted. I’m a big SIP guy...

Page 1: SIP · 2016-08-17 · “SIP doesn’t let us take anything for granted. I’m a big SIP guy because our values fall right in line with theirs. We don’t cut corners because Bien

104 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016

The best wines, it’s always been said, are made in the vineyard. That doesn’t

make winemakers superfluous, because they, too, make decisions that determine how grapes are grown. But if wine

really is made in the vineyard, then most of the reason why California wines have attained such high levels of critical success over the past ten, fifteen

years is because of improved performance in the field. Because of farmers, if you will—not winemakers, who often reap most of the glory.

In the Central Coast wine region—stretching from San Francisco County all the way down to Santa Barbara County, accounting for some 90,300 acres of planted wine grapes

(15% of California’s total)—there is a common thread running through the most presti-gious vineyards. The commonality? They are all farmed according SIP Certified standards, the statewide certification that is generally considered the country’s strictest program of sustainable grape growing. As of 2016, over 40,000 acres of California vineyards have been SIP Certified—reflecting dramatic growth since SIP’s inception in 2008, when 3,700 acres were first certified.

What makes SIP—an acronym for Sustainability in Practice—significant for the wine trade? That is, what is it about SIP Certified that makes a direct impact on the quality of the wines we buy and sell in the market?

THE STATEWIDE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM IS CREATING A SUSTAINABLE QUALITY REVOLUTION IN CALIFORNIA VINEYARDS

BY RANDY CAPAROSO

PH

OTO

CO

UR

TESY

OF A

NC

IEN

T PE

AK

S

Harvest at Ancient Peaks in Paso Robles.

SIP Certified means that employees are offered

competitive wages, benefits and training.

PH

OTO

: RA

ND

Y C

APA

RO

SOSIP

CERTIFIED

Somm Journal Aug/Sept_102-148.indd 104 7/27/16 2:46 PM

Page 2: SIP · 2016-08-17 · “SIP doesn’t let us take anything for granted. I’m a big SIP guy because our values fall right in line with theirs. We don’t cut corners because Bien

{ SOMMjournal.com }  105

A Look at Some SIP Certified Vineyards and Their WinesOur conversations with winemakers and growers on how SIP Certified directly impacts their business, and ultimately the quality of wines that come to the wine trade.

Halter Ranch Tucked among the coastal mountain slopes of Paso Robles’ Adelaida District AVA is a 2,000-acre estate called Halter Ranch. Only 281 acres of the property have been planted to grapes, and there are zero plans to plant more.

“Halter Ranch,” says Winemaker Kevin Sass, “has always been a conservation project. Our owner, Hansjörg Wyss, bought the property 15 years ago specifically to preserve it. We’re actually one of his smaller projects. The Wyss Foundation has spent over $175 million to preserve and protect some 14 million acres in various other parts of the U.S.”

By adhering to SIP Certified protocols, Halter Ranch was recently recognized for its sus-tainable program with a 2016 California Green Medal Award presented by the Wine Institute and several other grower asso-ciations. Says Sass, who formerly made wine for Justin Vineyards before joining Halter Ranch six years ago, “I’ve worked with a lot of vineyards in Paso Robles, but there’s something about a healthier vine-yard when you walk through them. The ground is not rock hard, there’s more energy in the soil, air and plants. You can feel the difference.”

Adds Sass, “It starts with the basic premise that healthy vines produce better grapes, leading to wines with a stronger sense of place. Even before I joined Halter Ranch, it was producing tons of its own compost and had completely eliminated chemicals like preemergents (herbicides) that can get into the ground and hinder build-up of micro-organisms that help create biomass. All the things we do—dry farming, establishing gardens of native species, planting vines around oak trees which serve as habitats for raptors and other birds, moving armies of chickens around in a mobile coop to help with pest control, even moving away from so-called soft herbicides like glyphosate [aka Roundup] by going to under-vine Clemens tillers—all these things help us meet the goals ingrained in Mr. Wyss’s basic philosophy of leaving properties in better shape than how we found them.”

Halter Ranch 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Adelaida District–Paso Robles 13% Malbec, 9% Petit Verdot

Possessing all the qualities that have distinguished the best Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignons in recent years: lavish concentration of floral, cassis-like fruit and velvety, musclebound finesse, finishing in a blaze of soy-glazed, roasted/charred meatiness.

Halter Ranch 2013 Syrah, Adelaida District–Paso Robles5% Viognier

Extravagant, floral violet/raspberry perfume; tightly wound, full, layered feel; the flowery fruit lit up by palate-ringing natural acidity and filled out by moderately grippy tannin.

How Sustainability Correlates with QualityWhen you see a SIP Certified/Sustainability in Practice seal on a bottle, it is indeed a re-assurance that grapes going into the wine have been certified to meet a full range of meaningful stan-dards, including:

Social Responsibility: Employees offered competitive wages, benefits and training.

Water Conservation: Soils, plants, weather monitored regularly; vines irri-gated as needed.

Clean Water: Grasses are grown to reduce erosion and filter storm runoff.

Safe Pest Management: Introduction of beneficial insects, raptors and cover crops adding organic matter to soil, leading to healthy vines.

Energy Efficiency: Tractor use minimized to reduce carbon footprint, and use of alternative fuels and energy sources such as solar and wind.

Habitat: Establishment of wildlife cor-ridors giving animals access to traditional watering holes and food, and land usage contributing biodiversity.

Third Party Audit: Third party verifica-tion of SIP standards through documen-tation and on-site inspections.

Improvement: Annual updates and peer reviews to incorporate latest science, technology and research.

PH

OTO

CO

UR

TESY

OF A

NC

IEN

T PE

AK

S

PH

OTO

: RA

ND

Y C

APA

RO

SO

A sign in the Santa Lucia Highlands denotes a SIP Certified vineyard.

CERTIFIEDv v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v

Winemaker Kevin Sass in a head-trained Grenache block at Halter Ranch

PH

OTO

: RA

ND

Y C

APA

RO

SO

Somm Journal Aug/Sept_102-148.indd 105 7/27/16 2:46 PM

Page 3: SIP · 2016-08-17 · “SIP doesn’t let us take anything for granted. I’m a big SIP guy because our values fall right in line with theirs. We don’t cut corners because Bien

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v

106 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016

According to Mike Sinor, Director of Winemaking at Ancient Peaks in Paso Robles, “Unquestionably, sustainable grape growing results in grapes that are not just more expressive in fruit charac-ter, but also with stronger sense of place, or typicity. For Ancient Peaks, this means we can compete by offering wines with their own unique structure and flavor—differences our customers can grasp and appreciate. It’s no secret—more vivid wine equals increased sales. That’s the entire purpose of sustainability—to make a long lasting impact on your environ-ment and quality of your product, to the

benefit of your employees and long term success of your business.”

Another Paso Robles winemaker, Kevin Sass of Halter Ranch, explains the “people” element of SIP Certified in these terms: “You can’t over-emphasize the social equity aspect of SIP. We have ten tractor drivers who get paid vacations and benefits like 401(k)s, the same way as admin and wine-making staff. For seasonal workers, we offer quality housing, car pools, etc. SIP awards points and bonus points for all of this, and in the long run we benefit from the skill level. As much as the grapes in the field, or how we conserve power through sky-

The SIP Certified seal on a Halter Ranch Syrah bottle.

PH

OTO

: RA

ND

Y C

APA

RO

SO

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v vBien Nacido VineyardsAlong the eastern slopes of Santa Maria Valley, where Santa Barbara County winegrowing first began in the mid-1960s, Bien Nacido’s Vineyard Manager Chris Hammell put down his guitar long enough to talk about SIP Certified’s impact on this iconic vineyard: “You can be Romanée-Conti, and be blessed with the perfect vintage, but you’d still fail if you’re missing the right people—they’re the ones who make sure your vineyard is not inundated with mildew, oidium, botrytis, etc. You need people to make the right decisions about when and how to prune, drop fruit, pull leaves, cultivate healthy soil necessary for quality grapes. One of the unique things about SIP is the way it’s written, where people are just as important as the other two major concerns: planet and profitability.

“That’s why Bien Nacido was committed to sustainable practices even before I got here 15 years ago. In the beginning there were guidelines with fewer specifics, but SIP has helped establish best operating procedures down to every last detail—little things that I might often miss, because there’s always so much to think about. You can ask yourself the basic question: If we go through all this trouble, stop looking for easy ways out with pesticides or herbicides, does this actually make better wines? But if you want to be SIP Certified, the question is moot. Shortcuts are never an option—and there’s value in that kind of discipline.”

Nicholas Miller, fifth-generation owner of Bien Nacido and nearby Solomon Hills Vineyards, adds, “Our family has always strived to make sustainable decisions for future generations. SIP has become a tangible vehicle for us to communicate that—particularly to our winery/clients, nearly 70 of them buying from the 160 planted acres in our two estates.”

“Great wines and winemakers have always been associated with Bien Nacido,” says Hammell. “SIP doesn’t let us take anything for granted. I’m a big SIP guy because our values fall right in line with theirs. We don’t cut corners because Bien Nacido is not known for that. But it’s also a matter of fundamental values—because we know that things like employing harsh fertilizers, which sterilize the

soil and leach into the water that our kids and neighbors drink, are never a good thing. Damn right, SIP is important!”

Bien Nacido Vineyards 2013 Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley

Crafted from Bien Nacido’s oldest, own-rooted plantings (Wente Clone 04, planted in 1973); citrus flower and lemon drop nose with the thinnest veil of creamy oak; sleek, silky, elongated, snappy-edged medium body, finishing

with mineral and citrus sensations.

Bien Nacido Vineyards 2013 Pinot Noir, Santa Maria ValleyPlummy, raspberry perfume with an herbal core, deepened by

sweet-spiced French oak; proportionate, medium weight, bright-ened by fresh, natural tasting acidity.

Vineyard Manager Chris Hammell at Bien Nacido Vineyards.

PH

OTO

: RA

ND

Y C

APA

RO

SO

Somm Journal Aug/Sept_102-148.indd 106 7/27/16 2:46 PM

Page 4: SIP · 2016-08-17 · “SIP doesn’t let us take anything for granted. I’m a big SIP guy because our values fall right in line with theirs. We don’t cut corners because Bien

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v

{ SOMMjournal.com }  107

lights or night cooling units, this contributes directly to wine quality and sales.”

SIP Sense and SensibilityProgram Manager Beth Vukmanic Lopez started with SIP Certified in 2009, one year after the introduction of SIP’s pilot program. She tells us, “The foundation of the organi-zation goes back to 1994 with the forma-tion of the Vineyard Team, a 501c3 non-profit umbrella group of farmers who were interested in learning more about farming sustainably. The group completed their first self-assessment book, based upon a 1,000-point system, which proved very popular.”

Adds Vukmanic Lopez, “SIP was designed to set a higher bar of sustain-ability. There is a list of prohibited, do-not-use materials, of high-risk pesticides and herbicides, but we find that SIP managers are even more motivated by the idea that this is the right thing to do, despite the time and effort it takes to fill out a 100-page check-list, subject to inspection. For instance, tracking water usage or check-ing well pump efficiency is simply good business practice. Pro-active mildew and disease management results in healthy grapes of higher quality, which earn you points and maybe higher grape prices,

and most likely better wines. Newer, more efficient approaches to controlling weeds or retaining labor are all part of sustain-ing the profitability of a company and its employees. Conserving native landscapes for wildlife can be essential to pest con-trol while contributing to relations with surrounding communities—all the things necessary to sustain a wine grape grow-ing business in the longer term.

“The hallmark of SIP is how it goes beyond organic programs to include things like biodiversity, quality of life, and latest technology. And this year we are adding SIP Certified certification for winery facilities.”

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v vAncient Peaks Ancient Peaks co-owner Doug Filipponi and Director of Winemaking Mike Sinor shared the story of their 800-acre Margarita Vineyard, located in the southernmost and coolest pocket of Paso Robles (the Santa Margarita AVA), just 14 miles from the coast. The prop-erty, committed to biodiversity, actually totals 14,000 acres—well over 13,000 of the acreage set aside for cattle grazing, hay cropping and conservation of native flora and fauna.

Filipponi began by saying, “When my partners [the Rossi and Wittstrom families] and I bought this ranch in 1999, Robert Mondavi Winery was also bidding for it. And so instead, the Mondavis leased the land from us and planted grapes. We expected it to be a 35-year relationship, but it lasted only until 2004. Subsequently, we bought back the lease from Constellation Brands, and we have been farming and producing wine from it ever since.”

Adds Sinor, “From the beginning, the Mondavis planned the entire Margarita Vineyard for sustainability because they saw that this place—with its amazing range of raised ancient seabed, shale, granitic, rocky alluvium as well as volcanic soils—was special, and needed to be kept that way. There was to be no removal of living oak trees, no rerouting of waterways, no plowing up or reshaping of entire hills. There would be preservation of indigenous plants, and re-seeding of native grasses, to complement what row crops and owl boxes usually do, to harbor beneficial insects, birds and other wildlife.

“In the early 2000s, new thoughts on the usage or complete avoidance of soft chemistries were being tried out. In Margarita, vineyard blocks were designed around separations and setbacks from creeks, with four distinctive wildlife corridors so that natu-ral wildlife—lions, deer, bears, etc.—can continue on foot-paths unobstructed. Make no mistake, though, this approach to vineyard planning originated as part of the Mondavis’ overall quality initiative. The goal was to grow special wines. But the key part of it was sustainability, which has become a way of life throughout much of the Central Coast.”

Ancient Peaks 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Margarita Ranch–Paso Robles—Deep, dark purplish ruby; compact blackcur-rant/berry aroma with a dollop of black cherry, tinged with star anise-like Asian spice and chalky mineral notes; medium-full, velvety and fluid with rounded tannin; the dense fruit fleshed out with a chalky

mineral feel, and a shake of bitter chocolate/cocoa power.

Ancient Peaks 2013 Oyster Ridge, Santa Margarita Ranch–Paso Robles75% Cabernet Sauvignon/15% Syrah/5% Petite Sirah/5% Malbec

From the Margarita Vineyard’s section of uplifted ancient seabed—a highly calcareous, visibly white oyster shell outcropping—yielding a vivid, concentrated multi-faceted profile (raspberry, blueberry, violet, mineral), defty sculpted into svelte, layered, thick and seamlessly knit sensations on the palate.

Ancient Peaks team: Owner Doug Filipponi, VP of Operations Amanda Wittstrom Higgins, Owner Karl Wittstrom, Director of Winemaking Mike Sinor and Owner Rob Rossi.

PH

OTO

CO

UR

TESY

OF A

NC

IEN

T PE

AK

S

Somm Journal Aug/Sept_102-148.indd 107 7/27/16 2:46 PM

Page 5: SIP · 2016-08-17 · “SIP doesn’t let us take anything for granted. I’m a big SIP guy because our values fall right in line with theirs. We don’t cut corners because Bien

108 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016

Chamisal Vineyards Chamisal Vineyards Winemaker Fintan du Fresne tells us frankly, “SIP practices do not sharpen specific sensory aspects of our wines, but we’re a little different from other Edna Valley estates in that we use only native yeast and native ML in our estate wines. That’s why it’s critical to farm the way we do, with no herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. It’s our terroir—the fact that Edna Valley has the longest and coolest growing season on the coast—as well as things like choice of rootstock and vine management that give our wines the intensity and brightness typifying Edna Valley, but SIP practices help us get there.”

Chamisal Assistant Winemaker Mike Callahan adds, “Sustainability has become integrated into our core values. It’s an ‘efficiency’ thing—don’t do unnecessary things, don’t use water you don’t have, turn off the lights when you leave a barrel room, recycle 100% of your waste-water. A lot of these things, you do because it’s the right thing.

“But while sustainable practices go hand in hand with a hands-off approach to viticulture and winemaking, it can also contribute to quality in an indirect way. By dropping the use of herbicides and going to a Clemens hoe-plow, for instance, we steadily build healthier organic material into the soil. As the result, the soil pH in certain blocks has steadily fallen, which translates to higher acid in the grapes. This enhances the hands-off approach in the winery—with more balanced grapes, it is easier to produce wine without having to adjust acid or add nutrients. You get healthier spontaneous fermentations and, in the end, wines closer to our style.

Chamisal 2013 Chamise Chardonnay, Edna ValleyNamed for chamise, the woody, sage-like wild chaparral

growing on the hillsides around the Chamisal estate. A densely textured yet admirably restrained style of the varietal that eschews the tropical fruitiness of typical California Chardonnay (including those of Edna Valley); instead, a nose of freshly risen dough filled with anglaise, a tangerine/citrus and sage-like

minerality; packed onto a moderate frame (13.5% alcohol) fashioned with a feel of silk, viscosity, and white meat of game bird.

Chamisal 2013 Morrito Pinot Noir, Edna Valley Single-vineyard bottling from the estate’s higher slope,

with shallow, rocky, calcareous Chamise Shaley Loam, making a huge impact on the wine—deep, dark, dense and plummy, yet velvety with brightly perfumed cran-berry/cherry fruit supported by moderate tannin and natural, freshening acidity.

Niven Family Estates In Edna Valley’s Niven Family Estates we boarded Vineyard Manager Scott William’s truck with proprietor John Niven to drive through the sloping blocks of their Paragon Vineyard. With a total of 1,700 acres to manage, they talked about how SIP Certified has enabled them to meet their dual objectives of farming responsibly and increasing grape and wine quality.

“Sustainability can be sexy,” says Niven, “especially in San Luis Obispo, which I would estimate to be at least 90% SIP Certified. What we like about SIP is that it is extremely progres-sive in lending itself to the latest tools helping us to become more sustainable.”

Some of the details proffered by Williams: “Over the past two years we have been ridding ourselves completely of soft herbicides like Roundup, which compromises soil quality. Hand-tilling is not the answer, since we don’t have the people for that. So now we make use of a small fleet of Clemens tractors to do mechanical tilling under the vines, which also contributes organic matter to the soil.

“Water is another big issue in San Luis Obispo. Use of Tule moni-tors [sensor devices installed atop trellises] to track evapotranspira-tion lets you physically measure water usage and needs of each vine in every block, giving you a more precise idea of when to irrigate, or when to stress. You conserve water, but by implementing stress you can also better control fruit sizing—higher skin-to-juice ratios, which directly effects flavor, phenolics, acidity, etc. The impact on quality is tremendous.”

“Another factor is choice of grapes,” says Niven. “We recently increased our plantings of Albariño to 50 acres, which seems tailor-made for SLO’s cool coastal climate.” Williams adds: “Albariño does not require a lot of manipulation. Its canopy and fruit seem to want to naturally grow in optimal balance—unlike Syrah and Grüner Veltliner, which require aggressive thinning, leafing, more hedging and passes. Neither does Albariño require as much water—by compari-son, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, in the same soil, consume twice as much water. If sustainability means having the right grape in the right place, Albariño is as sustainable as it gets.”

Tangent 2014 Sauvignon Blanc, Paragon Vineyard, Edna Valley

From 42-year-old heritage vines—a bracingly tart yet meaty, sleek, contemporary take on the varietal; pungent with citrus, mineral, honeyed melon and leafy pyrazine.

Tangent 2014 Albariño, Paragon Vineyard, Edna Valley

Steely-tart while bursting at the seams with lavish white peach, lychee, white pepper and palate scrubbing mineral, almost briny sensations.

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v

Niven Family Vineyard Manager Scott Williams.

Chamisal Vineyards Assistant Winemaker Mike Callahan with Chardonnay.

PH

OTO

CO

UR

TESY

OF N

IVE

N FA

MILY

ESTATE

S

PH

OTO

: RA

ND

Y C

APA

RO

SO

Somm Journal Aug/Sept_102-148.indd 108 7/27/16 2:46 PM

Page 6: SIP · 2016-08-17 · “SIP doesn’t let us take anything for granted. I’m a big SIP guy because our values fall right in line with theirs. We don’t cut corners because Bien

{ SOMMjournal.com }  109

Wrath Wines “How do I define sustainability?” asks Sabrine Rodems, Winemaker of Santa Lucia Highlands’ Wrath Wines. “Like the Prime Directive in Star Trek: Don’t mess with anything, but don’t lose track of it. SIP is different from organic programs in that its approach is holistic. We never make wine in a vacuum anyway—everything we do affects the outcome, especially in the vineyard. Steve McIntyre does our farming for us, and I agree with his approach of minimizing passes and not tilling at all. To do that, you might make use of organic herbicides or pyrethrins for pest control, but the ideal of Prime Directive is to not utilize any-thing that messes with the soil. The more you allow it to remain in its natural state, the more you allow grapes to express themselves naturally.”

McIntyre—who farms Wrath’s estate planting, San Saba Vineyard, while also widely respected for his own McIntyre Vineyard—elaborates on this less-is-more approach to sustainable farming: “Our non-till permanent cover crop system is an important component to our terroir, which I define as everything we can’t control. It provides a permanent home for our mycrorrhyzal fungi and beneficial bacteria, which facilitate the uptake of important minerals and micronutrients.” Speaking of how permanent cover cropping also helps to meet the challenge of Santa Lucia Highlands’ extreme winds, which frequently shut down vines half-way through sum-mer days, McIntyre adds, “Permanent covers also increases ambient air temperatures in the vine row during spring, which accelerates the growth of the vines early in the season.”

Rodem talks more about her Prime Directive: “We source from eight vineyards to produce 26 different wines. Six of those vineyards are SIP Certified because it makes sense in this environment. The goal of our winemaking is always to let the vineyards to the talking. I wouldn’t describe our approach as minimalist, but sustainability tends to take you there. The end-result is that our San Saba Pinot Noir tastes like a San Saba Pinot Noir—dark, structured, spicy. Whereas our Boekenoogen Vineyard Pinot Noir, coming from a less wind-stressed site a good 500 feet higher in elevation in shallower, rockier soil, has more of a floral, luscious, Popsicle-stick fruit, which is what we like about Boekenoogen.”

Wrath 2013 Pinot Noir, Boekenoogen Vineyard, Santa Lucia HighlandsPinots like this remind you why Santa Lucia Highlands wines are

such show-stoppers: “Opulence” is an appropriate word, and so is “explosion” of fruit falling on the dark side, while the feel on the palate is full, phenolic, yet balanced, fresh, vibrant with natural acidity.

Wrath 2013 Pinot Noir, San Saba Vineyard, MontereyAlso a lavish, voluminous style of dark berry and splash of black

cherry, toasty spice and sprigs of leafy greens; the multiple sensa-tions couched in a luxurious texture sharpened by heightened acidity, adding levity to the palate despite a voluminous (14.7% alcohol) feel.

Timbre/La FenêtreJoshua Klapper—a former sommelier who founded his La Fenêtre and Timbre brands with his partner Alex Katz eleven years ago—brings a very specific agenda to his winemak-ing: picking grapes at the lowest sugars possible to produce moderate alcohol wines with maximum food compatibility.

Standing in a block in Santa Maria Valley’s Presqu’ile Vineyard, Klapper told us, “It’s not so much a phi-losophy of lower alco-hol; it’s also because I really think wines like this tend to express more terroir. We first became interested in SIP Certified when we started work-ing with Hilliard Bruce Vineyard a few years ago. We’d also been working with Presq’ile as well as Bien Nacido, both SIP Certified, and it became apparent that there is a correlation between sustainably farmed vines and terroir-expressive fruit, and SIP has set the industry standard for that.

“So now, by focusing on SIP Certified vineyards, we feel we’re more likely to get the kind of wine we’re shooting for—lower alcohol, higher acid, food friendliness—at the lower sugars we want. In Bien Nacido, for instance, we find an Old World charm, some funk and even weirdness, with floral, spicy or herbaceous qualities, sometimes so nuanced that the uniqueness can be lost on a lot of Pinot Noir lovers.

“Then when we get into Santa Maria vineyards on the west side—Presqu’ile, Dierberg or Solomon Hills—we get slightly denser qualities, darker fruit, more weight, often deeper spice complexity. When you bring in fruit with those enhanced qualities, this allow you to do a little more whole cluster fer-mentation, which adds more power or grip to our style, which otherwise would have a tendency to be very understated.”

Timbre 2013 The Headliner Pinot Noir, Presqu’ile Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley

While a little fuller than the typical house style (13.9% alcohol), still fashioned with a svelte, fluid, finesseful

feel, notable crispness and moderate tannin perme-ated with mildly earthy, plummy/raspberry per-fumed fruit—subdued by apparent design—with herby/leafy underpinnings and a touch of boot leather coming out in the palate.

Timbre 2013 Lead Vocals Old Vines Pinot Noir, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley

Transparently pigmented, slender, feminine frame, with understated yet bright clarity of cherry/berry perfume tinged with faintly herby, sweet kitchen herb spices.

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v

Sabrine Rodems is Winemaker at Wrath Wines.

Joshua Klapper of TimbreWinery and La Fenêtre with Presqu’ile Vineyards Pinot Noir.

PH

OTO

CO

UR

TESY

OF W

RATH

WIN

ES

PH

OTO

: RA

ND

Y C

APA

RO

SO

Somm Journal Aug/Sept_102-148.indd 109 7/27/16 2:46 PM