FALL 2008
Current focus.
In the spectrum of California wine styles, I like to think ours have
always emphasize balance. The few over-the-top monsters we have made
turned into big commercial successes, but they didn't represent our
aim. The idea has always been to capture the exuberance of fully ripe
California fruit and express it with a European sensibility (i.e.
making wine that is delicious with food). I don't pretend to have
fully achieved that objective, because I see winemaking as a craft,
a quest that doesn't end. Complete satisfaction with the job would
be tantamount to giving up the struggle.
When I started making wine 25 years ago we picked our grapes a little
less ripe; however, we found the flavors of the wines to be a bit
too green and vegetal. So we opted for more ripeness and thought the
wines were better for it. The down side was they were a tad deficient
in acidity and a bit high in alcohol-they seemed clunky. And although
these wines have aged well, and with time in the bottle have come
into better balance, I felt there was still room for improvement.
Since then great strides in California viticulture have changed the
character of the fruit we work with. First, the introduction of drip
irrigation allowed more accurate control of vine growth. And second,
vertical trellising of the vines allowed for even sun exposure to
the clusters. That coupled with our penchant for thinning the crop
for lower yields has produced more evenly ripe fruit. So now we are
picking a little less ripe again and are really excited with the results.
The wines are more fragrant, alive and fresh-and so intriguing they
beckon you to take another sip. Other winemakers, in pursuit of what
they call phenolic ripeness, are picking not grapes but raisins-and
making wines that may have a concentrated texture, yet I find tiring
to drink.
My interest in viticulture has not slackened since all these improvements
have been made. Now the Holy Grail is organic and biodynamic farming
(a self-sufficient, spiritual farming method), whose success requires
the grower to pay even more attention to the vineyard. With chemical
farming you can more easily ignore the condition of the vine and when
disaster is about to strike, simply nuke the problem away. When farming
naturally you must better anticipate problems and carefully encourage
the vine towards success. And of course, we should avoid using neurotoxins
on the things we eat and drink. They're not good for us, and not good
for the people who apply them.
In wine we talk about the subtle differences that distinguish the
ordinary from the extraordinary, and I believe organic farming is
the best way to bring out the intriguing nuances of a vineyard. So,
we are pushing our growers toward organic farming. We have begun buying
biodynamically grown fruit from Presidio Vineyard, and are working
with two of our other growers to get them to go completely organic.
Our other vineyard sources are sustainably grown, which means only
the safest conventional methods and sprays are used- and with California's
benign climate this not difficult. .
.
Adam Tolmach