Why Viognier

A friend/mentor in the wine industry recently asked me, “Why Viognier? Did you’re dad bust out a bottle of Condrieu and you just had to reproduce that? Who do you look to for inspiration? What’s your model for Viognier?” I quickly blurted out the first thing that came to my mind, almost on the defense, as if this series of questions was an attack. To be truthful, my response to this question really had no significance as to why Viognier has become something that I not only produce, but am passionate about solving.

When I say ‘solving’, I mean producing a wine that says to me, this is Viognier. This is true varietal character. How I have determined that varietal character never came from one wine in particular, rather a series of wines from several regions, produced by a handful of winemakers with different styles, that have yielded different variations.

To answer that series of questions more directly, I chose Viognier originally because I was intrigued with a handful of Viognier’s I had tried in the past. I began my quest in the Livermore Valley, where I produced wines that I felt lacked the natural acid in the variety to produce the lean, citrus and tropical flavors that I was seeking. I decided to source from the Arroyo Seco appellation because of its cool climate, and coastal pacific influence. I felt this was the appropriate region to achieve the Viognier flavors that I was after.

I felt the best way to achieve these flavors was to pick my Viognier with more focus on acid levels rather than sugar. Pick for flavors, not for sweetness. In an effort to produce Vioginer with an emphasis on varietal character, the wine was fermented in neutral barrel using several yeast strains in an effort to extract different flavors from the grape, thus creating a wine with layers and complexity. To hone in on true varietal expression, the wine was only in barrel for two months, though lees stirring continued in Stainless Steel for two more months in an effort to round off the bright, angular natural acid while maintaining crisp, refreshing citrus flavors. Combat the high malic levels with out introducing malo-lactic fermentation.

I started in search of the right climate for Viognier to thrive and produced bright natural acid. I created my own method; a combination of techniques used by several winemakers who produced wines with certain components that I wanted to achieve, but never quite the whole package.

My goal is to produce a Viognier that combines all of the positive components I have experienced in the varietal. In short, I am looking for aromatics of honeysuckles and nectarines. On the pallet, assorted stone and tropical fruits with bright citrus flavors and nice minerality complete this expression. Lean, mean and clean. The 2011 does not disappoint.

Our 2011 Viognier is being released on May 18^th at our “When in Rhone” event. We will also be releasing our 2010 Livermore Valley GSM we are calling ‘Awakening’, our 2010 Hayes Ranch Syrah, and our 2010 Casa De Vinas Petite Sirah. More information is available at our website.

More from 2011

With all of this negative press about the 2011 Harvest, the Livermore Valley has again reached the ripeness levels that the winemakers and growers set out for in the beginning of the year. Yields are certainly down for growers in LV, but quality, (at least as far as I can see) has been up there with some of the best vintages I have seen.

The varietals I was most concerned with (BDX varieties, especially Cab Sauv) have all reached not only the desired sugar levels, but the acid, pH and flavors are tremendous. Here is a recap of the Cabs we have brought in so far:

• Smith Ranch - 3.85 Tons Harvested on 10/31 - 24.8 Brix, 3.45 pH, .57 TA - Hard to believe the first lot of CS didn't come in until Halloween, but it was well worth the wait. The aromatics coming off of the ferments are intoxicating, not to mention tremendous color extraction. The ferment is winding down after a 3 day cold soak. Really looking forward to see how the wine turns out from this lot.

• Marina Ranch - 1.92 Tons Harvested on 11/3 - 25.3 Brix, 3.65 pH, 0.48 TA - Again, another first time Cab Ranch for NC. Last year we took Grenache from this Wente Farm, this year, Grenache, Syrah, and Cabernet. The Cab sits at the bottom entrance of the vineyard. I was on my way out to look at the Grenache the day before pick and stopped the car, hopped out and started tasting fruit. I made the call and was lucky enough to be able to scoop out two tons for my program. Aromatically, much brighter than the Smith, with a little more classic Livermore Valley cherry, raspberry tone to it. Again, 3 day cold soak prior to inoculating to maximize extraction.

• Clark Vineyard - 1.38 Tons Harvested on 11/3 - 26.2 Brix, 3.50 pH, 0.44 TA - Another first time vineyard at NC. I really wanted to experiment this year with different grow sites. Really happy we did, especially thrilled that these new comers are exhibiting the flavors and aromatics that we are looking for. This is a co-ferment of clones 337, 4 and 191 from Clark Vineyard on the east side of the LV. Tremendous aromatics. Dark juice overwhelms the cap during punch downs and the bins are blowing off classic Cabernet Aromatics.

• Wisner Vineyard - 3.95 Tons Harvested on 11/3 - 25.8 Brix, 3.67, 0.58 TA - Wisner is one of two vineyards that have remained constant in our program since we moved to Vasco and opened NC. Every vintage this vineyard delivers. This is currently fermenting in one of our two new tanks. Because I have total control of temperature and it is in an enclosed environment, I was really able to push the limits on the cold soak. Five days after stemming we inoculated. I have yet to see this color in juice before adding yeast. Hard to say exactly what the flavors and aromatics are shaping up to be, but everything is positive. I am looking to this lot to pull its weight. My goal with it is exactly what body builders are thinking when they work out. "Just think big!" I am looking for a massive Cab to set the tone for the rest of the program. We are certainly on the right track.

• Still hanging - Ghiellmetti Clone 6, Casa De Vinas Clone 337 - My final two lots of Cabernet are coming in today and tomorrow. Again, ripeness is at its optimal state with great flavors in the fruit from both vineyards.

One word can describe how I feel about CS from 2011 - Stoked! Two weeks ago when we were sitting here waiting I was not so optimistic. At this point I would rank 2011 BDX varietals vintage up there with 2009, although is tough to be certain until we see how the wines mature. Look for updates on this vintage in weeks to come.

Its Been A While!

The lapse between posts is not because of lack of things to write about, but just too much going on to get it down on paper. Harvest is in full swing at the winery, bins line the floor at the winery, our barrel ferments are all complete, some going through Malo and lees stirring, others just aging. So far this harvest has been slow, but what we have in already really has me excited. Especially the white program.

This year we decided to branch out and produce Chardonnay and Viognier from the Arroyo Seco, Monterey appellation with an intention to find fruit with brighter acidity and some other cool climate flavors than we have been seeing with our Livermore wines. The result was better than we expected. The Viognier is showing a tremendously bright fruit base with loads of tropical fruit nuances. With a few months of lees stirring this wine should be bottle ready as soon as January. I am certainly seeing more potential in this Viognier than any other I have produced in the past.

The Chardonnay from Arroyo Seco is showing excellent as well. Aging primarily in neutral barrel, with a few new and once filled barrels, the flavors are awesome. We also produced a more buttery toasty style Chardonnay that we use more new oak and aim for a more California style. This year we sourced our Chardonnay from the Fraiser-Howard Vineyard on Buena Vista. This vineyard is making its debut in our program and flavors are great.

I finally feel like we have a grip on our white wine program. What we want to produce, how we want to produce it. As a general rule wines from Arroyo Seco will be more fruit driven, less new oak (if any). Our Livermore Valley Chardonnay, which feature predominantly new oak and a longer aging regimen, will essentially take the place of our current "Reserve" Chardonnay.

Check back soon for a more extensive harvest update with information about our Red Wines!

Fruit On the Ground

As exciting as it is to see clusters on the vine taking shape, giving me a glimpse of what this vintage has in store, it is even more exciting seeing how much fruit is sitting on the ground underneath those vines. If you are trying to find out who is farming purely for quality vs. the growers that are in it to maximize their yield just look on the ground underneath the vines.

Last night my good friend Julio Covarrubias, owner and vineyard Manager at Casa De Vinas was asked to speak at the First Annual "Petite Sirah Stars" event in the Livermore Valley. Who better to speak at this event than Julio, whose passion for growing premium Petite Sirah is no secret if you have spent more than 5 minutes talking to him.

Julio's integrity in the vineyard is unmatched, and his passion for seeing PS shine in Livemore is what inspired him to plant 1/2 of his 20 acre vineyard to it.

I was lucky enough to meet this man in 2009, right before we moved the winery to Livermore. I knew from the moment I set foot in the vineyard that this was something special. We took four tons in 2009, what we thought was maybe a little too much but figured we could blend off whatever we didn't want to bottle so we stuck with it. A little too much, we couldn't have been more wrong.

In 2010 we doubled our Petite order before the wine was in the bottle. I was confident the wine would be a hit having tasted many in the Valley and the rest of the wine world. This year NC is looking at producing 16 tons of Petite, about 1000 cases, all from Julio's vineyard.

The reason I work exclusively with Julio on Petite is simple, he has the best Petite Sirah in Livermore. There are other growers in Livermore who take their craft seriously and are pumping out some awesome fruit, but comparing these growers is like comparing a Chevy to a Ferrari. Yes, they both drive, but one is a little more exciting than the other.

The main reason why Julio's fruit performs so well is the amount of berries that never make it to the winery. The vineyard is farmed at a few different levels. At the production level, the rows situated on the furthest west end of the vineyard, about 50% of the fruit that vine produces are left on the ground. In the 5-Star lot, the highest level of farming at his vineyard, nearly 70-75% of the fruit ends up on the ground. Amazing. The clusters that stay on the vine produce tremendous concentrated black fruit characteristics that I have yet to find anywhere else.
The fruit is dropped in several passes throughout the growing season. The first pass, which took place yesterday, is all about opening up the canopy and making sure no cluster are tangled. Just after Véraison his crew goes by again for a second pass to remove anything that isn't 70% through. This assures that all the fruit that we take in will ripen properly and not produce an acid burn in the mid-palate and back end of the wine; the major gripe I have with some Petite's I have tasted.

On top of growing what I argue is the best Petite available ANYWHERE, the man is just awesome. Humble, respectful, honest and fair. He has really mentored me in the vineyard, and in life in general. I never thought one of my best friends would be a guy that is my dad's age. Julio has a way of putting a positive spin on just about anything. Just like his vineyard he is full of life and passion.

The pictures above were taken this morning. On the top right, you can see how much fruit is dropped on the first pass. All of these clusters came from a single vine above them. Below you can see a perfectly executed Vertial Shoot Position (VSP) canopy forming with all of the clusters free from each other.

What a Year

It feels pretty amazing looking back at what has happened so far this year. For the winery, for myself, my family and loved ones. What a ride its been! Just ask my dad, it seems like the only thing that breaks up the arguing back and forth is something great, a gold medal, a news article, a score on wine, or a tremendous compliment from someone we haven't seen in years. Yes, my father and I can bicker band and forth a little, but at the end of the day we manage to keep it cool when it matters. (At least we make it seem that way when you guys are in the tasting room, right?)

Wine competitions have been great for us this year. We swept every major competition we entered this year, and would have potentially medaled all of our wines at Best of the Bay had we remembered to actually drop the Viognier off that we entered. Accolades keep stacking, but there will always be a moment I will never forget from this year.

Before the night at Taste of Terroir at the Palm Event Center had come to an end I was already strategizing with a fellow industry member about what I can do next year. I had written this year off. We weren't going to win. Not a chance in hell. I thought the Malbec we were pouring wasn't showing well that night, and I was surrounded by some pretty fierce competition. "We should have poured the Reserve Petite and put a little more thought into our pairing," I was saying. I was already looking at next year. "Next year our Casa De Vinas Vineyard Designate Cabernet, or the Petite, or a blend that we put together. Why did we choose the $&#^ing Malbec?!?!"

This conversation was taking place as the awards were being given out. I will never forget when Courtney Cochran, certified Sommelier took the stage and started her speech. "Ok, lets get this over with," I was thinking. After speaking highly of the event, its participants, the food, the wine, she finally started hinting towards the potential winner, saying something to the effect that this pairing, although simple in nature, made both the wine and the food taste better together. "Nottingham Cellars and The Hideaway Lounge..." I don't even know what was said after that. I was truly blown away. I took the podium, tried to address the crowd but all that came out was a series of unrelated words. When I knew I couldn't possibly calm my nerves enough to speak like a real person, I just blurted out a huge "CHEERS!" to the audience, they got the point.

Winning this award was a little different than any other accolade I have received. It is more like winning a grammy, because at regular wine competitions there is no ceremony. There aren't people who bought tickets to come and enjoy. Wine competitions are purely industry people in a small room flying through flight after flight of wine giving scores and then sending the wineries an email with there awards, a couple weeks later some medals come in the mail. This was the most personal feeling of accomplishment in the Wine Industry since we got started, because we felt like we were a part of the event. It also really hit home for us because it was so close to home

Thanks to everyone who came and showed support, thanks to the judges, Courtney, Sara, and my dear friend Laura. A special thank you to my dad, Jeff. Even though we don't always agree we always get it done.

2011 NC Harvest Forecast

I can't tell you how excited I am for our third Harvest in the beautiful Livermore Valley (sixth harvest since the launch of Satyrs' Pond in Burlingame, and my personal 5th). Our first Livermore Valley wines came in 2007 when our former Winemaker and my mentor decided to produce some Del Arroyo Vineyard wines for the program. At the time we had no idea these wines would launch or Nottingham Cellars program and LV would become our focus.

Here we are today, three harvests later in our warehouse on Vasco producing wines that we feel (and a lot of you do, too) are amongst the best produced in our region. As I have told many of you, my personal quest is to find the best fruit sources and work with dedicated growers to help us craft the wines in our program. With a couple new vineyards partners and some clever ideas with existing growers, 2011 really feels like something special.

A few things to look for down the road -

What We Already Knew - As with the previous vintage, Casa De Vinas Cabernet Sauvignon will make up about 75% of our Cabernet Production (about 40% of our total production) to establish the base of both our entry level and Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon's as well as Supremacy, Ralphi's Red Blend, and of course our Vineyard Designate Cabernet Series.

What We Can't Wait to Try - We are pleased to announce that we will be producing Smith Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. Smith Ranch is located at the corner of Arroyo Rd and Wetmore at the main entrance to the Wente golf course. The Clone 8 Cabernet Sauvignon we selected is from block 31420 situated at the top of the bench. Smith Ranch has been on my radar for the last two vintages and I look forward to working with this reputable fruit source.

MoRhone - Riding on the heals of a very successful 2010 harvest, especially with Rhone Varietals, my production plan is including double the tonnage of Marina Ranch Grenache (In my mind the most interesting wine I have created since I started) and Hayes Ranch Syrah. Both turned out to be fantastic wines with tons of flavor and true varietal character (The Syrah is a BEAST). We will also be working with Michael Princevalle's Mourvedre from the vineyard situated at the Ravenswood Historic Site. Look for Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre stand-alones, as well as a burly GSM blend from the '11 vintage.

The Outside World - If you can't beat em, join em! Just kidding, but seriously. I have decided to further our Chardonnay production and step outside of Livermore. I will continue to produce Livermore Valley Chardonnay (this year from Wisner Vineyard, which I am very excited about) but I will also be producing Chardonnay from the Wente-Made-Famous Riva Ranch in Arroyo Seco, Monterey County. The fruit is fantastic, Clone 2A Chardonnay (the Godfather of all California Chard clones) that should provide tremendous floral and tropical fruit flavors. It is exciting to work with passionate growers like the Wente Family who pioneered both Chardonnay as a varietal, and the Arroyo Seco appellation.

As Always - All lots of fruit that we bring in are broken down into Micro-lots with the intention of creating a very diverse group of blending components with tremendous complexities. This is achieved through several means including various press times, yeast trials, barrel program trials, lees stirring, the list goes on. My philosophy is to create several different blending components to create a very complex final blend. That goes with every lot of fruit that comes through our back door.

I hope that you are all as excited for this harvest as I am. Cheers to good wine, good family and friends, and health.

SALUTE!

Building A Brand You Can Trust

Question of the year - How do small business' create a market share that will allow them to stay in business? Its by building a brand that people can trust. That can be tough for any company in any market, damn near impossible for a winery whose production does not exceed the amount of gallons that most large wineries lose in waste annually.

Step one for "Brand X" - our start up company for the sake of this post - is to understand the product they are producing and who their target market is. Then you cater a very structured and efficient marketing plan to reach that audience - but be careful! If you spend a million dollars a year in marketing efforts to sell a half a million dollars of inventory then you might as well just send me a check for a half a million bucks and I will produce all the wine you can personally drink! (If your sending Checks, my name is spelled with two 'L's'...)

So Brand X hits the ground running with a perfectly orchestrated marketing plan. All of a sudden people know who you are, awareness is rising and a reputation begins to unfold about your business. Should be a great thing, right? Not for Brand X, turns out the product is terrible!

That is why every harvest, every bottling, every racking and S02 addition is so important, especially for a small winery who is trying to survive on quality, not quantity. This is why I am out looking for the best fruit sources, using the best barrels and spending countless hours doing my due diligence to create wines that you will enjoy. If I didn't I would just end up being another Brand X winemaker who is looking for a job next year. The fact that these wines have been so well received and scored well by judges and critics alike is simply a by-product for the countless hours in the cellar and vineyards.

I take pride in knowing that I control my own destiny. It is absolutely the most rewarding thing to know that people really love these wines, and that is why I am continuing to strive to outdo myself every vintage. Because with all of the things I can control to build this brand that you can trust, there is one component to the winning formula that I can't control; time.

It takes time (and in my case, several awards/accolades) for a brand to really be trustworthy. I can assure you that the list of accolades this young winery took this year is just the beginning. It takes a couple solid vintages to give the impression of consistency. If I completely tank next years Cabernet Sauvignon (don't worry, I didn't... yet!) it could be a tremendous blow to our reputation that we are building. Consistency vintage after vintage is the most important thing, whether you are a small producer like myself or Steven Kent, McGrail Vineyards, etc, or a large producer like Wente or someone in between like Ruby Hill. (BTW - all of those brands do a fantastic job of producing consistently good wines every vintage and that's why they are succeeding.)

I am doing all I can to build a brand that you will all trust. I mentioned accolades earlier. In three major competitions this year (SF Chronicle Wine Comp, Finger Lakes Intl. Wine Comp, and San Francisco Intl. Wine Comp) Nottingham Cellars wines have taken home medals on 100% of the wines entered for a total of 18 awards - 6 for 6 at the Chronicle, 8 for 8 at Finger Lakes, and 4 for 4 and SF Intl. These awards include 2 double gold medals, 5 gold medals and 6 silver medals. The best part is the range of price points. $18 - $46 and everything in between, so with out a doubt there will be a wine that you like that you can afford. Whats not to trust about that?

So, to recap - How do you build a brand the people will trust? A sound marketing plan, excellent customer service and a solid sales team are all a good start. But at the end of the day it comes down to the quality of the product your selling. Cheers to those Wineries that put quality first, and to everyone else taking shortcuts, its 2011 and its almost over. Step your game up!