GrapeSeed

Connect Directly to a Collective of Critically Acclaimed Winemakers

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My Journey on the Wine Road

I first became interested in wine having been exposed to it by family and friends.  On the Italian side of my family, wine was a staple at the dinner table. Carlo Rossi Paisano or CR Cellars Fortissimo were always present at my grandparents’ and relatives’ houses in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I spent time in France while in high school and college: Not a bad place to cut one’s teeth. Well before I turned 21, I had developed a taste for Loire Valley Muscadet, Vouvray and Chinon, as well as first growth Bordeaux. I was fortunate enough to linger over many amazing meals with families that appreciated fine wine. 

In the early days after college in Michigan, it was certainly very easy to find good, imported wines. California was harder to come by. I continued my wine education working as a server in a fine-dining restaurant that specialized in Italian-inspired cuisine. Many great Chiantis, Barolos and Barbarescos were on the wine list. This era was also the very beginning of imports from Sancerre to the US. I recall first discovering them on the list in the wine bar at the Earle in Ann Arbor, MI. After college, I traveled (among other places) to wine-producing countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Austria, Italy and Portugal. I lived and worked in France and Spain for two years. My wine tastes were very Eurocentric.

It was after Europe, while working in Chicago, that I started to discover Californian wines. I quickly became enamored with wines from Sonoma County and a new (to me) red variety: Zinfandel.  I loved the intense fruit and full-bodied character in the Zins of the late 80s and early 90s.  In 1995 I moved from Chicago to San Francisco and this Michigan boy, raised on lots of imports, got to dive deep into California wine. Sonoma County remained a favorite destination. I grooved on the rural, rustic vibe and fell in love with small-town favorites like the Sausal Zinfandels and the Foppiano Petite Sirah (wow!). Obviously, I also had a healthy appreciation for California Cabs.

I think I might have never looked too much further until my first job at a California winery introduced me to Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir became the focus of my passion for several years, and I completed my first foreign harvest in Burgundy.  There I immersed myself in the many different expressions of this grape from different terroirs.  I still am enamored of Pinot, but I have also found my calling back in California Cabernet.  This grape, too, can express the terroir of different sites.  

In my winemaking career, I have had the distinct pleasure of working with grapes from some of the greatest Cabernet vineyards in California, in both Napa and Sonoma. Cabernet is exciting. It has wonderful fruit expression, phenomenal complexity and to make things challenging, tannins that have to be nurtured and sculpted.  Cabernet can be a monster.  Grown in the wrong places, it will never mature properly.  Over-cropped, it will yield simple, uninteresting, characterless wines.  But from the right site, and properly managed, it will provide a wine of stunning elegance and complexity.  One that will pair with the best meats and complex dishes.  I will always be captivated by a great Cabernet.

With my new project, Sassoferrato, I am excited to bring my passion for Italian wines into the California Cab context. I can’t wait to see how the Super Tuscan-style red I have aging will turn out in a couple of years. Here’s to the future of my journey down the wine road. Cheers!

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Bud break

We’ve been enjoying some really incredible weather here in Sonoma County, California. With all the talk about el niño, we weren’t expecting to see the sun at all this winter. The beautiful days we’ve seen recently make you remember that we do, in fact, live in the greatest place on earth.  I’m sure I’ll get comments with votes for other far-flung locales, but after a week like this last one, I’ve got to show some Sonoma County pride!

 So what does weather like this do to the grapevines, I am often asked. Grapevines, like many other plants, are triggered into action by a combination of things.  One of those is the average daily temperature.  When harvest is over and the weather turns cold, they lose all their leaves and translocate all the carbohydrate stores in the extremities back into the trunk for winter hibernation.  We call this dormancy.

 So long as the ground stays cold, usually below 50 degrees, the vines stay dormant.  For this reason, despite some really warm days back in early February, the vines have remained in dormancy (for the most part) until now. Sonoma County has enjoyed temperatures in the mid-seventies for the past 10 days, and growers in the Russian River Valley reported the first signs of bud break in Chardonnay on February 18th. The Ground is warming and KAPOW!, Spring has sprung.

I have always enjoyed this time of year. Many of the fruit trees have bloomed already, blanketing the landscape with pink and white flowers. We certainly knew that the grapevine buds were itching to get into the action. For grape growers, bud break starting in late February is well within the realm of “normal”. To be sure, only the early season varieties, like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, have started to emerge. Most vines are still asleep, but with more warm days ahead, this will change.

Grape growers are grateful that the temperature remained cold for as long as it had. This kept the new buds from emerging from their hard, protective scales; a very important physiological attribute that protects the fragile new plant tissue from frost damage. Once the buds burst from this protective shell and start to elongate, they are very susceptible to frost.  Sustained temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit will cause the water in the tissues to freeze.  When water freezes, it expands.  This destroys the plant cells and the new shoots are doomed.  

 There will be, no doubt, a few weeks of nervous nights and possible night frost-alarm calls for the vineyard managers and their crews.  As a rule, we say a grape grower needs to protect his crop until tax day.  Some years, the threat of frost remains until late May.  

 Enjoy the clear skies and warm days ahead. Certainly, we’ll take some more rain too, if that’s in the cards. Here’s to a fantastic start to Vintage 2016!

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International Winemaker Nick Goldschmidt

Nick Goldschmidt has been a leader in the international wine industry for almost thirty-years. His experience spans the globe, including California, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Portugal. He continues to follow the harvests, making wine around the world.

“The approach I've developed over years of making wine all over the world, a narrowing down of my preferences to some basics: I like to make 100% varietal wines from 100% single vineyards; I prefer east-facing sites for the steadiness of the morning sun; I like the water-holding capacity of glacial soils; and I like to know something about the culture of a vineyard and its region-not just who planted it and when, but who made wine from it and what they learned.”

A renaissance winemaker, Nick has spent decades globetrotting, chasing the harvest and making phenomenal wines on several continents. His winemaking career began in his homeland of New Zealand where he attended Canterbury University and Lincoln College earning a BSC and a Diploma in Horticulture with Honors. Nick then studied Viticulture and Oenology in Australia. In 1989 he decided to start making wine in California, Chile and France, exploring different winemaking techniques and viticulture practices.

While waiting for the harvest in Bordeaux, Nick launched his California winemaking career as the assistant winemaker at Simi Winery in Healdsburg; within the year he was named Winemaker. In 1995 Nick was named winemaker of the year. While at Simi, Nick became the Vice President and Chief Winemaker and then Senior VP. In 1999 wine giant Constellation purchased Simi and named Nick Winemaker, GM and VP of Constellation Wines. Nick was later named Executive Vice President and Winemaker at Allied Domecq Wines USA, followed by Vice President and Executive Domestic Winemaker for Beam Estates wine portfolio.

Today Nick and his wife produce their own Goldschmidt Vineyard wines, and Nick is a highly sought-after domestic and international winemaking consultant.

Nick is excited to craft Elementary for GrapeSeed: 

"Some of my favorite vineyards are so small that it can be hard to get the wines out there to people - and the wines are very good. With GrapeSeed, I can focus on single vineyards in ideal spots no matter how limited the production"

More than 100 of Nick Goldschmidt’s wines have received 90 points or higher from Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast or Robert Parker. At least 20 of Nick Goldschmidt’s wines have been included in the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of the Year.

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Another Winery Gobbled Up

Here is a short and sweet post, inspired by the news today that another family owned winery has sold to a large wine company.

B.R. Cohn Winery founder Bruce Cohn announced today that his popular namesake winery in the heart of Sonoma Valley in Glen Ellen has been sold to Vintage Wine Estates.  Vintage Wine owns an eclectic range of 19 brands and/or wineries, from Cosentino and Clos Pegase in Napa to the decidedly offbeat and commercial Middle Sister wines, a mainstay at stores like Target.

What caught my eye was this quote from Cohn in the press release:

“Like a number of folks in the Valley who have sold in recent years, it looks like we are at the end of the era of family owned wineries. It is becoming increasingly difficult to compete and grow family-run businesses in this new environment where bigger entities with more resources are taking over.”

Yes… since I have already covered this ground in a previous post I will only remind those who care about small production artisan winemakers that they need your support.  No matter the stated intentions of these bigger wine entities, the profit motive and need to deliver ROI starts to inexorably pull on the edges of these brands.  Pursuit of synergies leads to uniform ways of doing things, centralized functions and group think. 

If you want to preserve and support artisan winemakers and small production wines, support companies like GrapeSeed and the type of producers we work with.

Dave Trebilcock      GrapeSeed Founder

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Mt. Veeder Cabernet

Here at GrapeSeed, there are many wines we get excited about -- and then there are some we get super excited about. Permanence Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon is one of those wines.

Any winemaker will tell you that great wine starts with great vineyards.

Mount Veeder forms the southwest corner of Napa Valley within the Mayacamas Range, dividing Napa from Sonoma County. It is a small appellation, which was made official in 1993 and represents a little over 1% of Napa Valley production. Its vineyards are truly mountainous. From its base near sea level, some vineyards on Mount Veeder reach elevations in excess of 2,000 feet. Mt. Veeder relishes in cooler days and warmer nights than other Napa Valley appellations.

Grapes grown at this altitude tend to be small with high skin to juice ratio, which delivers wines of stunning concentration. Classic descriptors for the region include blackberry and black-cherry, with tobacco flavors. Black fruit and herbal aromatics dominate, with firm tannins that are fine textured.

Mt. Veeder wines are hallmark wines, structured to cellar or decant.

Ed Sbragia built his career at Beringer making world renowned Cabernet Sauvignon. Ed created the Private Reserve program and won #1 Wine of the Year from Wine Spectator Magazine -- twice! Nobody knows Napa Valley Cabernet better than Ed or has been making world-class wine longer. Few producers make wine from this tiny coveted appellation, but there are a handful of cult wines from Mount Veeder: Lokoya ($400, 2012 vintage), the undisputed king of Mount Veeder. Often compared to the great wines of Pauillac, Lokoya stands among the greats of Napa Valley. Permanence is sourced from vineyards about a mile away. Other Mount Veeder benchmarks include the cult wine Mithra ($200, 2012 vintage), Hall Segassia Vineyard ($175, 12 vintage) or O’Shaughnessy ($112, 2011 vintage).

This 2012 Permanence Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon is right at home shoulder to shoulder with the legends of Mount Veeder.

Our 2012 vintage Permanence Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon is now available on a pre-release basis.This list price is $119 per bottle. If ordered as a Pre-Release, you pay $89 per bottle. This is a great vintage made by a great winemaker from spectacular vineyards. If you are among those who appreciate well-structured Napa Valley Cabernet, you should jump on this opportunity to fill your cellar.

Order Permanence Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon

#wine #redwine #vino #vin #Cabernet #Napa #NapaCab #GrapeSeed #winemaker #winelover

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When does a winemaker release a vintage?

Winemaking is a practice of patience. After harvest, crush, fermentation, blending, adjustments, clarifying and racking the wine must rest, sometimes for years. Much of the wine’s character and structure will continue to develop within the bottle.

The harvest seems magcial as one envisions lush vineyards. The crush excites as the coveted juice is extracted from each grape. Then comes the miracle of fermentation, and the promise of cellars teaming with barrels. At last comes the opening the bottle and pouring a first glass. Between the barrel and the dining room table, there is one final step: bottle aging. Wine is meant to rest in bottle to prevent bottle shock, which may cause the wine to taste fragmented and mute the wine’s flavors. After bottling, the wine requires time to calm down and reassemble.

Ideally, through a series of tastings, the winemaker decides when the wine is stable and ready to release and roll out for sale. For many large scale wineries the decision to release wine is not always in the hands of the winemaker. Often a wine is released on a schedule that coincides with a predetermined distribution calendar.

What does winemaker Jessica Boone look for before releasing a wine?

Winemaker Matt Smith chronicles his experience:

“I have a very intimate connection with the wine. I knew it during the growing season. Watched it mature and tasted the flavors of the grapes in the vineyard. Most times, I can remember vividly each day in the fermentation, as it progressed from sweet, fruit juice to a deep and satisfying young wine. Then, tasting it multiple times throughout aging until putting together the final blend. I know exactly how it is supposed to taste. How it showed in the barrel at the final point before bottling. We have to suffer the shock it feels when being closed down and confined in an inert glass container. We wait for signs of its re-emergence. The wine can appear all knees and elbows, sharp edges, non-harmonious curves. The beautiful aroma closed and muted. But bottle-aging is a beautiful thing. When the wine starts to emerge, it shows the beauty of its aroma and the roundness of its palate; then we say it is ready.”

The release date is the earliest the wine is deemed completed but is not an indication of how long the wine can be stored.

Wine lovers, not investing for profit, generally purchase wines that they appreciate. Buying a case or three of a loved wine forces one to start storing or cellaring. This practice means that in a relatively short time one can amass a proper wine collection, which is as exhilarating to reflect upon as it is to drink and share. How long one can cellar a wine varies depending on the quality, varietal, region and vintage. The best way to know how long a wine can be aged (and to learn how the wine may change) is to ask the winemaker, the winery or a Wine Steward.

A premium is charged for aged wines, bottles that have been carefully stored by wine retailers or wine brokers well beyond the wineries release date. Purchasing these wines allows enthusiasts to obtain bottles ready to drink close to their peak. It can be a great way to try a label at its best. In contrast, a sizable number of wine buyers are looking towards futures. Not a traded commodity, buying wine futures allows wine lovers to buy pre-released wines from wineries. This may sound like a gamble but these futures generally come at a lower price point than the released bottle will fetch.

GrapeSeed Partners can take advantage of our Wine Steward service to learn more about selecting their wine for aging, as well as serving their wines. Partners also have access to GrapeSeed wines prior to release (like a future) at pre-release prices.

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Constellation Catches A Shooting Star

Of the thousands of brands launched in the US each year, a handful will break through on the national stage. And of those, only one or two will become dominant players in their categories. Constellation Brands, the world’s biggest wine company, grabbed another one of those brands when it acquired Meiomi from the Wagner Family (producers of Caymus, Conundrum, Belle Glos and others). The selling price: $315 million. For that price, Constellation acquired the trademark and possibly grape contracts; no wineries and no vineyards. Meiomi was reported to be created by the then 24 year old Joe Wagner back in 2006. The brand has rocketed to 700,000 cases in nine years. Selling for $25 per bottle retail and well placed in restaurants, the brand is likely generating more than $260 million in retail revenue, all channels....

Continue reading this story on Medium 

Follow Dave Treblicock to read more about changes in the wine industry. 

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Do We Really Need More Wine Labels?

A couple articles in the wine press caught my eye this week, which I thought were of particular interest.  VinExpo, perhaps the world’s largest and most important exhibition of wine and spirits, just concluded in Bordeaux.  Wine Spectator sponsored a panel discussion entitled “Inside the US Wine Market” with US industry leaders. Speaking largely to a European audience, the panel touched upon both the tremendous opportunity of the US wine market and the challenge navigating it.

Today's US wine market

The market for wine in the US has never been more vibrant, with a burgeoning population of young adults adopting wine at a faster clip than ever before.

We have seen an explosion in the number of producers with wine now produced in every state in the nation (yes, even Alaska).

And finding a good bottle of wine at a decent price has never been easier, such has been the progress made in the craft of making wine.

The problem

The problem with the US wine market is, and always has been, the challenge of navigating it.

It is, as David Trone, Owner of Total Wines and More, stated

"It's not one country with one legislation on alcohol, it's 50 states with 50 legislations," Trone said. "It's probably the world's worst alcohol legislation."

This complexity acts as a rather significant barrier to producers, both domestic and abroad, in penetrating the US market.  And it should be no surprise that the companies best suited to navigate the complexity and cost of such a fragmented system are those with significant scale.  The producers most impacted by the complexity are small, artisan producers. What I did find curious however was the solve,

"So some of the labelling is too confusing, too opaque. We need color to jump off the shelf, innovation in labelling. That will help draw attention -- and then we can tell the story of the wine, the heritage" said Trone.

From my point of view, Trone has it partly right.  We certainly need to tell the story of the wine and the heritage. This is something critically important for the discerning wine consumer, if you care about authenticity and sense of place.  What we have no shortage of however is innovation in attention grabbing labels.  Anyone who has shopped Trone’s excellent stores, or Safeway, Kroger, or Publix for that matter, would know that.

Think about this,

last year there were over 142,000 beverage alcohol labels approved for distribution in the US, with approximately 102,000 of those wine labels.  And that is only a partial accounting of all the wine labels for sale in the US.  A label only need be submitted for approval if it is new or a significant change has been made to it.  Products for which only a vintage is changed in a particular year do not need a new approval.  I conservatively estimate there to be over 175,000 products available for sale in the US, from all sources.Innovation in wine labelling, or the explosion in wine labels might just be holding back the industry not helping it.  Labels that find their way into distribution tend to be from larger companies, not small artisans.   And while I love a great label, distinctiveness of wine style and quality is not necessarily the premium when you are putting your money into label development.

What I believe will advance the wine industry is celebrating authenticity.

Place and craftsman create authentic, singular wines.

What will help are ways in which consumers can learn about these wines and acquire them.  Stores (like Trone’s Total Wine) that invest in educated wine stewards, who can help you navigate the labels from the authentic artisan brands, are part of the solution.  A direct connection to you, by-passing all the market complexity, is the other. Here at GrapeSeed it is our mission to connect those who care about authentic artisan wine with the leading winemakers who craft them.  In exchange for upfront funding in the form of a subscription fee, our consumers (aka Partners) are able to purchase (using that subscription) exclusive wines made only for them.  Wines made by Artisans such as Jean Hoefliger of Alpha Omega, Ed Sbragia formerly of Beringer, and Nick Goldschmidt of Goldschmidt Family Vineyards.  These and the rest of our collective of winemakers have earned critical acclaim by the world’s leading wine critics, and deserve a bigger share of voice in the wine world.  The type of wines people-who-care should find, now GrapeSeed is giving them that platform.

Dave Trebilcock, GrapeSeed Founder

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Home Field Debuts With Chardonnay and A Red Blend

Home Field 2014 Dry Creek Valley Chardonnay Sbragia Estate

Adam Sbragia captures the personality of his family's Home Ranch Vineyard in this bright, bold Chardonnay. 

TASTING NOTES

Aromas of peach and pear with hints of butter and roasted almond lead into a full-bodied palate. This is a balanced wine, with vivid fruit ,bright acidity, and a great base. It exhibits characteristic Dry Creek Valley elegance with an everyday, approachable style. Try Home Field Chardonnay with lobster rolls, cream-based pasta, or anything served with a great butter sauce.

VINEYARDS & WINEMAKING

The 2014 growing season in Dry Creek Valley gave us a long, warm summer. Cooler temperatures in mid-August slowed down ripening, but harvest still started on the early side. Yields were lower than 2012 and 2013, but quality was outstanding across the board. Dry Creek Valley has been planted to vineyard for more than 140 years, making it one of the oldest winegrowing regions in California. The Sbragia family has been around nearly as long. Their Home Ranch Vineyard lies at the southeast tip of the appellation, and Adam sourced grapes for this wine from their 13-acre block of Chardonnay. This is one of the cooler spots of Dry Creek Valley, where Chardonnay grapes take on concentrated fruit and maintain good natural acidity. The wine was fermented in once-used French oak barrels, underwent malolactic fermentation, and aged in barrel, on the lees, for 10 months.

Home Field 2013 Advantage Dry Creek Valley Red Blend

TASTING NOTES

This blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah has vibrant aromas and flavors of ripe cherry and currants accented with cinnamon spice, notes of cola. Smooth tannins on the palate support the rich, concentrated, elegant fruit expression characteristic of Dry Creek Valley. Adam crafts this wine in an approachable style, and suggests enjoying the Home Field Advantage with whatever's on the grill, from roasted vegetables to rib-eye to a good old-fashioned pasta with red sauce.

VINEYARDS & WINEMAKING

In Dry Creek Valley, 2013 is widely considered to be one of the best vintages in years. The growing season got off to an early start and remained slightly ahead of schedule through the mild summer all the way to harvest, when cool temperatures kicked in and slowed things down a bit. Color and flavor are vibrant, acidity is balanced, and quality is exceptionally high across varietals. The Dry Creek Valley AVA is a long, narrow strip—16 miles long by 2 miles wide—in the northern reaches of Sonoma County. The coastal range allows the valley to heat up during the day and then funnels in cool fog at night, bringing grapes to concentrated fruit expression while maintaining good natural acidity. Merlot grapes for this wine come from a parcel of the Sbragia family's Home Ranch Vineyard, an eight-acre spot on flat, rocky clay loam at the southern end of Dry Creek Valley, near Adam's home. The Cab comes from a vineyard belonging to Sbragia's longtime family doctor in the rolling hills of the Sonoma County coastal range on the west side of Dry Creek Valley. The small percentage of Petite Sirah comes from yet another family friend. After fermentation, the wines are aged separately in French oak (100% new) for 18 months, then blended and bottled.

Read interview with Winemaker Adam Sbragia here.

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Serving Temperature

The correct serving temperature

Common wine knowledge dictates that white wine and rosé wine should be served chilled, and sparkling wine served ice cold. What about the velvety, earthy, bold, complex, silky, fruity, oaked, fatty or opulent red wines?

Red wine should be served at cellar temperature. Cellar temperature is not the same as room temperature. Envision an old world, windowless, stone cellar built down under the earth. The air is slightly damp and cool. While the cellar may be a welcome relief during hot summers, one might feel the need for a sweater or jacket when spending any long period of time in the vault-like chamber. The cellar is a far cry from the comfortable central air, climate-controlled modern home. To be exact, cellar temperature is 58 to 63 ˚F in contrast, room temperature is 68˚F to 73 ˚F.

Why should wine be chilled?

Serving your wine at a cooler temperature allows the wine to open up in the glass. The wine will change as is warms up in your glass taking you through your tasting experience note by note, like a symphony, each aroma getting a chance to perform. Drinking your wine warm means you are missing half of that flavorful voyage; akin to entering a performance during the intermission.

Matt Smith, GrapeSeed Winemaker explains, “The warmer the wine temperature, the greater the volatility (or vapor pressure) of ethanol which is the volatile compound in the highest concentration in wine. This will overwhelm all the other aromatics. Correct cellar temperature will suppress the alcohol volatility and allow other aromatics to come out.”

If you have been serving your red wine at room temperature you are not alone. Many wine enthusiasts, restaurants and even tasting rooms commit the warm red wine blunder. This frequent error is easily rectified, even without a cold cellar.

If you have a wine refrigerator or modern cellar set the temperature to 53˚F. Then let your red wine stand at room temperature for about twenty minutes before serving.

If the bottle of red wine is already at room temperature put it in the refrigerator for thirty minutes before serving.

(There are also many gadgets for sale that measure wine temperature before the bottle is uncorked.)

The next time you are at restaurant and the bottle of red wine arrives at the table, allow the server or sommelier to posture the wine, take in the lovey label, but before the foil is cut ask to hold the bottle. If the bottle is not cool to the touch send it back or ask for a bucket of ice to chill it table-side. Enjoy the full experience contained in a bottle of red.

Wine cellar or mini-fridge, at a restaurant or at the kitchen counter; please, please stop serving red wine at room temperature.

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New Wine Project: Home Field by Adam Sbragia

Home Field Wines

With Home Field, Adam Sbragia creates original blends from both his family’s own estate vineyards and highly regarded vineyards from Dry Creek Valley. Born and raised in Dry Creek, Adam enjoys the home field advantage. He knows the floor, benchland, and hillside vineyards of this intimate valley—just 16 miles long and 2 miles wide.

Adam launches Home Field with a red blend and an estate Chardonnay, and will follow these up with Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel.   His red blend—containing Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petite Sirah—emphasizes spice, mouthfeel, smooth tannins, and elegant fruit. His full, round, warm-climate Chardonnay takes beautifully to malolactic fermentation and aging in French oak.

About Adam Sbragia

Adam Sbragia is a 4th generation winemaker in Dry Creek Valley. His first favorite wine was his grandfather’s, which was made in a barrel at the back of the family barn. Since 2001, Adam and his father Ed have been making wine together at Sbragia Family Vineyards in Geyserville, and in 2005 they were named Winemakers of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Stay tuned for more news on Home Field...

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Bottled Up

Slender neck, elegant shoulders, sleek body; the wine bottle is a sophisticated package. The majority of wine today is poured out of two different bottle styles: the Burgundy bottle and the Bordeaux bottle.

The most common wine bottle shapes

The French city of Bordeaux has a rich trade history. One of the city’s early exports was wine. Merchandise leaving the iconic city traveled out the Gironde estuary to the turbulent Atlantic Ocean. Stronger and sturdier bottles were demanded to prevent breakage. The bottles that came out of Bordeaux became thick, stout and sturdy. Today the strong shoulders of the Bordeaux bottle hold back sediment formed from tannins in the wine. The masculine bottle is used all over the globe for wines with weighty tannins. As the fame of Bordeaux exploded in new markets even the empty Bordeaux bottle has become valuable; an old empty Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux or Chateau Lafite-Rothschild is extremely valuable to wine counterfeiters. 

Exports from Burgundy started their expedition on land, and often included a few transfers over sea, down rivers or through mountain ranges. The bottles embraced by the region had thick glass and soft shoulders which were less costly to manufacture when bottles were made by glassblowers. Almost every Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are found in the Burgundy bottle, as these varietals have been cultivated in Burgundy for centuries. The punt at the bottom of the bottle may make it easier for your waiter to pour while giving you an unobstructed view of the label. The punt catches sediment and is said to have aided glass workers in handling the hot product, but its most important function is to offer additional structural support.

Different shaped wine bottles

Alsatian and many Germanic wines are bottled in elongated torpedo shaped containers. Exporting along the docile Rhine River, space was the paramount concern and bottles did not need to be especially strong. These shoulder-less bottles stack well in shipping crates taking advantage of every square centimeter. Alsace AOC require white wines to be bottled in these long bottles, and it is possible to find Pinot Noir from Alsace and Germany in the same fluted bottle. The celebratory Champagne bottle was created out of French practicality more than style. The extra thick glass and sloping shoulders all work to contain the enormous pressure within. A bottle of sparkling wine lives under 80-90psi, which is more than double the pressure per square inch than your car tire. The ample finish serves to hold the cage which secures the cork. This unique bottle evoke a sense of luxury but its origins are purely functional.  

Modern shipping does not require the same prudence that was once exercised. New wine regions have flourished all over the globe but the traditional Burgundy and Bordeaux bottles continue to dominate our cellars. The Wine industry is fiercely traditional, and wine enthusiasts often judge a wine by the package. The classic shape, and color of old world bottles come with a sense of gravitas and heritage that will endure.

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Another Family Winery Sold to Industry Giant

by Dave Trebilcock, GrapeSeed CEO

I was saddened to see yet another successful and prominent family owned wine business gobbled up by one of the industry's largest.  On the heels of Judy Jordan's sale of J to Gallo, the Benzigers have sold their iconic 85 acre ranch in Glen Ellen to industry giant The Wine Group for an undisclosed sum. This is perhaps just one more example of how difficult it is for an independent, family owned winery with impeccable credentials to make it in the big corporatized and consolidated world of wine these days.

What makes this deal striking is the most apparent differences between the two companies. The Wine Group is the producer of grocery store popular brands such as Franzia bag-in-box, Almaden, MD20/20 and lifestyle brands such as Cupcake, Flip Flop and others. They have been acquiring smaller premium brands over the last few years in an attempt to expand into more profitable categories

Benziger is the leading proponent, and Tim Benziger the best promoter, of biodynamic farming in the US wine business.  Their Glen Ellen ranch is, not only biodynamic but a living schoolroom that demonstrates what it means to farm in this manner to tens of thousands each year.  

While Benziger's $10 to $20 portfolio of wines sold nationally will likely slot nicely into The Wine Groups distribution and production machine, it will be interesting to see how the biodynamic estate is handled over time.  The estate, and the wines it makes are examples of high touch farming and artisan winemaking, typically antithetical in a big winery culture.  

And while I am sad to see this come about, I am very happy for the Benziger clan (although I hope the rumored price of $70 million to $80 million was much higher).  Great people and leaders... this being the second time they have built and sold a successful wine business (Glen Ellen brand, 1993 sale).  With big families come big succession issues and this sort of sale is not surprising.  

At GrapeSeed we are here to help some of these artisan, family owned businesses survive and thrive in an increasingly corporate landscape. GrapeSeed Partners fund new wine projects by critically acclaimed winemakers and then acquire these exclusive wines through GrapeSeed.  GrapeSeed by-passes all the middlemen and creates a direct and distribution channel for artisan winemakers.  In this way we hope more great winemakers will thrive and stay independent assuring the survival of distinctive, one of a kind wines.

--Dave Trebilcock   GrapeSeed Founder & CEO

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The Humble Wine Bottle

Over six billion wine bottles are manufactured each year. We spend a great deal of time evaluating the wine captured in these containers, and even the labels affixed outside, but the glass wine bottle itself was paramount in the progression of wine. The elegant and sleek bottle in cellars today are testament to centuries of marketing, technology, and tradition.

The origin of the wine bottle has a murky history which brought us to the bottles we recognize today in their many shapes. It is believed that the first wine bottles came from the Middle East in 3,000BC. These ancient vessels were made of a terracotta-type clay which surely altered the liquid inside and were not the air tight storage systems we demand today.

The Romans are credited for advancing a glasswork industry with new glassblowing technology. As the Roman Empire spread over the European continent so did new vineyards, new wine markets and new glassware. Mostly, Roman glass was used for the consumption of wine; the storage and aging continued in pots.

When did the wine industry start using glass bottles?

Finally, in the 17th century, glass bottles arrived. New technology enabled thicker glass, and the creation of what we now recognize as the wine bottle. Glassblowers able to create thick durable bottles charged a premium, which only the makers of the most treasured wines were willing to pay. These bottles protected the wine on tempestuous sea voyages. Even today many wine buyers erroneously regard glass thickness, and punt depth as a beacon of quality. These glass bottles proved efficient and elegant though it would take another hundred years to standardize.

Wine bottle standards

The typical American may not be able to easily indicate a distance of 200 centimeters or estimate ones weight in kilograms yet we know what 750 milliliters looks like because of that ubiquitous wine bottle. Astonishingly the wine bottle was not standardized until 1979. Wine collections may still contain Gewürztraminer in 700 milliliter bottles or Champagne in 800 milliliter bottles produced before America and then Europe institued satandardized volume.

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Wine: Sustainable, Organic and Biodynamic

Sonoma and Napa Counties have seen a growing number of vineyards embrace sustainable, organic or biodynamic farming practices in the last decade. More and more tasting rooms across the globe are touting their sustainable farming methods. Frequently a pour of Zinfandel is accompanied by talk of soil revitalization, biodiversity and indigenous cover crops

What is the difference between organic, biodynamic and sustainable?

Organic, biodynamic and sustainable are not synonyms.

To make things more confusing the terms can have drastically dissimilar definitions and regulations from one country to another. The U.S Government regulates organic certification, however sustainable and Biodynamic are terms defined by private groups and organizations not through any government body.

What is Organic Farming?

There are two types of organic certification one for wine made from organically grown grapes farmed in accordance to USDA approved methods. The another organic certification is for organic wine which must be produced with organically grown grapes from a vineyard carrying an organic license and made without synthetic additives and without added sulfites (though sulfites do occur naturally).

As conversations about organic farming are amplified, wineries like Odette Estates, Laurel Glen and Hall are quick to call out their organic farming practices though their wines may not carry the certified organic badge. GrapeSeed winemaker Douglas Stewart, has been a devotee of organic food and wine for twenty years. Stewart embraces organic wine-growing on his own Anderson Valley estate;

"We have been farming organically from the outset…our farming at Lichen Estate is unusual by almost every measure, as farming organically on meter by meter spacing is insanely difficult”.

As Douglas started to plan his North Coast All Stars wines the twenty acres of vineyards at Filigreen Farms called out. Filigreen Vineyards, AVA Mendocino, was originally planted in 1946 and, like the rest of the crops and livestock at Filigreen Farms, the vineyard has been biodynamically and organically farmed for over thirty years.

What is Biodynamic farming?

Biodynamic farming, like organic farming, refrains from using synthetic insecticides, fungicides and fertilizers. This farming method was developed by Austrian writer, educator and activist Dr. Rudolf Steiner. Private organizations, like the Demeter Association, offer biodynamic certification marks. The biodynamic farming philosophy treats the vineyard as an ecosystem, aiming to farm in cooperation with the influences of the sun, moon, planets, and in harmony with the earth. Farmers often plant companion crops, encourage native flora, and raise livestock on site. Another biodynamic practice that garners attention in the vines is the interring of manure filled cow horns in the vineyards near the fall equinox, then unearthing and removing the horns near the spring equinox.

The Benzinger Family Winery has proudly forged a biodynamic pathway that many wineries are starting to follow. The Sonoma mountain winery overhauled its farming practices in 1986. Today the winery offers a “Biodynamic Vineyard Tram Tour” bringing their farming philosophy to the foreground. In Northern Sonoma Couonty, in the Dry Creek AVA, Quivira Vineyards has Biodynamics front and center, taking tourist, glass in hand, out to the visit the pigs before walking through the herb garden.

What is Sustainable farming?

Sustainability is a far broader term with no succinct legal definition. Suitable agriculture produces food using techniques that protect public health, animal wellbeing and the environment.  While there is no government body regulating sustainability there are several different agencies in California that can help grape growers measure their farming practices against standards for sustainability.

Winemaker Matt Smith shares is view on farming,

“My personal belief is that whichever path you take down the road to sustainable farming, you must achieve certain metrics that are beneficial for the vineyard owner, the vineyard land, the people who work there and the environment. Without attention to each one of those things, there is no sustainability.”

Smith, Winemaking VP at GrapeSeed, also believes

“Some of the best programs for sustainability management have come out of the Lodi Winegrape Commission’s “Lodi Rules” program. This was the first, 3rd party sustainability program in the state and has been replicated for other regions and California as a whole. It is a program that looks at the whole picture from land to environment to economic viability. Another that I think merits attention is the SIP certification. SIP, or “Sustainability in Practice”, is another whole system evaluation that looks not only at pesticides and fertilizers in the vineyard, but water and electricity use, employee health and protection and sound economics of grape-growing.” 

Along the perimeter of Keenan Winery’s sustainably farmed vineyards situated in the Spring Mountain AVA, one will easily spot solar panels which fuel production. The tasting room staff at this family owned winery will gladly engage wine lovers in a conversation about their sustainability practices.

Commonly winegrowers find that strict adherence to one farming method can be restrictive, thus frequently there are varying commitment levels as vineyard managers choose the practices that are best suited to their projects. Yet, the Sustainable, Organic and Biodynamic vernacular seems to have deepening roots in the wine industry. Visitors to wine country assuredly will encounter some adaptation and adherence to these revamped ideas. There is satisfaction to be had by knowing about the winegrowing and winemaking methods that created that bottle in your cellar, but no single farming method can claim to create the best wines. Curating a wine collection with an adherence to only one farming technique will ensure that great wines go untasted.

GrapeSeed Winemaker Douglas Stewart

GrapeSeed VP of Winemaking Matt Smith

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Eighteen Miles Winemaker Jessica Boone discusses the varietal Petite Sirah and why the Rockpile AVA is so special for growing it. She’s proud to offer GrapeSeed Partners the 2013 Rockpile Petite Sirah. 

The Rockpile region—just recently designated an AVA—lies at the northern end of the Dry Creek Valley AVA on a ridge between the two arms of Lake Sonoma. Rockpile is known for its rocky terrain, steep hillsides and high-elevation vineyards. Petite Sirah for this wine comes from an area that sits at 1,200 feet and faces southeast. An inversion layer prevents the fog from rolling in, and vines here experience consistent sun and cool coastal winds, conditions that support the even ripening of small, concentrated berries.

Purchase three bottles and receive a complimentary bottle of Eighteen Miles 2013 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Just add the Cabernet Sauvignon to your cart and use promo code FIRSTSIP at checkout. SHOP

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The Best Wine Glass

Perchance you’ve seen a movie set in the Tuscan countryside, or was it set in a small village in Burgundy? Either way, at a quaint café or a vineyard picnic, in Fellini surrealism or Jeunet whimsy, a table was set and a bottle opened. Then the wine poured into ordinary flat-bottomed glasses. The French and Italians have been making and consuming wine for centuries. Wine is an essential part of their culture yet, there they were on the screen drinking from something akin to a jelly jar.

Does the shape of your wine glass really matter?

The short answer is NO, but it that is not the whole story…

The shape of your glass can not change the flavor of the liquid inside. However, the shape of your glass can drastically change the aromas of your wine, and that is paramount. The majority of flavors originate in our nose not our mouth. Think back to the last time you were congested; food had less flavor and you were not keen to open your best bottle of wine to savor. Without our sense of smell flavors are dulled and our appreciation is inhibited.  Without smell many of us would have trouble deciphering a pear from an apple or a Merlot from a Syrah. If you are wondering if that is a hint of apricot or nectarine in your glass of Pinot Gris don’t take another sip; have a second sniff.

Riedel, an Austrian stemware manufacture, was one of the first to create a varietal specific glass line in a multitude of shapes and sizes.  Other companies, like Wine Enthusiast, have followed suit selling stemware for every type of wine you may encounter. Your stemware can now cost more than your wine, and may require its own cellar storage as well. 

The proper glass can make your wine more pronounced.

The correct stemware can enhance aromas and enliven a wine so much that professional tasters and judges insist on using the same stemware for every wine to even the playing fields during competitions. These international standard glasses are durable, round-bottom glasses that treat every wine the same. What the International Standards Organization glasses don’t do is make the most of a particular wine and let it sing. It is a choir, no soloist allowed. Tasters and judges are not seeking to bring out the excellence of any one wine but to give every wine a fair shake.

What stemware should I buy?

**Invest in the a few glasses for the wines you most enjoy. **

In general, the majority of us can get away with a well-made Bordeaux glass for red wines. Connoisseurs of Riesling may track down traditional Alsatian glasses for esthetic flair but often a Sauvignon Blanc glass will be more than adequate for all of your white wines. One should always have some champagne flutes on hand for special occasions, even if that occasion is simply the possession of a chilled bottle of bubbles.  Likewise, if you love Pinot Noir then you may want to add a few Burgundy glasses to your collection which can really bring out subtleties in the wine.

Don’t be drawn in by any new aged high designed stemware that may have squared bottoms or colored glass. A bowl shaped vessel bottom is essential, while clear thin glass permits you to examine color and taste leisurely. Above all, avoid the jelly jar style glass, it may add an aesthetic, rustic, ambiance but it will not elevate your wine.

Elementary By Nick GoldSchmidt, Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with Bordeaux glass

Eighteen Miles by Jessica Boone, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir with Burgundy glass