Read More Dispatches from Paul Franson.
Unlike most other wineries in the St. Helena American Viticultural Area, Rockledge
Vineyards proudly proclaims the appellation on the label. It’s a bit of
a mystery why so few wineries that can mention ‘St. Helena,’ when
it’s the most prestigious town in Napa Valley.
Peter Snowden, who owns Rockledge Vineyard with his wife Linda, is a cousin of
the “other” Snowdens, who make wine under their own name nearby.
Peter and Linda bought their 42 acres in the hills way above Spring Valley (home
of Joseph Phelps Winery) about 15 years ago, partly inspired by Peter’s
happy memories of visiting their cousins and Aunt and Uncle in the ‘50’s.
Peter also visited during college, and met their winemaker and started to learn
about winemaking.
Peter and Linda fell in love with the area, and though they lived in Laguna Beach,
bought the steep property, which had no house, not water, no vineyard, no power—and
no practical access.
Fortunately, neighbor Phelps granted them an easement onto the property, so they
started looking for water. They drilled wells twice; the second time, they hit
water, so put in a 10,000-gallon tank and irrigation system. Unfortunately, the
well went dry after 1/2 day of watering. “There was enough for a home, but
not for a vineyard,” says Snowden.
Fortunately, Joe Phelps acted as a good neighbor once again. He heard about their
predicament and offered to let the Snowdens drill a well on his property. “We
wouldn’t have been able to have a vineyard otherwise,” says the grateful
Snowden.
Phelps asked them to pay for the well and electricity for a pump, and is entitled
to half the water, but has never exercised that right. “He’s been
a prince of a neighbor,” says Snowden, echoing the thoughts of thousands
of others in Napa Valley who’ve enjoyed Phelps’ largesse.
The Snowdens finally planted their first vineyards in 1993 on the rocky –
hence the name – hills on 5 to 35 percent slopes. Some of the old oak tress
they removed got revenge, however, and part of the vines became infected with
oak root fungus and had to be replanted.
They have eight acres of Cabernet, which is naturally their flagship. Half has
been going to Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, an agreement that ends this year.
The winery has been making about 1000 cases of Cab, which will then double.
They also have 2.5 acres of Zinfandel and two of its cousin, Primitivo. The latter
grape comes from Puglia, the heel of Italy, but the Snowdens got their wood for
grafting from Sebastiani.
Peter notes that though Primitivo and Zinfandel have identical DNA, the Primitivo
has noticeably smaller berries and clusters for more concentrated flavor, and
is more uniform in ripening. All are good characteristics compared to Zinfandel,
which often has raisins at the top of the cluster and pink, unripen berries at
the bottom. Zin/Primitivo are favorites of the couple, the wine is still being
tamed to some degree.
The Snowdens were home winemakers, but started commercial production with the
1999 vintage. The winemaker is John Gibson, who also makes wine for the other
Snowdens plus Frazier Winery and a few others.
They’ve custom crushed at Kirkland Ranch south of Napa, stored their barrels
elsewhere, then bottled at Napa Wine Company, a complex arrangement that may end
in a few years as their cousins hope to build a winery.
Peter and Linda wanted to build a winery on their property, but the soil isn’t
suitable for waste water disposal (It doesn’t percolate properly). Linda
wants to at least put in a barrel-storage cave, but that is only a future possibility
at present.
The Rockledge reserve1999 Cal costs $50, the Napa Valley 2000 Cab $28.
Gibson has done a good job with the fruit, though naturally with new vineyards
on such an extreme site, the wines will undoubtedly improve even more with experience.
These are big, intense wines from true mountainous vineyards; the tannins are
in check but I’d age the wines for a few years before consuming.
The 1999 Zin is $15. They’re also hoping to release varietal Pimitivo in
the future.
You can get more information at 707-963-5488 or the web site www.rockledgevineyards.com.
Martini shakes it up
The Valley has been waiting to learn the fate of venerable Louis M. Martini Winery
following its acquisition last year by the Gallo wine empire. The first details
are now out, and it’s very positive for all – the Gallos, the Martinis
– and wine lovers.
Martini is sharpening its focus on Cabernets, a natural considering both Martini’s
location in the heart of Cab land and the excellence of its offerings for decades.
They will be sold under the Martini name.
As with many other Gallo brands, there’s no reference to the Gallos, an
unfortunate consequence of the Gallo’s leadership in low-end wines. That’s
too bad for snobs who overlook Gallo of Sonoma wines, some of the best values
on the market, even if they’re not from Napa!
The first products are Sonoma, Napa and Alexander Valley Cabernets, priced respectively
at $17, $24 and $35.
Yes, the Alexander Valley is the most expensive, but that reflects the quality
of the wine, not Ernest Gallo’s long-standing crusade to value Sonoma County
over Napa. After all, Gallo wants to sell the Napa wines, too!
That said, Martini will also produce its legendary Monte Rosso Cab for $55 (yes,
that vineyard is in Sonoma, too. The Martinis always looked for great vineyards
wherever they find them, and made Russian River wines, too. )
The Sonoma wine is the high volume offering, with 72,000 cases produced. It replaces
the old Martini California Cab. (Next year, Martini will reportedly introduce
an even cheaper, higher volume Napa brand).
The Napa Cab comes from Chiles and Pope Valleys, two geographically distinct parts
of the appellation east and over the mountains from the heart of Napa Valley.
These areas are great for growing the grapes, with warm Pope Valley a winner for
Cab, cooler Chiles for Merlot.
All three wines have rich flavors yet are lower than 14 percent alcohol without
use of spinning cones or reverse osmosis, a pleasant change after so many of today’s
massive, alcoholic Cabs.
The three new wines will be sold at a lower price in the tasting room, one of
the first cracks in the Valley’s long tradition of charging full retail
at tasting rooms even though they avoid distribution discounts. The Sonoma wine
is $14, for example.
The existing Marcellina Napa Valley wines from Gallo are being de-emphasized,
but not dropped. They’re found mostly in restaurants.
In other welcome news, Martini will continue to make its distinctive moscato,
gewürztraminer, folle blanche, sangiovese, pinot noir, merlot, zinfandel
and barbera, but they’ll be sold mostly at the tasting room, not widely
distributed. Martini also has a new, and very nice, Pinot Gris, for $12.
In addition, Gallo has really spruced up the tasting room and other facilities.
Visitors are now greeted with a glass of folle blanche, then offered flights of
wines.
Finally, Gallo has given winemakers Mike Martini and Massimo Monticelli an extensive
research mini-winery to try out new things. It contains one of almost every innovation
in winemaking, a paradise for curious winemakers, as most are.
The miniature shaking sorting table and destemmer/crusher would make the perfect
gift for that wealthy home – or boutique -- winery, for example.
And I must add that Mike seems very happy, making wine and not worrying about
payroll anymore.
Contact Paul: paul@ilovenapa.com
|
