MEA CULPA ©

            I need to correct something mentioned in my VINO II post regarding Cayucos Cellars. As we are all aware, our government is looking for money under every rock and sin taxes are a favorite way of adding to the public's burden. Distillers and wineries are bonded under a government agreement. Inventory may be held within a bonded space with no tax penalty until they are actually moved into the distribution stream.

Once a case of wine is taken from the bonded storage area, bingo - the tax needs to be paid. In the case of many distilled products, the taxes add far more to the retail price than the cost to produce it. For those who like to deal with things that, "Just fell off a truck", liquor is a favorite since they can radically undercut the wholesale price. Of course, the government still holds the maker liable for the tax since once on the loading dock it is no longer under bond. If this is of interest to you, I recommend the book Proof by Dick Francis. An excellent English mystery writer and former jockey, he is a favorite of horse people as the stories always include an element of that lifestyle. In the case of Proof, a wine merchant get mixed up in a scam that launders money from stolen and falsely labeled beverages through the sales of race horses.

Now to the apology. In my comments about Cayucos Cellars, I mentioned their small level of production. I stated, unfortunately, the number of annual cases (500) as barrels. Big oops, thankfully pointed out to me by owner/winemaker Stuart Selkirk, who has no plans to make as much wine as I suggested. Hopefully I can shortstop some man in black with a clipboard from stopping by, dreams of unexpected revenue dancing in his head. Since there are only about 25 cases in a barrel, Cayucos needs only about 20 barrels, while my version would yield about twelve thousand more cases than they make!

"VINO" PROFILES SIX MORE ROCK STAR WINEMAKERS (II) ©

Still Waters Vineyards is about far SE as you can go and Paso Robles is still the address. There Paul and Patty Hoover watch over 60 acres of vines planted to Bordeaux and Rhone varieties. They sell much of the crop and, for the past decade, have produced a few thousand cases for their own label. Paul is a self taught wine maker but no novice to agriculture, having started farming and marketing his own produce at age six! His Cal Poly SLO degree is an ag related business management degree. With that sheepskin in hand he of course went off into the lodging business. While running the San Luis Bay Inn, the restaurant was a Wine Spectator  top 100 wine list and Paul had an allowance for wine sampling in his budget. He decided not to neglect that line item and developed his love of wine from the consumption side.

His hotel/food & beverage career mirrors mine in some respects and wine lists I've done for clients have also won awards from Spectator. In discussing this, we also discovered a mutual love of golf - another business with which I've had some acquaintance. Eventually, we got around to his wines. He was pouring Sauvignon Blanc, a four grape white blend and Merlot which I enjoyed while he explained his approach to winemaking.

Still Waters picks over a prolonged period, generally exceeding a month's time. In part this is to return to the same blocks and glean just the level of ripeness he is looking for, which vary significantly even with close proximity. It also gives him a feel for where in the cycle the grapes are at. He can communicate that to his fruit buyers to aid them in getting what they want for their own style of wine.

Another difference is his use of all new French oak for all his wines - not fermentation but a short time in barrel, around three months, to round out the flavors. He then converts those gently used vessels into his red wine production the following year - using extended time in wood that has the edge of new taken off. At that point he starts over, selling off the barrels. An interesting and not inexpensive approach that I think you will appreciate.

If you stop by the winery, you will enjoy far reaching vistas to the coastal range, gardens and picnic areas. For the Zin Fest weekend they will be open from 11 - 5 each day. Friday will feature special case pricing on Zinfandel, new release wines, tours, olive oil and barrel samplings. Saturday will get you a bowl of White Lightning Chili with jalapeno corn bread paired with a new Zin release and live music. Paul will host a blending party on Sunday and you can join in a group and try for the winning blend. Tasting and voting will happen after a BBQ lunch. Cost is $35 with wine club discounts and does require an RSVP.

 

Darren and Angela Mitchell are the business team at Mitchella Vineyards & Winery , a lovely little property formerly owned by his father, just off W46 on the east side of Paso Robles. Five years ago they built a house among the vines to replace the mobile home they'd lived in since planting the vineyard in 1997. Darren shares a trait with many winery owners, a serious turn in the career path somewhere behind him. Headed for the stock trade, he decided he didn't like sales. Now, that might not be ideal for someone that ended up with a highly competitive product to sell but then, he does have a marketing degree. I think, for you corporate types, there's an inside joke here.

Originally from the area, Mitchell met Angela (with a pair of degrees of her own) in the late 80s and they moved to Heritage Oaks after getting married. None of their combined education involved the wine industry but they were practical. When their taste in wine exceeded their budget they became home winemakers. Even their friends thought it was tasty so they entered a contest and won, two years running.

Then (and now) Darren ran a oil rig machinery company so it makes perfect sense that, with a couple of homemade wine medals, he and she should start a real winery. They have and under their theme, "Life's an adventure, drink wine", it has been well received. They specialize in small lots of estate wines including Zinfandel and a Malbec poured at the event.

Mitchella will participate in the March Zin Weekend if you'd like to try their version of the grape or the blends they produce from it, paired with artisan cheeses. Open all three days from 10 - 5, new releases will be featured as well as their red and white Port style wines. The outdoor door pizza oven will be fired up for four gourmet styles of 'za and Sea Breeze cupcakes are suggested with the ports. Mention seeing the winery in the Festival brochure for a 10% discount on purchases. The tasting package is $10 or free to club members.

 

In terms of the Central Coast, there aren't many wineries west of the coastal mountains. None that I'm aware of in Monterey County, a handful around Cambria and a few more scattered down Highway 1 beach towns and the little group of urban Santa Barbara (the city) producers. Most of them source grapes from farther inland. Cayucos Cellars  is one of those off the beaten wine trail.

There, on an old family ranch, Stuart and Laura Selkirk and their additions to generations of the clan have made use of an old dairy barn by turning it into a winery. That may have been a bit easier than for most. Stuart is a general contractor by trade and winemaker by curiosity. In 1983 he saw the neighbor with a load of grapes in his truck. "What are you doing", he asked. "Making wine", the reply.

Why not? The guy next door was by way of a Swiss family who'd made wine. If you want wine you can just make some Selkirk was told. Then he was asked to help make some and got hooked. Learning how it was done by the hands on method, he started making Zinfandel, then some Pinot Noir and next came Cabernet. All done with native yeasts, which has remained his method ever since. He recalls spending two or three thousand dollars in 1995, making five barrels, most of which was given away. Growth has taken that production up twenty times! Yet, at 500 barrels, it still qualifies for the garagiste level in terms of quantity. But few of that group have a winery, let alone tasting room, of their own.

Stuart claims his attachment to wild yeast is just the way he learned and only later found out you could buy strains of yeast to use. There are few others in the region that use the yeast already found on the fruit for fermentation but those that do swear it makes a positive impact. Selkirk has found he isn't that fond of what commercial yeasts bring to wines he's tried and finds a fullness of flavor that he prefers in his method.

The wines at Cayucos Cellars are aged in neutral oak for prolonged periods; whites are in wood for three years and reds get as much as six. Holding your inventory for such aging is rare in the wine business. Stuart finds this important to releasing wines with age but are ready to drink versus wines that the consumer needs to lay down for years to see their potential. Of the wines he offered at the Vino tasting, I found they met his description. One was a Zin with nearly 17% alcohol. While it still showed soft tannins, it had none of the heat that you might expect, was fermented nearly bone dry but had very forward fruit flavors.

You may well enjoy the results of this approach to winemaking. Consider combining a beach town run with a visit. They will be open for Zinfandel Weekend fun from 11 - 5:30 all three days. Saturday will have hours extended from 6 - 10 PM to host a Weekend Kickoff Party that includes a vertical tasting of their Zinfandels, dinner, dancing and live music. Call them at 805-995-3036 for pricing and reservations. The Cayucos and Morro Bay swim programs will benefit from the proceeds. Friday through Sunday will include new release tastings and special pricing if you mention "Corgi", the secret word. BBQ'd oysters are on the Sunday menu, get your taste of Zin and slide one down.

 

I should mention that all of these wineries have web sites, just Google the name. Contact information and hours of operation can be found there. Several are not open daily or the same hours shown for the festival weekend. All but Ranchero are PRWA members, so that is another source for details and links to individual sites. Festival specifics can also be found there.

WINE GRAPE ACRES & CRUSH VOLUME REPORTED AS UP ©

Growth remains the trend in both California and the Central Coast. Given the glut of juice available in some of the recent years past, you have to wonder when it will - or should - slow a bit. Many of the new wineries, which now number a reported 688 in the Central Coast's three counties (Monterey, San Luis Obispo & Santa Barbara), produce less than 5,000 cases annually. Still, it is an amazing number and represents a 16% increase in 2012, year over year.

Recent reports note that the statewide average crop tonnage per acre is 7.5 tons. Considering that most of the quality makers of premium varietals restrict harvests to two tons per acre or less, there must be a significant market for what the Brits refer to as plonk. Of course much of this is farmed by large operations for use in value priced blends and includes such varieties as French Columbard. Large volume wineries don't always worry much about concentrated flavors, equal levels of ripeness and other fine wine factors, they can adjust for this in the winemaking. Consider also that a lot of this goes into flavored wine based beverages such as coolers and proprietary label bottlings.

Central coast land under wine grapes is predicted to reach nearly six hundred thousand acres by 2016 with 528 thousand already planted and 15 thousand more scheduled to be planted this year. This represented 2.2 million pounds of wine grapes being harvested in 2012. If you do the math, you will see this translates to just over two tones per acre. This being the norm for the better winemaking efforts, it appears the focus locally remains on quality.

"VINO" PROFILES SIX MORE ROCK STAR WINEMAKERS (I) ©

As mentioned a few postings back, the spring edition of VINO magazine continued its Rock Star Winemakers theme at a roll out tasting for the newest issue. The participating wineries offered a look at a wide variety of Paso geographic locations, from the beach town of Cayucos to the NW hills, the 46 W corridor and about as far east as wineries get plus a downtown tasting room and a winery so small, it doesn't have one. Different grapes, styles and terroir were well represented. Due to the length of this post, it comes in two parts with three wineries in each.

Unfortunately, Amy Butler of Ranchero Cellars was not able to make the tasting. A Kern County lady, she attended UC Davis and worked in Napa/Sonoma for five years after graduation. Moving to Paso Robles in 200, Amy became the initial winemaker at Edward Sellers in 2004, where she remained (and gathered awards) for six years. Sinking cash and "sweat equity" into Ranchero, she now has her own label - if that's the right word for a 400 case production level - and is an active garagiste. Her work with that group earned her their Spirit award for 2012. For more about the movement see a couple of recent past posts on this blog. Amy does Rhone varietals at the rancho and also consults for other wineries in the Paso area.

Kevin Jussila was another featured winemaker having a timing conflict with the event. He operates the Kukkula Winery for a financial client/friend/angel investor, along with his wife Paula. Fortunately, I met them early in the 2012 harvest as they were opening the eye catching tasting room to the public. Perched high on a hillside, way out on Chimney Rock Road, it can be seen from some distance and has amazing views and spectacular architecture. Kevin is no wine nimrod with a dream, he's been making small (like 65 cases a year) lots of wine under the Jussila label for nearly two decades. Good enough to make it to some high end wine lists, it also caught the attention of some friends including one willing to help bring Kukkula to fruition.

His interest in locating to Paso Robles was an odd piece of synergism. The Jussilas met the owner of Chateau de Beaucastel, a partner in local winery Tablas Creek. That venture originally was aimed at providing nursery stock for other wineries and Kukkula became a customer for their vineyard cuttings. The name, if you're curious, is Finnish for "high place" and not to be confused with the (long ago) TV dragon puppet of similar name - if much different pronunciation.

During the upcoming (former post for details) Paso Robles Wine Alliance organized Zinfandel Weekend - often referred to as Zin Fest - Kukkula will be open from 11 to 5:30, Friday thru' Sunday, March 15-17th. Their feature offering for the event includes lagniappe (little something) two ways. Both in the Creole food sense and their same-term Zinfandel blend. Pre-release wines from 2011 will be available for tasting as well as special pricing on Lagniappe wine. The winery also offers lunch, from their own kitchen with wine pairings at menu pricing on an ongoing basis.

 

Next up, Parrish Family Vineyard, represented by Cecily Parrish Ray (winery GM) and husband & assistant winemaker, Ethan Ray. The family is deeply rooted in the area. Owner David Parrish's grandfather was asked, by the founder of the Atascadero Colony in 1925, to come out and see how grapes would fare here. They must have done pretty well since he planted 540 acres. One claim to family fame is having Atascadero PO Box #1 been given to Earl Henderson, the grandfather. David's family, with seven boys, lived in Woodland and was a prime labor source for Grandpa!

Another graduate of the Davis program and marrying wife Lynn, he took advantage of the trend to improve vineyard management, via multi-tiered wire trestles, with his own invention of a special trellising system. That turned into a profitable venture as many vineyards were converting to methods allowing better quality fruit and yield techniques from the exposure to sunlight and heat control provided by trellised vines.

That part of a vineyard development business remains but he eventually planted acreage in Creston after moving to the area in 1994. By 2005 Parrish was producing wines, including some highly regarded Cabernet Sauvignon. Parrish strives for identifiable characteristics of the grape to be at the front of the flavor profile and uses descriptors, such as Silken for label names. You can enjoy them at the downtown Paso tasting room, designed by Lynn. Soon, however, you will be able to do that at another of her efforts; a new tasting room is being built in Adelaida, along with more vineyards. Music, a central part of David's life will certainly continue to be a feature of the tasting room. Cecily mentioned the winery is part of a new Paso Cab Collective. I'll get details.

For "Grow Zinfully Wild" (the Fest theme) weekend, Parrish will be open from 1 - 6 PM and pairing flights of wine with both cheese and cupcakes on all three days.

VINEYARD CHANGES PART II ©

In a recent posting I wrote about  Adelaida Cellars, & Daou Vineyards  and what they were doing with parts of the historic former Hoffman Mountain Ranch property. There has also been some closure to the saga of the former Martin Brothers winery. The operation, which was founded in the early days of vineyard expansion in Paso Robles, was recently involved in another pair of transactions. I met one of the brothers in the early 1980s and began using their wines for my clients wine lists in Colorado. Martin Brothers became the Martin & Weyrich winery around 2000 when David Weyrich invested in the operation. David inherited a significant portion of a $610M estate from his father in law. Local publications relate his rapid moves into "risky" business ventures, including boats, jets, hotels and real estate along the Central Coast. His investment in the winery expanded to include building the luxurious Villa Toscana, a small, high end boutique inn and spa on the east outskirts of town with the production facilities next door and surrounded by vineyards. They also operated a large tasting room at a prime location just off Hwy 101 on E 46.

In only ten years Weyrich's investments unraveled and the inn, winery and tasting room were in receivership by 2010. With debt of a reported $4.5M on the wine businesses, they were sold for less than half of their worth and the holdings were parceled out. One local newspaper reported Weyrich owed $60M to 150 creditors when the collapse happened. The tasting room was reopened by San Antonio Winery, a big bulk producer from LA seeking a sales outlet in a popular tourist wine region. The inn was somewhat vandalized and the wine making equipment and building lay empty. In the fall of 2012, a Chinese company purchased the winery and inn. Allegedly the owner is the largest adult beverage distributor in China and set a plan in place to purchase and blend wines for export to China. The vineyards adjacent to the winery were part of the purchase so there could be estate wines in the future. The plans for the inn are said to be simply private use for events, visiting VIPs and the marketing trade. Last week it was announced that the major vineyard block, located in Templeton, southeast of Paso Robles, has been purchased by Pomar Junction Vineyard & Winery . The winery and tasting room are near the purchased vineyards and their current bottlings, from the existing estate, qualify for SIP ^TM  (Sustainability In Practice) certification. This means they both best "green" practices in their viticultural techniques on the land and also support them throughout their staff. It will be good to see the renovation of the former Martin land adapt that program as well.