Thoughts From New Classic Winemakers of California

I recently read New Classic Winemakers of California. The book is a series of conversational interviews conducted by Steve Heimoff from Wine Enthusiast with noteworthy California winemakers. The sections are divided by decades which the winemakers got their start, either the 70's, 80's, or 90's. Big names such as John Alban, Heidi Peterson Barrett, Greg Brewer, Merry Edwards, Elias Fernandez are profiled- and the list goes on and on.

Heimoff does a great job conducting candid conversations with the subjects. For instance, the question is often asked about rising alcohol levels in California fine wines. The variations of responses are fascinating, and some winemakers offer theories about why this might be the case. An idea that came up more than once was the role that lowering yields plays in driving up sugars in the remaining fruit. If the goal is to pick with ripe mature tannins, then the brix is often already high due to the reduced yields, resulting in higher alcohol. Another idea that was mentioned was the lack of old vines in California. The idea being that old vines produce a naturally lower yield and this allows the tannins to ripen in concert with the sugars in the grape- allowing for a complex profile at a lower brix. This makes sense when considering the recent history of California viticulture- new vineyard development, replantings, phylloxera in the late 80's, etc.

The discussion also gets into cellar techniques that winemakers may or may not use when picking at high brix. At least one noteworthy producer admits that they are willing to resort to water addition as a means to lower alcohol. Others say the high alcohol is better than using reverse osmosis or water addition, they view it as the natural expression of the vineyard. Most seem to regard it as an issue that they are beginning to deal with and that the levels will start to come down in the future. Plenty of other subjects in the cellar and the vineyard are discussed, the brix discussion just happens to be what resonated most with me.

If you're interested in issues in the vineyard and the cellar and haven't checked this out, it's a fascinating and worthwhile read. I like Steve Heimoff's stuff in Wine Enthusiast- his reviews seem to correspond with my tastes, and he's not easy to peg like other critics can be. I'll look forward to reading his earlier book, A Wine Journey Along The Russian River.