Vintage Report Reporters
When it comes to winemakers' notes, some grapes inspire greater verbosity than others
For each of our California tasting reports, I seek winemakers' input about the vintage, some of which I factor into our vintage charts.
I'm interested in their thoughts about the growing season, crop size, weather, trends in the vineyard or cellar, and how one year compares with another. I collect this information two ways, in interviews with winemakers and in requests to them for written commentary.
In the heat of harvest, winemakers are prone to euphoric assessments that have more to do with getting the grapes off the vine than with a genuine appraisal of quality.
I get a kick out of the same winemakers who each year say their (fill in the blank) wines are the darkest ever, as if they can remember the color of the wine from year to year any better than we can remember a spectacular sunset from one year the next.
That's why I like winemakers to write about the harvest and their wines. Some are better than others about putting their thoughts on paper, rather than talking off the tops of their heads.
Paul Draper, the longtime winemaker at Ridge Vineyards, is not only a thoughtful, insightful writer, but also a prolific one; he should write a book about his career. Margo van Staaveren, the winemaker at Chateau St. Jean, is an excellent writer, too. She probably got A's in English.
John Alban's notes are always very polite and clever, and he is eminently quotable. But I don't think he owns a computer or even a typewriter. All of his communiqués are handwritten. Ditto for Ed Killian of Chateau Souverain.
But what I'm most surprised about of late is the waning interest among some winemakers in sending along their thoughts. And, it seems, some varietals inspire winemakers to write more than others.
It turns out the Cabernet producers have a lot on their minds. In a typical year I might get 50 to 70 letters. Chardonnay producers also like to write, and the mail from them can easily fill a file.
Merlot is a grape that wants to be loved, and Merlot makers make an adequate contribution. Zinfandel, being an underdog grape, tends to be rather shy when its winemakers are called upon (of course, they have Draper in their camp). Syrah, too, is on the upswing. You can feel the enthusiasm for this grape from its advocates.
In last place is the last grape you'd expect. With all the progress and excitement coming from Pinot Noir of late, you'd think these romantics would be gushing with flowery prose about their accomplishments.
Nope. Just two letters this year. I wonder if these wineries are so small that their winemakers are also the owners and the sales force and the janitors. Maybe they just don't have time to put their words on paper.
That's OK. Ultimately the wines speak for themselves, and perhaps that's what they're telling me. Pinot Noir may be the wine that's most expressive of the land, but its creators are the least expressive when it comes to writing.
What's on your mind? You can send your comments to me via e-mail; my address is jlaube@winespectator.com. I can't promise to answer every letter, but I'm always interested in hearing from winemakers—and from readers.
