The Historic Vineyard Society’s 1st Annual Historic Vineyard Tour and Dinner

article by Larry Piggins

The idea was born when Zinfandel enthusiast Mike Dildine asked a simple question to an internet wine forum, “California’s great old vine Zinfandel vineyards … What are your favorites?” The response was remarkable and passionate. Hundreds of Zin lovers began building to a list of vineyards that represent California’s heritage vineyards.

Mike’s cause was joined by a group of like-minded vineyard owners, winemakers, and authors, and the Historic Vineyard Society was born. Their goal is to document facts about all of California’s heritage vineyards, and to raise awareness of the unique places these vineyards represent, in California and winemaking history.

After much behind-the-scenes work, the Historic Vineyard Society held its first event on Saturday, July 16. HVS members Mike Dildine, David Gates (Ridge Vineyards), Mike Officer (Carlisle Vineyards), Tegan Passalacqua (Turley Wine Cellars), and Morgan Twain-Peterson (Bedrock Vineyards) were joined by a group of growers, winemakers, and press, including author David Darlington, columnist Mike Dunne of the Sacramento Bee, and wine blogger Doug Wilder, to tour historic vineyards and enjoy a dinner at Ridge’s gorgeous Lytton Springs Winery. I was invited to photograph the event.

Carlisle Vineyard

The first stop was Mike Officer’s Carlisle Vineyard, in the Russian River Valley. This vineyard was planted in 1927 by Alcide Pelletti. Mike took the group on a walking tour of his 10-acre vineyard, telling colorful stories about this history of the ranch, and along with the other knowledgeable growers in tow, identified the unique mix of grape varieties in the ground.

The blend at Carlisle Vineyard is bottled by Mike’s Carlisle Winery, and by Novy Family Wines. Typical of vineyards of this era, the vineyard is planted to a mix of vines, only 86% of which are Zinfandel. The balance consists of Grand Noir (5%), Petite Sirah (3%), Alicante Bouschet (1%), Carignane (1%), Tempranillo (1%), and other red- and white-grape vines which have yet to be identified.

Mixed Blacks

A term heard throughout the day to describe this kind of red-grape vineyard mixture was “mixed blacks,” and all the historic vineyards represent some blend of grapes. Although the California wine industry has grown into marketing its wine with varietal labels, the immigrants who planted these vineyards brought the influence of their European heritage, which holds a long tradition of blending different grape varieties to create a wine perfectly balanced to the soil and climate in which it’s grown. Traditional winemaking of the era would harvest and ferment all these varieties together, effectively creating the blend for this wine in the field.

I asked Mike if he could see any particular logic to the differences in blends between his vineyard and other old vineyards close by. According to Mike, the reasoning behind these blends has been lost to history, but one taste of the juice tells me that those farmers loved wine, and they had a good idea what they were doing.

Whitton Ranch

The next stop on the tour was Whitton Ranch in Alexander Valley; owned by the Trentadue family, and farmed under a long-term contract by Ridge Vineyards. The mixed-black “Old Patch” in this vineyard dates back to 1882, and along with another 19^th-century block of Carignane, make up the core of Ridge’s classic Geyserville bottling.

David Gates toured the group through the Whitton Old Patch, and it was clear that he’s an encyclopedia of vineyard knowledge, as well as being passionate about wine, particularly these old-vine, mixed blacks. David detailed Ridge’s approach so sustainable farming, including integrated pest management, cover cropping, and composting.

He explained how specific attributes of the soil and climate, as well as the large amount of Carignane, endows Ridge’s Geyserville with an acidic structure, with an aging potential that can span decades. Towards the end of David’s tour, a joke was shared that with such a great vineyard, the wine virtually makes itself. That gave a good laugh to the winemakers, as well as the growers on the tour.

Cofermentation

The farmers who originally planted these mixed-black vineyards would typically harvest all varieties at once and ferment then in the same vessel, a practice known as cofermentation. This indicates confidence in the thoughtfulness of their field blends, allowing the overripe berries to contribute additional sugar (alcohol), and the underripe to balance that with high acidity. The use of a single vessel may have simply been a matter of economy (they may have only owned one fermentor), but speaking with Morgan Twain-Peterson on the subject, he believes that cofermentation generates complexities that exceed the sum of the wine’s parts.

With very few exceptions, most will agree that the world’s great wines convey a sense of the place in which they are grown. David’s joke about wine being made in the vineyard was a not-so-subtle dig at winemakers who would manipulate their raw material, obscuring the wine’s sense of place, and illustrated some playful tension between growers and winemakers on this subject.

To illustrate David’s convictions on field blending, cofermentation, and with a joke about keeping the winemakers in check, new blocks at Whitton Ranch are planted so that each row contains a blend of mixed blacks, making it more difficult for the winemaker to pick or vinify the varieties separately.

101 Vineyard

The group then made a stop at Turley’s 101 Vineyard, an 80 year old, mixed black vineyard in Alexander Valley, just a stone’s throw from Whitton Ranch. The back story is that Larry Turley found this vineyard for sale while browsing the classified ads in a local paper. Tegan Passalacqua pointed out that with old vines, the trunk is often hollowed out, and this was Mr. Turley’s first clue he had stumbled upon a true gem.

Lytton Springs

The final stop of the day was Ridge’s gorgeous winery and vineyard at Lytton Springs, in nearby Dry Creek Valley. This solar-powered, straw-bale facility is a modern marvel, and a testament to Ridge’s commitment to sustainable practices in the vineyard and the winery.

Lytton Springs Vineyard is a mixed-black vineyard dating back to 1901, and the source of Ridge’s single vineyard blend of the same name. David Gates contrasted this wine against the nearby Whitton Ranch; the Lytton Springs being a more tannic, rustic bottling, compared to the red-fruited acidity of the Geyserville bottling.

 

David gave a brief tour of the vines surrounding the winery, while Mike Officer and Morgan Twain-Peterson investigated the mix of old vines, trying to stump themselves in identifying some of the unusual varieties. Indeed they did, when they returned with questions about a single, white-grape vine, a mysterious variety present here as well as at both Bedrock and Carlisle vineyards. When questioned about the vine, David’s answer was, “I was hoping you would tell me.” The answer will need to wait a few weeks, when Mike gets DNA analysis on his vine back from the lab. This episode illustrated not only a passion for understanding the blends planted by immigrants a century ago, but also why every one of these old vineyards represents a unique piece of California viticultural history, and each a unique and distinctly Californian wine.

Wines Unique to California

When I was told that one of the winemakers along for the day was making a wine from a 100+-year-old Mission grape vineyard, I wasn’t sure what to think. Mission, a grape planted throughout the state by Franciscan missionaries in the 18th century, probably California’s true heritage grape, surely would have better stood the test of time had it the ability to make a quality wine, no?

When Deborah Hall of Gypsy Canyon winery in Santa Barbara found an overgrown hillside concealing a century-old vineyard, she naturally thought it might be old-vine zinfandel. The gnarly vines lining the hillside, competing for the sun with overgrown sagebrush, instead turned out to be Mission grapes. While some may have replanted this vineyard to one of the hot-selling varieties coming out of Santa Barbara, Deborah instead researched the history of the Mission grape, and learned of a fortified desert wine called Angelica, once made by the Franciscans at the San Gabriel Mission. She found an 1833 letter to the Friars of San Gabriel, in which then-Governor Figueroa writes of this delicious desert wine. Deborah makes The Gypsy Canyon Angelica using the same methods the Friars did centuries ago, and bottles it into antique, hand-blown glass.

I was fortunate to get the opportunity to taste this rare slice of California history at the HVS dinner. The bright garnet colored wine had caramel, currant, and hazelnut flavors, which paired beautifully at dinner with a crumbly, sharp, aged cheese (the only element of dinner served “blind,” the cheese was correctly identified by Mike Officer as 5 year-old Gouda). The Angelica, while bearing some resemblance to the classic fortified wines of Portugal, was yet unlike any dessert wine I had ever tasted. Like all the unique wines from these old vineyards, it’s a testament to why California’s viticultural heritage deserves our protection.

Dinner

The tour of Lytton Springs vineyard might have been unintentionally cut short by aromas of Carnitas and Mole wafting off the back porch of Ridge’s winery. Unable to resist, the group retired to the tasting room, where we were joined by Joel Peterson, founder and winemaker of Ravenswood.

All the participating wineries and some guests donated wine to the dinner. For someone who would pull over the car to visit a winery solely for the apparent age of the twisted vines in front of the building, this collection of wines was a dream to taste. Taking detailed tasting notes was beyond the scope of this event, which centered more around fantastic food, great company, and interesting conversation. I’ll try to touch some of the highlights for me, while unfortunately some of the great wines at the event never made it to my end of the table.

We started in the tasting room with white wines. The 1998 Kalin Semillon Livermore Valley is the current release of this wine, and showing remarkable freshness for its age, including tropical fruits and butterscotch flavors. The 2010 Bedrock Compagni-Portis is a rare “mixed white” field blend of Gewürztraminer, Trousseau Gris, Riesling, and several others, showing floral aromatics, peach and apricot so dense on the palate you might think it’s sweet, then finishes dry and crisp. The 2009 Bedrock Cuvee Caritas is a graves-style blend, taking its Semillon from the ancient vines of Monte Rosso. This wine is delicious now with a creamy texture, but has an acidic backbone that should make it an interesting wine to try with some age. The 2010 Bedrock Ode To Lulu was made in the style of a Bandol rosé, from 121 year-old Mourvèdre vines in Peterson’s Bedrock Vineyard.

Joel Peterson brought two magnums from his cellar, a 1992 Ravenswood Old Hill, and a 1997 Ravenswood Belloni Vineyard. The Old Hill showed its age on the nose, with forest floor and mushroom notes, but held and ethereal weightlessness on the palate with a core of dusty cherry. Really a remarkable showing for a Zinfandel of its age, although Joel said he felt the wine showed slightly corked. I hope someday I have the opportunity to try a good bottle!

Morgan Twain-Peterson brought 3 red wines from the Bedrock library. The 2009 Bedrock Dolinsek Heirloom Wine is a field blend from a vineyard followers of Joseph Swan might recognize as Frati Ranch. This was a lush, fruit-forward wine with a nice backbone of Zin spice. The 2009 Bedrock Vineyard Heirloom Wine was an elegant red with floral perfume on the nose and red fruits on the tongue taking a background note to exotic spices. The 2009 Bedrock Vineyard Syrah from 121 year-old vines, was a rare view into this noble grape’s potential in California, when taken from mature bones. The wine was massively structured and primary at this young age, but the core of red/blue fruit, smoked meats, and white pepper hint at the possibility of greatness.

Ridge brought several bottles to the table, including older bottlings of Geyserville and Lytton Springs, which I’m sorry to say never made it to my end of the table. I was a treat to taste the 2009 Ridge Pagani Ranch with the owner and farmer of this historic ranch, Dino Amantite. With big fruit and spice, this will be a release to look forward to.

Turley contributed a trio of 2008 Zinfandels, from Zampati, Fredericks, and Hayne vineyards. These wines did not cross my path during dinner.

Mike Officer brought three wines from his Carlisle winery, 2009 & 2005 Carlisle Vineyard Zinfandel, and 2004 Carlisle Two Acres, an old-vine field blend based primarily on Mourvèdre. The Two Acres showed the age-worthiness of this unique blend, drinking beautifully now; just starting to show some secondary nuances.

Dinner was capped off with a few desert wines: 2007 Ridge Geyserville Essence, a late-harvest Zinfandel/Petite Sirah blend from Whitton Ranch; 2009 Bedrock Lachryma Montis, a late-harvest, botrytisized Semillon from Monte Rosso, and the aforementioned Gypsy Canyon Angelica.

The Historic Vineyard Society

Over dinner I had the opportunity to talk to David Gates and Mike Dildine about the goals of the Historic Vineyard Society. I pointed out that most of the participating wineries had long lists of customers waiting to try the wines. David made the point that, the moment you stop marketing your product, someone else in the market will be working to overtake you. Mike pointed out that despite the success of the participating wineries, the wines remain some of the world’s great bargains in fine wine, which is an indicator that they are under-appreciated. We all agreed the wines at this dinner, across the board were unique and all showed well, making a fantastic pairing to the spicy food.

Joel Peterson gave a short speech, talking about the early days of ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers), when he and a few like-minded producers decided to get together and raise the profile and reputation of Zinfandel in the marketplace. He compared their first meeting to our group, and said great things can grow from a small group with great ideas. It’s difficult to not be in awe of someone who not only followed his passion, but was able to pioneer a place for his passion in the fine wine market. Today, seeing these places, and tasting the wines from them, underscored the importance of protecting this heritage.

Larry Piggins is a photographer and old-vine enthusiast living in Livermore, California