Trying to compete with Napa Cab is a common problem
for those producing wines in their shadow. Sonoma was the first to experience
this, but over time it has successfully distilled a singular message about
“coastal” and “cool” and established itself first and foremost as an ideal place for cool-climate loving Pinot Noir and
Chardonnay. So what do producers of rich, ripe and well-structured Cabernet grown
on the very same Mayacamas benches and foothills so prized just a few miles south,
in the heart of Napa Valley do?
For many, the trip down Highway 29 dead ends at
Calistoga. Yet if you continue about another 20 minutes up and over the grade,
traversing Mt. St. Helena, you’ll end up in Middletown, at the base of Clear
Lake, around which the best Cabernet vineyards of Lake County are planted. Due
East of Middletown is one of Lake County’s far reaching AVA’s, Guenoc Valley,
with only one winery, Langtry Estate, and a long track record of outstanding
Petite Sirah amongst other things. There is another far reaching AVA at the
opposite end of Clear Lake, Benmore Valley, which is basically defunct. The heart of wine country here are the high
elevation vineyards on the volcanic ridges at Red Hills and across the lake at
High Valley, both of which enjoy cooling breezes and iron rich soil, as well as
the newly proclaimed AVA’s of Kelsey Bench, once a lava flow from Mount
Konocti, and the flatter, lower Big Valley, a basin adjacent to the lake.
Kelsey Bench and Big Valley AVA’s are excellent sources of Sauvignon Blanc.
Dark, sultry, plush, and well-structured High Valley
and Red Hills Cabernets are enjoying a newfound success. Their pricing hovers
around the $20 mark, and with large players like Shannon Ridge (who also owns
Vigilance) and Brassfield, the wines are getting out into state and national
distribution. There are other wines to watch for as well. Petite Sirah from
these two and other appellations is juicy, bright, peppery, and not nearly as
oaky as the standard bearers such as that of Stags Leap Winery. Zinfandels
across the region are in general lighter, elegant, with a concentration of
pretty red fruits, and have excellent balancing acidity.
Italian varietals are
carefully crafted at Rosa d’Oro, and Six Sigma Ranch Tempranillo is one of the
best Spanish varietals in the area. Gregory Graham’s Viognier’s are some of the
best in California!
A new category is popping up as well, red blends
made with Bordeaux, Rhone, Italian and Spanish varietals. With memorable, easy
going names like Eruption by Brassfield, Dalliance by Vigilance, and Wrangler
Red by Shannon Ridge, these lively, richly fruity, only slightly oaked wines
deliver a lot of pleasure for the money.
These luscious reds are natural in more ways
than one. From a wine tasting perspective, as both a judge at the Lake County
Wine Awards, and on a 6-AVA tasting tour shortly thereafter, it was a pleasure
tasting non-manipulated wines, the very commercial category that exists from
top to bottom of the market – wine are
evaluated in a lab and doctored up with softening agents, coloring agents, oak
chips, artificial flavors and/or residual sugar to either hit literally the
“sweet spot” or to please the old school power player critics.
Natural farming is also standard operating procedure
here. In summer, daytime temperatures exceed those of St. Helena. However,
evening breezes bring a nice, gentle cool-down. Natural acids are retained,
fruit tannins are gentler, skins are thicker, and grapes contain more
heart-healthy resveratrol. The air is pristine here, some of the cleanest in
the state, and the sunshine bright. With the nearest city two hours away, there
is no smog or light pollution. The Lake County Winegrape Commission states that
over 75% of Lake County growers have completed the Code of Sustainable
Winegrowing Practices Self-Assessment Workbook. Shannon Ridge goes as far as
having sheep “mow” their vineyards. Audrey Shannon explains, “The sheep serve
as woolly compost machines in charge of canopy management and leaf removal on
Shannon’s vineyards, and also eat the vineyard clean after harvest. We’ve made
American Lamb history.”
With fires lit on so many fronts, it is inevitable
that Lake County is going to become an important part of the current chapter of
California wine history.
www.lakecountywinegrape.org
© Copyright 2014 Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis, Planet Grape LLC. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 2014 Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis, Planet Grape LLC. All Rights Reserved.
