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Newsletter #01 |
Unti Vineyards
Newsletter 1 April 1999 WHAT TO PLANT? Deciding on what grapes to plant in your vineyard is not unlike deciding on a mate. Both involve rational and emotional thought, each have long term consequences, and each will be expensive if you change your mind. Picking a spouse can be the result of an emotional high or naivete. Selecting the rootstock and varietal for a vineyard should be void of these emotions, but it is not. Now if we were in France, where laws prevent you from "playing the field" with grapes, our "marriage" would be arranged and we’d plant what we were told. In California, we get to plant what we want. Two major factors usually determine vineyard choices: area reputations and market prices. Various appellations have developed reputations for certain grapes based on climate, soils, viticultural practices and winery production, thus raising prices for those grapes. In Napa Valley for instance, you’d be crazy not to plant Cabernet Sauvignon or at the very least Merlot, and receive up to $4,000 a ton. The same can be said about Zinfandel in Dry Creek. It’s just what you plant. So what did the Unti family decide? When in Rome … act like a Tuscan. My Dad and Linda replanted their first two open blocks to Syrah and Sangiovese. Their philosophy is plant what you like to drink and what will do well. We think Dry Creek’s Mediterranean climate is perfect for these varietals. VARIETALS WITH PERSONALITY Over the years, Dad and I find we have come to similar conclusions about wine. It has to have personality and fruit (which sounds about as specific as saying we like it to be liquid, but I’ll expound). As ex-Safeway hacks, Dad and I have had the good fortune of being able to taste wines from around the world. More importantly, our visits to several wine regions, including Dry Creek, opened our minds to appreciate all kinds of wine. Now, while tasting Chateau Margaux 1982 at the winery is kind of cool, we prefer the red wines from the South of France (especially Rhone wines), Tuscany (Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino) and Dry Creek/Russian River (Zinfandel). Why? The primary grapes used in these wines, Grenache, Syrah, Sangiovese and Zinfandel are fruity and distinct. The best renditions are deep colored, with intense fruit and spice flavors void of new oak, yet moderately tannic, and they are great with the kind of food we like to eat. While all the cool people were pounding Cabernet and Chardonnay, the Unti family gatherings started with a Tavel Rose, then on to the Raffanelli, Nalle or Quivira Zin, and if I had my way, Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape. Slowly but surely these wines replaced more prominent Cabernets and Bordeauxs in our respective cellars. (Unless you ask my wife and she’ll tell you there was no replacing going on, just buying of the wines we liked and dust-gathering of the Cabs.) Here are some reasons for our choices: Unlike Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Pinot Noir, Syrah is better without gobs of new oak. Second, the wines are drinkable upon release. Third, Syrahs and Zins are consistently good values -- unlike with some Burgundies or American Pinot Noirs you aren’t going to be disillusioned by paying too much for a mediocre wine. HUMBLE HOME BREW BEGINNINGS In 1994, when the new vineyards were up and producing we decided to try our hand at home winemaking. It was oh so romantic: the autumn sun shining in your face; picking and crushing grapes to the sound of Lon Simmons cracking up Bill King during an A’s broadcast; relaxing after a hard day’s work with a cold Sierra Nevada on the ride to the house in the back of Dad’s ‘79 Ford pickup but forgetting that the road is bumpy and the shocks are old and getting beer splashed all over your face; your jeans stuck to your thighs with grape juice; bugs licking your forearms; getting yelled at by your wife for being five hours late. ("We’ll be done by noon, I mean how long could it take?") Needless to say our methods were crude. Fortunately, our Zinfandel and Syrah didn’t seem to mind. To our surprise, the wine turned out pretty well (ok, so some of the wine turned out well.) While sharing a bottle of our Syrah, Dad and I started thinking an Unti winery could be a realistic possibility, proving that neither one of us understands reality and that the wine’s alcohol was definitely over 14 percent. THANK HEAVEN FOR QUIVIRA In the spring of 1997 we asked Quivira president, winemaker and nice guy, Grady Wann to consider custom winemaking for Unti Vineyards. We had long admired the style of Quivira’s wines and figured it was worth pursuing our first choice of local wineries to assist us. Much to our amazement and delight he agreed. I’m sure there would not be an Unti Vineyards winery in 1999 had we not been so fortuitous. Every step of the process, from crush to blending trials to bottling has gone smoothly due to the fantastic winemaking team at Quivira. We are eternally grateful to Grady, Rick Hutchinson, David Greene, James MacPhail and of course, owners Henry and Holly Wendt. VISIT US Unti Vineyards is open for sales and tasting by appointment. We are located ½ mile past the stop sign at Lambert Bridge Road (Dry Creek general store). We’re on the left (or valley side) of the road. Our phone number is (707) 433-5590; fax is (707) 433-9039. Our 1997 Zinfandel is quite recognizably Dry Creek. That is to say it is lush, intensely fruity and elegant. It comes from our four-year-old vineyard of "old clone" Zinfandel. We use the ever popular and more expensive vertical trellis system allowing for excellent sun exposure and canopy management. This trellis is important for Zinfandel grapes whose thin skins and tight bunches start rotting if you walk by the vines and even think about moisture. We were quite fortunate to have our first commercial release come from the ’97 vintage. It is certainly the best we’ve seen in our short history here in Dry Creek. Other than a couple of August and mid-September rains, which forced us to go back in the vineyard and drop crop, 1997 was quite gracious in giving us deep colored and intensely flavored wines. When we say this wine is elegant, we mean that it is not an over-the-top 15 percent-or-greater-alcohol monster Zin. Conversely, this should not be confused with a wimpy "food wine". Our decision to blend Syrah and Petite Sirah into the Zinfandel solved that issue. I think this wine can hang with some of the better Chianti Classicos or put another way, this is a Phi Slamma Jamma wine for those lovers of unfiltered Dry Creek Zin. Only 320 cases produced. (We’ll have more next vintage.)
The 1997 Syrah is a convincing example of how well this varietal grape does in Dry Creek. In fact, ten years from now I wouldn’t be surprised if Syrah is the second most planted varietal in the appellation. The warm mid-day climate in Dry Creek produces Syrah with an intense blackberry/cassis character, not unlike my favorite renditions from the Southern Rhone. Our 6-acre block of Syrah has impressed us every year since it was planted in 1991, but we have never seen a year like 1997. Dad says they were the best-looking Syrah grapes he has seen off of this vineyard, which is saying a lot. The berries looked like tiny olives as they whisked past us on the sorting table free of any defects. One thing I’ve learned from Rhone producers is that when you get fruit this good it’s best not to goof it up with winemaking tricks such as extended maceration or loads of new oak. We didn’t do either, yet this wine retains incredible color, body and complexity. If it were a Cabernet I’d recommend holding on to it for 20 years. But this is Syrah. There is an explosion of fruit that seduces you to drink it now, which is all the convincing I need. Like the Zinfandel, this wine was bottled unfiltered to retain texture and personality. 1292 cases produced.
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| 4 2 0 2 D r y C r e e k R o a d - H e a l d s b u r g C A 9 5 4 4 8 - t e l 7 0 7 - 4 3 3 - 5 5 9 0 / f a x 7 0 7 - 4 3 3 - 5 5 9 1 Copyright ã 1997-2006 Unti Vineyards. All rights reserved. |
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