We’re hearing the word “green” thrown around quite a bit these days, in reference to everything from household cleaners to transportation. But in the wine world, calling a bottling “green” hasn’t always had positive connotations. In less eco-conscious times, a “green” wine was a wine made from grapes that had been picked a little too early, before they were fully ripe, resulting in a thinner texture and tart vegetal taste on the finish. But today, we often call wines “green” as a form of praise for their eco-friendly farming practices. Here at Gary’s, we’ve begun identifying wines that we know to be either organically, biodynamically, or sustainably farmed with “Gary’s Green Selections” tags. It can be tricky to navigate the intricacies of the terminology (after all, “organic wine” has an entirely different meaning than “wine made from organic grapes”), but we think that sharing this information is at least a step in the right direction toward being ecologically-informed wine drinkers. So this month, in celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd and all things deferential to Mother Nature, we tip our hats to the wineries that, in some form or other, have “gone green” in the best sense of the word. No vegetal tang, we promise.Vintner Selection
2009 Pullus Pinot Grigio
Grape variety: Pinot Grigio
Region: Podravje, Slovenia
Food pairing: Truklji (Slovenian farmer dumplings)
Sharing the same position in latitude as Piedmont and Bordeaux, Slovenia may be one of the best kept secrets in winemaking. The producer of Pullus, Ptujska Klet, is the oldest winery in Slovenia. Its cellars dating back to 1239 lie in a labyrinth beneath the city of Ptuj, and since Slovenian independence was established in 1991, the winery has embraced modern practices of international winemaking including organic methods of grape growing.
And yes, it’s supposed to be pink! Because your run of the mill Pinot Grigio is often pale gold in color, we often forget that it's actually made from a red-skinned grape. (Grigio/Gris means gray, as in the outer color of the skin.) Extended contact with the skins while this wine ages on the lees lends a rosey hue to this unique Slovenian Pinot Grigio, and on the mouth offers a creamy quality, with notes of pear, melon and fresh flowers.
More Information: 2009 Pullus Pinot Grigio
2009 Domaine Fabrice Gasnier Les Graves Chinon
Grape variety: Cabernet Franc
Region: Chinon, Loire Valley, France
Food pairing: Organic country or pheasant paté
When the young and ambitious Fabrice Gasnier took over the family domaine in Chinon from his father several years ago in his early twenties, he was eager to try some new farming methods. So he quickly employed organic viticulture, gaining plants and vines that were healthier than ever before...but it still wasn’t enough for Fabrice. So he went to visit an old winegrowing master in his region, this time an expert in the homeopathic method of biodynamie. The master convinced his young Jedi to give biodynamics a go, using composts and moon-based planting and pruning, and several years later, Gasnier can show us the difference in pictures of his vines underground. Roots that years ago descended only a few feet now plunge ten feet into subterranean preserves, showing incredible thriving plants. And the wine itself? Red fruited at first followed by savory garden herbs, just as the savory cousin to Cabernet should be.
Reserve Selections
2009 Francois Chidaine Vouvray les Argiles
Grape variety: Chenin Blanc
Region: Vouvray, Loire Valley, France
Food pairing: Pan-roasted scallops in cream sauce
Francois Chidaine has worked alongside his father Yves crafting Chenin Blanc in Vouvray for many years, but the two hold separate estates and somewhat separate viewpoints. Francois farms his vines, some of them between 40 and 80 years old, biodynamically. Yet he eschews the idea of mentioning biodynamic viticulture on the bottles themselves, even though the estate has been Demeter certified since 2003. The 2009 vintage was an
especially ripe-fruited one, but Chidaine’s wines managed to retain a
distinct quality of acidity atypical of the vintage, credited largely to his cool, water-retentive soils. Wine critic David Schildknecht noted an iris perfume and very vivid notes of lemon and pineapple on the palate, with hints of herbal and mineral essences. “Salt, iodine, and shrimp shell reduction will also feature saliva-inducingly...for this long-finishing blend that should be worth following for 8-10 years.” I’m sure I’m with him on all but the shrimp shell reduction.
More information: 2009 Francois Chidaine Vourvray les Argiles
2008 Quivira Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel
Grape variety: Zinfandel
Region: Dry Creek Valley, California
Food pairing: BBQ beef brisket
The first sentence you’ll read on Quivira Vineyards’ web page is this: “Biodynamics maintains that nature is very powerful...if you let it reign.” And let it reign they do. As they’ll be first to admit, biodynamic farming is time-consuming, expensive, and at times rather unusual. But the winemaking team of Hugh Chapelle, winemaker and Ned Horton, assistant winegrower, feel that healthy soil leads to the best expression of terroir. So their winery is not just a winery but an entire self-sustaining system that includes vineyards, compost piles, chicken coops, vegetable gardens, trout streams and beehives. This home-grown approach works out well for their Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, a deep dark wine full of black fruit and plum flavors, rich spice tones, and a lasting finesse. As the weather warms up, try this with your first barbecue endeavor of the season.
Cellar Selections
2006 Quinta Sardonia Sardon del Duero
Grape variety: Tinto Fino
Region: Sardon del Duero, Castilla-Leon, Spain
Food pairing: Free range lamb chops
A brand new and enthusiastically forward-thinking project on the outskirts of the Ribera del Duero, Quinta Sardonia has been a biodynamic winery from the start, cultivating entirely without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. With young vines of Tinto Fino (the local varietal most closely related to Tempranillo), Cabernet Sauvignon, and very small amounts of Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, Peter Sissek (also of Pingus fame) produces a Bordeaux-style wine fermented in stainless steel and aged in French oak. The vineyards are plowed under and house-made compost is applied; harvest is done entirely by hand, and yields are kept very low (about 6000 bottles made in total.) The wine is already being proclaimed by some as “Spain’s next cult wine,” and Jay Miller of the Wine Advocate gave it 93 points, noting “an aromatic array of cedar, Asian spices, incense and blackberry” with a savory and supple palate.
More information: 2006 Quinta Sardonia Sardon del Duero
2007 St. Innocent Momtazi Vineyard Pinot Noir
Grape variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Food pairing: Wild pan-roasted salmon with fennel
St. Innocent winemaker and president Mark Vlossak is a big believer in the best wines
being hand-made, and with over twenty years experience making wine in the sustainably-conscious Willamette Valley of Oregon, he took note from Burgundy and Alsace on how to make his own domaine even better. “From my first trip to France in 1998,” he says, “I
observed that the greatest domains in both
Burgundy and Alsace had one thing in common; they farmed
biodynamically.” Knowing that the Momtazi Vineyard in McMinneville was being farmed biodynamically and had a track record for great fruit, he
approached Moe Momtazi to make a St. Innocent bottling of Momtazi Pinot Noir. Vlossak loves the vineyard for its sunny hillside exposure that creates Pinot that’s darker and more intense in fruit profile and tannins than other Willamette appellations. And in a notoriously light and acidic vintage, that was particularly important in making a naturally balanced and delicious wine.
More information: 2007 St. Innocent Momtazi Vineyard Pinot Noir
Premiere Selections
2006 Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Vigna Chiniera
Grape variety: Nebbiolo
Region: Barolo, Piedmont, Italy
Food pairing: Sottocenere or other truffled cheese
Those of you who have been in the club for some time now may recall that in April of 2009, we sent you a bottle of 2004 Elio Grasso Gavarini Vigna Chiniera, noting that 2004 was one of the finest vintages for Barolo in recent years. It’s not often that I choose to repeat a wine only two vintages later, but the 2006 vintage was such a good one that I couldn’t resist. If by any chance you've hung on to that bottle of 2004, you now own two of Barolo’s best-made wines from two of its greatest vintages in recent history.
Now the 2006 vintage was one of such ideal conditions and purity of fruit that, just like in 2004, any winemaker worth their salt should’ve made pretty great wine. But Elio Grasso of Monfote d’Alba, a sub-appellation of Barolo, made his 2006 Gavarini Vigna Chiniera (all from organically grown grapes) with a hefty dose of traditionalism to boot. His wines tend toward the old-school style of Barolo, carrying more tobacco-laden tannins than the hedonistic fruit that’s popular today. “We have a philosophy of our relatives who worked in the vineyards before us,” he stated to one reviewer, “and we need to respect that. We need to be honest with ourselves. If I was going to change, I would have changed 30 or 40 years ago. I’m 60 years old...why would I change now?” Fair enough. Though the wine does carry those traditional Barolo tannins, the 2006 is such a beautifully balanced vintage with uplifting acidity and floral undertones, that the tannins, even while young, don’t feel heavy or overbearing. Antonio Galloni, reviewer for the Wine Advocate, noted “This is supremely beautiful Barolo where expressive aromatics, generous fruit and silky tannins come together with unusual grace and elegance. The 2006 is the best Gavarini since the 1989, and who knows if it might one day match that legendary Barolo.” While it’s obviously a beautiful wine now, this will likely be at its best five to even twenty years from now. 95 Points Wine Advocate.
More information: 2006 Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Vigna Chiniera
2007 Vineyard 7 & 8 “7” Cabernet Sauvignon
Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Napa Valley, California
Food pairing: Short ribs in red wine reduction
When you first meet Vineyard 7 & 8 proprietor and director of operations Wesley Steffens, it’s not likely that he’ll tell you he once worked in Thomas Keller’s kitchen at the French Laundry before working his way up from cellar rat to cellar master at Harlan Estate and finally landing at his family’s own winery to run the show. But all that time he undoubtedly spent painstakingly picking and cleaning and carefully slicing vegetables from the famed French Laundry garden must have instilled him with some sense of gravitas when it comes to proper farming, because shortly after his family winery established themselves, they allied themselves with Pete Richmond of Silverado Farming Company, a vineyard consulting company known for an unparalleled approach to using the latest in sustainable farming practices. With rigorous concentration on vineyard sustainability from winter pruning to hand-harvesting in the Fall, Pete, Wesley, and winemaker Luc Morlet make quite a team of perfectionists, and the ratings have begun to reflect that notion.
“The 2007 “7” Cabernet was one of my first two Cabernets produced at Vineyard 7 & 8, “ Morlet says, “As with the Estate Cabernet, the focus of this wine is to show a wine with a true sense of place for the Spring Mountain District. Intense and rich, the “7” Cabernet displays a complex bouquet of black and red berries, intermixed with roasted and mineral notes. The youthful tannins are true to their mountain origin and will age beautifully over the next decade or more.” Robert Parker agreed, noting that the deep, fleshy, “exuberant and opulent style would please both Joe the plumber and the connoisseur” alike. It’s become a favorite of ours, and hope it will be one of yours as well.
More information: 2007 Vineyard 7 & 8 “7” Cabernet Sauvignon
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