The Craig

Good Grief, It's That Time Of Year Again!

~ Robert Craig

Every year in the wine business we reach this critical time juncture in the growing season for the wine grapes.  Winter is drawing to a close and we are on the cusp of the new emergence of the vines from dormancy and the start of the grape development and maturation process for the 2012 vintage.

This year, we are reaching this critical time period from a different perspective than in recent years.  Over the past four winters, we have experienced substantial rainfall and generally colder temperatures.  The winter in 2010-2011 was particularly damp and cold - and it extended for a long time.  That season began just a little ahead of norm, with some rainy periods in September and more extensive rain in October.  From that time on, the rains continued all the way through Spring of 2011.  That April set a record for rainfall for that month and the rain kept falling into mid-June.  These conditions delayed bud-break well past normal expectations, thereby delaying commencement of the growing season.

To this point in the 2012 winter, a wholly different pattern has emerged. This was an unusually warm and dry winter through mid-March. Daytime temperatures were almost always above 50 degrees and many days were into the 60’s – and, occasionally, even in the 70’s.  Fortunately over most of the winter, night-time temperatures remained in the 30 to low 40-degree range, which kept the sap in the vines from rising.  Rainfall through early March was only 56% of normal and 44% of last year.

Now, the rains have finally arrived and big time!  As of March 18, over 7 inches has fallen in Napa Valley in just over one week.  The storm front is hanging around with more precipitation expected.  Of course, having all that rain in such a short span isn’t the greatest scenario and we still need more to reach normal levels, but we will take what we can get!  The good news is that we should have enough field moisture in the ground as the growing season begins. 

Presumably, the higher spring daytime temperatures will continue and the evenings will get progressively warmer.  This will pull bud-break forward and we could well see this happening toward the end of March or in early April.  The effect of warmer temperatures can be seen throughout the Napa Valley, with all of the fruit trees already in full bloom.  Generally speaking, this is a favorable development as it foretells that we should have a long growing season.

One final concern at this time of year is the potential for frost following bud-break.  Based on the temperature patterns so far this year, the probability of extensive frost should be minimal.  However, anyone who practices farming of any kind, knows that what should happen doesn’t always happen.  Nature is always holding the curve ball and can throw it at any time.

Let’s all hope for the best!

A Toast to the Noble Grape ~ Why Wine Matters

The New Year is a good time for reflection - looking back at where we've been and where we hope to be in the coming year.  The wine business is always evolving, presenting a new set of challenges each year.  Some are beyond our control, in the case of what Mother Nature will provide us in the growing and harvest seasons.  Others are always high priorities, such as finding ways to perfect our winemaking and viticultural practices in order to make the best wines possible. 

What remains constant is our love of wine and the joy we have in sharing what we create with friends and family.  The love of, or some would say the passion for, winemaking is both an intensely personal and yet a communal pursuit which connects us to the earth in a very fundamental way.

So the New Year is also a time to simply relax, sit back and appreciate what wine represents in our lives.  One of the best reflections on the subject was written in 2011 by Karen MacNeil, award-winning wine author, educator and consultant.  We think that Karen's blog post entitled "Why Wine Matters" pretty much says it all.  Here is an excerpt (for the full article, go to her website).

We hope you enjoy Karen's tribute. Let's raise a New Year's toast to reaffirming our bond with the noble grape in 2012!

Cheers, Bob & Lynn

____________________________

Why Wine Matters – One Woman's View
Karen MacNeil

"So what is it about wine?

I’ve come to think it is this: wine is one of the last true things. In a world mechanized to madness, a world where you can’t do anything without overhearing somebody’s cell phone conversation, a world where innocuous emails all exude infuriatingly false urgency–in this world, wine remains utterly unrushed. Still (thankfully) mysterious. The silent music of nature. For seven thousand years, vines clutching the earth have thrust themselves upward toward the sun and given us a transformative liquid in return. And so it is that wine ineluctably connects us to that earth. We don’t have to do anything. We drink… and the bond is there.

Wine matters because of this connection. Wine (and food) cradle us in our own humanity. Drinking wine–small as that action may seem–is an affirmation. It reminds us of other things that matter: love, friendship, generosity."

Terroir: Why the Napa Valley is what it is.

~ Robert Craig

Wine grapes can be grown in a wide variety of soils and climates.  In fact, every state in the USA, from Alaska to Arizona, has some production of wine.  However, moving up the ladder in terms of potential wine quality, the range of suitable conditions narrows dramatically.  At the top of this scale, the combination of soils and micro-climates needed  for maximum quality wine is quite specific.

This brings us to a concept known as “terroir”. There is no universal agreement as to what this elegant term encompasses as it relates to wine quality.  Some argue that “terroir” involves the full range of natural conditions and the human input of decision-making in grape growing and winemaking.

Personally, I prefer the more restrictive definition of terroir, which is the inherent natural attributes of a location that provide a contextually limiting framework for what can be achieved in grape quality.  A good application of this definition is found right here in California. 

The Central and Sacramento Valleys are where most of the grapes in the state are grown.  Generally deep and fertile soils and very warm temperatures characterize these two locations. These are ideal conditions for producing grapes in great quantity, but not suited for grapes of great quality. Vineyards here can produce 10 to 15 tons per acre of modest quality fruit.

In the Napa Valley and other Coastal areas, the terroir is greatly different, which is reflected in both the quality and quantity of grapes produced.  The combination of less fertile soils and more moderate summer temperatures yields grape crops of lower production but significantly better quality. 

Fog regularly rolls into Napa Valley during the summer from
nearby San Francisco Bay, contributing to cooler temperatures
and varied micro-climates.

One of the signature attributes of Napa Valley is its Mediterranean climate, with moderately warm, dry and sunny days and cooler evenings during the summer months.  This weather pattern allows the grapes to fully mature over a long growing season, without the metabolization (loss) of the acids that occurs in hotter climates. Also, soils in Napa Valley are less fertile and more well-drained than further inland.  This results in smaller grapes with more intense flavors.  Crop yields in Napa Valley generally range from 2.5 to 5 tons per acre.

The interplay of soils and microclimates is another hallmark of Napa Valley.  In this regard, Napa is an extraordinarily diverse location.  The Valley is only about 30 miles long and ranges between 10 and 15 miles wide. Within this relatively small land area, there are 46 different soil types (which is more than in all of France).  In addition, as the natural topography influences the movement of cooler air from the San Francisco Bay northward up the Valley, numerous pockets of this cooler air, or micro-climates, are formed.

This natural combining of geology, topography, soils and climate also influences the character of the wines.  The specific combination of these factors imprints recognizable aromatic and fruit characteristics on grapes grown in specific locations. 

This has been acknowledged in the designation of American Viticultural Areas (AVA’s) within the Napa Valley.  The AVA system gives recognition to the overall high quality and unique sensory profiles of wines produced from grapes grown within defined boundaries.

That said, the role of man cannot be overlooked in the ultimate realization of maximum wine quality from a specific location.  Myriad decisions of vine spacing, rootstock, varietal (clone), trellis design, pruning method, ripeness determination, picking date, fermentation regime, choice of yeast, barrel selection, aging and blending decisions and numerous other factors are key determinants of wine quality. 

These decisions will greatly influence how well the winemaker achieves ultimate wine quality and the style that he or she seeks within the constraints of the vineyard's terroir. 

In subsequent writings I will explore how the concept of terroir fits into our own wine program at Robert Craig Winery and the wines we produce from various AVA’s in the Napa Valley.

We're Officially "Green" ~ Napa Green Winery & Land Program

   
~ Robert Craig

We are very pleased to announce that our winery has qualified for the Napa Green Vineyard certification. Combined with our earlier Napa Green Winery Certification, we have a sustainable environmental program from the vineyards all the way through the winemaking process.  

The Napa Green certification applies to our Howell Mountain and Affinity estate vineyards and to our winery facility on Howell Mountain.

Napa Green encompasses the wine industry’s most comprehensive “best practices” for land-use and wine production. It's a voluntary program which is open to all Napa County vintners and grape growers and is certified by state and county agencies.

When we decided to participate in this program, both on the vineyard and winery side, I knew that the process would involve an extensive amount of detailed information and would be greatly time consuming.  For those reasons, we decided to tackle the vineyard certification in 2009 and focus on the winery the following year.

In early 2009, we enrolled our vineyards in the Fish Friendly Farming Certification Program, sponsored by the California Land Stewardship Foundation.  The focus of this organization is to maintain a high standard of water quality in the streams and rivers of our state, with wildlife protection as a primary objective.

The overall scope of the program is, however, much more expansive than the name indicates, covering all aspects of Best Management Practices in farming. It includes detailed analysis of erosion control measures, vineyard management practices, use of materials and all other factors in vineyard operations. 

Our vineyard manager Carlos Mendez and I worked on collecting and summarizing the data for our vineyards. Then the professional staff at Fish Friendly Farming reviewed our practices, made recommendations, and performed on-site inspections of the properties. That portion of the process took until late 2009 to complete.

The final inspections for State of California certification carried over into 2010.  With substantial cuts in budgets at the state level, fewer inspectors were available to cover the statewide scope of the program. 

Late last year, the inspectors were able to fit our vineyards into their schedule, and we were approved for environmental certification. Due to the backlog of paperwork at the state level, we are still awaiting receipt of the official certification document.

Green certification for the winery followed a different process.  We enrolled in the Napa Green winery environmental program, administered by the Napa Valley Vintners Association, in early 2010.  The program uses an extensive questionnaire template adapted for winery operations from the Bay Area Green Business Program format. 

Our Cellar Master, J.P. Formento, agreed to take responsibility for the work necessary to achieve certification.  Complete water and power usage audits were performed and every aspect of our facilities and business practices was scrutinized. 

This detailed information was submitted to the Napa County Department of Environmental Management for their review, physical inspection, comments and final approval.  J.P. did a great job and the winery received environmental certification in the Fall of 2010, shortly after final inspection and approval by the Environmental Management Department.

Napa Green is the wine industry’s most respected environmental sustainability program and all of us here at the Robert Craig Winery are pleased and proud that we took the time and put forth the effort to become participants.  We learned a lot in the process and have an all-around better company as a result.

For more information on the Napa Green land and winery programs, click on this link: http://www.napagreen.org/

GO GREEN!

Robert Craig

My Wine "Alma Mater" ~ The Vintners Club of San Francisco

~ Robert Craig

Many of us have had the benefit of a Mentor to help guide us along our career path.  Such a Mentor may be a person or an organization.  In my case, the Vintners Club of San Francisco was an important influence in my decision to pursue a life in winemaking.

In the mid to late 1970’s, I was a frequent participant in wine tastings at the Vintners Club, where I had the opportunity to discover the many nuances of wine in a rigorous and comprehensive format.  In many ways, I consider the Vintners Club as the Alma Mater for my early wine education.

Two devotees of wine, Jerry Draper and Reed Foster, founded the Vintners Club in 1971. The tastings were first held on the second floor above Jerry Draper’s import business, Draper & Esquin, then later at the World Trade Club and today at various venues around San Francisco.

From its inception, the Club’s mission has been to advance wine education. One measurement of consistent quality for an organization is longevity. By this standard, the Vintners Cub is unique. Next year the Club will celebrate 40 continuous years of excellence in wine education. Over nearly four decades, members have been enriched by approximately 1,500 educational tastings and events.

What was it like in the mid-1970s for someone interested in learning about wine? It is hard to believe, but there were few wine reviews or wine publications – no Wine Advocate or Wine Spectator. Robert Finigan’s “Private Guide to Wines” was a resource, but primarily for European wines.

There were no wine blogs, on-line wine forums or winery websites (in fact no internet!). Restaurant wine lists were either devoted to French wines or were limited in scope.

So with such meager options, how could one learn about wine? For me, the Vintners Club was a real gift. There I had the unparalleled opportunity to sit down in front of 12 wines in a blind tasting and evaluate and discuss them with fellow enthusiasts, winemakers and winery owners.

The UC Davis 20 point scale for judging was somewhat daunting but when learned was wonderful. In fact, to this day, I believe it is vastly superior to the 100 point ranking system used by many wine publications.

The tastings were rigorous and serious, as they are today. I can recall one evening when a participant started to chat about the wines while we were still tasting.  The table moderator told him, politely but firmly, “no discussion until all of us are finished.”

We were introduced to some extraordinary wines from around the world, but it was especially exciting to experience what was happening in Napa Valley and other growing regions of California in the 70’s.

Two of my all-time favorite wines were tasted at the Vintners Club during that time – a Villa Mt. Eden Pinot Noir – probably a 1972 or 73 – which I was sure was a great French Burgundy, during the blind tasting. A 1974 Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Veeder Winery was the first mountain wine that I had tasted – it was a lovely, concentrated, exceptional Cabernet that really did speak of its mountain heritage.

Those wines were made in a refined, classical style, emulating to some extent the great wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy, but with a California twist.  Later on, when I sought out vineyards in the mountains of Napa Valley, my goal was to make wines in that style.

Today the Vintners Club wine tastings remain unsurpassed for the selection of world-class wines; the rigorous protocol of the tasting format; and use of the UC Davis 20 Point Scale.

Among its members are some of the most notable individuals in the world of wine, including winemakers from France and California.  There are presently about 350 local members in the Bay Area. However, the Club’s publications have a global reach of approximately 7,000 subscribers.

For those of you who are interested in joining, there is a one-time initiation fee of $350 (tax deductible). Annual Dues are $295 for local members and wineries (tax deductible) and $160 for those who live more than 50 miles from the Civic Center of San Francisco. Each membership is for a couple (applicant and spouse/significant other) and any dependent children over 21. For wineries, any full-time employees may attend tastings at the member price.

Here is a link to more Vintners Club information on their website at www.vintnersclub.com

We have remained members over the years and our wines have been included in several tastings – something that gives me great satisfaction. I look forward to attending the next tasting on September 22, 2010, when one of our wines will be among ten 1997 vintage Cabernet Sauvignons from France and California to be tasted.

Cheers,

Robert Craig

Why do Napa Valley Cabernets cost so much?

I recently hosted a tasting at a retail store that features a lot of wines from around the world.   We were pouring the 2006 Affinity and 2006 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon.  When a customer inquired about the prices, I told him that our suggested retail is $48 for Affinity and $70 for the Mt. Veeder.  After some pause, he asked, "why are your wines so expensive?"

That direct question caught me a bit off-guard. For those of us at the winery and others who are familiar with our wines, these prices seem to be very reasonable for a top-level Napa Valley Cabernet – especially when compared to others of similar quality.

So, where do I start in answering this seemingly simple question?  First off, wine production is a very unique business.  A well-known consultant did a study of the wine industry some time back and found that it has a capital investment requirement that is TWENTY TIMES greater than the average of all American businesses!

Think about it.  If you buy a very expensive parcel of Napa Valley land and invest in all of the approvals and improvements to plant a first-class vineyard, you then must wait 3 years to get a small crop, and 5 years to reach full grape production.  That’s a lot of money going out before any starts coming in! 

Then, assuming that you are making Cabernet Sauvignon, you invest for an additional 3 years in production, barrels, and aging before the wine is ready to be released for sale. That’s another 3 years of cash outlay before you see a dollar back.

Also, wine differs from other beverages in two important ways. 

1. The ingredient cost per bottle of beer, soft drinks, hard liquor or, of course, water is very low – often less than pennies per bottle.  In contrast, wine has a much greater ingredient cost, based on the investment necessary to grow the best wine grapes possible and to make those grapes into excellent quality wine.

2.  Other beverages are formula products.  Once the formula is established (like the closely guarded ingredients for Coca Cola), the producer simply follows the recipe, year after year.  Wine is an agriculturally based product, with each vintage year creating differences in the grapes from which the wine is made.  This adds a risk factor for both the quantity and quality of production, year-to-year.

Finally, there is our commitment to the highest standards for our wines. This is not a meaningless marketing slogan.  Such a commitment requires acceptance of the substantially higher investments in farming and production associated with achieving that level of quality.

For example, our Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder and Spring Mountain Cabernets are more costly to produce due to the added expense of planting and farming vineyards on steeper hillside terrain. Factor into this economic equation the fact that annual grape yields are only about 65% of what is generated in vineyards on the Valley floor and you have a very high cost per ton – but the quality is fantastic! 

In the winery, “big ticket” items such as hundreds of expensive French oak barrels (used for only 2 vintages), sorting tables, special tanks, and other winemaking equipment are essential for crafting an exceptional Cabernet. And, of course, all of this outlay would be meaningless without the creativity and skill of a top-flight winemaker and winery team to work their “magic”.

From the time I started making our wines in 1992, I have always been determined that they represent a good value, despite all the farming and production costs involved.  When wine reviewer Robert Parker recently described our Affinity as a “steal for a great Napa Valley Cabernet”, he was acknowledging all that goes into a bottle of fine wine.

Enjoy in good health,

Robert Craig

Grapeman Video Game ~ the Cabernet Crusader triumphs again in 2009!

I recently spent a weekend at the home of good friend David Dobbs and his family in Bakersfield, California.  David and his wife, Tammy, own a spectacular new wine shop called Imbibe in Bakersfield and I was there to pour our wines for their patrons (click here for Imbibe website).

I got up a little late the next morning and the only one still at home was their son, Daniel. I sat down and talked to him briefly until he became totally engrossed in a video game.  It was a highly complex game, with different settings and a host of bad guys and obstacles to be zapped by the hero as he made his journey through the various challenges presented.

A few days later, when my wife Lynn asked me to do a harvest report for the 2009 vintage, I thought "why not do a Grapeman Video Game version?"  Here goes!

LEVEL 1:  Our hero Grapeman is in our Cabernet vineyards during the middle of Winter 2009, adjusting the rainfall pump for sufficient moisture for the upcoming growing season.  He has to be vigilant for two opposing foes.  One is Aridia, who can cut off all rainfall just as the season starts and cause drought.  The other is Mountain Slider, who wants to keep the rain tap open so that erosion is a problem on the steeper slopes. ZAP-ZAP!  Both evil-doers are vanquished and the vines get a good steady light rainfall.

LEVEL 2:  Winter comes to an end and 2009 bud-break approaches in the Napa Valley.  Grapeman has to be on guard for new adversaries -- Blustery and Hotshot.  If Blustery gets his way, winter sticks around and bud break is delayed.  Hotshot is trying to heat things up, prematurely, so that bud break comes too early and his cohort, Frosty Freeze, can cause havoc. ZA-ZA-ZAP! No luck this time for the bad guys!

LEVEL 3:  Bud beak has occurred on schedule and now Grapeman must be on constant vigil for the ever-sneaky Frosty Freeze.  The tender buds and, later, young shoots are vulnerable to frost damage.  In 2008, Frosty Freeze managed to get the upper hand and was able to stick around for too long, with great impact on crop levels.  Grapeman had his laser-ray trained on Frosty Freeze early in 2009, so we made it through the frost season in good condition.  ZAP-POW!

LEVEL 4:  This is the longest part of the growing season for Grapeman.  Early on, he is busy out in the vine rows with cultivation and fertilization, providing a favorable growing environment for the vines over the summer months.  He is constantly monitoring the moisture requirements, so the vines get barely sufficient irrigation, but not too much.  His two enemies on this game level are Spikey and Powdery.  Heat spikes can dry up the rooting zone of the vines if Grapeman is not ever-vigilant to keep moisture available to them.  In contrast, long periods of foggy and cooler conditions in some locations can bring on the onset of Powdery Mildew.  Again, Grapeman has to deal with whatever pops-up on the path of his journey. ZIP ZIP ZAPPOW!

LEVEL 5: The vineyards move ever closer and, then finally, into harvest mode.  This is the most critical time for Grapeman and he needs to be fully engaged and attentive.  Spiky returns from time-to-time, turning up the heat to bump up the sugars and sunburn the ripening grapes.  Then Rainaldo makes a wet appearance mid-way through this level with a burst of rainfall. Fortunately, his rain-dampened visits are short and not too severe, so that all the grapes can be harvested.  HURRAY!

A particularly insidious monster is lurking in the background during this whole contest.  Its name is Impetuous.  It is constantly whispering into the ear of Grapeman, saying "the grapes are really ripe and so you MUST pick them now!"  Grapeman must avoid this urge and stay the course with patient determination, constantly monitoring ripeness so as to pick the grapes at optimum fruit development.  BAROOOOM! 

All the foes are vanquished and Grapeman has won the game!  Our Super Hero has made his journey through another successful growing season.  Excellent wines are in the tanks and barrels, so it is time for a brief rest before the next challenge round begins.

Cheers to all those Super Heroes who work so hard to triumph in the vineyards, year after year! 

Robert Craig

     

Q & A: Doing the Math from Vine to Bottle

Those of us in the wine business are sometimes asked questions that catch us off guard.  For example, “How many bottles of wine come from a grape vine?”

  

This type of question is hard to answer because winemakers think more in terms of production-specific measurements, such as tons per acre; gallons per ton of fermented wine; cases per ton of finished wine or other benchmark statistics.

Even with most of these statistics, there are no universal standards because there are so many variables that influence the conversion of grapes to wine.

Starting in the vineyard, the yield of a vine in terms of cluster weight depends upon the grape varietal and the age of the vine. Also, some rootstocks and clones generate higher cropping levels than others.  Different spacing in the vine rows affects the number of vines per acre, while the number of spurs per vine determines the cluster counts per vine.

Then there are all the variables in winemaking, such as how much juice is produced from different grape varietals and how all of the fermentation, aging and bottling techniques affect the finished wine production from a ton of grapes.

Most importantly for our statistics at Robert Craig, there is a huge difference in the yields of grapes grown on hillside vineyards versus vineyards on the valley floor.  As a result of soil drainage from steeper hillsides and more austere growing conditions, mountain vineyards, as a rule, yield crop levels that are about 65% of those from the valley floor.

All that said, I’ve decided to try coming up with answers to commonly asked questions about grape and wine production.  For this purpose, I’ve focused on Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – which of course is the wine we make  – assuming mature vines with average yields.

I’ve also elected to use vine spacing of 5 x 8 feet, which is the typical spacing in our vineyards.  This spacing on a cordon-trained vine results in about 12 fruiting spurs, with 2 clusters per spur, or 24 clusters per vine.  For tighter spacing, the pounds per vine are less. The numbers for cases/bottles of wine are for finished wine after the racking, topping and bottling losses.

I hope you enjoy this Q&A. Use it as a way to impress your friends! When you look at a vine, check out the varietal, spacing and pruning.  Then say, “That vine looks like it produces about 2.5 bottles of great Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.”  You will be close enough!

How many tons of grapes per acre? 
Valley: 4 tons  –  Mountains: 2.5 tons

How many pounds of grapes per acre? 
Valley: 8,000 lbs  –  Mountains: 5,550 lbs

How many pounds of grapes per vine? 
Valley: 7.34 lbs  –  Mountains: 5.05 lbs

How many pounds per grape cluster? 
Valley: .31 lbs  –  Mountains: .21 lbs

How many pounds of grapes in a case of wine?
30 lbs

How many pounds of grapes in a bottle?
2.5 lbs

How many bottles of wine per vine?
Valley: 2.94 bottles  –  Mountains: 2.02 bottles

How many bottles of wine per cluster?
Valley:  .12 bottles  –  Mountains:  .08 bottles

How many gallons of wine in a barrel?
59 gallons

How many cases of wine in a barrel?
21 cases

How many cases of finished wine in a ton of grapes?
60 cases

How many bottles of wine in a ton of grapes?
720 bottles

After all this talk about numbers, the real question is – do you like the wine, no matter how many tons, pounds, barrels or gallons it takes?

Enjoy in good health,

Bob Craig

Unsung Heros In Napa Valley Winemaking

Invariably when studying the history of a place, you discover people who made important contributions without receiving lasting recognition.

Some time ago, I was interested purchasing a property just across Highway 29 from Freemark Abbey Winery, north of St. Helena.  It was five acres with an older two-story home that could be used as a tasting room. The person showing me around indicated that the house had important historical value, dating back to the 1880’s when it was the home of Josephine Marlin Tychson. 

By an unfortunate set of circumstances, Josephine Tychson was the first woman to build and operate a winery in California.   She and her husband, John Tychson, purchased the property in 1881.  They expanded the small existing vineyard and made plans to pursue their dream of having their own winery.  Although suffering from tuberculosis, John Tychson began to develop the winery plans. Unfortunately, he did not live to see those plans take shape.

After her husband’s untimely death, Josephine refused to let their dream die with him.  She bravely moved forward with construction of a 50 x 50 foot, 30,000-gallon-capacity redwood winery in 1886.  With the help of an experienced winemaker, Nils Larsen, Josephine successfully produced wine for the next eight years.  The winery later became the early home of Freemark Abbey Winery.

Rudolph Jordan was another unsung hero and one of the great early Napa Valley winemakers.  Jordan came to my attention when I was working on a history of the Mount Veeder Appellation. After selling his own property on Mount Veeder (now Mount La Salle/Hess Collection) in 1900, Jordan became winemaker for the nearby Nicholas Streich Winery (now Yates Family Vineyards).  It was here that he would make vital contributions to California winemaking.

Jordan was a well-educated individual – meticulous, inquiring and innovative.  Considered a radical by his contemporaries, he was committed to improving winemaking techniques and wine quality.  He corresponded extensively with Professor Fredrick T. Bioletti of UC-Berkeley and later UC-Davis. Out of that sharing of ideas and Jordan’s own research came three major winemaking innovations in the early 1900’s that are still followed.

His booklet, "Quality in Dry Wines Through Adequate Fermentations" was published in 1911 (a copy of it still exists in the UC-Davis archives).  In it he describes the use of sulfur and bisulfite for settling and protecting fermenting wines; temperature control -- the cooling of white wine fermentations and heating of red wine fermentations; and the addition of pure yeast that he had cultured to start fermentation.  Jordan concluded that by use of these techniques, “a product can be obtained that is superior to that made in the old ‘let alone’ way."

Thanks to Josephine and Rudolph for their contributions to Napa Valley winemaking!

Bob Craig

Individual expression or "mondovino" wine?

I am fond of the opening scene in the wine documentary MONDOVINO, of a few years back.  An old gentleman is being interviewed in his vineyard in Sardinia.  He looks toward the camera and says something like this. “My name is Giuseppe and this is my vineyard.  This vineyard has been in my family for four generations.  From my vineyards, I make my wine.  Some people think it is too acetic. I don’t”. He is saying that his wines are an individual expression of his vineyards and his personal approach to winemaking. I fully agree with this proposition.  A wine should have a sense of place and person.  It is unique to the growing conditions of a specific location and the stylistic expression of a winemaker. 

When I first got into the wine business some thirty years ago, I headed directly to the mountains of the Napa Valley.  As a consumer, I had developed a love for the intensity, structure  and depth of flavors of Cabernet Sauvignon from these higher reaches of the Valley's great mountain ranges. However at that time, mountain Cabernets had such aggressive tannins that they almost had to carry a consumer warning about all of the bad things that were going to happen to you if you dared to drink the wine before it had aged for 20 years!  

My personal objective has been to infuse mountain Cabs with riper and rounder tannins that integrate with the fruit and provide a smoother texture in the wines.  This allows our Cabs to be enjoyed over their entire life with the sound potential for aging in the 20+ year range. Wines with structure, polish and balance - that has been the "Craig" style, from the beginning of our winemaking in 1992 to today.

Each of our four Cabs from Napa Valley is an individual expression of the soils and micro-climates of the vineyards where the grapes are grown.  The difference in the flavor profile of each wine is quite mind-bending when you consider that the winemaking techniques are the same for all.  

Our goal is to craft Cabernets that are truly unique, rather than attempting to make formulaic wines that some influential critic might like. The "mondovino" vision of a global wine style without personality or distinctiveness will, I trust, never be realized as long as there are individualists making wine their own way and consumers who are open to all the wonderful possibilities.

Enjoy in good health!

Bob Craig