I consider myself to be a wine savvy sort of girl. After spending my entire adult life working in the restaurant business, I certainly am knowledgable in the wine-drinking side of the wine business. Not to mention the fact that I tend to research the subject of tasting wine daily, with dinner! Ah, Wine Country. Before I moved to Sonoma, it always felt like this faraway, sort of magical place. Now that I live here, I still believe that this is a magical place, utterly heaven. After more than four years, I continue to stagger around, oohing and ahhing over the vines, the grapes, the vineyards, the wines. I am obsessed with the unbelievable amount of labor and love, the passion, required to make a single bottle of wine. The stunning amount of time and effort that goes into the business of physically producing it is breathtaking, an entire business that is solely pleasure-based. Amazing. For years I have cheerfully worked my way through countless tasting rooms and winery tours and at this point I fancy myself an expert wine drinker, but what about the process of making wine? The hands-on, grapes under the fingernails, making of wine? I totally wanted the scoop on what it truly requires to get those grapes from the vine to the bottle. So, this year, I launched my own little personal “Harvest Project,” a behind the scenes, season-long look at the making of a bottle of wine. From the growing, to the picking, the crushing, labeling and bottling, the entire experience has been utterly fascinating.
The first and most crucial thing I required was someone fun to tutor me, not a stuffy wine geek who would simply baffle and bore me with scientific terms and obscure techniques. I enlisted the absolute perfect person, my friend and über talented Sonoma winemaker, Paul Hoffman. His four wine labels – Headbanger Zinfandel, Atmosphere, Curveball and 401K – are the ideal expressions of Paul’s personal philosophies and lust for life, not to mention the wine business. He happily agreed to let me tag along with him here and there as he worked his way through what turned out to be quite the dramatic 2011 harvest season.
Visiting the vineyards, checking on the grapes’s progress, has got to be the absolute finest part of his job. As the sun rises, the light is soft and the dew-covered grapes glow as if tiny purple and gold stained glass windows. Plucking grapes from different rows, comparing the taste from one to the other, was a fascinating and delicious lesson in terroir. I adored being in those magnificent vineyards, tasting grapes. Sauvignon Blanc was lovely at that very moment, with honey-apricot and flowery flavors. Meandering between the rows, the smell was enchanting, my fingers sticky from Zinfandel juice which tasted of violets and plums, the hum of thousands of bees buzzing dizzying in the unusually warm October afternoon.
The winery work was thrilling, Paul’s passion and excitement for his craft was intoxicating. Well, and so were the unlimited barrel samples! It was hard work, but thoroughly satisfying.
At the winery, equipment needed to be prepped and organized, barrels readied, supplies gathered and sorted, and the actual logistics of moving a dozen tons of grapes from the vineyard to facility planned. Honestly, this was a ton of work, simply prepping for the making of the wine. The glamorous life of a winemaker was beginning to appear slightly less glamorous and I hadn’t even hosed out grape bins or shoveled stems yet. It seemed that we spent most pre-harvest days in the truck. Running. Checking on grapes – would they ever ripen this year? – sourcing supplies and picking up essential ingredients from places that specialize in fermentation projects. All the while staying in communication with the grower. One particular afternoon while popping over to Napa Fermentation, the coolest little shop near downtown Napa geared mostly towards home brewers and winemakers, for some last minute yeasts or something, I was once again overwhelmed with my love for Wine Country. This place was honestly buzzing with excited folks in the thralls of creating something, something delicious to drink, scooping up an array of wonders stacked haphazardly in this shop. Making something, more than likely, from ingredients that they literally grew themselves.
The morning we picked, the weather was exquisite. My boots sank into the dirt a bit as I stepped into the vineyard and I couldn’t help but smile a big, happy, silly smile. There was not a spot on Earth that I would have rather been that day. It was a bit chilly, but I shivered more from the energy in the air than the temperature. I say the morning “we” picked, but we literally just stood around, merely being in the vicinity of the grapes and the skillful crew as they moved speedily among the vines was enough. Paul’s delight as the bins filled was palatable. Here was the momentous day that his whole year, his entire business came down to. Like a worried, proud dad, he stood over his grapes plucking out a stray leaf, a stick. All the time, tasting, tasting and smiling. He was so obviously dreaming of precisely how the finished wine will taste, just how opening a bottle of it a year from that day, the memories of that morning, standing in that gorgeous vineyard will all come rushing back. It was so meaningful to be a part of that and I found that my smile grew even more.
As soon as the grapes arrived, the winery was filled with the pulsating sounds of the crush machinery and our rag tag group of mostly non-paid workers – friends of Paul’s – as we shouted excitedly to each other. The following ten hours were a blur, a wet, gooey blur. Zinfandel was crushed, bin by bin, lovingly separated into vineyard blocks, Paul’s determination to maintain the particular characteristics of the grapes was noble, although certainly more labor intensive. By this time I was not only soaking wet from pressure washing one ton grape bins, but was coated in a layer of grape juice. My fingernails were purple from picking through a couple of tons of grapes, which made me strangely happy. Days later I smiled a ridiculous, big smile every single time I looked down at my stained hands and noticed, yes, they were still purple. Yes, I made wine. I basically touched every bunch of grapes that will one day be that wine, in that bottle. I will drink it possibly years from now and know, I helped do that. I will open that bottle and serve it lovingly with a meal that I will cook specifically because it will be stellar with that wine. That I helped make. I will lift my glass and say a little toast to Paul, his overwhelming love for this amazingly difficult business, his passion for creating something beautiful and delicious, for that group of his friends willing to toil away grueling hours of their lives to be involved in his vision, to be sitting somewhere and to also be opening a bottle and thinking exactly the same thing….we did that and hey, it’s yummy.
Saying that making wine is a difficult, expensive endeavor is an understatement, but being involved in the creation of a beautiful bottle of wine is easily one of the most seductive adventures I’ve experienced and I am eagerly counting the days until my vintage is released! Find a selection of his wines locally at Sonoma’s Best, the girl and the fig and Alsina Restaurant at Cornerstone to name a few. Experience the Urban Winery Revolution and visit the Hoffman Family Cellars tasting room and winery on historic Treasure Island. For more information on Paul Hoffman or his wines, visit exclusivefinewines.com or email him directly at info@exclusivefinewines.com.
On The Menu
Lunita Farm’s “Winter CSA” memberships are now available. The first of the small, local grower’s shares will be delivered on November 28. Each of the five winter shares will include an assortment of organically grown Lunita Farm produce exceeding $30 in value. Typically, find winter squash, onions, potatoes, garlic, leafy greens, root vegetables, and other fun additions such as persimmons, citrus and chestnuts. The five shares cost a mere $150 and help support small, important agriculture here in the Valley. Email Rachel at lunitafarm@gmail.com for all the details or to sign up.
• Join Ramekins on Friday evening, October 28, for a truly special evening with Steve Hearst of the prominent Hearst family during a “Salon Dinner.” He will speak about his family’s rich history, Hearst Castle and the Hearst Publishing empire. Guests will then taste wines from his family winery and dine on beef from the family’s ranch during a multi-course dinner. $135 plus tax and service. To reserve your space call Ramekins at 933.0450 or visit ramekins.com.
• Alsina Station Grill’s “Halloween Tango” is Sunday, October 30. Beginning at 5 p.m., the Argentinian restaurant at Cornerstone offers an evening of live music by Marcelo Puig and Seth Asarnow. The evening sounds like a fabulous opportunity to sit beneath the olive trees, dig into a wood-grilled, all-natural steak, while sipping some wonderful Argentinian wines and either watching – or taking part – in the open Tango! Call Alsina at 933.4422 to make reservations. $10 cover charge, with full menu available. Visit alsinagrill.com for more information.
• Visit Viansa Winery every Saturday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. for a “California Food and Wine Pairing,” while each Sunday at the same time is “An Italian Food and Wine Pairing.” Guests will enjoy an engaging hour of food preparation and wine discussion while nibbling on small plates complimented by special Viansa wines. $15 for members and $20 for non members. Call Viansa at 800.995.4740 to make reservations.
• A great opportunity to visit the stunning new Ram’s Gate Winery is on November 4 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. during their “Private Premier Party.” Guests will have the opportunity for an intimate tour of the vineyards and barrel rooms, joining winemaker Jeff Gaffner in the cellar for a barrel tasting and to tour Chef Jason Rose’s open kitchen, learning some of his favorite dishes to create, sampling them along with more of Ram’s Gate wines. Tickets are $90 per person and are extremely limited. They can be purchased online by visiting giltcity.com/san-francisco/ramsgate. For more information regarding the winery itself, visit ramsgatewinery.com.
Kristin Viguerie is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond. Find her blogging daily as the Cook (thecardiganandcook.com) or via email at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.
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