Stories of Passion and Pinot, And Not Only Pinot: Battle Creek Cellars
I love urban wineries (or city wineries as they are often called). Solvang, Woodinville, Walla Walla – each place was different but similar at the same time – unique wines, unique stories, unique experiences. I would venture to say that winemakers at the urban wineries have more freedom to create and experiment, as they can choose the vineyards they want to work with and the style of the wines they want to produce. My latest experience in Portland is a direct confirmation of this.
My last winery visit in Oregon was at the city winery called Battle Creek Cellars, located in Portland’s Pearl District. I was told that I’m going to meet a winemaker who not only makes wines but also plays American football professionally, and has a unique personality. And I had about one hour before I had to start heading to the airport to make my flight – somewhat of a challenge for me as it is in my nature to worry about not missing a flight.
Sarah Cabot, the winemaker, was already waiting for us as we arrived at the tasting room. We grabbed glasses, a few bottles and headed out to the patio in the back to taste wines and to talk.
At the city winery, you can expect to find great wines, but you are not necessarily expecting to be blown away by what you taste and what you learn. The wines were absolutely spectacular, starting with the very first one 2018 Battle Creek Cellars Reserve White Blend – the wine had a distinct spicy nose, honey notes, and on the palate was clean, crisp with great acidity, creamy, and very different from the nose. This is where the unique sides of Sarah were already showing – she was getting the fruit from the vineyard where the vinegrower refused to tell her the exact composition of the blend – she only knew that Riesling and Gewürztraminer are a part of the blend, but the exact composition was not known.
Not only Sarah works with unknown grape blends, but she also uses a range of tools to produce the wines. For example, her 2019 Chardonnay Reserve was spectacular – round inviting nose with a hint of honey, and clean, crisp, and creamy green apple driven on the palate, a delicious rendition of Chardonnay – fermented in the sandstone jar.
Talking to Sarah I learned that while Battle Creek Cellars production is about 10,000 cases overall (6000 cases for unconditional Pinot Noir, 4000 cases of the other wines), Sarah is responsible for the production of more than 100,000 cases annually for her parent company, Precept Wine, Northwest’s largest private wine company. I also learned that Sarah greatly values the freedom to experiment which she has while working with her Battle Creek Cellars portfolio and that esoteric elitism, so common in the wine industry, is making her uncomfortable. And the amount of energy Sarah was exuding during our conversation, explaining all the different ways she utilizes when looking for the right vineyards and the right grapes and deciding how she would ferment and age any particular wines, was simply contagious.
We tasted more wines:
2018 Battle Creek Cellars Reserve Rosé was simply outstanding, offering a whole array of sensory experiences – onion peel color, and the nose which prompted you to imagine yourself walking in the garden and smell strawberries, flowers, and just open meadows. The palate offered great acidity and was fresh and crisp.
2015 Battle Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir from the vineyard planted in 1998 was excellent, with cherries, mushrooms, chocolate on the nose, and more cherries, lean and crisp on the palate. Definitely an aging-worthy wine.
And then there was the 2019 Amphora Series Carbonic Red Blend Oregon which literally blew my mind… Grenache/Malbec blend, fermented whole cluster in amphorae for 30 days with skins. The nose was amazing with crunchy raspberries and cranberries, and then fresh fruit on the palate with beautiful supporting tannins was simply incredible, the wine you have to experience to believe it.
Next, we were out of time – but we agreed to continue the conversation, which we did using both emails with questions and a phone call, so I really had here the full experience as the writer.
Here is what transpired during our follow up conversation:
[TaV]: How did you get into the wine? When did you realize that making wine is your calling?
[SC]: I was working in casual fine dining restaurants as an undergraduate student in Boston and developed an initial fascination with wine there. Eventually, my life brought me back to the West coast and a sommelier I used to work with suggested that I go back to school for enology/viticulture when I mentioned to him that I was feeling unfulfilled in the service industry. I followed his advice and I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I had found my calling after my first day of classes.
[TaV]: What was the first memorable wine you made, the wine you were completely happy about?
[SC]: I guess that, to me, they have all been memorable in some way. As far as a wine that I’ve been “completely happy” about…I think that would be the 2018 Amphora Riesling. That wine made its own decisions and I couldn’t have made better ones if I had tried. Now, 3 years later, I feel even more ecstatic about it as I notice the developing notes of petrol that I’ve always coveted about fine Rieslings.
[TaV]: You seem to be working with lots of vessels to ferment and age wines – in addition to the standard vessels such as stainless steel and oak, you also use amphora, sandstone jars of different shapes, and probably a bunch of others. How do you decide when to use what, what grapes to put into what vessel and for what wine?
[SC]: This will probably sound a little silly, but the right fruit just seems to end up in the right vessel. It’s a combination of varietal, timing, and my whim in the moment. There’s no real formula to it.
[TaV]: When you were talking about your 2020 carbonic red blend, you mentioned that you instantly fell in love with Merlot you saw, and you wanted to make the wine exactly with the Merlot. How does it work for you? What was so special about that Merlot?
[SC]: More than the grapes themselves, it was the site where they were growing that made me feel inspired to work with Merlot for the first time since I was in school. It’s a special, beautiful, steep and windy vineyard in the Columbia Gorge AVA called Wind Horse Vineyard. The grower is passionate and engaged and I haven’t ever stood in a vineyard quite like it. I thought…if Merlot from anywhere is going to be extra interesting, it’s going to be from here. Sure enough, the aromatics and texture of the finished wine did not disappoint.
[TaV]: Do you use natural or commercial yeast? Winemakers often get religious about their yeast approach – what is yours?
[SC]: Since I make all my wine in a large winery among other producers, I can’t claim that my ferments are all completed by “native” yeast. I do often allow my ferments to begin spontaneously and finish on their own/without the addition of commercial yeast. I do have a few commercial yeasts that I particularly like to use which are all blends of Saccharomyces and non-sacch yeasts. I’ll use these in certain cases when it is a challenging fermentation environment and I don’t want an unwelcome microbial load to mask the fundamental sensory characteristics of the vineyard.
[TaV]: When you select fruit for your next wine, do you take into account factors such as sustainably/organically/biodynamically grown? Do you have any viticultural preferences?
[SC]: More than anything, I prefer to work with growers whose priority is to cultivate a healthy and long-term-sustainable ecosystem in the vineyard. Don’t necessarily have a strong feeling about the certification, but care about the ethos of the grower, how the vineyard is treated, and the surrounding area, not just the production environment. I try to work with the growers who take this symbiotically – sustainability is a key. The intention behind farming matters more than a certificate on a piece of paper.
[TaV]: Is there a winemaker you would call your mentor?
[SC]: Brian O’Donnell at the Belle Pente winery. Brian is the owner and winemaker, and this was my first job in Oregon right after enology school – he definitely created the framework that holds up my knowledge now as a winemaker. He taught me what his philosophy is and left me to my own devices to sink or swim. I made a few mistakes of my own, nothing too costly, but this was the best way to learn. I know general ethos and philosophy, and now it is my time to grow, improvise and get on my feet. There are other incredible winemakers I had mentorship moments with, but Brian is the closest to the real mentor.
[TaV]: Is there a dream wine you always wanted to make? What would that be?
[SC]: The perfect Pinot? Nah. High elevation Ribolla Gialla, oxidized. Similar to what Gravner produces in Friuli, it should have acid but should be ripe enough. I have yet to find the fruit in Oregon.
[TaV]: Your single-vineyard wine labels have beautiful simplicity and different images – what do these images represent?
[SC]: The avatar on each label represents the character of the wine, and it is unique to the vineyard. There are explanations of all the avatars on the back labels. The avatars are used for single-vineyard wines. Even when there is a vintage variation, the barrels selected to be bottled under a single-vineyard label have a consistent profile. The barrels selected to be the most identifiable features of the vineyard – power, finesse – and this is what characters represent.
[TaV]: As I promised, we need to talk about football. Does playing football helps you make wine? How about your work as a winemaker influencing the way you play?
[SC]: Football definitely helps me to do everything. That level of extreme physical exhaustion and violence is very cathartic, and this helps me to be a better winemaker dealing with pressure.
My work as a winemaker has had both positive and negative impacts on my game. As the negative impact, winemaking experience makes me second guess my decisions. However, as a winemaker I learn to react quickly and make decisions quickly, which helps, When I will retire from playing football I will need to start coaching because I will need this in my life.
[TaV]: During our conversation, you mentioned that working with Chardonnay is easy, but working with Pinot Noir is a pain in the butt. Do you care to expand on this? Can you be very specific?
[SC]: Chardonnay is not easy, but easier than Pinot. Working with Pinot is difficult because of the thinner skin and lower levels of phenolics, and it is not as protected by phenolics from the mistakes as Merlot or Syrah and is susceptible to all sorts of issues. Growing Pinot, if temperatures reach 88F, that affects the fruit, the vine can shoot down, and you don’t want to irrigate too much, so there is a constant worry. Because of thinner skin, it raisins a lot easier than others; when it is too wet, it breaks a lot easier than the others. With Pinot Noir, you can’t look away for one second.
[TaV]: Was there a pivotal wine for you, or a pivotal wine experience?
[SC]: There are 3. There is one that made me decide I love Pinot when I was 19 and working at the restaurant – 1996 Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara. It tasted like candy, I was 19, and I loved it.
The red wine which made me realize how versatile the grape variety can be and how much where it grows to make a difference was Guigal Côte-Rôtie. I had learned about Syrah as a blending grape in Southern Rhone or Washington Syrah, and then I tired Côte-Rôtie, and my head was blown.
The white was really an assortment of whites from Trimbacbh – big, round, acidic, ultimate food wines.
[TaV]: Do you have an all-time favorite wine or wines?
[SC]: It will be Morgon. Duboeuff or Jean Foillard grand cru. Moulin-a-Vent would be a close second.
[TaV]: Given the opportunity, is there a winemaker you would want to make the wine with, or the winery you always dreamt of working at?
[SC]: I would love to have the opportunity to work side by side with Gravner or Radican, or anywhere in Jura, producing the traditional wines. Gravner is the ultimate. Gravner is the reason I got amphorae. I love their wines very much and I would love to learn there.
I can tell you that after the conversation with Sarah, I definitely want to try Gravner wines, and I can’t wait to experience the 2020 Amphora series which should be made with that magnificent Merlot…
Here you are, my friends. Another story of passion, Pinot, and not only Pinot, and pushing the envelope as far as it can go. If you are planning to visit Portland, make Battle Creek Cellars your “must stop”. Cheers!
This post is a part of the Stories of Passion and Pinot series – click the link for more stories…
One on One with Winemaker: Dennis Murphy, Caprio Cellars
It is a known fact that wine is produced in all 50 states in the US. And I will clearly risk it to alienate many people, but with all due respect to New York, Texas, and Virginia, there are only three belonging to the “big three” – California, Oregon, and Washington. It is Washington I want to talk about today.
I don’t know how this works, but when I think about Washington wines, I feel warm and fuzzy. I don’t know if it relates to wonderful experiences, such as the visit to Chateau Ste. Michelle, getting lost in Woodinville or exploring Walla Walla, or maybe it is because of some of the most amazing American wines being produced in Washington, such as the whole range of Cayuse wines, L’Ecole No41, Guardian Cellars, Mark Ryan, and countless others.
And today, I want to bring to your attention one of my very latest Washington wine discoveries – Caprio Cellars in Walla Walla.
On one side, Caprio Cellars’ story is absolutely “normal” (yes, an interesting choice of word here – what does “normal” even mean, right?). Dennis Murphy purchased a plot of land in Walla Walla Valley (previously a wheat field) in 2003. The first vines were planted in 2005, and the vineyard was called Eleanor in honor of Dennis’ grandmother, Eleanor Caprio; after the first harvest in 2008, the winery got the name of Caprio Cellars, and the rest is history. The second vineyard, Octave, was planted on the hillside in 2007. The latest high-altitude vineyard, Sanitella, was planted on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla AVA. Bordeaux varieties – Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec are planted across all three sustainably farmed vineyards, with the addition of Sauvignon Blanc planted on Sanitella.
This is where “normal” ends. What is unique about Caprio cellars is that your tasting is always complimentary (okay, yes, this still can happen in the other places). You also have complimentary chef-prepared dishes accompanying your tasting flight, with the seasonal menu – yes, complimentary, as in “free of charge” (I hope you are getting as impressed as I am because I’m not sure where else you can find that). And Dennis is very passionate about charities he supports. That definitely puts Caprio Cellars in the category of its own.
After tasting a few of the Caprio Cellars wines, I was ready to talk to Dennis. While we were unable to meet in person (something I really hope to rectify in the near future), we sat down with Dennis virtually, and he patiently answered all of my questions – and now I would like to share our conversation with you. Before we begin, one small note – this is a long conversation, and you definitely shouldn’t miss the answers to the questions at the end of this conversation. So I suggest you will settle in your favorite chair, pour yourself a glass of wine, and come along!
[TaV]: Growing up, what was your exposure to the wine culture?
[DM]: Growing up, I remember my dad and grand parents making wine in the garage or the basement. Some was good, some was not so good. Wine was always a part of the dinner celebration, holidays and family gatherings.
[TaV]: Was there a pivotal wine in your life?
[DM]: The wine that brought me to Walla Walla was L’ Ecole No. 41 Merlot. I tasted this wine at a restaurant in Seattle and was blown away. I then started stopping at the winery and collecting the wine and eventually moved to Walla Walla.
[TaV]: When and how have you decided that you will own a winery?
[DM]: After tasting some Walla Walla wines and visiting Walla Walla, I fell in love with the town and moved. I could feel the energy in the wine scene emerging and moved to Walla Walla in 1999. There were just a hand full of wineries, so I started to make myself available during harvest and made some friends in the wine industry. In 2003 I purchased the winery estate property and in 2005 I planted my first vineyard, the Eleanor Vineyard.
[TaV]: Any plans for stepping outside of Bordeaux play – how about Syrah or Grenache which are so popular in Washington? Or maybe some Sangiovese or Tempranillo?
[DM]: I only make wines that I love to consume. I would look at Grenache, I love Grenache and think that the valley can produce some good fruit. We are making sparkling wine, I am intrigued to make a sparkling Rosé. I believe that focus is required to make world-class wine. I am focused on making world-class red Bordeaux-style wines from Walla Walla.
[TaV]: Considering your Italian heritage, do you have any favorite Italian wine regions, wines, or producers?
[DM]: It will not surprise you, I am a Super Tuscan guy. I think that the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot show very well. One of my favorite all time wines is the 1997 Ornellaia.
[TaV]: Are there any wineries and/or winemakers in Walla Walla who you would consider as your source of inspiration?
[DM]: Seven Hills/ Casey McClellan makes my favorite wine in the valley, the Pentad. Casey is a great winemaker, makes solid wines and the valley is fortunate to have him.
[TaV]: You are practicing sustainable farming – what does it entail in your daily routine?
[DM]: Sustainable farming is really about being as hands off the vineyard as possible, letting the land and crop do their thing naturally. Sustainable farming is very important for the industry and the environment. Mother Nature can provide anything that a chemical or synthetic can provide, you just have to work at it.
[TaV]: Any plans to advance your farming towards biodynamics?
[DM]: I do not have any current plans to farm biodynamic, but I have not ruled it out either.
[TaV]: First harvest at Caprio Cellars was in 2008. Do you still have any of those wines in your cellar? How are they evolving?
[DM]: Yes, I have the 2008 Caprio Cabernet Sauvignon, it was the only wine we made that year. I keep about 50 cases per vintage in the library, this would be considered a lot, but I like to keep more wine around for winemaker dinners, etc. The 2008 Caprio is holding up well and we get to visit it occasionally.
[TaV]: Any plans for more white wines in the future?
[DM]: Caprio grows Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, these two varietals do well in our higher elevation Sanitella Vineyard. We release our Sauvignon Blanc in the spring, it is a crowd-pleaser and sells out quickly. We also make a rose’ of Cabernet Franc, this is a beautiful spring released wine as well.
[TaV]: Where do you see Caprio Cellars in 10-15 years?
[DM]: Caprio will be at our production goal of 5,000 cases per year. I believe this production is a sweet spot for a winery and you can still maintain quality. We will continue to provide a unique approach to hospitality, I am not sure what is next on that front, but we will continue to be the thought leader in our industry in the Walla Walla valley and push the envelope, it is in our DNA.
Let’s take a little break and taste some wines. I had an opportunity to taste two of the estate wines, Bordeaux blend, Eleanor, from 2017 and 2018 vintages. Here are my notes – and some related conversation right after:
2017 Caprio Cellars Eleanor Estate Red Walla Walla Valley (14.5% ABV, $48, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 12% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Franc, 65% Octave Vineyard / 35% Eleanor Vineyard, 18 months in 100% French oak – 35% new oak / 65% neutral barrel)
Dark Garnet
Minerality, underbrush, herbal profile – fruit undetectable
Expressive minerality, cherry pit, espresso, massive presence – typical Washington red which needs time (and hope) – and these are second day notes. Too big for my palate on the first day.
7+/8-
2018 Caprio Cellars Eleanor Estate Red Walla Walla Valley (14.5% ABV, $48, 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 15% Malbec, 7% Cabernet Franc, 53% Octave Vineyard / 47% Eleanor Vineyard, 18 months in 100% French oak- 35% new oak / 65% neutral barrel)
Dark garnet
Blackberries, a touch of eucalyptus and cassis
Beautiful. Perfect mid-palate weight, silky smooth and velvety, cassis, cherries, supple, voluptuous.
8+, superb from the get-go.
[TaV]: This question is two-part about the wines I tasted:
First, the bottle of 2017 Eleanor is capped with foil, and 2018 is not. Why the change? Is this going to be the style moving forward?
[DM]: I am a traditional guy, I do love a foil cap on a bottle of wine. In line with our sustainability efforts, we held a customer focus group and it turns out that most customers prefer not to have the foil. We decided to leave it off in 2018 and it has been well received. I believe all future wines will not have a foil cap.
Now, the question which I never ask, but this time I have to. I tasted first 2017 Eleanor Red, and the wine was massive and tight – very typical for Washington reds, I call this type of wines “liquid rock” – lots of minerality and limited fruit. The wine opened up a bit on a second day but still was very tight. 2018 Eleanor Red, on the other hand, was approachable from the get go – Bordeaux style fruit, layered and smooth. Can you explain such a dramatic difference between these two wines? The grape composition is very similar, was that the terroir? Winemaking?
[DM]: Acid – the 2018 was the first vintage I nailed the acid level. It is a tight rope when it comes to acid, but 2018 and the 2019 are near perfect. I was pretty excited when I opened the 2018 Eleanor after bottling. Additionally, the vintages differed, 2017 was a tough year to get ripe, there were some photosynthesis issues that vintage. The 2018 vintage was a playbook vintage. What is funny is that in the tasing room we would taste the 2017 and 2018 side by side and the verdict was a 50/50 split. The 2017 was the fastest selling Eleanor we have produced, but the 2018 Eleanor is a critic’s favorite.
[TaV]: I understand that Caprio Cellars also supports a number of charities. What was the motivation behind this program? How do you decide what charities to support?
[DM]: Giving is a part of my every day living, it is in my fabric as a human. I created the phrase “give as you go”, this phrase is at the core of the purpose statement for my construction company. It was only natural for me to carry this belief to Caprio when we started. Caprio gives resources to many charities, mostly in the form of auction donations of wine and winemaker dinners. The winemaker dinners are very popular and bring a large amount of funds to the charity. Caprio focuses most monetary giving to First Story and Big Brother Big Sister. My construction company founded First Story and it helps families that otherwise would not have a home to get a home of their own. I have been a Big Brother for 18 years now and was on the board of directors, so it is a cause near and dear to me.
[TaV]: Last question is from the “how do they do it???” line. I understand that the wine tastings at Caprio Cellars are complementary. Not only that, but you also feed people! I read a number of discussions on professional wine forums with explanations that winery is a business and that literally how dare the wine lovers to expect their tasting to be complementary. And here is Caprio Cellars which does exactly that. So how do you do it and why? How is it working for you?
[DM]: I had no interest in opening a tasting room and charging a tasting fee. It seems like our industry has evolved into that business model. That model doesn’t make any sense to me. I wanted to disrupt the industry and focus on hospitality and the customer. Specifically focusing on the customer journey. We held focus groups at the beginning with Joseph Michelli (NYT bestselling author and consultant) from the Michelli group. Joseph believes that most businesses do not pay attention to their customers’ needs until it is too late in the customer journey. The Caprio tasting experience is based on the equity theory, I do something nice for you and in return, you will do something nice for me. The majority of the industry takes a tasting fee from the customer and gives it back “if you decide to buy”. We are all adults here; I do not need to take your money and give it back. I spent hours in other tasting rooms watching the customers sit in their group and have an agonizing group discussion on “how are we going to get out of here alive with our tasting fee”, discussions about you not liking the Syrah or him not liking the Chardonnay. Why put your customer through this process? At Caprio, we skip this pain point and we add the pleasure of a hand-crafted food pairing from our Executive Chef Ian Williams. My grandmother Eleanor Caprio is to blame or credit for the food pairing, if she knew I invited you over for a glass of wine and I didn’t offer you food, she would be very disappointed in me. The food program at Caprio was nonnegotiable when we opened, it is part of our program and a distinguishing advantage to our experience. Here is the punch line, if you like the food and wine pairing, we ask you to purchase a couple of additional bottles of Caprio to pay it forward to the next guest in our care. So far it is working out well and the ecosystem is taking care of itself, it is a beautiful thing, but somebody had to have the guts to try it.
Here we are, my friends. A wonderful story of passion, good wine, and a unique business approach. If your travel will bring you to Walla Walla, Caprio Cellars should be on your visit list. And if your travel will not bring you to Walla Walla … change your travel plans! Cheers!
Stories of Passion and Pinot: Tony Rynders of Tendril Cellars
Wine and passion are indelible. Yes, wine is a business for the most parts, but making a bottle of wine which someone else is desiring to drink is a labor of love, and every such bottle has a bit of the winemaker’s soul invested in it (feel free to call me melodramatic). Thus I’m always happy to talk to the winemakers, trying to understand what moves them, what drives them to do what they do. A lot of my conversations are virtual, and you can find most of them on this blog.
Many of interviews are truly random in terms of profiling the wineries and winemakers. However, about 2 years ago, with a prompt and help of Carl Giavanti, I started a series of posts called Stories of Passion and Pinot, which are dedicated (so far, at least) to the winemakers in Oregon, producing Pinot Noir wines. Winemakers are always passionate about what they do and the grapes they use – but it seems to me that Pinot Noir, being a difficult grape it is, really asking for a special dedication to allow itself to be tamed – hence the name for the series.
My latest addition to the series is a conversation with Tony Rynders, the proprietor and winemaker at the Tendril Wine Cellars, a young winery in Willamette Valley in Oregon (the winery officially started 10 years ago, in 2008). While the winery is young, Tony is an accomplished winemaker, who started making wine back in 1989, honed his craft at the wineries around the world, including 10 years as a head winemaker at Domaine Serene, one of the best-known wineries in Oregon.
When Tendril Cellars started, it owned no vineyards, which essentially gave Tony a flexibility to bring the best fruit from the Oregon vineyards he was already familiar with. To my surprise, Tendril Cellars only offers one single-vineyard bottling in their line of 5 different Pinot Noir wines – but you will find an explanation below. In 2013, Tendril Cellars planted a 19 acres Maverick vineyard in Yamhill-Carlton district with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay – the vineyard already producing the fruit which is going into the Tendril Cellar’s second line of wines, Child’s Play (a creative name for the wine, don’t you think?).
Tony calls his approach to winemaking “low and slow” – letting the nature to do its work. He is also aging all of his Pinot Noir wines for 16-17 months, which I find particularly appealing. And then, how many winemakers do you know who run organized tastings for their customers? That is what Tony does, presenting his wines as a “5-course meal” and explaining the concept of terroir to the wine consumers (after tasting Tendril wines, Tony’s approach to the tasting makes perfect sense to me – but we will discuss it in the next post).
After learning a bit about Tony and Tendril Cellars, I decided that the time came to sit down (yes, virtually) with Tony and ask him a few questions. Here is what transpired.
[TaV]: You started making wine for others in 1989. Was there something which prompted you to start making your own wines in 2010, a pivotal moment, or you simply decided that it is time to make wines “my way”?
[TR]: I have had several opportunities making wine since I began in 1989. Each one has contributed in some way to influence my approach to making wine. I can tell you that I am a much different winemaker today than I was when I started. I think it is critical that we continue to evolve and adapt as the climate, consumers, and wine preferences change.
In fact, I started my own brand, Tendril, in 2008. I was just coming off a 10-year stint as head winemaker at Domaine Serene. It was a highly formative period in my career as there was a massive shift toward new, estate vineyards during my tenure. The creative “heavy lifting” took place largely during my watch. I accomplished everything I set out to and more. It was time for my next big challenge…creating a portfolio of wines for my own brands from scratch. And tell a story about Pinot Noir in a way that it had not yet been told.
[TaV]: You worked at the wineries around the world. Are there any winemakers you would consider your mentors, either directly or indirectly?
[TR]: There is one fact in winemaking that I completely embrace: There is no way to learn it all…I will never stop learning, growing and evolving. Every winemaker I have worked with has mentored me, including but not limited to, Rollin Soles, Ken Wright, Co Dinn, Jean-Francois Pellet and David Forsyth.
[TaV]: Can you explain your “low and slow” approach to the winemaking?
[TR]: Just like the “slow food” movement, I use top quality ingredients (grapes) from attentive, engaged farmers (vineyards) with whom I have a very close relationship. I have hand chosen each of our vineyards myself and each brings a distinctive flavor profile (like spices) in order to make our signature “five-course meal” of Pinot Noir.
For all the Tendril wines, I over-vintage the wines in barrel (at least 16 months) and then bottle age 12 months or more prior to release. The wines are then at the front end of their drinkability curve, with the potential for a decade enjoyment ahead of them.
[TaV]: I find it interesting that in your range of Pinot Noir you have only one vineyard-designated bottling – I always think that designated vineyards and even specific plots are better identify with quality of the grapes and the resulting wines – obviously you don’t see it like that?
[TR]: While I love to make single vineyard wines, I find that not every site is able to produce balanced, compelling and complete wines every year. And that, simply put, is my goal as a winemaker. So this is how the unique story and line-up of wines for Tendril was born. When I started Tendril, I knew that I wanted to do something different with my portfolio of wines. And it took 6 years to complete the lineup (Extrovert 2008, TightRope 2009, Single Vineyard (Guadalupe) 2011, C-Note 2011, Pretender 2013).
The common model that exists for Pinot Noir is the single vineyard model. Wineries make 5-15 (or more) single vineyard wines in a given vintage. The problem is that not all of the sites deliver on their promise of distinctiveness every year. The true test is a horizontal tasting in which all of the wines are evaluated blind. In a given year, some wines are great, some under deliver and some taste quite similar in a given line-up. This is not consistent with my goal.
So, I created my own, unique model for Pinot Noir. Each of my wines is distinctive and complete. Collectively, they show a progression of flavors that mirrors the progression of dishes in a five-course meal. My wines gain in intensity, darker fruit character and structure as the “courses” progress. And each of the wines must re-qualify for their place in the lineup each and every year.
I believe single vineyard wines should be special. Since all wineries charge more money for them, I think they should be worth it. So we typically do just one offering per year that is, simply put, the “wine of the cellar” from just one site. As I had anticipated, it has proven to be rotational (4 vineyards in 7 vintages). It is like a Christmas present in that you don’t know what it is until you open it.
[TaV]: Your C-Note Pinot Noir is designated as “whole cluster fermented” – is that a substantial differentiator to make it the “top of the line” wine, or is there something else behind it?
[TR]: Of the Pinot Noir line-up, the C-Note is the most stylized wine yet at the same time requires the greatest amount of restraint. Whole cluster fermentation of Pinot Noir is a technique that I have only attempted since 2011. The was the first year I made a wine using 100% whole cluster…and it was so successful that it became our first C-Note bottling.
For C-Note, we use 100% Pinot Noir, 100% Whole Cluster fermentation, and age in 100% new French Oak barrels (air dried 3 + years). The restraint comes into play in order to reign in the “whole clustery-ness” and tame the oak impact to mimic a wine with half the new oak exposure. We are extremely gentle with our cap management to control the whole cluster notes and we select the most subtle, elegant barrels coupled with long aging to integrate the oak flavors. C-Note is all about complexity, texture and mind-blowing length. I love making wines that surprise and beguile.
[TaV]: You are one of the very few winemakers who conduct organized tastings. Can you explain what you are trying to showcase with your 5-course Pinot Noir approach?
[TR]: Yes, I believe the best way to showcase these wines and share this unique experience is to do seated tastings. Like a five-course meal, our tasting take time (typically an hour and a half or more). But people leave here feeling that that have experienced something truly special…and that is pretty rare. They are shocked that they enjoyed each and every wine they tasted.
I began working in restaurants at a young age. I cooked for several years and really enjoyed it. A few years after I started making wines, I realized that I was using the exact same skill set to make wine that I used to cook. I am truly a “wine cook” and make wine with that sensibility.
I wanted to showcase a diverse range of flavor profiles that can be accomplished on an annual basis with Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley. Each offering is distinctive, unique and impeccably balanced. Collectively, they showcase perhaps the greatest range of flavors and textures of Pinot Noir under one brand.
[TaV]: To follow on the previous question, how receptive are your customers (typically) to what you are presenting in the tasting? Do they get your point? Do you offer people to taste the wines blind and to try to identify what they are tasting?
[TR]: The beautiful thing about the “five-course meal” context of our tasting is that EVERYBODY can relate to that experience. People completely get it and they really get into it. The wines show a progression of flavors just like a multi-course meal. They also increase in intensity much like turning up the volume on a radio.
At this stage, the tastings are not blind and are tasted one at a time. And I don’t have the ability to pair food at this time. But we have done the “five-course meal” here at the winery a few times. It was a huge success.
[TaV]: Maybe an odd-ball question here – wine is an adult beverage, and nevertheless, you called your line of wines “Child’s Play” (I personally like it very much, especially the labels). Do you think wine consumers might find this controversial? Did anyone ever comment on this wine name?
[TR]: I am a huge fan of the “double entendre”. Here it is actually triple. 1) My kids playing…my two daughters paintings are the original artwork for all the labels 2) We winemakers are big kids and we get to “play” with offering unique wines (the Pinot Chardonnay is the only still version of Chardonnay and white Pinot Noir in the country…to my knowledge), Zinfandel from WA (a unicorn wine), and a stylistically different Rose of Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir is just damn good. 3) Child’s Play implies it’s easy…so easy a kid could do it. We are taking the pretension out of wine with the packaging and the wines inside. Great value for money…as it should be.
My customers love it. The only objection came from the Feds…and a simple paragraph explaining point 3) above got us our label approval.
[TaV]: This one is more of the pet peeve question for me. Your Tendril wines are enclosed with the corks (makes me very happy to see it). The Child’s Play line uses screwtops, so obviously the screwtop idea is not foreign to you. I know that some winemakers in Oregon swear by alternative closures (like Don Hagge at Vidon with the glass stopper), but I personally think that the wine needs a cork to age properly. What is your take on this subject?
[TR]: While I like the idea of cork, the execution of the closure has haunted me for my entire career. Corks are highly variable in both their flavor impact on the wines as well as the oxygen permeability. Each one is unique and has an unintended impact on my wine. I believe natural corks are a huge problem and as such, I no longer use them. But I do gladly use a cork product in my Tendril wines (looks like a duck and quacks like a duck) that provides consistency of density and very low aromatic impact. I would be happy to talk to you about this topic some time. I have researched it for years.
Screw caps are new to me, but I love them in the Child’s Play line to further differentiate the brand from Tendril. I think the MSRP $30 price point avoids any potential push back on the choice of closure.
[TaV]: Sparkling wines are so popular nowadays, almost everyone is making them, and often with very good results. Considering your experience at Argyle, should we expect to see Tendril sparkling wine at some point in the future?
[TR]: Maybe…but I will wait until we have a great sparkling wine vintage (cool and slow ripening) to make that decision. If you asked my wife (who is a sparkling junkie), the answer would be yes.
I would only do it if it could have the potential to be a truly special offering.
[TaV]: What is in the store for your new Maverick vineyard? How are you planning to farm it – sustainable, organic, biodynamic? Out of 19 acres, you have 10.5 allocated for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – what about the rest? Any plans to expand beyond Pinot Noir and Chardonnay – let’s say, Pinot Gris, Riesling, etc?
[TR]: At this time, Maverick is LIVE. We plan to move towards organic over the next few years. It is an incredibly well behaved site that is already producing strong personality wines. I view this as a highly desirable trait for a young vineyard. The Chardonnay for the Pinot Chardonnay (70% of the blend) is all Maverick. This is the first bottled wine coming from Maverick.
No plans for other varietals at this time. But the clonal mix for the Pinot Noir (943, Swan, Calera and Mt. Eden) is pretty unusual.
[TaV]: Oregon is clearly a leader in Pinot Noir, considered by many as simply the best in the world, and it is also getting to the same level of recognition with the Chardonnays. What is ahead for the Oregon wine industry? Is the future bright and sunny, or do you see any clouds on the horizon?
[TR]: To me, the only constant is change. By that I mean that to continue to succeed as an industry, we need to be engaged (both locally and on a world stage), we need to be adaptive (as our climate continues to change, we are in for more and different challenges), and we need to be more concerned about the sustainability of our environment (both locally and throughout the world).
I believe we will have sun and clouds…and perhaps some rain. Just the weather we always have in Oregon 😉
[TaV]: When you are not drinking Tendril wines, what are your favorites from the other producers and/or regions?
[TR]: Lately I have been enjoying Graham-Beck sparkling wine from South Africa.
Or give me a good single malt Scotch…
Here we are, my friends. I’m sure you are thirsty at this point, but we will talk about Tendril Cellars wines in the next post.
To be continued…