Climate change could spell trouble, but the best vintages may lie ahead.
JESSICA H. GREEN, www.wsj.com
1. A NEW GRAND CRU
Randall Grahm isn’t going gently into the future. Owner of Bonny Doon Vineyard, creator of Big House Red, and an irrepressible wine pontificator (see “Been Doon So Long,” his 318-page “Vinthology,” or his tweets @RandallGrahm), Grahm has spent 35 years trying to make Old World-style wines in California. By his own standards, he has failed.
The problem? “I’ve been using the wrong grape!” A self-identifying Burgundy obsessive, Grahm explains that Pinot Noir will never become a restrained, beguiling wine in sunny California. “It’s like the girl you want but can never have,” he says.
We Americans lack the multicentury winemaking tradition that might have identified a perfect grape for the Golden State. Grahm’s solution? “Popelouchum,” his scheme to plant 10,000 genetically distinct grapes in order to discover which ones might make a New World wine equal in quality to a classic grand cru from across the pond. It’s a paradigm shift for him: Rather than wrestle with a single French varietal, he’ll breed new ones in American soil. Grahm hopes these grapes will help us “climb out of the shadow of the Old World.”
Crowdfunding for the San Juan Bautista vineyard project began in August and raised $171,470 from 1,164 donors on Indiegogo. Grahm is selecting the parent grapes—male and female, red and white—but Ciliegiolo, a cherry-like Italian red, is an early favorite. Seedlings, raised in a nursery to ensure that they are genetically sound, will be planted in the vineyard starting this spring. Grahm will monitor their progress closely.
Other winemakers—and the public—are encouraged to visit and participate in the treasure hunt. Grahm doesn’t expect to taste the American grand cru in his lifetime, but the idea of advancing New World winemaking is far more intoxicating.
2. GETTING SOME CLOSURE
It’s estimated that up to 7% of traditionally stoppered bottles are “corked,” or affected by trichloroanisole (TCA), which causes a musty, unpleasant smell. In any other industry, that failure rate would be unacceptable. Winemakers have been slow to replace the cork; consumers have been slow to accept anything else.
Screwcaps, long used in other countries, are finally gaining ground in the U.S. Vinolok, an elegant but expensive glass top, closes a modest number of midrange and high-end wines.
But the real challenger is synthetic cork. Highly engineered, and never affected by TCA taint, these stoppers can be tailored to allow a specific amount of oxygen to enter.Nomacorc, the international market leader, closes one out of eight bottles in the world, and one out of three in the U.S. Its latest invention? A zero-carbon-footprint closure, made primarily from sugar cane.
3. BORDEAUX FUTURES? NOT THE FUTURE
The 2012 release from Pétrus (a perfectly OK vintage) will set you back around $2,100 for a single bottle. Assuming you can find one, that’s $420 a glass—a tariff that reflects the wine’s luxury status rather than its quality. Put another way, these bottles are more for show than for drinking. Even as investments, Bordeaux futures have lost money for the past five years. And for the price of one prearrival bottle, you can build a starter cellar of wines that will offer as much pleasure and complexity over the next decade as anything from Margaux or Pomerol.
4. BIODYNAMICS ARE A BIG DEAL
Winemaking changed radically about 50 years ago, thanks to a mechanical and chemical overhaul in farming. This shift—coupled with the rise of omnipresent, “international” grapes and the use of additives—produced a safer, more consistent product. Too consistent, some might say. And certainly too chemical.
In “Natural Resistance,” the recent film by Jonathan Nossiter, a winemaker holds two handfuls of vineyard dirt for the camera. One, farmed with chemicals, is pale and hard and “smells like laundry detergent.” The other, organically farmed, is rich, dark and wet. “Life and death,” says Nossiter.
A revolution has been building quietly in the world of wine. Organically farmed vineyard acreage more than tripled from 2004 to 2013. And a growing number of winemakers are taking things one step further. Biodynamic agriculture, based on the 1924 teachings of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, treats the farm holistically. Chemicals are forbidden; companion crops ward off pests; moon cycles govern times to plant and pick. The system self-regulates without recourse to poison. Strange? Sure. But the results routinely silence critics. Château Pontet-Canet converted to biodynamic methods in 2005; the winery’s 2008 Bordeaux was hailed as one of the best of the vintage. Demeter Association, an organization that certifies biodynamic farms, reports a steady 10% to 15% annual growth in applications since 2006.
With luck, that trend will produce a future full of funky, distinctive, and wildly diverse wines—a welcome return to the not-so-distant past.
5. A WINERY WORTH FLYING FOR
PHOTO: OLSON KUNDIG
There’s a long tradition of American wineries designed to ape their European predecessors, importing hints of Old World stuffiness with none of the terroir. ButCharles Smith—the award-winning, hard-partying Washington state winemaker—is not the type to commission a faux chateau for his American-made Rhône and Bordeaux varietals. The new Jet City Charles Smith Wines, a Seattle winery named for the Boeing Field runway just across the road, is a breath of fresh Pacific Northwest air. The 32,000-square-foot facility, formerly a Dr Pepper bottling plant, was transformed by Tom Kundig of Seattle’s Olson Kundig Architects, whose upscale industrial aesthetic is brought to bear in steel and glass. The winery’s first-floor tasting room is a nod to the building’s industrious past (and present: “We still make stuff here,” Smith reminds me), with a formidable bar made of wood reclaimed from the renovation. The upstairs tasting room, designed to evoke a 1960s airline lounge, features a polished look and a professional kitchen. “We’re not a concert venue,” Smith says, “but we’ll have music. We’re not a restaurant, but we’ll have food.” So what exactly is Jet City? A winery that’s also an appealing place to hang out and drink wine—a rarity in America. It’s a useful reminder that the god of wine is Bacchus, and that this stuff is supposed to be as much fun as possible. —Stan Parish
6. YOUR CLIMATE CHANGE CHEAT-SHEET
Old World winemakers are feeling the heat: Harvest dates in many European regions are a week to a month earlier than they were a generation ago.
So keep an eye out for those regions where latitude or altitude is keeping things (relatively) cool, and quality is on the rise.
If You Like Champagne: Try sparkling wine from Southern England, which shares the same chalky soil.
If You Like Red Burgundy: Try zesty reds from Valtellina, Italy, in the foothills of the alps.
If You Like Meursault & Montrachet: Try Elgin, South Africa, for mineral-driven Chardonnay.
If You Like Rhône Wines: Try Syrah from Limari Valley, Chile.
If You Like Italian Pinot Grigio: Try Torrontés from Uco Valley or Salta, Argentina.
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