The Argot Wines Blog

Intro

2012-02-09T07:48:00.000-08:00

This post will be the first in a series highlighting the grapes argot harvested, and subsequently fermented into wine in 2011. We are trying to be a better blog, and are concocting ways to incentivize us with interesting material to do so. This is one such scheme. Others to follow, stay tuned...

When crafting the wines in our portfolio, we are always willing to trade a bit of intellectual engagement for pure bacchanalian delight. Having said that, none of us here are SOLELY seeking out the delicious. If that was the goal, Coca -Cola would be the order of the day.

Throughout the Spring of 2011, as we set about expanding the argot portfolio, our desire was to find multiple fruit sources where both the terroir and plantings intrigued, engaged and excited us. We were total pains-in-the-ass, walking many a vineyard block with vineyard managers, expressing our feelings that we wanted something less "by-the-numbers". We need grapes that want to tell a story--share their history, their pedigree and the passion behind them. Frankly, this approach did not work to the advantage of our expansion.

Entering the growing season we were short on fruit having locked up only two contracts each for Pinot and Chardonnay, and one for Syrah. Thankfully, as the season warmed up, so did vineyard opportunities. After having our hearts broken a few times, pieces slowly began to fall into place. First it was a "true" Sonoma Coast, ridgetop Pinot planting; then a naturally terraced multi-exposed, Old-Wente clone Chardonnay site in Bennett Valley, followed by a tingle-worthy, valley floor Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard on the far southern tip of Rutherford in Napa Valley--more on all these later. Things were certainly looking up.

The final piece our 2011 portfolio arrived later in the game, when recurring blog character "Neighbor Nate" (owner of Steiner Vineyard), reappeared after months abroad with opportunity aplenty. Not only would fruit be available in his highly coveted Syrah block, but half of the Swan-clone Pinot block (once used as a source by Mr. Swan himself in the 70s before the original vines were devastated by phylloxera) had gone uncommitted as well.

In addition, to put the cherry on top of our 2011 winegrape sundae, the Steiner massale block also had no takers. Simply crazy as there may be no more intriguing, engaging and exciting block of Pinot fruit in Sonoma County--a Pinot geek's dream to be certain. But more on that shortly, as the massale block's story will be chapter I in the series on our 2011 fruit sources.

Until then...

Hello Again

2012-01-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes, terrible blogging etiquette. Nov 4 was the last post!?! C'mon. Seriously. It is sort of impossible to "follow" something that isn't moving...like the argot blog. Many apologies. So maybe the blog is back. Let's hope so. OK, enough with the empty promises and melodramatic apologies, there's business to take care of.

Since our last encounter there's been much ado in the argot barn. Harvest finished up with 3 separate lots of Syrah (including the first off the argot estate) coming in over the course of 3 days in early November. Everything made it to barrel safely and we can honestly say our 2011 red wines are going to be superlative. Just last weekend the Syrah and Cabernet barrels were topped, sulfured and put to bed beside their already slumbering Pinot brethren. The quality of these wines is already causing us to have delusions of grandeur. True story.

The 2011 whites are a bit of a different story. Currently, these wines are in an awkward stage--their short, chubby, acne-d freshman phase, if you will. The rains that came early and often in October wreaked havoc on the white grape harvest county-wide. And while it has been a difficult road to hoe thus far, with all sorts of winemaking gymnastics, nay, acrobatics, being performed, we guarnatee everything possible is being done to bring you wines of the highest quality. Otherwise we will not release them under the argot label. We will just have to wait and see.

Enough on the 2011s for now. There will be more, in-depth posts about each varietal at a later date.

In other news...

We are happy to report that our Fall 2011 release of the 2009 "Old Habits" Chardonnay, 2008 "The Opening Salvo" Red Wine and 2009 "The Fence" Pinot Noir sold out in just over 6 weeks. We were thrilled with the response to the offering, and have been further tickeld by the ongoing feedback toward the wines. We can not thank you enough for your support and enthusiasm for the argot project. To those that were shut out on the offer, we beg patience. Production is increasing and we would love nothing more than to get some bottles of argot into your hands, thank you for hanging in there.

Speaking of support, enthusiasm and feedback...the end of 2011 saw our wines picked up by numerous restaurants including a listing at Auberge Du Soleil, our first Michelin-starred restaurant; being grandly received by the clientele at Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg (many thanks to Drew Munro--a true gentleman in the Sommelier field--for taking a chance on an unknown Sonoma winery); and former St. Helena resident, Robert Simon's (who we will forgive for not having an updated wine list on the website!!!!) a/k/a Bistro in Pasadena (where ya at!).

Lastly, a little over a month ago, argot received her first press from a major wine publication, Wine Spectator. In October of 2011, we submitted Happenstance to Spectator for their consideration of review. On December 19th, argot was given a wonderful, encouraging little blurb to open the "Tasting Highlights" section along with a 91-point score and spot-on tasting note for Hap. Good times all around. We are thrilled, and what a trip seeing our names in a magazine we've been following for years. Check it out here.

You Wanted A Hit

2011-11-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
Greetings from the tail-end of Harvest 2011. As each and every weather pundit accurately(!?!) predicted, a dramatic change in weather arrived this morning, effectively ending this year's picking season. While the arrival of this hostile, cold front grew closer, and the predictions for rain grew ever more certain, the death rattle of the vintage grew to a deafening roar county wide this week.

Here at argot, the year came to a close with three picks over each of the past three mornings, culminating in yesterday's inaugural pick of our estate grown Syrah--a pinch-me moment if ever there was one. Amazing to be out in the vineyard snipping clusters off of the vines we've been raising over the past 3 years.

Heaping good news upon good news, with cooler weather finally descending upon California, the shipping window for our current release is now open. Boxes will begin to roll on down the highway early next week. Those of you that have already placed your orders should have the wines in plenty of time for Turkey Day consumption.

As for the rest of you, whether you happen to be insanely busy (trust us, we get it), absent-minded (trust us, we get it), prone to procrastination (trust us, we get it), or just never received the release email (blasted spam-filters!), head on over to the website to get your orders in, as we couldn't be more excited to get these offerings into your glasses.

As always, we are eternally grateful for your continued interest and support.

Cheers.

The Fine Folks at Argot

Pop Goes The World

2011-10-12T22:59:00.000-07:00

Real quick....

A few words before hitting the sack for early morning Chardonnay harvest tomorrow--two vineyards, two clones, two picking crews, everything starting simultaneously at first light...should be interesting.

Down to business. We've been receiving inquires as to why we didn't release during the "first week of October", as promised.

Pinot harvest came on with a vengeance the last week of September. Commencing with the harvest of Old-Vine Jackson 9 clone (no relation to the Jackson 9 hailing from Gary, IN) from Saralee's Vineyard in Russian River on the 24th; concluding with the Wadenswil clone harvest in the same vineyard, same block, 5 days later; all with 4 picks squished between. Lots of grapes, lots of trucking, lots of sorting, lots of CO2 production, and now all 2011 argot Pinot is comfortably resting in barrel moseying along through the last bits of primary fermentation. Smelling good, tasting good, we'll keep you posted.

Pinot harvest, our first scapegoat.

After Pinot press, the plan was revamped to release 10/12 (today). That didn't happen either. Ya see, it rained here last week--ultimately not the catastrophe so many of us thought it might be. Then it rained again on Monday--ugh.

First thing tuesday morning (after a particularly grumpy Monday eve), harvest scheduling kicked into high gear, especially for white grapes, due to their propensity for attracting mold in the vineyard. The past 48 hours have been a blur of vineyard visiting, hang-wringing, truck-driving, head-on-the-wall banging, truck-driving, vineyard visiting, restless sleeping, scheduling, re-scheduling, ...I could go on, but I think you get the idea. When the dust settled the scenario described in paragraph one emerged, and a release date of the 12th disappeared as well.

Rain, our second scapegoat.

Now the plan is to get our act together and release on the 18th. It's gonna happen. Really. Keep your eyes peeled for the email, and if ya don't see it first thing Tuesday morning, check your junk folder. It's comin', we...promise?

Off to bed.

Makin' wine tomorrow. We do it so you don't have to.

Pardon any typos, or poorly written sentences, no proofreading. We'll take care of it tomorrow, ...and add some pics.

Gonna Fly Now

2011-09-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

Harvest is nearly upon us, and what a doozy it may be. After all the grumbling, hand wringing and near-hysteria that Summer 2011 had to hear from us grape growers, this vintage could shape up to be one for the ages. Stay tuned for details...

With all the pieces falling into place for a grand harvest, something, at some point had to throw a spanner in the works. Right?

Mid-August, a weekend in Nevada, no one left behind to watch over things, what could go wrong? Uh-huh. The irrigation timer decides to go haywire and put water on the 1.5 acres of 2nd leaf pinot vines for 3 full days (a general watering cycle is 3-4 hours). Joyous.

What happens when you soak parched soil, then have a vintage resurrecting heat spell arrive shortly thereafter? Weeds. Grrrr. After spending an uncharacteristically wet season controlling weeds organically, this was the last thing needed upon the threshold of harvest. Uprooting the bad guys before they go to seed and replant themselves was crucial. Time was of the essence, and the temptation to use herbicide massive.

After making the decision to respect the land last year, it would have been heartbreaking to bust out the sprays and nuke our uninvited guests. So with the thought of utilizing evil chemicals discarded, the only option left was to man the hoe.

And what a miserable option that is. Ugh.

Under the late summer sun, digging up these damn weeds is an absolute bear. The sweat factor is ferocious while cowering from the California Sun under hat, pants, windbreaker and boots, all while keeping any exposed skin caked in SPF 4000.

As the finish line creeps ever closer, inspiration is constantly being drawn from Rocky IV's training montage (quite possibly the apex of 80s cinema) set in the frozen tundra of Siberia. While Drago gets shot up with evil chemicals and slaves away on some of the scariest cardio machines this side of an erg, our Italian hero escapes from the gallows, shows no mercy to the local fauna and plays Huskie to Pauly's musher in a form of the Iditarod only a Rocky movie could cook up.

Cheesy, yes, but check out Rock's physique at the opening bell. With each swipe of the hoe, we feel one step closer to Sly's abs, training beard and becoming the biggest movie star in the world, ...or at least getting that last weed unearthered.

The things we do for the land.

trying hard now...

getting strong now...

won't be long now...

flying high now!

Riddle, Mystery, Enigma

2011-08-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

The past 4-6 weeks has been a flurry of activity preparing for last week's pre-harvest bottling of the 2010 White Wine, 2010 Pinot Noir and 2009 Red Wine--all to be released during calendar year 2012.

At a miniumum, three necessities must show up before a bottling line can run: corks, glass and wine. Labels can wait, foils can wait, labs can wait.

Of the aforementioned requirements, purchasing corks provides the least amount of drama. A sensory evaluation appointment is scheduled; a decision made on our ever-(r)evolving firebrand artwork adorning the sides (and sometimes ends) of the cork; the order is placed making certain delivery date precedes bottling date. Easy and straightforward.

Somewhat more complicated, and only minorly tinged with cognitive dissonance, is choosing which bottle mold will house each wine. Glass company's showrooms always have the potential to titillate (though rarely taken advantage of) with their wonderful array of different shaped, sized and colored bottles twinkling along the shelves. We love all the options, and rarely find the decision to be a no-brainer. And, while argot's production numbers are currently too small to always get our first choice (so many of the fancy molds have minimums we can't reach yet), we've had plenty of fun buying glass thus far.

Lastly and, in our eyes, most important of all is the formulation of the final blends for each wine. During the 6 weeks or so leading up to bottling, we concoct too-many-to-count blends of each wine in order to create the best version of each cuvée we possibly can. Needless to say, the level of hand wringing that goes on during this process is epic.

Armed with a pipette, spit cup and notebook, this year the Pinot was a breeze, revealing itself quite readily. The White Wine and Red Wine, on the other hand, were quite a bit more difficult, both refusing to provide a clear favorite until just days before bottling. This Red Wine assemblage was our most angst-ridden yet--so much so, that on the day we racked the wines from barrel into tank for bottling, a 6:15 am "final check" tasting-trial was held. Ugh, pass the coffee.

So, why all this blending? We make such small amounts of wine, it may seem insane to leave behind anything. But our M.O. has always been to put the single best wine in bottle each and every time. With that mission beginning in the vineyard months, sometimes years, earlier, continuing through fermentation and elevage, it's all just part of the gig by the time bottling rolls around.

And, believe you me, with the way these stunners turned out, it was well worth any and all bleary-eyed morning sipping.

Eye of the Beholder

2011-07-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

As we head into July, with the mercury steadily soaring, and the country continuing to be a sweatbox, many will believe it best to pass over the bold, flavor-rich bottles in their wine cellar for something less impactful on the palate--crisper, if you will. (Some may even dare to say "boring".) Not so for the Argot faithful. Transmissions have been pouring in singing the praises of our wines, and their ability to complement (or, defeat?) the heat, humidity and food they're paired against.

Last week an email from one customer (arriving complete with photo--veggies beware), who drank The Preamble with "grilled herb crusted rack of lamb, green beans with almonds, and butter herb rice" raved about the pairing saying "the wine was the perfect complement. My wife is already bugging me to buy more." And he did. Good on ya, sir!

As for the Over The Moon a text from another customer informed us "sitting here on my birthday drinking my last Over the Moon having just devoured a 60 day dry aged ribeye...Btw, OTM is best served after about 3 hours of decanting...beat out a ******* Pinot from Wilamette Valley at a recent taste testing I did with some friends" (Name asterixed out to protect the innocent) He then went on to plead "I need another case of Over the Moon..can u help me out?" Unfortunately, we can't, the Over The Moon recently sold out.

Recently, the following was relayed about Ed's Would, "My wife and I have enjoyed two bottles of the Ed’s Would. The wine was great both times. It is a distinctly California Chardonnay, but also has characteristics of the better Corton Charlemagnes that I’ve enjoyed in the past." We'll take that description any day of the week.

And lastly, Happenstance recently received the following treatment, "We were thinking of you last week. My wife was making her famous shrimp risotto (little lemon, loads of butter), and I just needed to open something good to pair. I bet you can guess what we opened. What an absolutely fabulous wine. The Mrs. wanted me to tell you 'Happenstance elevated the food to new heights!' It was an awesome match. We can't wait to try the 2010!"
Shrimp, lemon and "loads" of butter. God love you people. Perfect, indeed.

Keep up the good work, folks. You keep doing your part of drinking 'em, and we'll keep doing ours of making 'em. And speaking of Hap's 2010 brethren (henceforth to be known as The Articulator), the blend is currently in the process of being concoted (probably as you read this, ...really). As stated above, you continue doing your part, and we'll continue doing ours.

And keep those communications coming, we adore hearing from you.

In Bloom

2011-06-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

After an unseasonably wet and cool start to June, early last week summer arrived with a vengance in Northern California. With all the pent up energy in the soil and vines, the moment the sun came out and the mercury crept, vineyards exploded with growth--shoots growing 2 feet or more in some places over the past 10 days. In addition to all the stretching of shoots and unfurling of leaves, most vines have also begun to flower--after budbreak, the next major step in a vine's yearly growth cycle.

Domesticated winegrape vines are hermaphroditic and, hence self-pollinating. During bloom, tiny, white flowers appear on the cluster, creating a dramatic, almost pyrotechnic-like effect on the cluster's appearance. We are currently half to three-quarters of the way through bloom in our Bennett Valley Pinot Noir vineyards and our Jackson clone Pinot Noir and Roussanne at Saralee's in Russian River Valley; while bloom is just getting underway in our Bennett Valley Chardonnay (damn that vineyard is cold) and Bennett Valley Syrah vineyard.

In addition to bloom occuring all over the county, some warmer sites have finished flowering and entered set. Set occurs immediately after flowering when the fertilized flowers begin developing into berries. Our Wädenswil clone Pinot at Saralee's has set, as has our Rutherford cab.

As we round the corner of June and head into July, most vineyards are a week or more behind in their growth cycles, portending yet another ripening foot race into harvest ending rains in late October/early November.

As always, greatness is afoot.

As always, fingers crossed for a long, warm summer.

Summertime Blues

2011-06-14T11:26:00.001-07:00

Who said there was no cure?

Argot's 2010 'By Any Other Name' rosé, ...the perfect cure

Drink up if you were lucky enough to get some, folks. Tasting damn good under blue skies and summer sun.

It Whispers, So Listen

2011-03-30T23:47:00.000-07:00

Springtime in the wine business is beset with a chaos that causes each day to blur into the next. There is little time to consider anything unrelated to the grape as life speeds toward yet another harvest. This past week was different. This past week our dear friend Jennifer "Jen" Koop lost her battle with ovarian cancer, passing away late Sunday evening with her family at her side.

Few situations in life will force us to take pause and reflect like the loss of a loved one. In the context of Jen's passing, we could not help but be brought back to the essence of why we got into the business of wine in the first place--wine's ability to bring people together in the sharing of an experience.

Wine lovers often obsess over the minutiae associated with each bottle they uncork; age, vintage, vineyard, ripeness, oak program, winemaker, etc, etc. These things make each bottle a unique and memorable experience; however, we have found that what often trumps all of these details in remembering a wine is the people with whom, and circumstance under which the wine was experienced. In our estimation, this is the true beauty of wine - its ability to provide a backdrop and be a companion in, an evening spent catching up with old friends, sharing an intimate dinner at home, or indulging in the festivities of an oversized family party.

It was in this reflection that we realized how often wine played a role in sharing great times with our friend Jen. How easy it was to meet up at a restaurant, or one of our homes for a glass of wine and to catch up on work, relationships, gossip, you name it. With Jen no conversation was off limits, nor topic too difficult to broach due to her unwavering sense of acceptance, unabashed laugh and unforgettable smile. Jen, or “Koop” as many of her closest friends referred to her, was an amazing friend and person – beautiful, smart and courageous, with a contagious spirit that met life head on. We are going to miss her; it is really as simple as that.

We would like to take this moment to toast a friend who taught us that it is not about the amount of time you have, but the impact you make in that time. Jen, your spirit will live on in the hearts of the many people whose lives you have touched.

In honor of Jen and her courageous struggle, we have decided to dedicate our 2010 'By Any Other Name' Rose to her. The bottle will be topped with a teal wax seal to commemorate the fight against ovarian cancer. And in hopes that someday a cure may be found, we will be donating 100% or our proceeds from this bottling to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition.

Please visit our webpage and participate with us in helping to defeat this merciless disease.

Karissa and Justin

The Weight

2011-02-21T21:04:00.000-08:00

Been away too long. Sorry about that. Things are chugging along here in the doldrums of the wine calendar. Little visibility, but lots going on behind the scenes.

Hoping to expand Argot's Burgundian varietals portofolio in 2011. Spent some time last week scouring West County looking for site/clone combinations that excite us and are worthy of the Pinot and Chards we made in '09 and '10. Thus far, fairly excited about what we have seen--alot of great fruit out there. When things get shored up, I'll be sure to let you all know.

Next, getting all bottling paraphenalia together for the 16+ barrels resting in the winery looking to find their way into glass. Bottles, labels and corks--so much easier than it sounds, especially the way we do it. Most folks take the road well-trod and create one label they reuse year-after-year. God bless them, sometimes we're so jealous. That being said, we love the idea that each wine we put in bottle has its own unique identity, and thus deserves its own unique presentation to the world. A total hemorrhoid from a logistical and cost standpoint, but allowing our customers an immediate, visceral interation with each Argot bottling is something we relish.

Lastly, putting together the spring release of the 2009 'Over The Moon' Pinot Noir, 2009 'Happenstance' White Wine blend and 2010 'By Any Other Name' Rosé. This would be business as usual except that the Rosé is STILL ticking through primary (alcohol) fermentation! Every few days we check to see if things are slowing down (which they thankfully are!), but it's not done yet. We're doing everything in our power to cajole it along, however, there is no forcing Nature's hand. Hopefully things finish up in a timely enough manner to include this wine in the spring release!

Lastly, lastly, busy drinking wine. 'The Preamble', 'Ed's Would', the newly minted 2010s and the potential blends for upcoming bottlings. I'm happy to report 'The Preamble' (sitting in a glass in front of me as I type) is showing in top form, continuing to reveal its black raspberries, earth, leather, baker's chocolate and mocha; 'Ed's Would' was incredibly well received by the good folks who grew its grapes, when we finally found time last week to pull a cork together; the 2010s are turning out to be of such a higher quality than I ever could have wished for given the challenges of the vintage; and the final blend for the 2008 Syrah continues to confound in its endless permutations--there's so many to choose from (more on this to come).

That's all for now. Be back soon.

Winter/Birthday

2011-02-01T22:06:00.000-08:00

Arrived in Chicago yesterday for Snowpocalypse 2011. I'll be honest, it is a bit of a letdown. Is there snow? Yeah, absolutely. Is it a 30-year snow? At the moment, no! Not even close. Currently this storm has more in common with a summer deluge than a winter blizzard--replete with thunder!!, lightning! (I kid you not) and some inordinantely strong gusts of wind (up to 80 mph! Really?).

So what brings me to this god-forsaken Tundra in early February? Why, it's the Old Man's 60th (vintage 1951's apologies--Grange's exception) today, and what sort of son would miss such an occasion?

Older Brother, Younger Sister, Dad, Uncle Mike and I celebrated this glorious event in a nearly empty Publican Restaurant on Fulton Market, amidst scads of beer, wine and pork. BTW, one of the most inventive and risky lighting designs I've witenessed in a room of this size--worth visiting for that alone.

To be in one of Chicago's hottest restaurant is always an event unto itself; to be there nearly alone on your Father's 60th birthday is singular, and well worth making the semi-transcontinental flight. The oysters were saline-deliciousness; porkrinds, crunch-tastic; cassoulet, winter-hardiness galore; and the porchetta, to die for. Some grumbled about the fat content of the evening, me and Sis thought it was juuuust right.

As for libations, The Publican has the single greatest beer list in the city. Big Bro was a bit Sally-pants this evening, greatly enjoying the Kölsch on tap, Lil' Sis (gluten allergy) got deeply involved with the Normandie Cider (Eric Bordelet Poire “Authentique”, more than a little bit of Brettanomyces in this one, whoa!!! Scary); while I enjoyed the Oyster Stout from Ireland and a Saison from La Moneuse in Belgium (reminded me much of the dearly departed Sonoma Farmhouse Saison Ale, from one of Sonoma's local heroes, Lagunitas (damn you, Lagunitas for discountinuing this heavenly nectar)).

Argot was enjoyed as well this evening. With dinner we imbibed in both the 'Over The Moon' Pinot Noir and 'Ed's Would' Chardonnay. For the first time EVER the Pinot was not "go time" upon pulling the cork. Things showed a bit confused during its first 15 minutes of being open before everything came together and performed in the manner we've become accustomed to. The Chard, on the other hand, was absolutely fantastic from word go. This wine has made unbelievable strides over the past six weeks. It is beginning to show the great minerality and POWER Barbed Oak Vineyard bestows in its wines, all while remaining true to the Argot aesthetic of deliciousness and voluptoutuity. I am incredibly pleased with the direction this wine has headed since last tasting it.

Surrounded by family, friends, great food, amazing wine, stupendous beer and a highly attentive waitstaff (thanks Max), what else could one Man want to aid in celebrating the start of his 61st year on Earth? The icing on the cake was a finger of 12 yr, Elijah Craig Bourbon (on a rock), that the Old Man shot(!!!!) like a champ (Good Lord, can we take him anywhere?) and then proceeded to say 'That's some whiskey'. Oy Vey!

Happy 60th Dad. Here's to many more. Cheers!

Falltacular!

2011-01-26T22:20:00.000-08:00

Falltacular, hosted graciously by Jill and Frank Murray, is like no other officially sanctioned wine event I have ever encountered.

Most wine events have the look and feel of a trade show. Staged in cavernous rooms boasting all the charm of an airport pedway, participants are herded down long aisles walled in by folding tables where wineries have set up shop for the day. These tables are (generally) manned by winemakers who are juggling conversations with the curious, while pouring their wines for the thirsty. Effective? Yes, but far from intimate and personable, and certainly not a shared experience amongst the attendees and winemakers. Somehow, maybe by accident, possibly by grand plan, Falltacular is the antithesis of this, turning the notion of an organized wine event on its ear.

What started as your basic offline, has morphed into one of the most highly anticipated events on the wine calendar.

To the uninitiated, offlines are (mostly) casual events where a gaggle of wine-geeks gather to share myriad bottles; praise, criticize and intellectualize said bottles; eat wonderful food; BS on numerous non-wine related topics; and, most importantly, have an altogether grand time. After reaching a certain level of wine geekdom, most of us long for these gatherings where we can indulge ourselves in discussing the finesse of a wine’s tannins, or its reflection of terroir, or the integration of its oak, without being subjected to the yawns and glazed over expressions of our significant others, family and friends.

In the weeks/months leading up to Falltacular, pages-upon-pages of anticipatory bulletin-board posts are generated fueling the pre-meet excitement. Group rates are negotiated at local hotels. A HUGE, Friday night, BYO, pre-Falltacular dinner leads attendees to arrive an evening early with bottles in hand and their party hats on. Then, after the dust has settled on the shenanigans, the event is bookended by yet another round of bulletin-board posts, recording the excellence of the day, and the wonderful times and wines that were shared amongst friends, new and old alike, on Saturday afternoon.

Rumor has it that the first Falltacular was held in Jill and Frank's kitchen; approximately 30 bottles on the counter, a handful of winemakers, and a baker’s dozen of hardcore, SoCal wine enthusiasts. No one seems to recall anything out of the ordinary (a relative term for offlines) happening that night, but something special clearly took place. This little gathering caught the imagination of all who heard about it, and over ensuing years the event has swelled in both stature and attendance. In addition to moving out of the kitchen to engulf the entire house, Falltacular has also become a charitable cause, benefitting Laura's House in Orange County.

Truly fantastic. An event that perfectly represents the enthusiasm and passion of the California wine community. Many thanks to Jill and Frank for opening their home to the event, and I am already looking forward to participating next year.

A Few Of My Favorite Things...

2011-01-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

I love Chicago. No matter where I reside, or for how long, Chicago will always be home. It is where I was born. It is where I was raised. It is where Argot was first brought into existance. I love California and, more specifically, Sonoma with all my being, but there's just something about Chicago, especially at the holidays...

Like every year before it (and, hopefully, many to come), December brought me home to Chicago, and my family, to celebrate Christmas and the passing of the new year. For my money, nothing beats Chicago in December. Everyone is giddy with glee, and seems completely oblivious to the impending doom that January and February impose on the horizon. There are lights on Michigan Avenue, sleds in Lincoln Park and awe-inspiring dioramas on State Street. Chestnuts roast, glogg glugs and the Nog flows freely. It is truly a magical time that catches lightning in the bottle--for 6 weeks later the chance of finding even a whiff of this merriment and good will towards men is a thing of the past calendar year. A month-and-a-half of midwest winter, Chicago wind and lake-effect snow can do EVIL things to one's psyche.

In short, the 2010 holiday season, Chicago-style, was everything I could have hoped for. An amazing couple of weeks, where I took comfort and joy in all my old favorites, and deeply indulged in many new ones. In no particular order, here's an abridged rundown of my 2010 holiday hedonism:

-Malnati's Pizza Night 1 in Chicago, without fail, is always a call to Malnati's (generally on the cab ride home from the airport) for an XL, deep-dish, buttercrust, double-spinach, extra sauce pizza. Done, and done.

-The Bristol My newest favorite restaurant in Chicago. The food is fabulous (raviolo, not to be missed), and the wine amenities are nonpareil for the city. Always gracefully accomodating corkage, always willing to allow that last, unnecessary cork to be pulled at the end of the night. An indulgent wine dinner with a group of wine freaks--both new and old friends, alike--where I was just tipsy enough to pour Argot's Over The Moon Pinot against one of California's most revered Pinot Noirs (which will remain nameless). It is safe to say, the Argot took the day...

-Johnny's Italian Beef, Elmwood Park If you grew up on the west side, you know Johnny's. The best EVERYTHING (period) Beef, Sausage, Combo, Ice, Fries, Dog--they've got it all. Truly beyond compare. You go to Chicago and choose Alinea over this, you're nuts. Combo, juicy, hot, ...bag it!

-Domaine Wine Storage A new concept by an old friend. A few years back my buddy Christopher Klingenstein became involved in this project and, boy, am I glad he did. I spent more than a few hours hanging out in their lounge drinking wine with kindred spirits, and having an all-around fabulous time over the course of my three weeks in the city. The Domainers were gracious enough to invite me to their BYO holiday party my first night back. Amongst soaring competition, I drank my wine of the year that night, a 1969 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. An absolute revelation of a wine, standing up against all comers. Wines like these are why I do this...

-RJ Grunts (the supposed inventor of the salad bar) for an afternoon beer and plate of buffalo wings. While this place IS like going back to the time warp again, it never gets old.

-MK Restaurant I only made it for drinks and their amazing french fries this time. Don't let that fool you, though. Any place that states on their website "we believe...that a room full of people dressed for dinner is a thing of beauty" can do no wrong in my book.

-Arnie Salerno's Pizzeria in Berwyn My favorite pizza in the world. Pepperoni, medium-crust. The kind of greatness that forces you to rue the day this family-run pizzeria inevitably goes away. So terrifying, it almost takes away from the experience. Can not be matched--Brooklyn and New Haven be damned.

-Participating in the round table, BYO, stand-up, Saturday tastings at Knightsbridge Wine Shoppe in Northbrook, IL. Drinking some of the greatest wine, with some of the nicest, most generous and passionate people I've come across on this wine journey. Beware though, you must come loaded for bear, cuz these folks don't mess around. You will learn more about wine in 2 hours than most people do in 2 years.

-Staring out at a fresh snow falling over Lincoln Park on Christmas Eve. Knee-bending.

Age Is Only A Number

2011-01-02T20:44:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year Friends!

For wine lovers everywhere, turning the page on a calendar year is always an exciting time. In the drop of a ball, suddenly every bottle we own is one vintage year older (sticklers beware, this is how wine math is done). This passing of the baton from 2010 to 2011 offers yet another reason to test the maturity of all those bottles we've squirreled away in the dark, cool corners of our cellars. Take, for example, the massive wines of 1998 from Italy and France that have thus far eluded Father Time. 12+ years on, many of these offerings have yet to mellow. With fingers crossed, numerous corks will be pulled on the likes of the Giacosas, Conternos, Chaves and Pavies in hopes that year 13 will be the one when the aging process finally begins to make headway. What wonderful fun!

Speaking of aging and drinking wines, ...as Argot's inaugural shipments began landing on the doorsteps of our fans and supporters these past few weeks, there have been many inquiries as to the 'hows' and 'whens' of aging and drinking The Preamble, Ed's Would and Over The Moon. Initially, I considered responding to these queries by email. As they began piling up though, it was clear a blog post was in order--a la the wax removal--so here goes...

The prevailing wisdom of the wine world states that 'ideal' storage conditions are a constant temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit, 70% humidity, no direct sunlight and minimal vibrations. Not coincidentally, these are the conditions of a 'natural' earthen root cellar, or Man's first refrigerator. Whether or not these conditions are EXACTLY perfect for aging wine may be up for debate. Anecdotally, it seems to have worked thus far.

Like any perishable, all wine will eventually head south no matter how much loving care is bestowed upon it (there are always exceptions, of course). During its journey towards spoilage (again) prevailing wisdom states, each bottle travels its own individual arc of evolution that involves an indeterminate point in the future where the wine becomes all it can be, and delivers the maximum amount of pleasure. While the exact timing of this moment is a moving target, generally speaking it is less a "point" in time, than an extended period that can last years.

So what does this all mean for the fine folks who have purchased Argot wines over the past few weeks? For those of you who do not have the time, resources or motivation to dig out a root cellar in the basement, install a proper wine cellar in the house, or purchase a shiny new wine fridge, let me offer a couple tried and true pointers to safely storing your wine.

-Do not store bottles in direct sunlight. If you would like to display the wonder that is a bottle of Argot wine, uncork it and drink the damn thing first! Then display to your heart's content. Thank you.

-Do not expose your bottles to temperatures over 85 degrees. Over time, exposure to high temps will 'cook' the wine; chiseling away at the freshness of flavors, and creating a 'stewed', brownish flavored swill that barely resembles wine. Ideally, the wine stays under 80 degrees, but 85 is the danger zone.

-Dramatic, sudden swings in temperatures hurt wine. If wine must be exposed to climatic shifts, slow, gradual changes seem to do less damage than abrupt, aggressive ones.

-Temperature is a much greater concern than humidity. In the world of wine storage, humidity does not become a real concern until the storage metric is measured in decades, as opposed to years. Low humidity will eventually allow for substantial evaporation through the cork (and may eventually lead to the drying out of said cork), but is not a real concern in the short term.

-Find a cool, dark place where your bottles can be laid on their side, undisturbed until their drinking day arrives. Basements (away from the furnace, please!!!) and internal closets are always good solutions. Attics and cabinets over the refrigerator are not.

So that covers the 'hows' of storing your newly acquired wines. As this post ran a bit long, and my carpal-tunnel symptoms are beginning to act up, I will cover the 'whens' next time. Until then...

The famous "wool" that grows over the library wines

in Auguste Clape's root cellar winery. Cornas, France

Wax On/Wax Off

2010-12-27T18:37:00.000-08:00

Much chatter these days about the sealing of wine bottles with wax. Some like it and get the positive contribution it makes toward the aesthetic presentation of the wine; while others find it endlessly frustrating as an unnecessary hurdle placed between them and the vinous treasure awaiting them beyond the cork.

As Argot’s patrons now know, we are proponents of the wax dip. We love the way it looks, and feel it is a better finishing solution than the industry-standard tin capsule. Further, it contributes a level of personality to each bottling that completes the packaging in a way sorely missed without it. Before our wax colors are chosen, a great deal of consideration is put towards what their ultimate effect will be on the final impression the bottle presents—something we take seriously and derive a great deal of joy from.

As mentioned above, some folks struggle with the wax as a finishing agent, finding it difficult to remove and not aesthetically worth the functional challenge it presents. Agreed, this is a fair argument, especially if proper instruction is not provided on how to uncork a wax sealed bottle. Fear not, the blog is here to help.

The single most important step to uncorking a wax sealed bottle is, DO NOT try to remove the wax with a knife or any other sharp instrument. It is unnecessary, creates an unholy mess and could end with disastrous consequences.

Trust the following, and all should be fine:

-First, warm the wax. This can be achieved by either fire or hot water, however the most convenient, safest and cleanest approach requires only one piece of equipment, your hand. Place your palm on top of the wax and rotate back-and-forth, using the bottle top as a pivot (think of a two-year old aggressively waving goodbye). Repeat until you feel the burn under your hand. The friction will create enough heat to soften the wax.

-Have your corkscrew (or Rabbit (God help you)) at the ready and immediately drive the point into the center of the wax.

-Begin twisting. The worm should easily penetrate the warmed seal and proceed into the cork.

-From there, treat the cork removal process as if the wax were not there. Extracting the cork will take care of all necessary wax removal from this point on. Voila! the wine is ready to be poured.

See, not so hard. Happy drinking.

Food Porn

2010-11-28T23:26:00.001-08:00

How to celebrate the initial success of Argot's "Inaugural Release"? Engage in some good locavoring, of course! Sonoma wines deserve Sonoma vittles. Last week, on back-to-back nights, two perfect meal pairings accompanied The Preamble and Ed's Would, respectively.

The Preamble

The menu consisted of venison tenderloin (bbq'd over barrel wood the wine was fermented in), a Chiogga and yellow beet salad over arugula, herb-rolled Chevre and roasted garlic heads. The venison was hunted, field-dressed and butchered by my good buddy Cush (his license plate, ...'LUVS2HNT'--kid you not) less than two miles from my front door. Being the stand up guy Cush is, he saved us the choicest tenderloin cuts as a thank you for letting him hunt turkeys here last year. The beets were pulled from a neighbors yard (shhhh, they weren't looking) along with the arugula, and the chevre was bought at Whole Foods (but produced locally) and rolled in herbs direct from our garden (last of the season as a hard frost two nights later killed most everything). A true Sonoma meal for a true Sonoma wine, fantastically fun.

The meat was a fabulous foil to the wine allowing the scorched earth, asphalt and dark rasberry components to shine, while the milk chocolate and cinnamon characters danced around the edges of the palate. One of my favorite showings yet for The Preamble.

Ed's Would

It's crab season on the waters off Sonoma coast, and this year every fish-monger in the county has a display case full of Dungeness from Bodega Bay. It is a truly incredible, mouth-watering site to behold. With a recently released Sonoma Chardonnay from Argot sitting in the fridge at home, who are we to pass up the opportunity to steam up a crab and slather it in truffle butter? A pairing made in heaven. The richness of the meat plays so well with this full-bodied wine, allowing it to display the kaleidoscope of flavors present--lemon (is there lime in here as well?), stone fruit, hazelnut, toffee, and pie crust, with all sorts of good Chardonnay juju thrown in to keep things honest.

Good times, good eats and a wonderful way to commemorate the inaugural release.

Been A Long Time Coming...

2010-11-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

RELEASE!!!!!

The time has finally come for Argot Wines to do what it has been promising to for 3+ years--release product for sale (hey, how about that, we actually are a winery). Earlier this week, through a rudimentary and terribly clumsy ordering system, we offered up for sale our first two bottlings--the 2007 Red Wine, The Preamble (above right) and the 2008 Chardonnay Ed's Would (above left).

What fun! and thank you. Your response has been nothing short of fantastic. To finally see all of our time and effort come to its fruition, and to share these wines and their respective stories has been massively satisfying. Further, to receive the support of the Argot network--friends and family, family of friends, friends of family, friends of friends, old friends and, our wildcard, the curious folks we have no formal connection to?!?--has been an incredibly humbling experience.

So again, thank you.

Before signing off for a few days to enter our Thanksgiving hibernation a few administrative tasks need taking care of.

For the ordering system, our most humble and sincere apologies. We completely fooled ourselves into thinking that the system we had in place was user friendly "enough" for our first release. Lesson learned, it isn't (yes, we have heard you). An online shopping cart system is in the works, and will be functional for the Spring 2011 release.

In the meantime, after having wrestled with the minutiae-laden software that is the Adobe suite, we have put our next-best foot forward with a fully interactive pdf that does all the math AND is fully saveable (not as easy as it sounds, as some of you found out--ugh, sorry about that). To all of you who suffered through the initial iteration of our order form, thank you for the effot and the order--especially doing your own math. To those still contemplating a purchase; email, fax and snail-mail have been sucessfully employed thus far, as has messages on the voicemail with all pertinent information.

Over the coming weeks, through this blog, facebook, and the website much more information about Argot and its goings-ons will be made available. Hopefully, we will be able to answer any and all questions you may have, and some you didn't know you had. If not, feel free to drop us a line at argot@argotwines.com and we'll see if we can satisfy the curiousity of the masses.

Lastly, for your continued interest in us, our most humble and sincere gratitude. Three years is a very long time to wait. The fact that many of you have continued to knock on our door, send us emails, read this blog, and generally harass us to "release already", has kept us going through this, the most grueling stretch in a winery's timeline.

Lastly, lastly, the good news is, according to the barrels of wine resting in the winery, the best is certainly yet to come. Stay tuned.

Weeding Out The Competition

2010-08-28T23:27:00.000-07:00

So whose idea was it to try going organic, anyway? Don't get me wrong, I love it in theory, but in execution, ...ay ay ay!!!! What work. We are not an all-in organic vineyard yet (there are a few fertilizer issues we're still working out), but our big push this year was to avoid using herbicides as our solution for weed control.

There is no doubt that it would be easier to just spray with herbicides, but there is something about knowingly putting poison into the earth that skeeves me out. Can it really be good for the vines, let alone the ground and all the other stuff living in/on it?

When we bought this land it had been farmed in an agressively 'conventional' manner for years--herbicides, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, all the stuff you can't just throw away, but need to bring to special 'disposal sites'. The ground was just trashed. No worms. No bugs. No vegetation. The color of the soil could only be described as a non-color (using the word 'gray', would give the word 'gray' a bad name), and its consistency was that of moon dust. It was just a wasteland, and it made me vow that we would do things differently.

At the beginning of this summer, I went to the local garden supply store and bought myself one of the most ancient farming tools known to human kind, the hoe. At the time it seemed so romantic. I was feeling at one with my prehistoric, mesopotamiam, farming brethren. And so began the great experiment of Summer 2010--my laying blade to earth, across 5 acres of vines, in an attempt to reign in that peskiest of garden pests, the weed.

As summer gives way to harvest season, I am happy to report that (at great cost to my social life, my blog, sleeping-in and my ability to stand up straight) we have contained the weeds without the application of chemicals. In a brash display of conceit, I'm going to say I'm damn proud of what we did here on the home ranch this summer--the farm is better off for it, and I am certian the grapes and, ulitmately the wine, will be better off for it.

It looks like, against the odds, we will take a small crop off half the Syrah vines this harvest. I'd like to think it's because of all the hard work done rehabilitating the land over the past two years. But maybe it was because of all the hand farming done to take advantage of our wonderful Indian Summer last year, allowing late season root development. Then again, maybe it's because of the generous winter rains we saw this past season. But maybe it's because Syrah grows like a weed. Or maybe it's because of dumb luck. Hard to tell, and it really doesn't matter. All that matters is the fruit.

We're proud of what we have done, and are seeing the fruits (pardon the pun) of our labor. And, we're excited to continue down this road, to see where it brings us.

And for those of you owed communication, I promise to catch up once this last half-acre is taken care of tomorrow.

Harvest, here we come.

Don't Call It A Comeback

2010-07-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

I've been a bad blogger recently, and have no good excuse for it. I'm thinking of moving to twitter. Less pressure to "come up" with something substantial, and poor writing skills are accepted--hell, expected. We will see. Until then, I'm gonna get back on that blogging pony that threw me, starting today.

A lot of concern going round this year for getting late ripeners (Syrah, Grenache, Roussanne, Zin) ripe. A wet, cool spring, followed by a foggy, cool June/July has caused many discussions about what aggressive farming techniques need be employed to ensure quality fruit come pick day.

Saturday morning, while standing amongst the vines thatwill bear our 2010 Grenache, I found myself in just such a discussion at the Judge Family Vineyard with grower Joe . What an adventure this wine is going to be. But that is not why I'm writing today.

Today, we are here to talk about Blackie the cow. Blackie is a calf Joe's heifer birthed this past spring who had some trouble finding the teet. Because of this, Joe now bottle feeds the 'little' guy every morning to fatten him up. I was there for the whole process today and, I've seen beers shotgunned slower than Blackie took down that half-gallon of milk. It was quite a show. I was in awe. Thankfully, the camera was handy, so I whipped it out and started clicking away.

I may be inspired to someday turn one of these pictures into a label. Enjoy.

Smell My Cork

2010-06-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

Spent a portion of today sniffing corks that had been marinating in high proof alcohol for the prior 24 hours.

As we're bottling our 2008 Chardonnay a week from Friday, I required a sensory evaluation of the batch of corks we are using to seal our bottles. Many find this to be a superfluous step in the process of making wine--including one of the cork gals I interacted with today who seemed to go out of her way to let me know what a ridiculous waste of time I was engaging in. Hmmmm, if I'm wasting my time, why does your company offer this as an option. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

To this attitude, I say "Pshaw!". As a winemaker with hypothetical clients (Readers, that'd be you), my last chance to affect the final product is choosing the closure on my bottle. And, if said closure smells like someone's feet after hiking the Applachian Trail, I surely do not want our wine living in contact with said stink until my customers decide to rip the cork.

I didn't mean to bury the lead, but the corks smelled wonderfully woodsy and fresh. Ganau does a killer job, and I've enjoyed working with them immensely. Look for their 'GA' brand on our corks.

(Lower right hand corner of cork, 'GA')

Wildflowers

2010-05-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

...for anyone out there listening who may be celebrating a birthday today...

A bouquet of pics taken over the past month from all over the property.

Enjoy, and happy birthday.

Train Kept A Rollin'

2010-05-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the wet and wooly spring of 2010 kept trucking along. With intermittent showers all morning, then an absolute MONSOON around 1:45 pm, Sonoma's already saturated soils received yet another inch+ of rain.

For those of you who have been out of the loop, the story of the past 6 months out here has been one of rain and cold. The 3-year drought that was officially declared by our Governor last year is officially over, and then some. Further, I found out yesterday (compliments of Neighbor Nate and his spreadsheet prowess) we're more than a month behind on degree accumulation for the year. Ugh. That new Grenache contract we picked up this winter is shaping up to be quite the ripening challenge.

Pretty crazy weather patterns, that's for sure. And there's all sorts of nail-biting going on within the industry because of it (a running theme, if you've been paying attention (see Grenache comment above)). But I'm sure all will work out--it always seems to.

On a more upbeat note, there's a tingle in my elbow telling me that after yesterday's rains the precipitation will now be gone til November.

Or maybe that's from when I ran into the bathroom door frame at 330 this morning.

We shall see.

Talk soon.

Listen To That Fireplace Roar

2009-12-10T06:22:00.000-08:00

Brrrr...

This week has been cold, cold, cold in Sonoma. In addition to a dusting of snow that stuck, reported lows have pushed into the high teens in Bennett Valley. This is definitely not unheard of, but it's also not normal. Snow generally happens once a year, but it sticking to the ground is a once every 5 years sort of thing. And while I'm sure the old-timers can regale us with stories of monumental freezes, 2009could surpass December 2005 as the wickedest cold snap of the decade--which, itself, has no real competition.

You may be asking, "Why all the hand-wringing? It has been cold before and will be again. Has Northern California made you soft?" I will answer these questions in reverse order.

I was already soft, which is why I moved here.

Yes it will be cold again, and I may just be a nail-biter making much ado about nothing. But as I have noted here before, young vines can be suceptible to harsh weather conditions, and if it continues to be this cold, things could begin to get dicey for the little guys. In short, amongst many concerns, we would like to do as little replanting as possible next spring while worrying as little as possible until then.

I'm am going to go throw another log on the fire now, worry about my vines, and pretend like the rest of the country is not up to their knees in snow with highs 40 degrees lower than we're experiencing.

Behind Enemy Lines

2009-12-04T14:00:00.001-08:00

When Thanksgiving rolls around, and all the wines from the most recent harvest are gently easing into their winter naps, it is time to give a little love to the over-vintage wines from prior years. In our case we have both 2007s (one and a half barrels of an extended-aged Syrah cuvee) and 2008s (everything--Syrah and Chardonnay) still in barrel. At this point, these wines are mostly on cruise control having been in barrel for as long as they have. The only crucial step now is deciding if enough topping wine was put into kegs at press to keep all of our barrels topped-up until bottling. And if not we breakdown a full barrel into an oak half-barrel and steel kegs.

As I have explained before, as a wine sits in barrel its volume decreases as the oak both, soaks it up and allows evaporation across it's staves. As the level of wine decreases, a 'headspace' of oxygen is created where lots of nasty little buggers can live and turn the wine into something that smells and tastes like, well, ...crap. For this reason, at press, winemakers hold back a certain volume of 'topping wine' in steel kegs to 'top' barrels with every couple weeks. This removes the headspace, and keeps the nasties from ruining the wine.

In 2008, we did not keg-down enough topping wine. This was done sorta on purpose. See, that year, we cropped-down our vines so aggresively (an average of 2 tons/acre for the Syrah), we knew every bit of juice would be both valuable and potentially delicious. Because of this, we squeezed as much into barrel at press as possible, allowing the maximum amount wine to spend the maximum amount of time softening and rounding out before we had to break a barrel down into a half-barrel and kegs.

The difference in a wine that ages in oak versus steel is astounding. Oak does many things steel cannot. In addition to adding what WE think are complimentary flavor components (oh stop it, I can almost hear that scowl) it also allows a microoxygenation process to occur. A minute, controlled input of oxygen to the wine tames its aggresiveness and allows for a rounder, fuller, sometimes even viscous, texture in the mouth that we feel the 2008 vintage calls for. And this is why we put as much of the breakdown juice as possible back into oak (in this case half of the barrel).

So Tuesday afternoon, I drove to the southern tip of Napa to pick up a Taransaud half-barrel. Because it was such a beautiful day with temps pushing into the high 70s, I decided to drive up through Napa to the Calistoga grade before jumping over the hill back to Sonoma. Personally, this is my favorite time of the year in Napa. The hills are bright green, the vineyards and trees are wearing their fall colors, it is warm, but not too hot (windows down, a/c off--nice), and, most importantly, highway 29 is not holding court to a traffic jam that would make Chicago's rush hour blush.

I love Sonoma. I prefer living there to Napa. I prefer its grapes and wines to Napa. I prefer its feel to Napa. You will never catch me saying anything to the contrary. That being said, if I had to recommend just one afternoon to spend in wine country it would be in Napa, on a day like this past Tuesday, off of peak season. Sitting in Oakville Grocery's parking lot, eating a sandwich while staring at Opus One, then cruising up 29 or Silverado Trail can be a truly magical experience.

The legendary Oakville Grocery

The view of Opus One from Oakville Grocery's parking lot

What a way to spend a lunch break.

...You Owe Me A Coke

2009-12-02T21:56:00.000-08:00

Sure as the sun comes up in the east, the moment I begin running my yap about the gorgeous weather and endless Indian Summer we're having out here, winter arrives.

This morning, while heading out to grab some firewood, I took notice of Jack Frost's presence for the first time this year. Granted it was in a low at the bottom of a slope, but it was there none-the-less (giving a freshly salted look to the new grass that has grown over the past few weeks). And it was damn chilly shuffling along to the woodpile (I may have seen a bo-honk in there?!?) clobbered out in nothing but my PJs.

Far as I can tell it didn't reach much above 55 today, if at all. And by the time I got home from the winery after putting the 08s (Oh My Lord! are these wines Awesome, Delicious, HUGE, and Not For The Faint Of Heart) to bed for the winter, the sun was setting, we were socked in by fog and it was 43 degrees. Loud and clear, Mother Nature, it is clearly time for vines to go to bed for the winter.

This is a good thing.

One of the many necessary climatic affects that allows a region the ability to grow great wine grapes is a cold-weather-induced hibernation period for the vines between harvests. The science behind it is a bit murky (isn't it always) at best, but a resounding amount of anecdotal evidence (if you become a regular reader here, you will see this phrase many times to come) substantiates this fact. Maybe someday this will all be proven wrong, but until Brazil starts pumping out world class wines that compete with the best of France, Italy and California, count me in as one of the convinced.

So here we are. I'm confident the vines have established themselves to the extent they needed to. Winter is here so it is time to let them go. There is little to worry about in their regard for a next 4-5 months. Maybe it is a little like sending your kids off to college. Maybe winegrowers are better separationists because of this...? Probably not. Hmmm, ...ultimately not that intersting of a question.

Jinx, indeed.

Running On Empty

2009-11-30T22:36:00.000-08:00

2009 brought Sonoma county a fabulous November. Generally speaking, by the beginning of December, there are few if any leaves left on the vines. This year, the vines are just now starting to shed their coats having spent the past couple of weeks displaying various shades of yellow and red.

On Thanksgiving day it was hard not to notice that the vineyard colors had inverted from a few weeks earlier. Instead of green leaves and dry, golden grass, the leaves are now yellow and the grass a vibrant, healthy green.

For our newly planted vineyard, this late-arriving winter (to be honest, I'm not convinced it will ever get here--it was 76 today) has been a blessing. Due to late spring rains, we could not start planting the vines until much later than normal. This can be a problem. If the vines do not have a chance to establish themselves, they are suceptible to being damaged by an early frost, or completely lost to an unseasonably cold winter.

Luckily, our vineyard still seem to be chugging along nicely with ALOT of green still showing in the first leaf canopy. At this point our plants are probably in the clear, but as far as I'm concerned, every day we continue to have sunshine and temps in the 70s certainly does not hurt.

Gobble Gobble Gobble

2009-11-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Feast, imbibe, and enjoy.

All our best,

The Argots

Inertia Creeps

2009-11-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

The plan had always been to expand slowly into year 5. Get a couple of vintages under our belt, establish a customer base, then look at the possiblity of moving into new vineyards and varietals. Then 2009 happened.

As I have alluded to before, the current economic climate freed up an unprecedented amount of amazing fruit here in Sonoma county. While there are always grapes floating around for purchase, rarely are high-quality, premium-farmed, mature vines available to newer projects such as Argot. 09 changed all that. Suddenly, everybody had fruit available, and the proposition of expanding this year looked too good to pass up. So, us being us, and vowing never to be hemmed in by any one dogma in this business (even our own), opportunity knocked, and of course we answered.

At the end of 2008, the the plan for the 09 vintage was to buy 2 acres (~4 tons) of Syrah from Dry Stack Vineyard--an acre each of 877 and Estrella River clones--and between 1 and 1.5 tons of Chardonnay from Barbed Oak Vineyard. This would increase our production across vintages by 2 tons.

As winter turned to spring and spring led to bud break, our plan fell apart.

It all started when we got wind of availability in a local, Bennett Valley, Chardonnay vineyard named Sylvan Hills. It was a no-brainer we couldn't pass up for so many reasons. First the vines were 30-year old, "Old Wente" clone vines. All of my favorite chards are made, at least in part, from this clone. Further, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, beats old vines for the profundity of flavors they instill in their fruit. Lastly, and maybe best of all, this property is less than 10 minutes from our front door, and we drive by it every day on the way to town. This would make it very convenient to check in on the vines early and often throughout the season (and I'm a huge believer in the old saying, the best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow). In short, this was a dream source for us. We committed to a ton and a half of fruit, effectively doubling our Chardonnay production from 2008. Uh-oh, here we go.

Next was the Saralee's Vineyard (hey look, that's us, third from the top). I believe my loyal readers have suffered through this history once already, so I'll keep things short. While touring the vineyard with my viticulture class this past spring, someone asked how the economy was affecting their business. Our guide explained that a record number of their accounts were in delinquency, and the prospect of defaults looked fairly certain. Seeing this as an opening, I came home straightaway and sent a "cold call" email to Saralee soliciting 2009 Syrah and Roussanne contracts. Shortly thereafter, an affirmative response came, and in one fell swoop we added both a new vineyard and varietal to the portfolio. Nice, not so much the 5 year mark, huh?

Then came the chance meeting with Greg LaFollette in July that led to our Silver Pines Vineyard Pinot Noir contract, all covered in a previous post found here.

Lastly, in early September, a mere week before the first grapes started coming off the vine in Sonoma County, we were offered a third acre of Dry Stack Syrah at an insane price that was just too good to pass on.

So there ya go. By the numbers, the Argot 2009 vintage is defined as follows: 4 Varietals, comprised of 7 clones, by 4 vineyards, yielding 14+ tons of grapes, that pressed off into 31 barrels. Wow, in print, that looks awfully sexy to someone whose largest production vintage thus far is 7 barrels.

In an ideal world we would stay perched at this production level for a few years...

...Hmmm, we shall see. But as we found out this year, sometimes we don't choose these things, they choose us.

Thinning The Herd

2009-11-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

Just before dawn on Tuesday morning, I was woken up by an extremely obnoxious, quite untimely, and all too familiar ruckus outside the bedroom window. Swearing under my breath, bare-chested, and with one eye open, I threw back the quilt, slunk out of bed and shuffled to the window to catch sight of the nuissance. Peeking through the blinds revealed exactly what I was expecting to see, ...turkeys.

Having turkeys around is nothing new for us. Sonoma County is turkey heaven. Because they are not native to the area, there is a shortage of natural predators and the birds breed fairly unchecked. They are everywhere. This year, things have been a little bit different though.

Knowing full well what looking out the window on Tuesday morning would reveal, the magnitude of what awaited me was a bit jarring. Outside between the garage and the house was a congress (the proper name for a pack of turkeys--no political jokes allowed, way too easy) of well over 50 turkeys!!! It was like someone spilled water on one, and it went all Gremlin overnight.

Not only was the presence of bird overwhelming, their behavior had become incredibly emboldened. My feathered friends were on the roof of the house, the porch stairs, back deck, all over the driveway and sidewalk connecting the house and garage; cluckin', struttin' and jivin' away. It was total avian pandemonium.

What was so unnerving about the scenario that was unfolding before me was, turkeys are generally quite cagey. For the most part they keep their distance, rarely finding themselves far from the safety of the treeline, and certainly never up near the house. What would come next, them brewing coffee in the kitchen in the morning, crapping the whole place up? This behavior could not go unchecked. It was time to seize control back from the birds.

So, what does one do when nature gets a little too big for its britches and needs a reminder of the food chain pecking order? Why call the friendly neighborhood sureshot, of course. Much like there being no shortage of turkeys out here in Sonoma County, there is also no shortage of people who love hunting them.

I got in touch with my goto hunter friend, Cush (rhymes with tush) and explained to him the situation. Thankfully, he reported that turkey season was open for Thanksgiving and that he would be out before dawn on Wednesday morn (forecast 38 degrees and awfully wet from the rain Tuesday evening) to set up his blind. I explained that the blind wasn't necessary, and it would be a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, but he wouldn't hear of it.

Fast-forward. Wednesday morning I was again startled out of sleep, but this time by the sounds of a shooting gallery going on outside. Apparently, the birds were at it again, headed up for the house (honestly, what's up with that?), when Cush and his son-in-law let the lead fly. When the dust had settled, 6 birds had been dropped and the congress was scattered and on the run. I was astounded when I went outside and saw the take on the day. The cool thing about Cush is, he doesn't just hunt for the sport of it (which he does love) but he also dresses the birds and makes some tasty vittles out of them. His turkey pot pie is killer.

I am happy to report there were no signs of turkey near the houses this morning. I heard some calling from the trees in back, but I assume that's where they'll stay for the time being. Of course, being one of the dumber species in the animal kingdom, they will be back, and Cush will come back out (hopefully with his bow next time), with the whole charade playing out all over again. Good times.

'Tis the season. Gobble-gobble.

Don't Fence Me In

2009-11-14T22:52:00.001-08:00

Let me spend some time today writing about the 09 Argot Pinot Noir.

On Wednesday I mentioned how well behaved the wine was being having already started its winter hibernation (such a good boy when it's sleeping). Pinot has the reputation of being the most cranky of grapes both in the vineyard and the winery. My experience tells me otherwise. Not only did the grapes behave fabulously on the vine all year, but once in the winery the wine practically made itself (truly a winemaker's pipe-dream). The actual pain of Pinot, I found, is landing the contract to purchase the fruit.

Pinot is the hottest grape in California, and rarely does a grower have trouble finding buyers, even in an economic climate such as today's. In 08 we would have loved to have made Pinot, but no one could sell us fruit, it was all spoken for! 09 was shaping up to be more of the same. Then, earlier this spring, we found ourselves in the right place at the right time...

It was an April-ish Saturday evening that chance and opportunity came to pass for Argot and Pinot Noir. A friend was grearing up to make Pinot for the first time and was hosting a party/tasting with all the high profile Pinot Noirs of California being poured. The lineup of wines was ridiculous but as an added bonus, amongst the guests that evening was a fellow Sonoma winemaker named Greg La Follette.

(Sound familiar? Greg was one of the men who put (the now famous) Flowers Winery on the map in the mid-90s. Further, he is widely regarded as one the great winemakers of Burgundian varietals in all of California. He now makes absolutely killer Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for Tandem Winery, a label he helped found back in 2002. Try getting your hands on a bottle of his Lorenzo's Chardonnay--knee bending stuff).

Since Argot's inception, we have placed a strong emphasis on buying fruit from pieces of land as local to where we live as possible. So, on that fated Saturday evening, when Greg mentioned there may be some Pinot fruit available from Silver Pines, a vineyard down the road from ours, we pounced.

Silver Pines Vineyard lies approximately 3/4 of a mile from our front gate. Before this summer, it was a plot of land we were familiar with only by taste and sight.

Each time we hop in the car and pull out of our driveway to go to town, out the passenger side, the vineyard displays itself on a bench, across a clearing to the northwest.

View from the road. Truly. Dig the blacktop in the very lower left hand corner. The vines are the red hue just right of center.

Zoom action on southeast slope of vines. There's more vineyard on other side of bench out of sight.

It is truly one of the million "most beautiful places on Earth" out here. But with this property, the statement is not made lightly. Standing amonst the vines, looking out over Bennett Valley can be a life affirming experience.

As for taste, Tandem has been producing a vineyard designate off the site since 2002. Generally this wine is the Pinot in Greg's portfolio that speaks to power. The fruit is black, not red, and the tannin structure is never shy. Truly a wine of power, but never sharp, drying or overbearing. Exactly the kind of Pinot I go ga-ga for.

After becoming very excited about the prospect of an Argot 'Silver Pines Vineyard' Pinot in 09, Greg insisted I come by and barrel taste his 08s before committing to the contract. A few nights later, by the time I tasted through all of Tandem's Silver Pines' barrels, I knew this was a wine I had to make. The 08 Tandem barrel samples were off the charts. Amongst the 3 clones grown on the site--115, Pommard and Mariafeld--I told Greg I wanted a ton each of the Pommard and Mariafeld.

We've ended up with 4 barrels--2 each of the separate clones--of this wine. I will keep you all posted on this wine's élevage (or maturation) in barrel through bottling.

Barrel Monkey

2009-11-11T22:14:00.000-08:00

So now that all the fruit is in and the grapes are pressed, are y'all on vacation or what?

This is a quote I received from the readership earlier this week. Ahhh, wouldn't that be nice. While it is true that everything is picked and pressed, there is still all sorts of stuff that needs attending to at the winery on a daily basis. This is probably the most dangerous time of the year for the wine to pick up a bug.

The only wine we have dry (finished with fermentation) at the moment is the Pinot. The completely native ferment ripped through both primary (alcohol, yeast driven) and secondary (malolactic, bacteria driven). Dry wines are easy to deal with, they only need attending to about once every two weeks. As the wine sits in barrel, it loses a certain amount of volume to evaporation through the barrel walls. This loss in volume creates a "head-space" between the wine and the bung hole that is a happy place for some nasty wee little beasties that can wreak havoc on your juice. Topping up the barrels on a bi-monthly basis to remove this void, removes the threat. At press, a certain amount of wine is always put aside in steel kegs for just this purpose. See, easy.

It's the fermenting stuff that is a royal pain to deal with, and Oh My! do we have fermenting wine. Except for the Pinots, every barrel is ticking away. The Roussanne and Syrah are still very much having at it (when the bung is popped it sounds like a freshly cracked can of Coke), and the Chardonnay is slowly winding things down. Personally, I feel fermentation is the most important time to make your presence known to the wine every single day. I do this by lending an ear and giving a sniff to each bung-hole. There is no better way to make certain things are moving in the right direction, and be on top of it if something is going wrong.

In the name of efficiency, and in order to get all this barrel sniffing and eavesdropping done, alot of climbing is involved. In the winery, barrels are stacked in rows 3-4 high on metal racks,

with aisles of widths at about 2.5 feet between stacks.

This is ideal for climbing without a ladder (while they do exist in the winery, they seem never to be found). And while I've never fallen, and have never seen anyone fall while scaling the stacks, I can't help but feel it is only a matter of time. Assume a height of about 4 feet per barrel/rack combo, and you can get an idea of the altitude (and hence potential for pain) I'm talking about when dealing with top row oak.

Action shot: Climbing to nose the bung hole of the Saralee's Syrah.

At the moment, it gives me great joy to report that the ferments are continuing to smell clean and tick along in the right direction. Also, for another day I have managed to defy gravity and chance, and avoid the inevitable tumble down the barrel mountain.

One of these days. One of these days, ...and it's gonna hurt.

A Tale Of Two Harvests

2009-11-08T22:03:00.000-08:00

2009 harvest came to a ceremonious end this weekend when we pressed our last Syrah lot on Saturday morning. Over the course of 4 days, we pressed 3 Syrah lots, filling fifteen 60 gallon, French oak barrels with Argot '09 Syrah juice. I hope you all are thirsty.

Skins, and stems and seeds. No longer sticky. ER grapes Pressed dry.

This brought us to a total of 18 barrels of Syrah and 30 barrels overall for the 09 vintage. A huge step forward from our paltry 7 barrels made in 08. WOW, this is for real!

Before the dust settles, I would like to voice my early predictions on the success, or supposed lack thereof, of the 2009 vintage. 2009 will be a year widely lauded in Sonoma County for Burgundian varietals (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), and derided across the board for Syrah. This is not a fair assessement.

With the former, yes, I whole-heartedly agree. Both our Pinot and our Chard are already showing enormous potential. I can hardly wait, to see them come of age. Everyone who made Burgundies this year is stoked with the progress of their barrels, and rightfully so. 09 may not scale the heights of 07, but it's sure going to beat the snot out of 06 and 08.

To the contrary of the later, I just say no. Whether it's Argot and its Dry Stack Syrah brethren (Bevan, Cowan, etc), or Olson Ogden's Alder Springs and Stagecoach Syrahs, or John Westerhold and his incredibly terroir driven estate-grown Alban clone, or Baker Lane's mind-boggling 9 clones of (against-all-odds) absolutely perfect-looking, taut-skinned Syrah clusters (the last of which were the final Syrahs to enter the barn), these wines all have fabulous potential.

Ultimately this year is a tale of two harvests, before the rain and after. Those earlier ripening varietals saw a text book growing/ripening season. The fruit came off the vine looking absolutely perfect, and was put in the hands of the winemaker's with one job to do, not screw it up. As for the late-bloomers, it was a more challenging year. But that being said, many Syrah winemakers will pull victory out of the jaws of defeat in 09 and make some truly stunning wines against the pundits predictions--God willing, yours truly included...

(...never a doubt)

Time To Make The Donuts

2009-11-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

As grape musts percolate their way through fermentation, the yeast create CO2 by the bucketloads as they busy themselves chewing through sugar to create alochol. As the CO2 bubbles come out of solution and rise to the top of the vat, they take any non-liquid grape matter (such as skins, seeds or even whole berries) with them, forming a floating "cake" of solids that sits on the gurgling stew below

All of the goodies in red grapes exist in the skins. This fact, coupled with the natural separation of liquid from solids during fermentation (described above for those not following closely), poses a problem of creating "skin contact" with the juice, and allowing for a potential of extraction of said goodies. Further complicating the matter is the old saying "too much of good thing"--this certainly applies here.

The creation of skin contact, and the frequency with which it happens, is a facet of winemaking that has HUGE stylistic impact on the what goes into the bottle. There are three common ways of going about this: punchdown (or pigeage, for you francophiles out there), pumpover and submerged cap.

Punchdowns are the most common approach and the bain to any cellarhands existence throughout harvest. Punchdowns generally occur 2-3 (and in some cases, which is such an Argot thing to do, 4) times a day, spaced out as evenly as working hours warrant. The tool of choice is masterfully named "punchdown tool" (at least, I've never heard another name for it) and seems to have no other worldly use outside of mixing a layer of grape solids back into their fermenting broth.

Look at her, just standing there, taunting us. Grrrrr.

Pumpovers. This involves pumping the juice from the bottom of the vat and showering it back over the cap in a recirculation loop. This works especially well if you're dealing with very large vats of grapes in which the cap is too thick to bust through with "the tool". Generally speaking this is also considered a kinder, gentler way of carressing the extract out of the skins.

Lastly, there is submerged cap which is fairly self explanatory. And because I don't personally know of anyone using this method, maybe I got ahead of myself in calling it common. Sorry.

The past week has seen a steady diet of skin contact creation for Team Argot. With six different lots of Syrah in the barn a-bubblin' away, we've been headed to the winery 3 times a day (dawn, noon, and late evening) to execute a combination of punchdowns and pumpovers on the musts.

We're doing some experimentation this year by isolating two different bins, in two different clonal lots and exclusively doing a pumpover bin vs a punchdown bin. It will be fascinating to compare/contrast what, if any, sensory difference there are in the finished wines.

When the last of the wines goes to press this year, I'll be happy to take a year off from punching down.

Full Moon Tonight

2009-11-02T13:27:00.001-08:00

Let's HOPE those are grape stains

Late in harvest this is a site that becomes more and more common in the winery. As fermentations finish up, and grape musts need to be brought to the press, someone has to do the dirty job of shovelling out the tanks (at the prices paid for fruit, most winemakers have a no grape left behind policy). Because this involves crawling through a manhole and getting absolutely filthy in the process, it is de rigueur to strip down to your skivvies beforehand.

Just wanted to share a piece of the industry most civilians don't get a chance to witness.

Howl.

Groundhog Day

2009-11-01T22:09:00.000-08:00

The days following a grape harvest are like an echo chamber.

After bringing in fruit Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, there's a whole lotta sameness bouncing around the Argot barn these days. Here's the breakdown. The grapes get harvested, trucked to the facility, weighed on the offical Weighmater's scale, then sent to the sorting line for processing. This is where we separate the good from the bad and the ugly. Tossing aside all MOG--Matter Other than Grapes--(leaves, rocks, Praying Mantis', etc), rotted clusters, raisins, second growth (green grapes), amongst many other things, to leave the purest representation of ripe grapes possible.

Sorting table action shot!

The grapes then find their way into a container of one type or another (at this point the grapes are now called 'must'), which serves as a half-way house to the press.

In the case of whites, pressing of the must (the separation of liquid from solid matter) generally occurs immediately (this year, we pressed the Chardonnay immediately and waited 24 hours to press the Roussanne). From the press, the juice finds its way into a closed container (commonly, an oak barrel or stainless steel tank, depending on style preference) where its fermentation and ageing are carried out.

The Roussanne must finding its way into the press.

For reds, the story is completely different. Reds derive all their goodness from their skins. Hence, winemakers find ways to extend the amount of time juice is in contact with skin matter. In doing this the character, and often times the quality ceiling of the final wine product is significantly altered. During this extension of the winemaking process, life can become mind-numbingly S.S.D.D.-ish.

The long and short of it is this, the grapes have to be attended to multiple times a day during fermentation. Stirring the cauldron so to speak. This weekend we laid tool to grape must twice a day. Coupled with all the not-so-daily tasks that needed to be done, this weekend has been enough to drive one to drink...

...OK, I would love to write more, but at the moment I can't keep my eyes open. I'm falling asleep. That's all for tonight folks.

I'm All In

2009-10-31T23:32:00.000-07:00

Like Lazarus stepping out of the tomb, Argot's 2009 Roussanne vintage was saved after being declared gone:

Thursday morning, on my way to the winery with a ton and a half of 877 Syrah giving the pick-up's suspension a full workout, I returned Saralee Kunde's call from the evening before. She was declaring a crop failure on our block of Roussanne and there would be no fruit off the North Block this year. Surely a bummer. At the same time though, this let down was coupled with a twinge of relief that after processing the fruit travelling in my rear view mirror, harvest would be over. But as quick as the bad news was delievered, a solution was proposed. Ms. Kunde had worked some spreadsheet magic and scrounged together a ton of fruit from the one block with grapes still hanging on the vine. The only catch, pick would be on Friday morning, no ifs, ands or buts about it.

So in the span of a 4 minute phone conversation, while hauling 3000 lbs of grapes behind me in the bed of the truck, the saga of our first Roussanne took me from disappointed, to relieved (with a dash of guilt at my fleeting lack of commitment), to, again, really excited at the prospect of vinifying Argot's first Roussanne--arguably the first white grape varietal to deeply bewitch me (thank you to the dearly departed Garretson Wine Company).

Long story short, the fruit was picked Friday morning.

Fists of fury

The clusters showed a fair amount of rot and skin discoloration...

which we dealt with during a 3.5 hour sort, where the sorting table was turned off every few minutes to have at the rot with our sticky fingers and pruning shears.

The fruit then sat overnight on its skins, and was pressed into 3 barrels this morning.

All told, it was a day of great fun, and this juice has me totally jazzed about the potential of the wine. We shall see, and therein lies the fun.

Lifetime Piling Up

2009-10-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

The logistics of harvest changed quite a bit today.

The final Syrah pick of the year is happening tomorrow morning. The farmers are too nervous about the mold that's been percolating in the vineyard getting out of hand. In a perfect world, I'd let the fruit hang another couple of days. But at a certain point the cosmos says "enough". And who am I to swim up that stream.

On a related note, I received a voicemail from Saralee Kunde today regarding the Roussanne fruit that is also still hanging. She gave no definitive indication of this, but it sure sounded like there will be no 2009 vintage of Saralee's Roussanne across the board. I have to call her back tomorrow to get the full update and will pass it along here.

In short, another big day tomorrow. And for those of you wondering if the Argot blog has jumped the shark, I would say, No, not yet. Hang in there, things will pick up again next week. In the meantime, go out and buy a bag of Sweet Onion Kettle chips. They rock and at the rate we've been scarfing them down here, they may just become the official potato chip of Argot Wines. Mmmmm, mmmmm, sho' is good.

Wow, that got bad quick. I'm going to bed.

Pick While No One Is Looking...

2009-10-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

At 4 am this morning we commenced our 2009 harvest at Dry Stack Vineyard by picking the Estrella River clone. The pick went well. The female picking crew was fantastic, bending over backwards to fulfill our every neurotic, winemaking whim. Sister Argot and temporary intern "The Scotsman" (you've been replaced!?!) were on hand to help under the pre-dawn skies. The fruit came into the winery looking, tasting and analyzing better than I expected. All told it was a fun day of sorting table camaraderie (thank you Mr. Cowan), knowledgeable-winemaker genorosity (thank you Greg B. and Ms. Blagden) and much hard work.

Here today...

...gone tomorrow

Hey, where did everybody go?

Intermission

2009-10-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Saralee's post will continue tomorrow, cause I won't be able to do it justice tonight.

We've got a 4am-er tomorrow at Dry Stack, picking 2 acres of Estrella River clone Syrah. Why a pre-dawn pick? The theory behind it is, extended exposure to cool temperatures changes both the grape's chemistry and physiology--acids go up, skins get firmer and berries are (hopefully) less likely to fall off the cluster. For those of you that read last night's post, I made good on my promise and went to the vineyard at 4:15 this morning to check if doing night pick would be beneficial--better fruit integrity. Inside of two minutes I knew the answer was definitively 'Yes', and promptly made a bee-line back to the friendly confines of my bed.

Tomorrow morning, the fruit we bring in will be much different than any I've experienced in my 5 years of harvests (grizzled veteran here). The rain a couple weeks ago wreacked havoc on the vines resulting in every kind of mold you can think of--black, green, gray (botrytis) and on and on... The good news is, after the first bloom, spraying brought the mold pressures back down. Further, we have been able to get in the vine rows and remove the most obviously affected clusters. No doubt yields will be absurdly low this year.

As usual, there will be a couple of Argot-(nauts?) riding on the back of the tractor pulling leaves out of the bin as the lug-loads of grapes are dumped in. I will also be constantly imploring the picking crew to be as gentle as possible with the fruit due to its delicate state.

To further this cause, we persuaded our farmer to keep the female crew on the payroll for a few extra days for this pick--he wanted to lay them off on Sunday. The gals, with their naturally softer touch than the guys, are alwyas the way to go this late in the season (in some industries female crews are known to carry a premium for working packaging and handling lines).

Coupling the ladies' light touch, with our requirement that the harvest tool of choice be shears instead of hooks (the technique used with hooks is pretty harsh, but they are the preferred instrument by picking professionals), the grapes should be met with the optimal level of politeness needed to bring them into the winery in good form.

There And Back Again...

2009-10-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

This one is long overdue and I appreciate your patience in waiting for it.

Today we pressed off the Saralee's Syrah. I've been saving the particulars of this wine's journey for one big ol' post once press happened, so today is the day (for the record, I'm not going to be able to bang this all out tonight, so stay tuned to for the continuation tomorrow). I'm excited about this wine. Really and truly excited. It has always had all the makings of an absolute blockbuster. From the beginning, it has shown meaty, gamey, peppery characteristics, with a distinct sense of the earth it grows from. I wouldn't be surprised if this was ultimatley the best wine to ever come out of the Argot barn, ...but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here. If we've learned anything from this juice, it's nothing if not unpredictable, and has a tendency to save its most exciting bits for last.

But let's do first things first, so here goes...

I'm going to start by saying what it joy it was to work with this fruit. Understanding the magnificence of this vineyard and its reputation, it is still such of a mindf*¢k to consider that Argot (in only its third vintage) was able to secure this contract. In being able to vinify this fruit, we feel as though we are standing on the shoulders of Syrah giants. We have been enjoying the Arrowood Saralee's Syrahs since the 98 vintage, and have continued to love the snot out of every single one of them since (for you wine lovers out there, don't miss the 98 or 02--really stunning wines).

So how did we end up here...

It all started this past spring, I was taking a viticulture class at the local junior college whose syllabus solely involved visiting vineyards in Sonoma county (yeah, ya can't help but to call into question your own college major at this point) and in the 5th or 6th week, the class found itself visiting Saralee's Vineyard. The visit opened my eyes to what amazing job they do on this site, and further how committed they were to Rhone varietals. Most importantly, by the end of the tour, I left with the disctinct impression that there may be fruit to be had. Jonesing for another Syrah source, I went home and immediately contacted the Saralee's home offices to put in a request for fruit...

Long story short, and skipping a few iterations in-between, we landed an acreage contract (a contract allowing for the buyer (me) to make the farming decisions, as opposed to a tonnage contract where the buyer takes what they are given) for 1 acre of Kashee Indian block Syrah from Saralee's Vineyard at Trenton Station (what a mouthful). We pinched ourselves many times to make sure it was real.

In Argot tradition, we immediately put in a request to have the fruit taken down to 1 cluster per shoot . Then in mid September we began working the vineyard to fine-tune the clusters by removing wings and shoulders, also known as banzai-ing the fruit. Finally, a few weeks later, one more pass was done to de-raisin (that term means exactly what it sounds like) and be left with, what we hoped was, the perfect cluster of fruit.

As the middle of October approached, and the threat for rain began to loom large, our minds tuned into harvest frequency. The fruit on the vine was looking spectacular, tasting amazing and had perfect chemistry, it was time to pick. The only detraction we noticed was a bit of advanced ripening within certain areas of the acre. As much of a pain as it is to do, the solution was obvious, a little hand harvesting was in order. With the interns (who also played an extensive roll in the banzai-ing and de-raisining of fruit) in tow, we descended on the vines 4 days out from harvest and picked the ripest clusters--a whopping 0.2 tons of fruit--off the acre. This fruit was squirrelled away in the coolest part of the winery and constantly hit with dry ice (to keep it from spontaneously starting to ferment) until its breathren came in later in the week.

Harvest day finally rolled around on October 12th under skies threatening the first rains of the season. The crew arrived an hour late due to massive demand for night picks that pushed the schedule back an hour. As Ms. Saralee Kunde (the namesake herself) said upon arrival for our pick, nothing gets winemakers moving quite like Mother Nature. Spoken like a true farmer. (I really wish I had a pic of her from that morning, cuz her bedazzled trucker hat was a site to behold, next time). As always, the pick was amazing. The guys blew through our block in under 30 minutes,

Not sure what the dude in the foreground is doing?!?

getting the fruit off the vine perfectly (almost zero leaves) with K and I hanging onto the trailer

Don't drop the coffee. What ever you do, do not drop the coffee.

pulling any MOG (Matter Other than Grapes) out of the picking bins, to prepare it for its sorting at the winery.

Upon arrival at the winery, it was clearly noted that this was the cleanest lot of fruit seen all season. Truly it blew people's minds how much work we did in the vineyard on this stuff. There was nearly zero sorting effort required, as everything was done on the vine--our absolute ideal. That being said, the grapes were passed through the perfunctory sorting gauntlet of a cluster table--to remove any lingering MOG, almost none--followed by the berry-by-berry (BxB) table to pull any jacks (left-over stems) thrown by the de-stemmer.

The BxB table is generally run to remove raisins, but since we had already done that on the vine,

The carnage of our de-raisining technique. Click on pic to see all the little dudes on the ground. Not singing Marvin Gaye now, are ya Raisins?

we decided to run it in order to remove any renegade stems from the mix (the winery's destemmer doesn't do the best job ever...). Deciding to destem the fruit at all was an agonizing decision for me. The reason we chased this Saralee's fruit in the first place was because of its technical similiarities (clonal--clone 7, appellation--Russian River Valley) to one of my all-time favorite California Syrahs, the Pax Castelli-Knight bottling, which has traditionally seen minimal destemming. Ultimately, we decided to swim upstream and fully destem the clusters, to more deeply understand the essence of the fruit. Next year may be a whole different ballgame...

OK, part 2 tomorrow. Right now, I'm going to bed. Tomorrow morning has a 4am wake up call to walk the vineyard taking note of how the fruit looks and feels at that time. Then the decision will be made as to whether or not a pre-dawn pick is in order on Tuesday for the ER (Estrella River clone Syrah). If not, we'll wait until mid-morning after the sun has had the chance to dry out the morning dew.

Stay tuned...

Indian Summer

2009-10-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Sonoma County is finding itself in the grips of a glorious Indian Summer. The mercury hit 75 each of the past two days here in Bennett Valley, with highs supposedly climbing into the low-80s this weekend. The skies are blue, the breeze is warm and the ground is showing an electric green halo of new grass sprouting from any spot that will have it.

California doing what it does best, growing grass.

Most importantly, the grapes on the vine are starting to firm up again and shed the excess water weight picked up from the rains. Harvest may come sooner than expected...

Injun Summer © Copyright 1907 John McCutcheon

What A Difference A Day Makes

2009-10-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

For so many reasons...

Yesterday I received an email from the owner of Dry Stack Vineyard--where the majority of our Syrah is grown--saying the extended forecast is sunny until October 30 when the storm pattern would drop back in and dump more rain on us. Because of this he wanted to call a ranch-wide pick for the 28th and 29th and bring an unceremonious end to the 2009 vintage.

This was a total bummer.

Last week, the rumor heard through the grapevine was that the rain Monday would be the last moisture event until at least the 2nd week of November. Further, Mother Nature was going to bestow a solid week of low to mid 80s upon Sonoma County to kick off the month. This was great news for the grapes. If this forecast held, instead of doing a rush-pick to avoid the rain, calling the harvest could be done at the winemaker's discretion, according to what the fruit was telling them. In my estimation, the ideal. Hence, the let down associated with Peter's email.

Well, it's amazing what these weathermen can un-learn in the course of 24 hours. This morning, another "Weather Update" email arrived in my inbox from Peter. Apparently, the threat for rain on the 30th has evaporated. Further, the big pick is no longer being called for on the 28/29th. A fantastic development. The pick date is where the winemaker can put one of their most distinctive stamps on the way their wine represents the vintage.

So, if the weather holds, our last pick (the 877 clone of Syrah) will be late first week/early second week of November. This would certainly be one of the latest picks in Dry Stack's history, which is perfectly fitting when the history of the vintage is taken into account. This was one of Sonoma's coldest summers in the last 20 years up until a scorching late August/early September, followed by early rains in mid-September, a deluge in mid-October, then a (to-be-seen) long warm finish to the season. Unbelievable, picture perfect.

2009, according to its most up-to-date forecast, has the makings of an absolutely stunning Bennett Valley (undeniably the world's greatest Syrah appellation outside of the Northern Rhone in France) Syrah vintage. These are the spoils of engaging in a Mexican Standoff with Mother Nature and not being the first to blink.

When pick-day finally rolls around, we with fruit still hanging hope to be standing proud. Whether we end up taking a bath on our decision to hang remains to be seen.

Thrilling times. This is good stuff.

Stay tuned...

Sisyphus And His Hose

2009-10-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

The worst part of wine-making is the constant and frustrating undoing of tasks already done (if you pay close attention this is will be a running theme). For example, yesterday I spent most of the late-morning moving all the chardonnay I had put in kegs early last week (see first post of blog) back into the barrels it was removed from. Frothing in the Chard barrels has subsided significantly over the past couple of days as primary fermentation (converstion of sugar into alcohol by the yeast) enters its home stretch. I'm hoping we'll be dry (zero sugar) by the end of the week, so we can top-off all of the barrels and end up with a round 6 barrel lot. So far the juice is tasting absolutely fanstastic.

Much like removing juice from each barrel to avoid puking, putting wine back into each barrel after the overflow threat has disappated involves three essential tools; a ladder, a pitcher and a hose. And the first rule learned in pulling siphons in the winery is, always equip yourself with the correct sized tool. If the ladder is too short, you can't reach the top barrel. If the pitcher is too small, you have to make unnecessary trips to the keg for more juice. And if your hose is too small, the job just doesn't get done, it's like watching paint dry.

I've learned two terribly important lessons since moving out here: one, always wear gloves when working the yard; two, use the correct sized hose when moving liquid from one container to the next. Whether it's slivers on the hands and subsequent rashes all over the body (ewww, sorry), or bringing the wrong sized hose to a gun fight--these are lessons learned, hopefully, only once.

So what else happened in my absence from the blogosphere...

Oh yeah, ...it rained again on Monday. And it rained aggressively. What does one do less than two weeks from harvest when there are vines to be worked and it's raining out? Well, I donned my favorite rain jacket, did my best green frog impersonation and went and worked the vines.

And why go to do vineyard work when it's wet and miserable out? That is an explanation best saved for a post later this week. Until then...

Gettin' A Little Fuzzy About It

2009-10-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

Caution: boring post ahead. I apologize in advance.

What a slooooow weekend for getting work done.

The sparying in the vineyard on Friday kept me from being amongst the vines until this afternoon (farmer's orders). The skins were a bit tacky and quite fragile to the touch. Ugh. It did not make for fun clipping.

On Saturday morning I decided it was time for the Syrah from Saralee's to come out of the cold room and start working its way towards fermentation--hopefully one of a spontaneous variety. After pulling the bin, I placed it in the sun and submerged hot water bombs in the must (the mixure of grape skins, seeds and juice) in order to warm things up. By doing this, a more conducive environment is created for yeast activation. As of this evening a slight percolation had begun, but it had hardly 'taken off'. If a cap has not formed by morning, it will be inoculation time with an isloated yeast strain (ie, one I have to pay for).

Lastly, some old-time friends were in town this weekend. Good people, good times. We tasted through all the Argot stuff sitting in barrel. It was quite fun. Smiles and laughter were shared while lips and teeth were stained purple/black.

Plus/minus: our experimental, long barrel-aged 2007 Syrah was showing fantastic and made me pretty excited to bottle it sooner rather than later; the 2009 Mariafeld clone pinot tasted a touch weird, maybe VA (volatile acidity), maybe just fermentation funk. Nothing to fret too terribly over at the moment, but the wine knows it has been put on watch and best behave itself.

Looking ahead, it's supposed to rain tomorrow (which would suck) then nothing but blue skies for the duration of the 10-day (which would not suck). If things go according to plan, there are going to be many, many hours spent amongst the vines this week, and hopefully a harvest pick this coming weekend.

More later.

Get 'Em Naked And Hose 'Em Down

2009-10-17T00:10:00.000-07:00

After a morning stint working the vines, I returned in the late afternoon to get in a few more hours before sunset. Much to my surprise, between the time I left this morning and returned this evening every fruit-zone leaf, off of every as yet un-harvested vine throughout the entire ranch (~13 acres) had been removed. This could only mean one thing, spraying.

One of the rows I get Estrella River clone Syrah from. That's alot of leaves.

The manpower to do a task like this in the amount of time it happened is staggering. That being said, it goes on all the time out here, and is an amazing thing to witness.

Set the scene:
A perfectly quiet, picturesque vineyard; vines in perfect rows, hanging deep purple fruit and topped with full, lush canopies of green, with a smattering of yellow and red leaves. The first disruption arrives in the form of a port-a-potty, towed behind a white pick-up truck. Within minutes every make and model of car produced in Japan during the latter half of the last decade begins parading through the front gate of the ranch. Immediately the commotion is overwhelming. There are whoops and hollers (no, I kid you not) reminiscent of howler monkeys. Further, a din of the Spanish language rises in the air that sounds like no Spanish I have ever heard before (I catch maybe 3 out every 20 words--and one of those that arrives early and often is 'cabrón'). All this followed shortly by the mechanical sound of whatever task the crew came out to do (in this case the ripping of leaves off the vine). These guys are truly incredible in their ability to put their head down and get a job done.

So, anyway, I arrive to fully denuded vines...

Aside: Interesting vernacular note here, the process of pulling leaves off the vines is called 'denuding the vine'. Then, once a vine has been denuded, the exposed grape clusters are referred to as 'bare naked ladies'. Honestly, I wish I was making this up. Can you guess which sex of the species dominates this industry?

...and a tractor driving up an down the rows with this ingenious air-blower contraption that dispenses anti-fungal on the grapes.

Notice the mist coming through the vines. The tractor is in the row to the right.

Now some of you out there (like certain unnamed pain-in-the-ass siblings of mine) might chafe at the idea of an anti-fungal being put on the grapes. In answer to THOSE types: at worst, it's a necessary evil; at best, it's completely innocuous; in reality it's a little Tinactin for the vineyard. The spraying is done to curb the rot (mold) that begins taking hold almost immediately after a rain (see prior post). Without these sorts of treatments, either grape growers would face crop failure, or winemakers would have to harvest unripe, gnarly tasting fruit in the rain, much to the chagrin of the wine drinking public. Basically, the alternative to not spraying is no good for no one.

So we're in the home stretch here. The grapes are healthy and clean and the forecast looks strong. If mother nature decides to cooperate and put the ball on the tee, all we have to do is hit it long and straight.

That's easy, ...right?

In Defense of My Glasses

2009-10-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

The fog rolling out at 8 o'clock this morning.

We get alot of fog.

We are located approximately 20 crow-flying miles from the ocean, directly in the throat of a geological occurence named The Crane Canyon Gap--a break in the north/south mountain range rising between us and the Pacific ocean. This gap creates a funnelling effect of marine conditions such as salty-smelling, cool breezes in the afternoon and fog in the evening. The effect of this marine influence can be dramatic. Example, an easterly wind versus a westerly one (aka The Pineapple Express) dictates a 10-12 degree temperature swing here. Fairly significant.

What you're seeing in these pictures is the tidal-like ebb of the morning fog. Some days it rolls out by 8 am, some days it is not until noon. Regardless, it always makes for a great kodak moment. Enjoy

A Persistant Precipitation

2009-10-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

It drizzled throughout the morning. A good, steady drizzle. What the locals like to refer to as "sea mist". They are weird about rain in these parts. Generally speaking, anything short of a torrential downpour with gusts of to 40 mph is not called rain. Maybe it's the scarcity of it. Maybe it's the ag-dominated economy. All I know for sure it that anywhere else I've ever lived, what happened today is called rain. Not here.

That being said, had Tuesday's storm not occurred, this "moisture event" (another euphimistic colloquialism for rain) would not have even been a blip on anyone's radar screen. Actually, it would have been considered a good thing ("Cleans the dust off the grapes!"). But Tuesday did happen, and because of that we need to trend towards weather conditions conducive to drying things out. Think sunshine and high winds.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for sympathy from my midwest and east coast brethren. I realize you guys are soggier than we are. But you have to understand, we still have 6-7 tons of Syrah grapes hanging out there. And this is fruit with the potential of becoming really delicious wine. People, please know we do this for you.

The good news is, the night sky is showing stars. There may be a kiss of fog in the air, or maybe my glasses are just dirty. Things are very still up on Sonoma Mountain tonight. Hopefully the system has moved through.

That is all for now. Signing out from Sonoma, are your humble grape shepherds, carefully tending the flock. Baaa-aaa.

The Day After

2009-10-14T23:12:00.000-07:00

Ominous and maybe a bit dramatic (remember the early 80s, nuclear-holocaust TV mini-series of the same name), but this was one serious deluge. The final tally for Sonoma County was between 3.5" - 4.25", depending upon your geographic location, ...and we were the lucky ones. Reports from the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA (Ridge Monte Bello area for you wine geeks out there) was 10". TEN INCHES!!!! That is Noah-worthy, and downright catastrophic for grape growers. Talk about mother nature dealing a bad hand...

Here's the poop, the day after a wine country, harvest-time rainstorm carries a certain weight to it. When it rains at harvest there are a number of worrisome things afoot--mold, flavor dilution, mold, sugar dilution, mold, split berries, mold, rain weight, mold, etc, etc. Mold loves water and mold loves sugar, hence recently rained on grapes are a ridiculously fertile breeding ground for all the mold nasties. Caution is much advised in this situation. Suddenly, the tractors are cruising up and down vine rows throughout the county spewing anti-mold sprays in hopes of keeping the vintage alive. People are nervous, livlihoods are at stake, and for you option traders out there, quite possibly why you guys have jobs. This is big stuff and people become downright morose. Here's why...

Clusters of grapes not only have boatloads of sugar (ripe grapes hold a concentration ~2.5 grams per liter of sugar per berry), but hold any available atmospheric moisture quite aggressively as well (think of all those plump grapes touching each other and the rainwater trapped betwixt them). Add to that the ability of a vine root to take up groundwater to send it to it's respective grapes and ...Oh my Gawd!!!

Further complicating the issue, at this point in the season a grape's size is pretty well set. And with grapevines being grapevines (stupid as a dog with a bottomless bowl of Kibbles 'n Bits) they will pump as much water as is availble to their fruit. This becomes a problem when there is a greater volume of water available than the grapes can contain. What happens? Well grapes get bloated and skins begin to split releasing all of their hard-earned sugar from the growing season. Suddenly, the grape cluster not only offers moisture from the rain trapped between the berries, but also sugar from the split grapes. Suddenly mold becomes an epidemic in the vineyard. This is not good. Not only do moldy grapes taste like crap, but the mold also eats away at the skins of the healthy grapes and turns them into the consistency of graham crackers in milk. In short, the whole thing goes to hell in a hand basket quicker than you can say One-Mississsippi.

Wow, that was TMI in the worst possible way, but to make a long story short, the rain yesterday was not an ideal thing. However there is a silver lining. Today was dry, intermittently sunny and quite blustery. The wind is an especially good thing in that it dries out any water lurking in the grape clusters and further causes the vine leaves to respirate more heavily, increasing their demand for water and, hence, keeping it from the fruit. Win-win for winemakers. All good news.

So, yeah, this was a ridiculously boring/technical post, but those the brokes of blog posting. For you all still jonseing for a day-by-day note, here's your fix.

I arrived at the winery early to find that only 1 of the 7 Chard barrels had puked overnight. A repeat of yesterdays procedure saw the removal of 2 gallons of juice from the culprit barrel to yesterday's steel keg (plenty o' room). Followed by some barrel scrubbing.

Then a test of the Pinot in barrel showed that both had fermented to dryness and only had to finish malolactic (secondary) fermentation to be "put to bed" for the winter (all good news).

Further, much dry ice was added to the Syrah we harvested Monday (Saralee's Vineyard, Clone 7) to keep it from starting to spontaneously ferment (further explanation to follow) before its time, which we're scheduling for ~Friday afternoon.

Then it was a trip to the vineyard to take care of the remaining unkempt acre of fruit, the 877 Syrah clone. Oh my Lord, is this the proverbial clusterfuck (pardon my french to those of you with virgin eyes) or what? I spent 2+ hours clipping clusters, wings and shoulders and only got through 1/2 a row?!? Are the former interns listening?!? Row 35 was a disaster. I will post pix later showing a before and after to demonstrate the difference some serious pruning makes.

Stay tuned.

All the best and I hope this was coherent.

Rain and Barrel Puking

2009-10-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

So, as predicted by the weatherfolk, it rained buckets here today. I mean cats and dogs were in full effect. The forecast was for 3-4" and I wouldn't be surprised if the final count was in that neighborhood.

Thinking vineyard work (the 877 clone still hangs out there quite unkempt) a little impractical this morning--what with my waders at the dry cleaners and all--I cozied up to the computer with a cup of coffee to catch up on paperwork. Not 3 mintues after my first sip of Joe did the phone ring. The Winery. My Chardonnay barrels were puking.

Realizing that barrel puking may not be a part of everyone's everyday vernacular, a quick explanation:

At Argot we ferment our Chardonnay in barrels (because it tastes better that way). When grape juice begins to ferment vigorously, it froths. Frothing in closed containers with a small blow hole (such as a barrel) can cause some pretty exciting fireworks. It begins with a muffin-top,

then proceeds to a full fledged gusher (for at-home example try blowing bubbles through a straw into a glass of milk). Never once in the history of winemaking has this made the cellar crew happy--as it involves hoses, mops and brushes--and this morning was no exception. Hence the 7 am phone call, ...followed by the 730 am phone call. "Your barrels are puking. What do you want
to do?" Read surly-toned, with as many implied explicatives as you can muster.

At this point you're probably asking, could this have all been avoided. The short answer is Yes, by putting less grape juice in the barrels. That way when the liquid expands during fermentation it is not funnelled out the blow-hole in a stream of froth destined to be a stain on the barrel, then a (brownish-yellow, in Chardonnay's case) puddle on the floor.

Ultimately, disaster was averted by putting the potential overfill gallons of juice from each barrel into a stainless steel keg. And while that sounds simple enough, all I can say is you never miss your dearly departed interns more than when you're schlepping back-and-forth to the sanitation bins from the top "not a step" step of an A-frame ladder for the tenth time to clean any and all of the equipment--siphon hose, bung, graduated pitcher, keg--being used to make sure the exact same disaster does not happen again tomorrow.

While clean-ups of this nature are the scourge of winery work and winemaking, I must say I found two silver linings related to my extended stay at the winery this morning/afternoon.

First, newly fermenting Chardonnay juice is one of the tastiest breakfast beverages never assembled. Coming out of barrel, it is slightly warm, very effervescent and deliciously sweet. And at 1-2% alcohol, it's just the octane the AM calls for. If only this stuff could be stablalized for bottling...

Second, during one of my many said schleps to the sanitation bins, I crossed paths with John Westerhold, proprietor and, namesake of, IMO, the best Syrah made at the winery. He was taking a couple of 750 mL samples of his 2008 Syrah for he and the wife to peruse in the coming weeks (BTW, everyone who has a wine label will tell you, the coolest thing about making wine is drinking your own hooch--Johnny, apparently, is no exception). I told him to pull me a sample to taste, and I would do the same for him of mine. We tasted face-to-face; me, his; him, mine. While his was excellent as always, I recognized genuine surprise (and maybe a little bit of nerves that his title was in jeopardy!?!) as he stuck his nose in the 2008 Argot, then swished it over his palate. There is no doubt in my mind that our 08s rock (I mean really ROCK), but it is always nice to see a little affirmation from an outside source. It's one thing to be a legend in your own mind...

I hope this was coherent.

'Til next time