Toasting the Madame Veep with Sonoma Chard & Zin

Class transcript:

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back, one and all. It is Sunday. After three Sundays worth of winter break, we are thrilled to be back with another edition of Tail Up Goat Wine School, a new semester of Tail Up Goat Wine School, the first semester of Tail Up Goat Wine School in a Biden-Harris administration, which we are hugely thankful for. We are in Washington, D.C. after being locked down for the better part of the first couple weeks of the year. So wherever you are joining us, thank you so much for taking time out of your Sunday and continuing to make this a part of your routine, part of my routine certainly as well. It was a pleasure to catch up with some old faces over the course of the week.

I hope that 2021 is treating you all well. I hope that 2021 is treating you all well. And once again, we are excited to be back at it and featuring some wines that we neglected throughout the course of 2020. I feel like it has only been three Sundays that we missed, but it feels like it has been ages. We missed an invasion of the nation's capital and overrunning the capital, another lockdown, and yet we have emerged like a fiery phoenix. And we still hope to be back to children. And we still hope to be back to children. And we still hope to be back to children. And we still hope to be back to children. And we still hope to be back to children. And we still hope to be back to children.

And we still hope to be back to children. And we still hope to be back to children. And we still hope to be back to children. And we still hope to be back to children. And we still hope to be back to children. And we still hope to be back to children. And we do hope that you get back to children. And we do hope that you get back to children. I will say final question. We have a couple of final questions from the audience just briefly. I will say final question. President Trump and Vice President Pence were teetotalers. We are celebrating a wine lover, a bonafide icon in national office, none other than Kamala Harris, Howard University grad, Bay Area born, proper booty. And she loves her home state wine.

She was until she assumed the Vice Presidency and member of the Congressional Wine Caucus. I'm excited that there is a Congressional Wine Caucus, but she was a proud member of that. And she loves her home state wine as all proper Californians are want to. We are celebrating with Sonoma County wines. We're kind of venturing outside of Sonoma County for the sake of the Zins, but Sonoma County is kind of our anchor for the sake of this lesson, because Kamala Harris, the first female Vice President, loves her some Sonoma County chard. And it is, you know, for me, one of these wines that as a, you know, obnoxious, you know, contrarian hipster psalm type is easy to poo poo.

But, you know, I have to say it's really fun to revisit these wines because they are just, you know, immediately delicious, hugely pleasurable, and honestly better than they ever have been. So thank you. Among other things, Kamala Harris for, you know, inspiring me to revisit Sonoma County and its delicious Chardonnays and Zinfandels. For those of you drinking at home, we have two flights, three wines each: Sonoma Chard and Sonoma Zin, Sonoma-ish Zin. And then some bubbles as well. Essentially the house sparkler at 1600 Pennsylvania since the last president before Trump to be impeached, Joe Biden. One Richard Nixon started that tradition. And it has been the traditional sparkling wine of choice at 1600 Pennsylvania ever since. So we're going to close things out with Schramsberg by offering a proper toast to Madam Vice President.

But without further ado, let's kick it off. We've got a very nice crowd in the mix. Thank you for eschewing dry January and joining us for some wine today. I know a lot of people were committed to dry January for six days and then, you know, shit happened, and you know, January 6th felt like a good time to break that streak. But, you know, we should pour one out for those among us that are actually, you know, abstaining for the month. Good on you, abstainers. We're proud of you. I wanna offer a few shout outs to some of our loyal listeners. First of all, big ups to Janice Carnaval. We have a YouTube channel. Look out YouTube stars, look out cat videos, look out gamers, look out everyone.

Wine School is coming for you. I think we're up to like five views on one of our most viewed, which is like, you know, a million less than, you know, some Japanese cat has. But we're coming for you, Japanese cats of the world. Look out! Janice made that happen. Thank you so much, Janice, you know, you're the best. You know, this is an amazing community that I'm excited to welcome back. And you guys, you know, make it what it is. Thank you, Danielle, for being here. I don't know if you're joining us, but Danielle was at one of our outdoor events and she saw me straining my voice and she gifted me this amazing microphone with speaker box. 

I should've, should've been ready to fire this up. This is, you know, already we are, you know, adding material to the 2021 Blooper Reel, but we're gonna fire this up for our next outdoor event. This color's not pink, mind you, it's rose gold. This is like rose gold. This is the truth. This will allow me, you know, once we're able to hold more outdoor events to, you know, favor everyone with my wine descriptions without straining my vocal cords. Thank you for that, Danielle. And then lastly, David Layton-Lucas, who's chief of staff to a congressional member from Pennsylvania, got me to get the books on giving another wine reference work. You know, just when my wife thought, you know, we didn't have enough wine books, you guys go and prove otherwise.

A shout out, it should be said, for those of you revisiting this lesson tomorrow, Monday, I hope your Green Bay Packers made the Super Bowl. We have a lot of Packers fans in our midst. Thank you all. It's great to see you. Needless to say, I'm hugely grateful for you. And excited to kick things off again, a bit of verse to begin proceedings. As always, first poem of the new year comes from Ina Coolbreath, hip hip lady, niece of Joseph Smith. Yes, that Josephine Smith, like the Mormon OG, but she took a different path. She went the, you know, debauched San Francisco, you know, philosopher and poet route. And we are grateful that she did because she became California's first poet laureate in 1915.

She hosted literary salons throughout the tail end of the 19th century, welcomed Mark Twain, Jack London, and a whole generation of the Golden States' writers, helmed the Oakland and San Francisco libraries for many years, and wrote magnificent; this is an introduction to a work about Los Angeles, but you know, certainly applicable for California as a whole. A breath of bomb of orange bloom by what strange fancy wafted me through the lone starlight of the room that suddenly I seem to see the long low veil with tawny edge of hills within the sunset glow, cool vine rose through the cactus hedge and fluttering gleams of orchard snow far off the slender line of white against the blue of oceans, crest the slow sun sinking into the night, a quivering opal in the west.

Somewhere a stream sings far away somewhere from out the hidden groves and dreamy as a dying day comes the soft coo of morning doves, one moment, all the world is peace, the years like clouds are rolled away and I am on those sunny leaves, a child amid the flowers at play. Beautiful bit of verse there, um, uh, from, from Ina, um, you know, I, I have this, um, kind of love-hate, uh, relationship with, with California. She said California makes, um, uh, well over, uh, 80% of, uh, the wine, uh, that, um, is produced, uh, domestically, um, and, uh, Californians love to play the, um, if California was a state game, um, and, you know, we got to give them props. If California was a state, um, it would make more wine than any country outside of the continent.

Um, welcome back Zoe Nystrom, uh, who is actually joining us from, uh, the, uh, the LA area and, uh, drinking, uh, some local wine. Say hi to the people, Zoe. Hi, everyone. I would just like to let you know that California is a state. It's the district that's still not a state, but we're a state. Thank you for reminding our mostly local audience that they are a different franchise, Zoe. We appreciate that. Um, uh, brilliant. Uh, so, uh, without further ado, we're going to, uh, drink like Kamala, uh, today, uh, which begs the question, how does Kamala drink? So, um, here is, uh, the new, uh, vice president, uh, daughter of, uh, Indian-born biologist, uh, from Tamil Nadu state, um, which is, uh, the southern end of, uh, the Indian subcontinent.

Um, and, uh, her father, a, uh, economics professor from Jamaica. And we're going to find, uh, ways to tease, uh, in, uh, that, um, you know, uh, dual ancestry for the sake of the zins that we're drinking, um, uh, later, but, uh, Kamala born in Oakland, uh, went to Howard, uh, sisters of, uh, Alpha Kappa Alpha rise up. I'm sorry. I'm not wearing my green and pink, uh, today. Um, uh, purple, green and purple. I apologize. AKA, uh, at any rate, um, she, uh, worked her way from, uh, Bay Area district attorney to California, um, attorney general, to Senator, uh, to the vice president's office. Um, and all the while, um, she had a glass of wine in her hand, uh, member, as I mentioned, of the Congressional Wine Caucus, um, which has the mission of, uh, protecting the interests of our vibrant wine community from grape to glass.

Um, nice, nice mission. Uh, good on you, Congressional Wine Caucus. Um, I need to do more research about, uh, who, who's member because they, they should all be members of the Congressional Wine Caucus. Um, uh, I did some, you know, internet sleuthing. Some half-ass internet research. Um, you know, from what I can gather, she loves her California, uh, Zinfandel. I've not had the pleasure of waiting on Kamala, uh, sadly. Um, uh, the esteemed, uh, friend of wine school, Brent Kroll has on several occasions, uh, and can attest to her love of Cali shard. Um, uh, we are drawing our inspiration for the sake of one of these wines, uh, David Rainey Chardonnay, uh, from a bet that Kamala lost with, uh, that evil troll, Ted Cruz.

Um, who apparently drinks, I guess, but, uh, they wagered wine on the outcome of the Astros-Doggers game. Um, uh, in 2017, Kamala lost, uh, that bet and delivered to Ted, uh, a few bottles of David Rainey Chardonnay, which went to drink. David Rainey is an old friend. I've had the pleasure of, uh, waiting on and trading, uh, missives with David Rainey over the years. Uh, he's kind of like the high priest of Cali shard, um, in, in the modern era. Uh, we do know that, uh, Kamala is a member of wine clubs, uh, at hipster urban wineries like Rockwell. Uh, he's a member of a wall. Um, she is also,  regular,  at, Cork Wine Bar.

So, uh, Diane and Khalid, uh, Khalid, uh, who, who are, uh, equally, uh, friends of, um, uh, the, well, they're friends of the restaurant, um, and, and lovely, lovely people, uh, it should be said. Um, and the Cork Wine Bar, um, you know, in particular, um, you know, really was a trailblazer, uh, in its own way, um, both on, uh, 14th Street and, uh, on the, uh, on the, uh, on the, uh, on the, uh, on the street, um, and, you know, for the sake of, you know, the kinds of wines they featured. Um, Kamala has hosted, I think, several fundraisers, uh, there, and, um, uh, it's Khalid, um, you know, to Kamala's left, Diane to her right, and they have already declared, they've staked out a claim for themselves as Kamala's, uh, you know, wine bar of choice.

Um, Diane and Khalid, we're coming for you. Uh, I want you to know that we're coming after you, uh, coming after that throne, um, but, uh, you know, uh, it's going to be a few months. Uh, at any, um, we are celebrating, uh, Sonoma, uh, in, uh, Kamala's, uh, honor, and we are supplementing, um, you know, the white with Zinfandel, because Zinfandel is hugely fascinating grape with a hugely, uh, you know, uh, compelling history, uh, in America, uh, long thought to be America's, uh, native grape, even though it isn't, um, we kind of, you know, made it our own in, in California, and, um, you know, we're long overdue, uh, for a Zinfandel lesson. So, um, you know, I thought it'd be fun to explore that red-white, uh, duality.

Um, we're going to kick things off here, um, with, uh, a consideration of, uh, Sonoma, uh, geography. Um, uh, Sonoma is a county, uh, synonymous with an American viticultural area. So we're going to talk AVA's a little bit, uh, today. AVA's is, uh, American Viticultural Area, it stands for, and, uh, it is the, uh, U.S. Department of Agriculture's, uh, half-assed attempt, um, to, um, you know, kind of emulate the, uh, designation of origin, system that, you know, the French and others, uh, have applied. Now, um, in America stateside, it is essentially a geographical designation and nothing more, whereas in the old world, uh, it would carry with it all sorts of, um, you know, criteria for the sake of the types of grapes that the wines were made of, and, um, you know, the quality of those wines and the typicity of those wines.

Uh, we are uncomfortable stateside with that level of American, uh, intervention in our drinking life. So, um, uh, AVA's, uh, just, um, essentially, uh, create, uh, a boundary zone, uh, for, uh, a, a wine community as such. And, um, Sonoma County here, um, which is this little triangle-shaped, uh, county that, um, you know, stretches from, uh, you know, Annapolis inland to Lake County and down to the San Pablo Bay, um, it corresponds with an AVA called Sonoma, um, and, uh, there are 18 sub-AVAs contained therein. Um, uh, we're going to come back to this map, um, in, in good time because we love maps and, uh, you all, you know, I'm guessing, haven't been rifling through your wine atlases and we want to make up, uh, for lost time.

Um, but, uh, it should be said that, uh, Sonoma has this really amazing place in American wine history. Um, Sonoma, uh, itself was home to the bear flag revolt. So, the, um, uh, state of California grew out of originally, um, uh, Northern, uh, Mexico, which split off, um, from Mexico, uh, to, uh, San Pablo Bay. Um, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, in the midst of a revolt, um, June 14th, uh, 1847. And on that day in Sonoma, California, they raised the Bear Flag for the first time. So, this is the Lone Star Bear Flag. This is the design that was raised above, uh, Sonoma on June 14th, 1846. And for, um, for a, a beautiful, um, you know, uh, couple, several week period, um, not unlike our winter break, um, the citizens were a breakaway republic.

Um, I feel like a lot of them would like to return, um, to that, you know, Halcyon era. But, um, uh, it ended on July 9th when, um, a group of, uh, U.S. soldiers, uh, intervened, uh, having already, uh, inaugurated the Mexican-American War and raised, uh, the stars and stripes. And, uh, sadly, uh, the, uh, what is the, the, the California Great Bear Flag was mothballed until it was adopted, um, as the state flag. Uh, thereafter. Um, more significantly, it should be said, um, uh, the Mexican missionaries who made their way to Sonoma did a lot to advance the cause of wine in California. So, uh, Padre Jose, uh, sorry, Jose, uh, not Jesus, Jose, um, uh, worshiping Jesus, but, uh, Jose Altamira, um, uh, as early as 1820s planted thousands of acres of vines.

Um, and by the time that, um, uh, the half-assed revolutionaries declared, uh, California Republic, um, on June 14th of 1848, um, the, the area, um, you know, known as California, um, was already generating, um, you know, tens of thousands of dollars in income from its wants, um, you know, amazingly enough. And then, um, shortly after, um, California became a state, uh, the legislature enlisted a Hungarian gentleman, Augustin, uh, uh, Heraci, um, uh, immigrants, hugely important, uh, to the life of the Golden State as they are to our own life. Um, and, uh, hopefully feeling more welcome, uh, under our current administration. But, uh, at any rate, a Hungarian was commissioned by the California legislature, uh, to head off to Europe.

And in 1861, uh, he brought back, uh, a hundred thousand cuttings, um, all of which is to say, you know, much of what, um, then became a thriving, um, wine industry in California. And there was a thriving wine industry in California, um, that grew up between the end of the Civil War and Prohibition, um, that owes its life to these cuttings that were developed by, um, these old Spanish winemakers, um, who were, um, who were, um, who were, um, who were, um, who were, um, and, uh, this Hungarian immigrant who was enlisted by the California legislature, uh, such that by the, uh, beginning of Prohibition, uh, there were 256 wineries, uh, operating in Sonoma. And there's this massive, um, Sonoma wine, uh, industry.

Uh, sadly, um, our, uh, you know, unique, um, uh, experiment in, um, 86ing, uh, alcoholic beverages, uh, which lasted well over a decade, reduced that number to, uh, less than 50. Um, that number only rebounded within the last decade. So only within the last decade, uh, have we, uh, gotten back to that, uh, 256 and surpassed that number, uh, in Sonoma County, which is, is pretty remarkable. Um, now, uh, we're going to consider, um, uh, Sonoma, uh, County, uh, itself and kind of what separates it, um, from, uh, you know, the other, uh, growing regions of, uh, California. And, uh, chiefly, I think, um, that is its, uh, identity, uh, as a, a cooler, uh, climate than a lot of people, um, you know, are accustomed to, um, for the sake of California.

So we're going to pull up a map of the state here, and you can see the golden, the great golden state of California, um, on the western edge of, uh, the United States. Um, and, um, you know, much of what we think of, uh, uh, in the context of California wine comes from the Central Valley. So, um, this area that, uh, stretches along the San Joaquin River, south from San, Sacramento, and makes a lot of really unremarkable bulk wine, and, um, you know, as, you know, uh, incredible, um, uh, amount of, uh, you know, kind of reliable sunshine, um, and, you know, relatively low rainfall, um, that, you know, with the addition of water in the form of irrigation, um, you know, gives you incredibly, um, you know, uh, profound, um, you know, robust, huge harvests, um, year in and year out, reliable harvests, um, that have fueled, uh, the jug of wine in the United States.

Uh, for as long as there has been wine in America. But what's interesting about Sonoma is that you're closer to the coast, um, and, um, you know, in California, um, you know, geography is less about north-south, um, and, um, it is, uh, much more about, uh, proximity to the sea. And, um, Sonoma, um, owes its, uh, coolness to its proximity to the sea and largely to, um, these gaps in the coastal mountains. So the most famous of which is this Petaluma Gap. Um, so you can see here, uh, Bodega Bay, um, the Spanish may have gone, but, you know, they left us all sorts of amazing names. Um, and, uh, Bodega Bay, um, uh, opens up, um, uh, the, um, mouth of the Pacific, um, to these inland valleys.

And as these valleys warms, as the air warm, they essentially suck in cool air and fog, uh, from these bays up these river valleys. And, uh, this is the, the Russian River, um, uh, you know, snaking its way, um, uh, actually, uh, here, uh, to the, to the north. Um, and that fog, um, you know, has, you know, really significant influence on the local climate. Um, it's this cooling influence on the local climate, you know, such that, you know, uh, in these areas affected by the fog, you know, you are 10 degrees Fahrenheit, 20 degrees Fahrenheit cooler, um, uh, than you would be, uh, in inland valleys separated from the cooling temperature. Um, and so just a little bit about, you know, what the, uh, what the, uh, the, the potential of, uh, the, uh, the Petuluma Gap and areas like the Petuluma Gap, um, you know, have, uh, to offer.

Um, now, we're gonna start off with, um, some, uh, Russian River Valley shards here, and a Russian River Valley Chardonnay, uh, from one, uh, David Ramey, uh, for the sake of our, our tasting. And, uh, this particular, uh, Russian River Valley Chardonnay, um, you know, uh, hails, uh, from, uh, multiple vineyard sites. So it's not a single, uh, vineyard wine. It's kind of a, a a pan Russian river valley snapshot. But I wanna pull up another image of the AVA itself because it's kind of large and you can see the Russian River Valley snakes its way along the Northern edge of the AVA, but the AVA itself extends further South. Now this is hugely controversial. The AVA has steadily grown from a true kind of geographical representation of the vineyards close to the Russian river to encompass these Southern areas.

And these Southern areas are far enough away from the Russian River Valley and far enough away from the Petaluma gap, which you see defined on the Southern edge of this map that they're a lot hotter. The only reason that this area is really part of the AVA is because E&J Gallo has enough money to throw at the problem. So these Southern areas are less a reflection of the geographical area that is the Russian River Valley than they are a shameless marketing ploy by a large winery entity that is Gallo. David Ramey is based just outside of Healdsburg and most of his vineyards are along the Russian River Valley proper, just kind of a South and West of Chalk Hill which is a slightly warmer site in the context of the Russian River Valley.

And it should be said that the further away you get from the river, the warmer these sites get. And, you know, there are a lot of really beautiful images of the valley itself and this, you know, kind of mist of bog descending, you know, over the course of days in the Russian River. It is a preposterously beautiful region. You know, this whole notion of manifest destiny is kind of easily to understand when you land in a place, you know, as verdant, as beautiful as Sonoma, as parts of California, it's a lot easier to grow grapes here than it is in Chardonnay's traditional home of Burgundy. You know, there is less danger of losing your fruit to periodic rains or frost.

You know, you're going to get a reliable harvest year in, year out, and typically the first, you know, it should be said the first immigrants to this region discovered that, you know, the lower line slopes were better for white grapes like Chardonnay that, you know, wanted that cooling influence, and the upper slopes that needed, you know, the additional ripening hours that the sun provides, the first Italian immigrants to Sonoma planted to Zinfandel, and a lot of those vineyards were not pulled out during Prohibition because it was too expensive for them to do so. It was more expensive to pull them out than it was to just leave them, which is why Sonoma in particular has a lot of centenarian plots. So you have these, you know, vineyards that people like Martinelli are working with, and we'll taste that wine later.

Later on, you know, those over 100 years old, and, you know, you know, that, you know, kind of blast from the past, you know, owes itself to, you know, this peculiar experiment of Prohibition, but also owes itself to the long tradition of grape growing and winemaking in Sonoma. So without further ado, let's taste David Ramey's wine. So David Ramey is hugely accomplished UC Davis grad. He got his start, and as a literature, grad from UC Santa Cruz, but decided that, you know, he didn't want to teach English, as he originally suspected, decided that, you know, wine might be a lot more interesting as a career path. This is him with his family in their, you know, humble winery, and he is part of this, you know, generation that came out of UC Davis in the late 70s, Kathy Corison, John Kongsgaard, among them, who really established California wine, you know, alongside, you know, the, you know, the, you know, the, you know, the great, you know, Chateau's domains of the old world.

And he worked with some of those great domains. So he cut his teeth at Chateau Petrus on the right bank of Bordeaux, working with Jean-Pierre Mouillot. He consulted for a million people, Chalk Hill, Matanzas Creek Dominus in California, before launching his own label in 1996. And Chardonnay is very much his bag. We're drinking his Russian River Valley Chard. Ramey, hugely thoughtful. What I love about him, he calls Chard a red wine drinker's white grape. So, you know, for him, you know, it's very much, you know, kind of a red grape in white wine, you know, clothing. And that's because it is, you know, kind of the rare white wine that relies on malolactic fermentation and oak, you know, for the sake of its vinification and alluvage.

And, you know, those are things, you know, for the sake of malolactic and for the sake of, of a wine wearing oak that have become, you know, unfashionable in, you know, the natural wine community. But I think, you know, tasting through these wines, you get a sense of, you know, what they have to recommend them, what they have to offer the wines and what people love about them, what, you know, the Kamala Harris's of the world love about these wines. Zoe, you have some experience with David Ramey's wines, what you like about them. I always think that he uses that little bit of Lee's aging, and so I think he does a great job of; they have that like nutty kind of like brioche quality to it, but they're always just so well balanced.

And, you know, he is the benefit of using some older vines, and it's just classic every single year, you know? Yeah. It's like a brick and apple pie. It's like so traditional and so consistent. Yeah, absolutely. You know, David says about Chardonnay, it's the most compelling white wine in the world. It's the red wine of whites. Good Chardonnay can be grown anywhere along the California coast, as long as the coastal range lets the fog through. He thinks that the Russian River Valley provides this perfect balance of cool nights and warm days. So you get a bit of richness with your crisp acidity. And for the sake of this one, we have a wine that goes through full malolactic fermentation. So, what pray tell is malolactic fermentation?

Zoe, putting you on the spot, explain malolactic for the kids at home. Yeah, sure. So if you want to think about it as like taking the, um, tartaric acid into lactic acid. So maybe thinking about like apple skins and how astringent and, um, acidic they can be and turning those acids into something that's lactic or like creamy, like milk makes it a lot softer and a little bit more supple. And you're able to pick up on a lot more flavors, um, without that, um, austerity in the background too. Yeah. So grapes contain, uh, three major constituents for the sake of types of acid. Um, they contain tartaric acid, most importantly, malic acid, a little bit of citric acid and others, but grapes themselves do not contain lactic acid, which is the acid in, in, in yogurt.

Um, malolactic fermentation is a secondary fermentation process. It happens after the conversion of sugar to alcohol and it transfers, or it, uh, you know, can transform malic acid, which is the green apple acid into lactic acid and CO2, which obviously escapes out of the barrel. Um, and it creates other, other chemical constituents like, uh, diacetyl, um, which gives you that brown buttery, uh, flavor, but it transforms the texture of a wine. And I think, um, what I love about David Ramey's wines is that texturally they're really compelling, um, and really interesting. And David Ramey has said himself that, you know, working in the old world, working with, you know, these, um, icons of French winemaking, um, you know, like Jean-Pierre Moynier, who's this like, um, hugely famous gentleman winemaker from Bordeaux, an art collector.

And he said that tasting with them, working with them really, um, clued him into the fact that, you know, at the end of the day, texture was as important as definable tasting notes for the sake of his offerings. Um, now next up, we're going to taste another wine also from the Russian River Valley, uh, but this one from a smaller, um, estate, more of a mom and pop. Um, and they were making wine in the Russian River Valley well before it was fashionable to do so and doing so on a, um, fabulously small scale. Um, it should be said, um, and, uh, this is at Porter Creek. Um, and I really love, um, the books at Porter Creek, um, the winery currently run by Alex, although his father, um, founded the estate once upon a time in 1977.

And it is, you know, a true kind of farm, um, winery. So it is, you know, very much, um, a, a working farm that happens to make wine in the best possible sense. And, um, you know, we're talking about a set of wines here that, um, you know, don't necessarily exist in that, you know, kind of narrow, um, natural wine world, but wines that are made naturally. So these are for the sake of our tasting, all fermented with native yeast. Um, you know, but, uh, you know, you have winemakers that are taking cues from the old world as much as they are the new world and, um, they're using oak to benevolent ends. So, um, you know, the Porter Creek stylistically, um, you know, they tend to block, um, you know, Mallow.

Um, so, you know, it's not like flipping the switch for the sake of Malolactic in the sense that it's all or nothing. Um, I don't know what the exact percentage is on this wine, but, you know, I know in past vintages, they have blocked Malolactic on some of their lots. Um, so, you know, some of the wine goes to Malolactic, some of it doesn't, depending on, you know, uh, the particular vintage and the particular flavor profile that the producer that Alex Davis is after. Um, this is a shot of their adorable, um, you know, kind of barn and tasting room, um, you know, uh, impossible to social distance there. You're able elbow to elbow-to-elbow with the, the tasting manager and the winemaker, um, uh, you know, Alex, lives on the farm, um, with his wife and, uh, two daughters.

Um, you know, it's, you know, small-scale artisanal American winemaking in the best possible sense, you know, and, and on its second generation. Um, you know, for me, this is a funny wine because I think, you know, in a lot of ways, um, then the new oak, um, which is, um, actually more prevalent than in the Ramey wine. So 15% new oak for the sake of David's wine, 25% for the sake of this wine is, is more readily apparent, but the acid feels, you know, slightly a tick higher as well. So it's both, you know, brighter and more searing in its own way, but also has more of that, you know, kind of butterscotchy, um, you know, uh, new oak, uh, influence, uh, to it.

Um, and then lastly, before we get to questions, we're gonna, uh, deal with a wine that is from, uh, the Sonoma coast. Um, and, uh, the Sonoma coast, um, is kind of a bit of a, a new frontier, um, for, uh, the sake of, uh, wines, uh, from Sonoma. And, um, you know, as the world war, warms, um, you know, as we come to terms, um, with the climate that we have now, as opposed to the climate that we had, you know, for the last several decades, you see, uh, you know, winemakers that favored formerly cool sites in the Russian River Valley that are now warming, um, they are escaping to the coast. Um, and again, that coastal proximity gives you more oceanic influence.

And, uh, in this case, um, you have a site that is just west of a single vineyard wine. That's just west of, um, a local town in the San Diego Valley. Um, and a winemaker who went to George Washington once upon a time, um, go Colonials, um, and, uh, started his wine career working at a local retail outlet, became a ski foam for awhile, found his way, um, to Joseph Phelps winery in Napa and never looked back, but favors Chardonnay at Biola, um, and works with single vineyards in the Sonoma coast. Uh, it's a sprawling ABA, um, that is really kind of meaningless because it's so sprawling. Uh, but what I love about this wine is you get this crystal clean, you know, um, you know, green apple full, you know, it's a, there's a purity to this wine, but a richness to it as well.

And this is another one that sees some new Oak sees 15% new Oak. It's also sees a bit of time in concrete egg or a portion of the wine does, uh, for 11 months. So, you know, all of these wines see time in new Oak. Um, and they wear it very differently. So Oak, just like anything in life, not a one way street, you know, uh, Oak, you know, has many, um, you know, shades of gray to it. Um, you know, for the sake of the wines that we're considering, um, and you know, Oak, you can wear well, um, you know, just like I wouldn't look good in Kamala Harris's inauguration dress, you know, certain wines wouldn't look good in new Oak. Um, and you know, uh, other wines, uh, you know, where it's better.

And I think, you know, Chardonnay is one of those wines that wears it well, you know, so why not lean into that? Zoe, um, what do you have from the commentary so far about these three wines about the new year? About the wine drinking vice president. Um, to start off, how do we know, um, what is quality wine? Um, when they say Sonoma on a label, when is it really from Sonoma? Do we need to know specifically the particular like wineries and where they own lands? How can we figure that out? Uh, excellent question, Zoe. Bingo. Uh, for someone at home, um, uh, it should be said that, uh, the ADA system, uh, ultimately regulates, um, uh, labeling in the United States is pretty, um, kind of, uh, fast and loose with that whole, um, you know, point of origin.

Um, now they can regulate it on an ABA by ABA, um, you know, kind of basis more stringently, but they tend not to do that in California. So about 15% of an individual wine, um, that is labeled Sonoma or Napa could actually come from outside. That tends to happen more in Napa. It does Sonoma because Sonoma produces a lot more wine than Napa. Um, uh, and you know, Napa only produces about 4% of California's wines, even though it accounts for about 20% of the sales. Um, so you can see why there is financial incentive there typically to bring in fruit from like Lake County or Mendocino and blend it in with your Napa, uh, Valley fruit, um, you know, up to that 15% threshold that will happen as well in Sonoma.

Um, but, uh, Sonoma is a huge geographical area. You know, we're not dealing with, you know, the finger lakes, which is relatively compact, or, you know, um, you know, France, you know, God forbid, which, you know, is dealing in old world distances. We are dealing in, you know, huge swaths of land and Sonoma is, is massive. Um, you know, that said, how do you know that you're dealing with, you know, uh, someone that is, you know, truly interested in Sonoma, uh, terroir? I would say look past Sonoma and look for people that are trading in, you know, sub Sonoma Appalachians. So, you know, uh, Sonoma is, is so hugely varied, um, that I think the, the more, um, you know, kind of, uh, responsible actors, the more intellectual curious actors are trading in these sub ABAs.

So they're going to be trading in not Sonoma as such, they're going to be, you know, Sonoma coast, uh, Fort Ross is like the new hotness in Sonoma coast. Um, and people are trying to define these kind of, you know, sub parcels that make Sonoma, you know, unique, um, and interesting. Um, there's a pretty, you know, you're along a fault line. So in the Sonoma coast, the San, the greatest fault runs the length of it. And anytime you're along a fault, you get this great diversity of soil types, uh, in the Russian River Valley, you're cheaply dealing with what's called a Goldridge, uh, series, uh, like loams, which are heavier soils, but they shed water, uh, really well, you know, but there's just like a huge diversity, um, of terroirs here.

Um, and so I think, you know, broadly speaking, I would try to seek out those people that, you know, are, are sub-identifying or throwing their lot, you know, with, uh, you know, a more specific designation, as opposed to just saying Sonoma. I don't know. It just came on. Uh, what else you got, Zoe? Um, whose fault is White Zen? Do we know? Um, that's an excellent question. Um, uh, that is actually Sutter Holmes' fault. Um, uh, initially. Yeah. Yeah. So I not only, um, you know, am I drinking, uh, a, a 90 point scoring White Zen, I'm drinking the original White Zen. Um, and, uh, that resulted from a stuck fermentation. 

So, um, a stuck fermentation, uh, occurs, uh, when, um, a wine, uh, the yeast kind of quit, um, on the wine and, and, uh, they no longer ferment and you're left with, um, uh, residual sugar. You're left with a, a sweet wine, uh, sugar that you know, otherwise you would want consumed for the sake of conversion to alcohol. Um, but you know, that's stopped. Now, um, it should be said that, uh, historically and even in the modern era, a lot of Chardonnays from California, um, uh, you know, also kind of result from stuck fermentations in the sense that you know, those, those mass marketed Chards, even those mass marketed Pinots that people love, like the Naïfs of the world, um, they're sweet, you know, they just are.

Um, and that extra sugar kind of elevates the perception of fruit in a wine. You know, one of the cool things about Sauternes is that it's this amazing chameleon. It's a winemaker's rival. It does a lot of different things really well. So, you know, you get a Sonoma coast wine that tastes like oyster shells, even with an added overlay of new Oak. And then you taste something, you know, you know, from David Rainey, um, you know, corner of the Russian River Valley that's more voluptuous. And then it gets more voluptuous still in like a, you know, kind of fruit roll-up, uh, kind of way that, you know, we don't like to explore. Um, you know, but, uh, people are still, you know, a lot of wine nerds or, or, or kind of disgruntled Psalms will say that, you know, people don't like talk dry, but drink sweet,

which is to say that, you know, uh, they say they want to dry wine, but at the end of the day, they want something with a little bit of residual sugar that, you know, enhances the fruit, uh, in their, in their wine. So, um, you know, that happened in particularly Sonoma and Napa, um, uh, you know, starting with the right whites in craze, um, you know, because people realize that, you know, it was something that consumers enjoy, you know, they're responding, uh, to the marketplace and, you know, creating a brand for themselves. What else you got to add? I love that one liner. Um, um, what do you think about the vintage 2019 with all of that? All of the fires, how does soil affect, um, when it has a ton of ash in it?

Yeah. So, I mean, uh, smoke taint is a, is a real thing on wines. Um, and, uh, yeah, in 2019 Sonoma was devastated by, by fires. Uh, this year, you know, uh, other parts of Northern California were, um, typically it's more of an issue with red wines than whites. Um, uh, because, uh, you know, uh, although historically, a lot of California wines, uh, California Chardonnays, in particular, did see some skin contact. Um, they weren't orange wines as such. It was just essentially another way to give a wine weight. Um, uh, but, um, in the modern era, they're direct pressed. Uh, so as long as, um, you know, the, the, um, source of the fire is not, uh, hugely proximate, um, you can still save a lot of Chardonnay, um, uh, you know, in, in problematic vintages, but, um, uh, that's impossible with a lot of red wines.

Um, so, um, red wines were, were more adversely, uh, affected. Um, you know, I think the horrifying thing is that, you know, at the, at the end of the day, um, uh, obviously, you know, a lot of acres were burned, um, this year, but, you know, this is a, a, a climate pattern that's likely to perpetuate itself. And, um, you can see here, this is, um, uh, these are, are, are what are called Winkler regions. Winkler was a professor at UC Davis, and, uh, it's a measure of, um, essentially growing degree hours. Um, uh, our growing degree days, um, and that's, uh, you know, during the growing season as measured between April and the end of October. Um, and essentially the, um, amount of, um, kind of, uh, photosynthesis forwarding sun that these regions get.

Um, and, and I like this map because they highlight the Napa Valley, and you get a sense that, um, you know, these region five areas, um, and particularly, uh, this white region, you can see here at the center of the Central Valley, that's like raisin country. You know, the white areas are not fit for, um, viticulture. The red areas are not fit for fine wine making. Um, and so you can see, you know, as these red areas creep their way to the coast, you know, uh, it becomes much more hard, much more difficult to, to work with cooler climate varietals like Pinot and Chardonnay. So a lot of people who love Pinot and Chardonnay, that's why they're, uh, fleeing to the coast, to these blue regions, and that's why they're fleeing further north to, uh, Oregon.

Um, you know, as you can see. But, you know, equally, um, you know, these, uh, conditions will create more, um, favorable, um, you know, environment for wildfires. And, and so I think that's the big fear in the region. It's, it's, you know, um, you know, a mix of, you know, the devil we know and, you know, the devil that, you know, we are, um, you know, worried will continue to perpetuate itself as the world continues to, um, warm over the coming, the coming decades. And, you know, I am someone that loves wines that come from marginal climates, that come from cool climates. And, you know, I think a lot of California growers worry that there won't be a, won't be a future, uh, for them.

Um, you know, maybe in Chardonnay because it's so versatile, but, you know, Chardonnay gets flabby. You know, Chardonnay, it just, it just loses its luster. Um, you know, so there's a lot of fear that, you know, the wines that, you know, people love in these regions now, you know, they won't be capable of making, um, you know, in by 2050, uh, in particular. What else do you guys have? Uh, there was a really interesting question about where, um, both, like, library selections of wines are held and then also what was aging. So it doesn't necessarily matter the year in which there is a fire, but if that winery is then holding two to three vintages back of red wine in different aging ways, but then also their library wines and, like, how much is destroyed when these things happen.

Yeah, I mean, as long as the winery's not consumed, then it's not, not an issue, um, obviously. Um, you know, uh, most of, you know, the producers in Sonoma and Napa, um, you know, release their wines right away, um, you know, because it's, it's liquidity and it's hard to hold back wine, um, you know, uh, from the market because, you know, you're reducing your, your cash flow. Um, it's an expensive proposition to hold, to hold wine back. Um, you know, it is the case in some instances where you have wines that have, you know, extended elevages in oak that, you know, they'll be a vintage or two, you know, uh, gap for the, for the sake of the wine.

Um, you know, but I think the, for the reds, the fire's a bigger concern for the sake of smoke taint, uh, in the cellar than it is, you know, um, overrunning the cellars, uh, in, in most cases. Because, you know, the, the fires, you know, they're, they're, you know, hugely widespread, but the bigger fear is the smoke cloud that is even more widespread, um, you know, at the end of the day. Um, which brings us to, I think, you know, a zin, uh, because I'm really excited, uh, for the trio of wines, um, that, you know, brought in because, um, they, you know, kind of uniquely, uh, speak to, um, you know, uh, our, uh, new vice presidents, um, uh, immigrant roots.

And, that is not, you know, easy to come by,, in the wine world. I don't, we're, we're featuring, um, a wine, uh, from, uh, Italian American OGs, um, uh, or sixth generation farmers, um, the first black family, um, to, uh, bottle their own wines in Napa and, uh, a Jewish, Thai, um, uh, former skateboarder, snowboarder. So, you know, that's not necessarily representative of, you know, uh, the, the broader wine world as such. But, you know, uh, I'm hugely excited, uh, that these, uh, voices, uh, exist, um, in, uh, the wine world and, you know, want to celebrate them. Uh, but, you know, we have a little bit, uh, to, um, you know, kind of disambiguate for the sake of, uh, the history of Zin, which is fucking awesome.

Zinfandel, I see you. Zinfandel has some of the oldest plantings, um, in, uh, California. Uh, it was one of, uh, you know, the first grapes kind of, uh, widely planted, um, in the state. It's actually, um, not the most late ripening, uh, varietal in the world. Uh, it accumulates sugar really well, but it ripens earlier than, you know, like your Petit Verdots, your Grenaches, uh, your own, uh, red varietals, uh, of the world. So it does pretty well in a place like the Russian River, you know, although it does need, you know, those slopes above the fog line. Um, I love the way vines take on their own personality. This is a vine on, uh, Martinelli Estate, um, and, uh, it's old bush-trained Zin.

And, you know, these are centenarian vines. The only reason they exist is because, um, you know, uh, we made wine verboten, uh, for a decade and change. And it was too expensive to pull them out. Um, and there are all sorts of, uh, library, um, uh, you know, vineyards, um, that are now actually protected under state law, um, uh, in California, um, these plantings, um, many of which date back to the 1880s, um, and have a lot to say about the history of California wine. And what's cool is that, you know, these are virus-riddled vines, and the yields are minuscule. But, you know, just like, you know, your Jewish grandfather has a lot of really interesting stories, you know, these wines have a lot of really interesting stories to tell.

Uh, Zinfandel has a lot of interesting stories to tell. So it was long supposed that Zinfandel was America's vine and wine. Um, uh, but it should be said that, you know, thoughtful actors knew that couldn't be the case because the grape species, Vitis vinifera, that we know and love, um, that goes into fine wine, did not originate in America. Um, we know that, uh, it originated in Transcaucasia, and they certainly knew, um, you know, that even, uh, in, uh, the early, you know, it should be said, even in the, you know, uh, early to mid, uh, 20th century, um, you know, what I, I do want to say, though, is that, you know, the origins of Zin were shrouded in mystery, um, until relatively recently.

Uh, so, um, actually, uh, a pioneering, uh, UC Davis ampillographer named Carol Meredith, um, who's awesome, who I hope to do a wine school with someday, um, uh, kind of, uh, took it upon herself to unravel the origins of Zinfandel beginning in the 90s, and she discovered that, um, what had long been suspected, actually, um, uh, by, uh, Croatians who found their way, uh, to Northern California, chief among them, Mike Giegrich, who we'll figure prominently in the Brown Estate story later, all of this cross-pollination, um, that Zinfandel, uh, uh, bore, uh, a similarity to some Croatian varietals, and also to some Southern Italian varietals, chiefly Primitiva, uh, so, uh, Primitiva is the, The most widely grown grape in the heel of the boot in Puglia.

It made its way to, uh, New York, um, and from there, um, uh, on cuttings, made its way to California, um, and was planted widely, uh, in Sonoma, but it didn't originate in Primitiva, in, in, uh, Puglia. It actually originated in modern-day Croatia under the name, 'Hold your breath, everybody, apologies to all the Croatians in the house, uh, Služenac Kastilanski, um, and Carol Meredith actually went to Croatia to, um, uh, take DNA from all sorts of Croatian samples to determine its roots, and she now calls Zinfandel ZPC, which stands for Zinfandel Primitivo, hold your breath, Služenac Kastilanski, um, uh, so, uh, the cool kids say, uh, CPC, but originally Croatian grape, uh, uh, and, um, that wasn't, uh, you know, uh, discovered, and scientifically, rigorously documented, uh, until 2001, uh, and Carol Meredith gave this, like, really fascinating, uh, interview, interview with, um, uh, you know, uh, friend of, uh, the pod, uh, Levi Dalton about, you know, unraveling all this, um, but, uh, Zin, you know, it, you know, has this, like, peculiar history in Sonoma and this peculiar origin story, but, again, you know, I think it speaks to, as a nation, Our immigrant roots in a way that I really, you know, dig, so, you know, even the grapes have these murky immigrant backgrounds in a way that, you know, I think is, is hugely poetic for the sake of this wine. Now, we're going to start off with this wine from Mendocino County, so we're going to kind of work in reverse order, um, and, uh, this one comes from, um, uh, again, so, um, I feel like somewhere linguists, um, you know, and I think God is, like, the original linguist, but he's laughing at us through the sake of languages, Croatian, definitely one of them, um, Thai, uh, equally one of them, so, uh, everybody hold your breath, um, uh, winemaker is Kenny, uh, Likit Prakom, Likit Prakom, and for some reason, my Thai is better, uh, than, uh, my Croatian, uh, but Kenny is, uh, himself an OG, uh, grew up, um, in the wine world, but, like, hugely social justice-oriented, um, he is, like, a, a massive, uh, Woody Guthrie, uh, fan, um, and, uh, for each bottle of his wine, gives 1% to the planet, um, is hugely concerned with the diversity of his workforce, he, um, you know, comes from, actually, a winemaking family, so his, his father was Thai, his mother, uh, was, uh, you know, Jewish-American, um, his uncle, though, his great-uncle, uh, Sapasit uh, Mahaguram, um, owned Mekong whiskey, sold it, and then, uh, realized his dream in 1973 of buying a Sonoma winery, uh, which he rechristened, it had an Italian name originally, but he loved French wine, uh, so he rechristened it, uh, Domaine Saint-Georges after the famous Burgundy, and so, uh, Kenny grew up on the, on the, on the vineyard, um, and, uh, he wanted to be a skater-surfer bum, um, uh, but he says, uh, when he was in college, his advisor told him, this is a direct quote, when my advisor told me, uh, I would have to teach to make a living as a poet, I fled, which is, like, the most amazing quote ever, um, and, you know, obviously, uh, makes him, you know, uh, my, you know, instant hero, um, but he launched, he went to UC Davis, uh, you know, which is, you know, the preeminent school of winemaking in, um, in America, um, and, and established a label, uh, named after a Thai tree called Banyan, making Gewurz, and then launched Hobo Wine Company, um, which, uh, the wine that we're drinking, uh, is a part of, so he, uh, operates according to this negotiant mode, um, a lot like our, our friend Mary Taylor, but he does so throughout California, um, and so in this case, he's working with fruit from, uh, Mendocino, uh, county, uh, so, uh, Mendocino County is just north of, uh, Sonoma, um, and, uh, you, you have fog creeping down the Alexander Valley there, um, which, uh, gives you this cooling influence, uh, this is from, you know, um, uh, Hob, kind of like a hodgepodge of, of, of, um, Italian, uh, slash Croatian varietals, um, and then, and Carignan, so you 80% percent Zin, 10% Carignan, and 3% Barbera. What I love about this wine is the way it puts the lie to what most people think of, um, you know, conventionally for Zin, so, you know, I think Zinfandel is this behemoth, um, you know, it accumulates sugar really beautifully as it ripens, um, and it's a massive wine, we're gonna taste a massive wine for the sake of the Martinelli, over 16% alcohol, again, like, somewhat miraculously, over 16% alcohol, and, and, you know, dry enough through the ages of native yeast, but, um, I love, uh, Kenny works with native yeast, he makes natural wine, you know, at an affordable price, so, you know, his criteria, you know, he's like, wants to make wine for his skater friends, um, you know, and, and as such, you know, he's not gonna charge them um, you know, you know, 40 bucks for Cali Zin, um, but he's making wines that are, you know, in, in my mind, you know, as honest, um, you know, as, you know Sustainable, certainly, and as soulful as anything else being made in California. Um, and he makes wine throughout the Central Coast, uh, and the North Coast, but, um, I always love his Zins. Uh, Zin was actually one of the first, uh, wines that he got, um, you know, uh, a lot of press for. Dry Creek Zin was from a different corner of Sonoma, not the Mendocino Zin, this is kind of like a more country-level offering, but I thought this one would be fun to try in the context of this line-up, just because it's lighter, um, uh, and easier drinking.

Um, uh, let me know what you think of, uh, Kenny Zinzo, any, any thoughts from, uh, the folks in the audience about, uh, the first Zinfandel we're trying, or, uh, Zinfandel, uh, in particular, um, as an American, uh, air quote grape. There was a strawberry starburst note, um, little bit of that, like, candy confectionary, but I think, you know, having that, like, bright acidity like, probably balances it out, speculating. Yeah, that's a, that's a great tasting note, you know, for me, uh, Zin, you know, just like, um, Chardonnay kind of starts this path from stone fruit to tropicalia, uh, Zin exists on this continuum of berry fruit, and, like, when it's less ripe, it's more of these, like, lighter, um, you know, kind of like, tart, you know, strawberry raspberry, um, you know, types of fruit, and then as it gets, uh, riper, you know, you get more of those blackberries, you know, more of that, like, you know, candied and dried, you know, uh, fruit.

Um, and, and I think this definitely vibrates on that, you know, strawberry, uh, wavelength, um, as opposed to, you know, something, you know, more, uh, you know, concentrated, um, you know, for the sake of, you know, uh, the Zins, uh, that we're gonna be trying, uh, subsequently. Uh, what else you guys have? Um, I have some just general questions about California, but not necessarily about Zin. Let's go through the rest of the flight, maybe circle back? Uh, that sounds great. Um, way to keep us on, on target. Uh, new year, new wine school, Zoe, nicely done. Uh, so, Brian, Brown family's in. Uh, Zoe, uh, actually gets, uh, the credit, um, uh, I, I was not familiar with the state, and, uh, um, you know, uh, Zoe sought out, um, you know, wines from BIPOC winemakers, um, uh, you know, uh, while, uh, we were in the midst of our opening journey, and, um, you know, uh, stumbled upon, uh, a Brown Zin, hashtag Brown Zin, uh, Napa Valley's first, uh, black-owned winery.

Uh, this is a family, um, awesome quirk of history, so, um, obviously, you know, no, um, uh, wine from descendants of Tamil Nadu, although, you know, Thailand, South Asian-ish, um, you're gonna have to give me the benefit of the doubt there, metaphorically, but, uh, much more direct connection, uh, for the sake of, uh, Brown estates, which I, I think is, is super cool, so, um, this is a Brown family, uh, Bassett and uh, Marcella are, um, uh, on, uh, your right, um, uh, Bassett himself is Jamaican, um, so fucking awesome, um, and they purchased a 450-acre farm in Napa Valley, it's actually in, it's called Cheelace Valley, and I'll pull up a map, Which is kind of off the main drag, um, which is kind of a warmer, corny corner of the valley, even, even by Napa Valley standards, uh, but it was a historic property, um, and, uh, there's an 1857 stone redwood barn that they've refurbished, um, uh, for the sake of a production facility there, um, and they grew grapes, and they supplied Mike, uh, Grgich, um, uh, the, uh, son of Croatian immigrants himself, who, um, made the wine at Chateau Montelena that won the judgment of Paris, and who first, you know, was one of the first few people that posited that Zinfandel could be related to a Croatian varietal, but they, um, sold grapes to him, um, for many years, um, uh, but, uh, the, uh, younger generation, uh, Deneen, uh, David, and Carol, and David really is the creative force behind Zinfandel for the sake of, uh, winemaking, um, in the center on the left there, um, uh, starting in 1995, uh, started making their own Zin, um, and, uh, you know, uh, Zinfandel really is their, um, their baby, um, and their animal for the sake of wine, and, um, you know, they're, they're working, you know, with older, uh, methods for the sake of, you know, um, you know, their, their fermentations, um, uh, they're judicious with the use of oak, you know, 33% Zin wears oak well, um, um, in this case they're using a mix of French, um, and, uh, American oak, um, what I think is kind of cool is David has started to reach outside of, um, the family's estate vineyards, uh, when he's building, uh, this blend, um, so I'm gonna pull up a map of, uh, Napa, and we get to do a Napa Valley lesson, um, because I have a hugely, well, actually, I, Napa Valley bugs me for a lot of different reasons that, you know, we'll get into at a later time, um, uh, but, um, anyway, you see Chiles Valley here, you can see actually Brown Estate, um, at the bottom, uh, corner of, uh, the Napa, uh, Valley here, um, but they're also, um, Borrowing fruit, uh, for the sake of this wine, um, some from Howell Mountain and some from Calistoga, and it is, you know, it seems somewhat counterintuitive, but, you know, the Valley actually gets warmer as you go north, to some extent, uh, once you get to Calistoga it starts to get cooler again because there's, uh, influence of elevation in another um, kind of coastal influence, but you have fog coming up from the Bay here, um, such that if you've ever driven down Napa Valley, you know, you have this universal experience of going from, you know, Clear blue skies to fog at some point during your journey between Yontville and Napa proper, um, especially if you're driving midday and the fog hasn't burned off yet, um, you know, but, you know, that cooling influence of the fog means that, uh, you know, uh, Napa, um, you know, Yonville in particular, Oakville, uh, are cooler than St. Helena, uh, which is really kind of like the sweet spot for the sake of, you know, as hot as it gets in Napa. Uh, Chile's Valley is actually pretty warm because you have another, um, you know, set of, uh, mountains, uh, separating it from the coastal influence, so it gets very hot here, um, but, uh, in this vintage they started to add, you know, zin from cooler climates to flush this wine out, or it should be said, you know, not flush it out, to give it, you know, a little more, uh, elegance, but, you know, I think it in terms of the flavor profile in this one, you're getting much more into that, like, darker, uh, berry fruit, um, which I dig, but it's still, like, hugely elegant, um, in and of its own right, um, in, in a really awesome way. Um, and then, uh, for the sake of the last wine, um, Giuseppe and Luisa, um, you know, what's not to like about a wine named after Giuseppe and Luisa? Um, you saw the gnarled old Zinfandel vine earlier, um, which is from, um, uh, their Jackass Hill, um, and that is not, like, a marketing gimmick for the sake of, you know, calling, uh, a winery Jackass Hill, uh, it's called that because it's a steep site along the Russian River, uh, and, uh, the, uh, kind of founders, farmers, friends said only a jackass would work, you know, that hill.

Um, now, this particular, uh, Zinfandel, it comes from, uh, vine material, uh, that was borrowed from the vines that you saw earlier, so it's not those plantings, it's, you know, plantings that are essentially Massal-selected, so instead of looking for, you know, clones from a nursery, they, um, grafted clones from those vines into a site above the winery, which is closer to Healdsburg, um, and they made this wine, uh, which is dense and inky. Um, all sorts of cross-pollination here, you know, we talked about, uh, the gentleman behind Thale, Aaron Jordan, working at Turley Wine, um, the Martinelli family, they're great growers, still, to this day, 80-90% of their fruit is in their cellar, um, but, uh, uh, they have a female winemaker, and then Helen Turley, um, uh, who formerly worked at, um, you know, worked at, um, the eponymous Turley Cellars, uh, is one of their consultants, and Helen is, you know, arguably the most famous winemaker in California of her generation, um, and favors this lusher, more opulent style, and, um, this is a miraculous wine for me, um, I'm gonna be honest with you, it's not my favorite wine, um, in the world, uh, stylistically, it's not a style that I tend to gravitate to, but it's a miracle that it doesn't taste like cough syrup, um, you can see Giuseppe and Luisa here, um, you know, uh, big ups to the original Italian immigrants, but, um, this is tipping the scales at over 16% alcohol, uh, even though it's native yeast fermented, the yeast should have died, um, it's remarkable that they were able to, like, uh, You know, finish things out, um, as native yeast, but, you know, it's a big wine, it's plush, it's full-fruited, you know, there are a lot of people who love, you know, this style, you know, I personally tend to favor wines that are a little leaner, you know, but what I dig about it is that it does have, you know, its own internal wine rhyme scheme, it doesn't fall flat under its own weight, you know, it still has some semblance of balance in spite of that, you know, uh, significant, uh, weight. Um, what else you got, uh, for questions, uh, Zoe? Um, and, you know, feel free to, to weigh in, um, you know, with more, you know, subjective judgments about each of these offerings, um, you know, uh, greatest hits, you know, lowlights, um, you know, I'm at a point in my wine school career where I'm confident enough that you can tell me if this is, like, the worst class you've ever attended, the worst flight of wines you've ever tasted, um, you know, let's keep it real, uh, in 2021, because this pandemic shit is getting old. Um, what do you got, Zoe? Um, indeed. Um, is this the same Martinelli's family as our favorite sparkling apple cider? Um, I don't think so, I want to imagine that they're, like, Paisan, you know, just like, you know, every dishwasher that we ever hire is, like, primo or prima, you know, in Honduras or Guatemala, you know, I'm sure the, like, the Martinelli's, you know, they're, like, primo or prima somewhere, um, in the old country, but, uh, as far as I know, they don't have anything to do with the cider, although they grew apples for generations, and Sonoma, the parts of Sonoma that weren't consistently under vine were planted to apples, um, and there's actually a lot of old folk wisdom, um, you know, that says that, you know, former apple orchards are well-suited, uh, to grapes as well.

Absolutely. Um, I have a fantastic question here, so, like, let's say that you are at a congressional wine caucus and it's only serving California Chardonnay. What can you eat if you don't like California Chardonnay that's too buttery or oaky to, like, balance that out, slash what's, like, in the regular bar area that you could do to, like, mask that flavor, if that's your point? This is, uh, this is really great practical knowledge, uh, for the it's actually, it's deeply sad, though, so usually after the inauguration they do a luncheon, um, for Congress, and it's, it's traditional that, you know, the luncheon features either the home state wines of the organizers, so I can remember, uh, Chuck Schumer featured New York state wines because he organized Kamala's first inaugural luncheon, um, and you know it is disappointing, you know, Kamala didn't get that or California wine didn't get that treatment, um, it's also lucky because uh no one wants to drink Delaware wine uh we don't want to inflict that on anyone um uh so fatty fatty things so you want to hit up um you know like the La Quercia Iowa prosciutto stand um you know would be a great um you know you want richer dishes and and again I think it speaks to you know That, like the cheese bar, um, you know, that Calgar Creamery stand, um, any, any local cheeses, um, you know, will work beautifully with these wines, these, these are, you know, wines that want loud flavors, um, which I actually think is kind of poetic for the sake of, uh, Kamala's roots because, you know, uh, you're talking about cuisines for the sake of, you know, Tamil Nadu, and, and I, I fucking love Indian cuisine, but I think, you know, there's a sense, you know, with India and, and, you know, not unlike, you know, Mexican cuisine, or pretty much any, you know, larger polyglot nation that, you know, There's one Indian cuisine, there's one Mexican cuisine, but, you know, India is, is incredibly diverse linguistically, culinarily, and so, uh, Tamil Nadu cuisine is very different than other Indian cuisines, actually, like, huge vegetarian influence there, as you get closer to Sri Lanka, it gets, like, stupidly spicy, um, uh, but, um, you know, a lot of loud flavors there in a cool way, similarly, uh, Jamaica, a lot of loud flavors, um, you know, there's a lot, there's a strong vegetarian, um, movement there, a lot of raw safaris are actually vegetarian, a lot of Caribbean restaurants, uh, will have like, a fun, like, raw like, uh, vegetarian or vegan, uh, like, uh, you know, sub-menu, um, and actually, I mean, there's a huge Indian community, like, subcontinental Indian community, um, throughout the Caribbean, too, and, and, you know, it's a fascinating, you know, place for the sake of the development of their, their cuisine, so, um, I like these wines with louder flavors, so, um, you know, like, if you're stuck with mixed nuts, then, you know, that'll do it, you know, that'll work with some of the oak, um, you know, maybe go for, like, the fattier nuts, maybe go for the cashews, you know, maybe go for the Marconas, um, if, you know, This, I don't, I don't know if they're gonna spring for Marciano's at the, you know, congressional buffet, but, you know, cheeses, um, I think are, you know, your, your ultra-lux, like, triple creams, you know, your fattier dishes, that's, that's where you want, you know, to, to make a dive, uh, for, um, you know, but I will say that only goes so far, um, if they're throwing, you know, um, you know, just bad catering wines at you, you know, I tend to go for beer, or, you know, just like, uh, I tend to nurse, uh, um, you know, bourbon on the rocks, it's, that's what happens to me at weddings, um, uh, but, you know, Neither here nor there. Very well done, I usually just go to gin. Um, that's great. Sometimes I want to mix it with gin, sometimes I want gin on its own, and I actually like, like beer at a wedding, because it's just like, you know, it's just like, it keeps you, you know, you can still like, dance, and, you know, and you're not, you're in for the long haul, but, you know, you're steady, so, alright. Neither here nor there.

What else, we've gone totally off the rails, Zoe, what else do you, what else do you have? Um, this is a really good question that I love to, um, talk about, is what did wineries do during prohibition? Uh, excellent question, hugely fascinating, um, so, a lot of different things, um, uh, so there was an exemption during prohibition for Sacramento wine, so some of them sold Sacramento wine, um, some of them sold, uh, grapes, um, for home consumption, um, so, uh, they would be shipped across the country to people that wanted to make their own wine, and some grapes did better than others, so like Petit Verde, like, um, Petit Syrah is as popular to some extent in California as it is, because it's indestructible, and it was a great grape to ship, uh, east, uh, to make, to make wine out of, um, you know, uh, but, you know, a lot of them just died, uh, Sadly, you know, a lot of them, you know, a lot of people just, um, left, um, you know, or they, they, they either left the land, or they, you know, pivoted, you know, for the sake of what they were growing, and, you know, that happened to, to most of them, um, but, you know, the, the ones that survived, and there are some like Simi, Corbel, um, Stefanelli, so there are these, like, you know, iconic names in Sonoma that, you know, are from Stromsburg, um, was was founded in the 1880s by a German immigrant, um, you know, so there are these, like, great names that survived, um, and there is this continuity for the sake of, um, you know, that history in California that's hugely compelling for me, um, you know, and I think it's really awesome, but, um, you know, most of them didn't, um, you know, not, not to put a, you know, too, too much of a silver lining on it.

Um, could you talk a little bit about how there could be residual sugar in red wines, particularly if they're vinified to 13.5, like, polyazine? Well, so, think about the Zinfandel we're drinking, uh, this is, uh, 16.4% alcohol, uh, also this is the original label, uh, this is the original artwork, uh, on, on the wine, um, which I think is, is, uh, big ups to Jessica Biel, I hope you make an amazing artwork out of this, but, uh, that's why it has that, like, retro, um, I don't know, I don't know what to call this design scheme, but, um, at any rate, um, uh, so 13, uh, 16.4% alcohol, um, so you're dealing with, um, you know, at least like four bricks worth of brightness there that's unconsumed for the sake of generating alcohol, which is a shit ton of sugar, um, you know, so, uh, imagine really red grapes, um, and imagine landing at 13% alcohol, but a wine that could ferment fully dry to 16%, you have a lot of leftover sugar, but that could be a good thing, and, and again, you know, it's actually a fun exercise You know, take, take, like, a Beaujolais, take a really lean red wine, um, and add a little bit of sugar water to it, and, and your perception of the wine changes, uh, if you add, you know, small enough, you know, uh, dribble, it doesn't change for the sake of making the wine sweet, it changes your experience of the fruit of the wine, it changes not only your perception on the palate, but your perception, you know, on the nose, you know, so what is hugely fascinating for me about the variable of taste and smell is that you can't tease things out, you can't say that, you know, something's at, you know, one particular level, and, You know, so if we raise or lower it, you know, it's gonna taste, you know, a different way, you know, it exists in context, and it responds in context, and, you know, you, you know, you can't divorce one from the other anymore than you can the action of, you know, uh, you know, the, um, mycorrhiza, you know, acting, you know, in concert with vine roots, you know, so, so, you know, it's this whole ecology for the sake of a wine, um, you know, that we experience as the, the sum total of the product, and, you know, sugar's important, and sweetness is important, and it's not, you know To make a wine sweeter is not to always make it perceptibly sweet, um, and I think people sleep on that, uh, to, to some extent, uh, and, and then, you know, concurrently, this, I think this would taste sweet, does taste sweet to a lot of people, but, um, you know, a lot of that is about a, um, a perception of sweetness because of the ripeness of the fruit, as opposed to an empirical level of, uh, sugar left over in the, the ultimate wine, um, you know, so just like so many different variables, um, you know, at play, uh, for the sake of these things, and, you know, you know, sugar is, is one of many factors that winemakers play with, you know, to, um, uh, create. you know, a compelling, uh, whole, um, and in California, historically, for the sake of mass marketed wines, that has meant the wines are not dry, um, you know, everybody will tell you they like dry wines, but they like, you know, and, and this is, you know, the, the these are, you know, the people that buy the bulk of wine at Costco and Chet, this is not necessarily the Tail Up Goat, you know, wine school, but you know, people like things that are a little sweet, um, uh, because, you know, they have this fullness, this ripeness, you know, this approachability, um, uh, and oak sometimes creates that as well, um, but, certainly sugar does, um, and, and it's important not to, not to underestimate that. Uh, so, so, I'm gonna taste uh, a little bit here, um, uh, we're gonna toast, uh, finally, with, um, uh, Schramsberg, so, uh, this is, uh, Blanc de Blanc, so, um, uh, uh, our, uh, I love saying, our second worst president, um, Richard Nixon, um, started the tradition of, uh, serving Schramsberg, um, uh, for, uh, you know, official state functions, uh, when he, um, uh, went to China,

um, and toasted to peace in 1972, which raises so many questions for me that I haven't fully answered yet because ostensibly China would be, um, you know, on the teetotaler train because, you know, um, you know, uh, alcohol is the opiate of the masses, among, among other things, but, um, neither here nor there. Uh, he brought Schramsberg with him to, um, uh, shortly after the Davies family, um, assumed control of the state. Um, uh, the, um, the state was founded by a German immigrant, um, in the 1880s who dug out these, um, uh, amazing cellars, um, in, above Calistoga, um, using the same migrant labor force that dug, um, uh, the, the transcontinental railroad, um, and, uh, you know, so it's, it's really steeped in history, uh, this estate, and, um, it's an amazing place to visit, um, you know, the wines, they make a shit ton of wine, it's sold at, um, like Trader Joe's, but, you know, Trader Joe's sells a lot of cool stuff, um, so don't let that, you know, please, the next time you're there, buy the dark chocolate covered almonds, they're amazing. Um, but, uh, you know, they're, they're really special for, for me, you know, personally, because it is, you know, they have this continuity, uh, for the sake of serving your wine at the White House, and so about 70% of this fruit comes from Napa, about 30% comes from Sonoma because, um, you know, Sonoma fruit is essential to, um, American, you know, California sparkling wine because you need something with acid. You couldn't make a wine, like a convincing sparkling wine, um, out of, um, entirely Napa, Napa-grown fruit, largely, um, unless it was all from Coneris, but neither here nor there, but, um, this is all charred all the time, um, and we are going to toast to, um, uh, Madam, uh, uh, Vice President, uh, long may she reign, uh, I hope to, you know, uh, pour her wine, uh, some point in the near, uh, future, and I hope you are all, um, enjoying life under the new administration, uh, at home, uh, thank you so much for joining us. Cheers.

There's just nothing, there's nothing wrong with that. It should be said, too, um, so I did this amazing, uh, tasting, uh, with, uh, the Davies family. They, uh, have owned the estate since the 60s. They re, they kind of refurbished, rehabilitated it, um, and it was a tasting of their, like, ultra-luxe prestige cuvée alongside, you know, Krug and some of the greatest names of champagne. It was actually, it was really interesting, um, I was with this, like, uh, a guy who was formerly a, uh, a sommelier at the French Laundry and stuff like that, and he said that Krug tasted like, uh, old Chinese food, uh, which it does, actually, um, and I also love, like, day-old Chinese food, but, um, uh, Schramsberg compared really, like, favorably to a lot of those wines.

Uh, it was just cooler. So, um, you know, I think their wines, their grapes are riper at harvest than a lot of the grapes, uh, you would find in Champagne. So, you know, their sparkling wines tend to be lusher, richer, rounder, uh, often. Um, and they also, um, you know, a portion of the wine, um, in this case, I think about a quarter of it, um, sees, uh, you know, thyme and oak prior to secondary fermentation, which, you know, lends lends weight to the resultant blend. But it really is an icon, and I, I think, you know, Sonoma has that. You know, it has these, you know, we're a young country, um, you know, compared to, um, you know, the old world.

You know, you have an estate here, um, uh, you know, that is on its sixth generation, um, which is remarkable. Um, you know, but, you know, in the old world, you know, they scoff at that. You know, the Alphonse Malo is on his, like, 17th generation. You know, what is sixth generation to them? You know, and, and they survived the French Revolution. You know, um, they didn't just survive Prohibition. Um, you know, so, uh, you know, I, I like that, you know, uh, California wine has this depth of history. Um, and, you know, you have this product like Schramsberg that, you know, is, you know, kind of nationally iconic, uh, in a way, and I think that's worth honoring, um, and appreciating and sustaining, uh, for the sake of our wines, because, you know, wine has a long memory.

Um, and, you know, there is, you know, value, um, in that, in that sense of tradition. Uh, what do you got, Seth? Great question from Todd. Um, could you elaborate a little bit more on how the over-expensive land cost in Napa Valley is causing some wineries to plant a little bit too closely together, and these higher yields are just ruining Napa wine? How do I feel about that if you want to dig deep into any specific wineries that are doing this? Um, I mean I don't know I don’t know specific actors. The thing about Napa the thing about like California in general is it's just like um and and you know Napa even more than Sonoma is like geographically limited so you know you have you know this relatively narrow valley at the end of the day um and you know water’s an issue uh the water table’s an issue Um and you know not a lot of people dry farm.

You know, a lot, like, a lot of these wines wouldn't exist if it weren't for irrigation. Um, and, you know, there are, you know, uh, kind of availability issues for the sake of water throughout, um, the West, throughout California, and the water table can only drop so much before it fully disappears. Um, and, you know, they're learning that and realizing that in, in Sonoma. Um, and then on top of that, you know, you have this issue of sustainable development. Um, and, you know, how much wine, you know, or how much acreage do you want to give over to, um, you know, really water-intensive agriculture versus, you know, you know, kind of these other species that have evolved to thrive in this water-deficient, um, environment.

Um, and so Napa's kind of maxed out for the sake of, uh, its vineyard acreage. Um, and, you know, that's a big part of the reason that, you know, vineyard land is so expensive there. Um, it's, it's maxed out, you know, environmentally, but it's also maxed out, you know, for the sake of kind of, like, the tourist, tourist infrastructure. So, like, pre-COVID, like, you can't, like, there's a traffic jam, you know, running north and south in, in Napa. And, like, they can't sustain much more tourism, um, than they, they currently, you know, welcome. And it's been a boon to them. Obviously, it's, it made them, you know, certainly the most famous brand stateside. You know, but, you know, how do you save your soul in the midst of that?

You know, how do you, um, you know, stay a wine region as opposed to a wedding venue? Um, and there are a lot of people trying to grapple with that. Um, you know, uh, there are a lot of people that, like, are trying to grapple with that in a really, like, you know, thoughtful way. Like, Cathy Corison, we used to get her Christmas card. I don't, I haven't gotten it yet at, uh, uh, Taylor Cote or Revelers, but she's awesome. She's, like, lovely. She makes wine in the hottest corner of Napa, yet she makes wines that are hugely elegant. She makes cabs that are elegant, even in warm vintages. It's impossible. Um, you know, and she's just, like, lovely, um, and she makes wine on a small scale, and her husband does the books, and it's, like, you know, they're, like, in their own way the, the Porter Creek of, you know, the Napa Valley corridor, um, and she doesn't get the credit she deserves for making, you know, you know, delicious wines.

Um, you know, but that whole infrastructure is totally detached from the point system, so actually, like, funny, like, last night, um, like, my wife and I, we got a bunch of wines when we got married, which is, like, almost a decade ago now, and, uh, one of them was from, you know, this Sonoma County winery, and it was, like, heralded and got a million points in 2008, and we cracked it because, you know, I was gonna do this, this class today, and it just, like, it tasted like prune juice, you know? It's just, like, you know, it's unremarkable, and, and there's way too much wine being made in Napa that tastes that way. Um, you know, it's, it's not soulful.

It only has, like, dried fruit to recommend it, and, you know, above and beyond that, like, the, the wine making infrastructure is not about, you know, this, um, you know, tradition of, of making wine a part of the fabric of the table. It's about, um, luxury living, and, you know, influencing, and branding, and, you know, like, yeah, wedding venues for Kardashian disciples, and it's, like, it's just, like, the, for me, it's, like, all the things that, uh, I want to dissociate myself from for the sake of wine. Um, and, you know, again, that's not to say that there aren't people making really thoughtful wines in Napa. It's just, like, as a brand, it's just, like, poisoned. Um, and environmentally, it's equally potentially poisoned.

Um, Sonoma is lucky because it's close enough to the coast that you can dry farm. Um, but, again, you know, that might not be the case for, you know, the Russian River Valley in half a century. What was the name of the winery you just spoke of? Coruscant. The Porter Creek of Napa. Oh, C-O-R-C-A-T-H-Y Coruscant. C-O-R-I-S-S-O-N. We sell her, um, we sell her, um, she makes wine, this, like, really famous Sonoma vineyard called Kronos. Um, we don't, we don't sell that one. We sell her, like, entry level. Um, and it's, like, full-fruited, but, like, really elegant. Um, there are a lot of people who make; so I should be, I should say, too, that, like, old-school Napa Cab is one of my favorite inventions of the world.

I love, like, so Dunn vineyards, or Dunn, um, makes really awesome wine. They actually, like, strip the alcohol from it. Years and it still works, um, uh, and like my comments - there are a lot of people making like wines that you can't make old, you can't make you know Bordeaux in California, you shouldn't try to, you know, you should learn from Bordeaux and make wine, you know, with the exuberance of California but make wine that is balanced, you know. Nonetheless, and and, I think that's the story of modern California wine is this, um, and I love the way David Rindy in particular encapsulates that is you know, he used to use a lot more oak in his wine, um, and he's backed off but he's always, you know, been scrupulous about, um, using native yeast, um, and you know, uh, you know, backing off, you know, other interventions in the cellar, he doesn't filter his wines, he finds them, it's like very different in its own way, um, and he's about understanding the differences, and he's released academic papers so like, he's, he's like working naturally but scrupulously, so and I think that's something that I think is really important to me, and I think That's something that I think really goes missing in the natural wine world sometimes, um, you know people are all too you know ready to trade on a hip label without making something that doesn't suck, um and that's not like there's something exciting about that, like a fun label and a wine that's like really lively and bright and you know vinegared even at like in 25 is great but I don't want to spend 35 for that but I would spend as much for one of David's Shards as I would for Montresor, no I haven't spent that much for wine in a while but anyway #PandemicRestaurantOwnership yeah yeah what else you got um no that's about. it i do want to say like i had some early um 1970s like library selections of bv that like i thought were so good and i had them when they were like 35 40 years old but like you could see that that was a lot of work and i think that's something that i think is really important and i think that's something that i think is really important but um time in history it really was just like we're americans we are like subject to fads and we're going to like go in and out of certain like winemaking traditions every whatever cycle and hopefully we'll find our own footing when we grow out of our adolescence you know yeah yeah totally and i mean i love i love this wine's raw 12 and a half percent alcohol um uh i i also have discovered in uh 2021 the grid view i don't know how it took me this long to discover but uh it's i don't know how many more faces uh maggie parker was like dancing uh i don't i don't but uh i will i need to i need to i need to stay on the grid view um at all times because uh it is absolutely delightful uh to see that has a lot of tears now yeah no it's delightful to see as many as many of you in the mix as as there are and you know i'm honored that you know as many of you continue to yes uh nice nice voguing uh that that continue to to sign up for this um you know 90 minutes On, as as do, um, at any rate, uh, let's, uh, let's toast again, uh, to uh the the year to come, um, you know, uh, to uh the promise of a new administration, the promise of a new year, wine school.

I will be, engaging; we're gonna kick this off every other week, it's gonna be an every-other-week phenomenon as opposed to every week. I'll have a proper syllabus here for you,, come Wednesday and the recap on Monday. That said, we're gonna, intersperse additional programming and fundraisers and stuff, so the idea here is that I'm going to spend an occasional Sunday, at home but also explore other, beverage,, you know, kind of flights, flights of fancy, but, it is a pleasure to be, in your virtual midst. thank you all so much, wherever you're joining us.