Al Perry is the quiet one.

Many devoted Zinfanatics would recognize Bob and Aldo Biale – they, along with Dave Pramuk are the public face of this winery. They will often be found in front of, rather than behind their table at tasting events. Off to the side, standing in the background is where you will usually find Al Perry. He prefers it that way.

We sat down and talked one sunny January afternoon on the back porch at the Biale Ranch.

c – "So – why Syrah for Biale?"

AP – "Well, probably the potential of Syrah. I’ve worked a lot with Syrah and I think, at this point, it’s underrated. And I think it fits with our scheme of things. It will probably go under a different label, but it’s a variety I’ve grown to love over the years from working at Voss – and for the last three years I’ve worked with it here at Biale. We haven’t actually bottled one yet – except for the 99.

I think Syrah is a terrific grape for California in general. It is very versatile – stylistically you can come up with different wines if they are grown in a cooler climate or a warmer climate. I’ve tasted wonderful Syrah coming out of Sacramento Valley – sure, it’s different stylistically from what is grown in Carneros or Russian River, but the quality is there. It’s much more versatile than, for instance, Merlot. In my opinion, good Merlot has to be North Coast – cool climate. If you get into the valley with Merlot, it changes dramatically, to the point where I don’t personally like it that much. With Syrah, it’ll be different, but it’ll be good."

c – "So, you think it’s a varietal that has the potential to produce good wines when planted in a number of different areas?"

AP – "Correct. It’s less finicky than, say, Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is incredibly finicky. The weather, climate has to be relatively cool – it’s tough to grow. When it’s great, it’s wonderful. But it’s finicky. You’re not going to plant Pinot Noir in Lodi - it’s not going to work. Syrah, in some of the valley areas – Paso’s a tremendous area for Syrah – we’ve seen some great things out of Sacramento.

Of course, we’ve got Rockaway Vineyard up in Alexander Valley. It’s kinda warm – terrific. Truchard makes terrific Syrah out of Carneros. I think Syrah is just a more adaptable, versatile grape for California. It’s also noble, too."

c – "Let’s talk a little bit about that descriptor – what does ‘noble’ mean to a winemaker?"

AP – "To me, it means – like Petite Sirah…I don’t consider that a very noble grape. It’s a little more monolithic. It’s complex, yet it has a certain rustic ‘bluntness’ to it. It’s exotic, it’s full, it’s big, it’s gamey, it’s brash. I think Syrah…can be made in a little more of an elegant style. Although they are big wines, I think there’s a little bit more complexity note to them."

c – "So, it’s more of a descriptor of a grape’s personality – to you – rather than some viticultural or horticultural differentiation?"

AP – "Absolutely. For me, it’s strictly on that. And that’s just my interpretation of it.

Petite Sirah I love, and we’re going to be making more of it with Biale. It’s a wonderful grape. It blends very well with Zinfandel. It’s wonderful on its own. It is what it is.

Syrah, on the other hand, is in another category, I think. It’s a little closer to ‘noble’. Its structure, its backbone, its elegance, its palate feel, its weight – that’s just my best way to describe it. Not viticulturally, or from a winemaking standpoint, but what I get out of the wine I make with it."

Robert 
Biale
Vineyards

Left Coast Correspondent 
Index

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Up the Coast
Domaine Serene, 
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Jancis Robinson

Pax Mahle

Sean Thackrey

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Havens Wine Cellars

Galleron

Scott Paul Wines

Landmark Vineyards

Dashe Cellars

Tasting a Legacy - 
Wines of Stag's Leap

TN's From The Ridge & Beyond
Paul Draper and Monte Bello

C O P I A

TRADE TASTINGS

"T" is for...
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A Day in the Dust

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Family Winemakers 02, 01, 98

c – " You are already producing a Syrah from the Rockaway Vineyard. What will be the next Syrah to come online for you?"

AP – "We don’t know yet. We have one here – we don’t know what the vineyard name will be – the owner is Michael Crane up here off of Dry Creek (Napa) – tremendous potential. We got the first crop this year. Very, very exciting. He’s got some nice clones there, cropped down nicely. We feel it’s a very good location for Syrah.

We also have another piece up by the Priest Ranch…called Muhlner, again the first crop this year. These are all potential, by the way – not necessarily will be, but that looks very, very good. So, we might have a couple of others come online, too."

c – "So, it sounds like you’re in the process of developing sources in conjunction with the growers who actually own the vineyards."

AP – "Exactly."

c – "So it’s a…I wouldn’t say it was a joint venture in business terms, but certainly a joint venture in winegrowing terms."

AP – "Absolutely."

c – "And how many of these potential sources are you working on right now?"

AP – "Well, including the Rockaway, we have three, and we’re going to look at one this weekend with Bob. So, we’re keeping active in our sightings for potential fruit sources – some can be in the ground and ready, some can be in the developmental stages. We just have to see. We’re looking at small blocks, or small pieces of larger blocks, but mostly the small blocks – and, ideally, if we can get in very early, that would be great."

c – " What’s your target in terms of production? What would you like the program to top out at?"

AP – "It’s hard to say. It really depends on availability of the grape and the quality of the grape, but we’re looking at bottling very small quantities of each individual wine."

c – "So, we’re looking at a couple of hundred cases?"

AP – "Yeah – something like that. Again, if it’s a tremendous vineyard and has terrific fruit, and a lot of it – fine. But, we’re looking at pretty much site-specific wines that express terroir. I know you’ve heard that a million times, but the wines have to be good and distinctive and have personality. So that’s what we’re looking for, and in getting grapes from different areas – in the Alexander Valley, up here, Muhlner Vineyard, what we’re looking at in Dry Creek – we’re getting different areas for Syrah, and they are all a little bit different. All of them are very high quality. Part of that is just good growing and, again, going back to Syrah being, when done properly, very adaptable. And, I think, a real boon to California."

c – "You have recently moved your production facility from up in the hills to down here in the Valley. What has that meant for you – other than a shorter commute?"

AP – "It means I get home for lunch. (laughter) It’s been terrific. From total operations – from sampling, from crushing – everything is easier here, we’re closer to everything. Accessibility, the facility in itself is wonderful, we’ve got some terrific things to work with – a nice Delta, a new sorting table, a nice Marzola press - so it all fits into what we’re doing. We were doing it up at Moss Creek, but this is even better. So, in that regard, it’s been terrific."

c – "Do you think that will be reflected in the quality of the wines?"

AP – "Yes - absolutely – it has to. Crush this year was just terrific. I think location – like in anything – operations and feasibility – it makes it that much better."

c – "Does the move give you the opportunity to increase your production?"

AP – "Somewhat, yeah. I’d say it’s a much bigger facility, and we are doing a little bit more each year. We hope to be building in a couple or three years – it will definitely sustain us for the next two to three years."

c – "Are you having fun?"

AP – "Oh, I’m having a blast – a total blast."

c – "You are kind of the quiet guy in the equation. Bob and Aldo and Dave are the "frontmen". Is that something you have chosen?"

AP – "Yeah, I guess so."

c – "Why is that?"

AP – "Well, I’ve been doing this for twenty years. Before that I was in the restaurant business. My favorite part of the restaurant business was cooking. So…"

c – "So, you’re a "back of the house" kind of guy."

AP – "A back of the house kind of guy. I do get involved in marketing and sales decisions, but from the inside. I think I’m pretty savvy with what goes on out there. I’ve been in the business a long time, and before the restaurant business I was in the liquor store business. So I’ve been schlepping around the case business for thirty years. I’ve seen a lot of things – I’ve seen the business evolve over the last thirty years. First with BV, Villa Mt. Eden, Mondavi, way back – to now. So, I’ve seen the cycles in the industry. I do get involved with that decision making, but I do like production work, I do like vineyard work, and those are my strengths, and everyone in our partnership has strengths. It’s by choice.

I feel the partnership has been terrific – we all contribute in each area – we all have our emphasis.

c – "From getting to know you folks over a number of years, it seems like there is a natural division of labor, and I just get the sense that it extends itself into the business operation as well. It’s not a forced series of job descriptions that comes down, it’s just what everybody feels comfortable with and is good at seems to be the area where they work. And, it seems to be a successful combination for you folks.

AP – "Exactly. It works really well. We have a lot of respect for one another, and each of our specialized areas."

c – "Where do you see this operation five years from now, or ten years from now?"

AP – "Well, we’ll have a winery by then, designed the way we want it. Ideally we’ll have a lot of the same vineyards that we have now. We’ve held to so many for the last six or seven years – which is a long time in this arena. We have some great growers who work with us: Old Crane, the Martinis and Monte Rosso, the Spenkers – they’ve been just terrific."

c – "They’re nice folks."

AP – "Terrific. And a lot of this is just handshake stuff. We honor that. And I totally respect that. We hear these horror stories about growers and wineries – we have been very, very fortunate."

c – "You don’t hear much about the handshake agreements these days – seems to be a thing of the past. It’s nice to know those sorts of relationships still exist."

AP – "They still do. It’s a mutual respect. We just want to make good wine and we want the growers to produce fine grapes – get paid well, and everybody is happy. Usually people are quality oriented and it works.

It’s a blast for me. As a winemaker – to work with these great vineyards – I’m blown away. I’m bottling thirteen wines in the 2000 vintage. Yeah, that’s a lot of work, but if the wines have the personality, and I have the time and the help, and the facility to care for three barrels of wine – that’s pretty cool. I mean, there are a lot of big wineries, and the winemaker has this three barrel lot, it’s dynamite stuff. What’s he going to do with it?"

c – "He’s going to blend it."

AP – "Sure – he’s going to blend it. They don’t have time to put that aside and deal with that – and marketing and all. Well, we do.

I’ve worked at big wineries, and medium sized wineries, and small wineries – this is where I’ve landed, and where I feel most comfortable."

c – "It sounds like you have what’s become a unique opportunity to express the artistic side of winemaking here."

AP – "Yeah. Unfortunately, in certain situations the marketing and business decisions take that away from the winemaker sometimes. They just can’t do it."

c – "It doesn’t sound like you’re going anywhere."

AP – "No. I’ve been in the business twenty years, and this is what – I appreciate, enjoy and respect working in large wineries, and it’s wonderful. But this is what I enjoy the most."

Thanks, Al. We enjoy what you’re doing, too.

califusa
Left Coast Correspondent to the Gang of Pour

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© Allan Bree February 2002