T H E V I N T A G E A N D T H E W I N E S G
A N G O F P O U R ' S F E A T U R E
|
|
November 19, 1999 Dear Friends, Greetings from Sonoma County! It is with great pleasure and pride that Kendall and I announce our first pre-release offer, featuring our wines from the 1998 vintage! First, however, for those of you less familiar with us, a little background information. Twelve years ago, having just moved to San Francisco, I thought it would be fun to try my hand at making wine. As a serious "wine nut", it seemed the next logical step in my passionate hobby. (Perhaps "nut" is the operative word here.) Using 100 lbs. of Alexander Valley zinfandel from a local home winemaking shop, I made my first 5 gallons. How did it turn out? Was it worthy of 100 points from the Wine Spectator? Well… it did resemble wine but it eventually went the way of dishwater – down the drain. Still, I was encouraged. Perhaps I just needed to make a larger quantity. Yeah, that’s it! (For a "wine nut", more is always better.) The next year, with the help of some friends, I made a full barrel of Dry Creek Valley zinfandel. Hey! Not so bad! A wine that we could drink and enjoy! I was hooked. After another year of producing a barrel, Kendall and I decided to move to Sonoma County to be closer to the "source". The home we bought had a north-facing garage with a little nook. "This nook will be perfect for your barrel!" exclaimed Kendall. Little did she know… Soon, with the help of family and friends, we were producing 5 barrels, then 7, then 10, then 12! Most of the year, we couldn't fit a car in the garage. During harvest, neighbors would drive by with a raised eyebrow, bewildered by someone who would spend all of his vacation working 16 hours a day. Mental stability aside, family and friends greatly enjoyed our efforts. Furthermore, each year, regardless of vintage quality, the wines seemed to improve. Finally, after producing 300 cases in 1997, Kendall and I decided it was time to fish or cut bait. We opted to "fish" and set out in 1998 to commercially produce some of the finest zinfandels and Rhone based varietal wines in the world. For our label, we chose Kendall’s maiden name, Carlisle. Kendall had been, and still is, my number one supporter. Had it not been for her encouragement and support, I suspect none of this would be happening. Of Vineyards and the Future One important thing we learned in our decade of home winemaking was that great wines are made in the vineyard. Hence, we have focused our attention on low yielding, carefully tended vineyards that consistently produce distinctive and flavorful grapes. Also, to further ensure a source of high quality grapes, last year we purchased one of Russian River Valley’s benchmark old-vine zinfandel vineyards. Planted by Alcide "Archie" Pelletti in 1927, we will receive our first crop from this vineyard in 2001. (We’re honoring the last two years of an existing lease with another winery.) Although a couple years away, we feel our patience will be greatly rewarded. Additionally, just a stone’s throw away, we have a long term lease on a small, two-acre, mostly mourvèdre vineyard planted in 1910. We have spent hundreds of hours renovating this vineyard and are elated with our first result, appropriately named "Two Acres". T H E V I N T A G E A N D T H E W I N E S
|
