-- Wherein Wes and Chanda take a trip to Napa Valley to speak at the WineMaker Conference, plus a whole new week of vineyard stories, practices and fun wine facts.

 Year in the Vineyard Week #9: May 15-21, 2009

Off to Napa:  The 2nd Annual WineMaker Magazine Conference was held last weekend at the Napa Valley Marriot, and I was lucky to be invited to be a speaker and participant.  For almost 10 years I've been a columnist for WineMaker Magazine, and these conferences are a stellar way to get in contact with my readers from all over the country.  What are the challenges of growing Syrah in Florida?  How do you handle Japanese Beetle on the East Coast? What does a black rot infection look like?  The questions I am asked at the conference informs my column for the rest of the year.

Wes in a Winnebago?  What I learned this year is that I need to take a vineyard road trip across the country.  Winegrapes are now planted in all 50 states , and I am feeling woefully uneducated about all viticulture east of Interstate 5.  My dream would be to pack up the hounds and Chanda into an RV and start driving--maybe make a dozen appointments to stop and visit vineyards along the way.  I could make gas money by doing consultations and just become the Wine Dude in the Winnebago.  The simplicity of the road is calling me, although with the vineyard and the winery and the hospitality and the writing, I don't see it happening anytime soon.  Guess I could pull it off when the vines are dormant, but who wants to tour the Midwest and the East Coast in the dead of winter?

But back to Napa:  We left last Thursday AM in Chanda's Honda Element (with the Lovin' Pinot license plate), and arrived in Napa at 2:00 pm after a stop at the Gilroy Premium Outlets for some shoe shopping (I bought two new pairs of shoes for the trip--Chanda complains that I wear my good shoes into the vineyard or to the winery too often).

After checking into the Marriot we showered off the road residue and settled in, deciding we were going to just hang out, take a nap and get room service.  Of course I checked in with the Conference folk and helped them schlep a little wine, but nothing that made it feel like anything but a vacation.

Friday was my first seminar, but it didn't start until 4:45, so we got in the car and drove to Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in Youtville for breakfast.  Tasty pastries, a baguette, yummy butter and caffeinated bevvies were consumed quickly and then we walked to the French Laundry to take some pictures and pay our respects to the beating heart of the West Coast Haut Cuisine scene.  We lurked near the entrance and then walked through their garden/farm.  The day was near perfect, low 80's with a slight breeze.  It would be hot as hell Saturday and Sunday, but Friday was epic.

Then we were off to St. Helena for Chanda's favorite dog store:  Fideaux.  We picked up a few things for Oliver, who was with us of course, and then we figured we might as well taste some wine while we were up there.  First stop was Beringer, as I wanted to show Chanda the Rhine House--one of the most famous and beautiful houses in Napa.  I tasted through their reserve wines after giving them a business card--the Chardonnays were luciously oaked and rich--not my style at all, but deftly made in the popular style.  The three or four cabs were very tasty, the 2003 and 2004's were starting to shed some weight and drink very nicely.  Even though they were unapologetically New World, they showed beautiful vineyard character and some lovely earth notes.

From Beringer we headed out to Grgich Hills Estate where I continued my alchemical trick of turning my business card into free wine.  Marc Basso, the tasting room manager, lead me through the wines and the vineyards with a french-accented ease that is rarely seen in SBC wineries. The wines were expensive ($45-$100), but the whites were crisp and deft, and the reds were similarly styled: riding that razor edge of ripeness and elegance.  I thoroughly enjoyed the whole lineup, including a dessert wine I thought was Sauv Blanc and Semillon--I was surprised to hear that it has some Gewurtz and Riesling thrown in too.

After Grgich we were starting to feel a bit peckish, so we drove over to Mustard's Grill (next to my buddy Mitch Cosentino's tasting room), and had a great lunch.  Our waitress was awesome and our neighboring tables friendly, and we shared a couple small plates (Seared tuna on sesame tuille and lettuce cups filled with tumeric chicken) and took a break from wine and rehydrated with sparkling water and then some espressos to get ready for my presentation.  Before we  drove back to the hotel we took some photos at various spots and let Oliver run around a bit.

The presentation Friday evening was a Q&A session on backyard viticulture.  The questions were good, I was as entertaining as I could be, and I think everyone was happy.  I stuck around to answer questions afterward, and suddenly we noticed that we were late for our dinner date with friends Bethany and Craig at Cuvee Napa, a popular restaurant owned by Roger Roessler, to whom I sell fruit.  Turns out they were late too, but we were all seated and sipping Clos Pepe Estate 2008 Rose of Pinot Noir by 7:30.  The wine stuck out in a wonderful way in Napa--11.5% alcohol, ice cold, with enough acid to strip the cheek lining off a white zin drinker.  I felt like a Barbarian at the Gate.  Bethany and Craig brought Ron in tow, a young hipster winemaker from Kellham Estates in Napa (off Zinfandel Lane).  Ron reminded me a bit of an Italian--tall, well dressed and dashing, with a good sense of humor and a slight rock-star edge to him.  He brought a new Sauvignon Blanc that was perfectly delicious and a 2002 Kellham Estates Cab Sauv that was drinking wonderfully--dusty cassis and on the edge of elegant..only a hint warm in the finish.

Chanda had the Risotto and I had a nice pasta dish after starters of delectable fried calamari and spicy spare ribs.  The Sauv Blanc was a little  hot with the spice, but the Rose' totally kicked ass, like a cold wet-nap for the mouth.  We got home around 11:00 pm...late for us farmer types.  I think Ron was just warming up and probably thought we were weak for not seeing dinner as a simple warm up for the evening.  There was also a guest appearance by my photographer friend John Fitzpatrick who was visiting Napa for the Insignia tasting.

A Tale of Two  Leaves: Cab vs. Pinot

The next day I had two seminars to give, 9:30 and a lunch session--so we had breakfast in the hotel, got through two very good talks on pest managment and more vineyard questions, and then jumped in the pool and relaxed until our 7:30 reservation at Tra Vigne.  Ten years ago when I used to frequent Napa, Tra Vigne's signature dish was the garlic crab--cracked and stacked to make eating actually very easy.  Crab's off the menu now, but I have to say the menu was a great read and almost every plate whispered to me one way or another.  Bethany and Craig returned for a second meal with us, with another couple of friends, but I have to say our waitress was about as bad as I've had in a while.  It took about 20 minutes to get water and longer than an hour at table to get wine in front of us and take our appetizer orders.  Now I have no problem with a three hour dinner, in fact I love not being rushed, but the difference between our career-expert waiter at Cuvee and the lazy hack server at Tra Vigne was profound.  Cuvee server was quiet, unassuming, had a dry sense of appropriate humor, and was intuitive.  Took the Rose' as I came into the restaurant and got it all iced and served within 10 minutes, was attentive but transparent. But dinner was fabulous, which showes that a great kitchen transcends bad service (usually).  My short ribs with pan reduction and polenta was melt-in-the-mouth perfect.  The starters (mixed fried seafood and an ala minute Fresh Mozzarella) were great, although with the wait I have to admit that the greatest spice is hunger.

Sunday morning we got up early, packed, and drove back home to Lompoc.  We thoroughly enjoyed our little time away.  Oliver was great, Chanda seemed relaxed and we made some new friends and (hopefully) customers.

Mondays and Tuesdays:  Monday is traditionally my shipping day on the Clos, and although I was skeptical that the 88 degree Sunday would become a 74 degree Monday, it actually did and I was able to pack and ship about 20 boxes of rose' and other wines to my coastal customers.  Every Monday morning I go through all my pending shipments and check the temperature for the week at the shipping location, and then check the temps in between here and there.  I could have shipped to a nice cool East Coast except for the fact that the UPS ground truck would have been traveling through 100 degree temps in between, so the wine will have to wait.

I also met with the crew and delivered my list of their tasks this week.  We added two crew members and they are moving along with shoot thinning and the beginning of positioning the shoots vertically.  Why it matters:  positioning shoots straight up into wires keeps them from flopping back over and shading the fruit zone, and creates a 'curtain' of foliage that functions like a solar panel, turning sunlight into vegetative growth early in the season, and then later it turns sun into sugar in the fruit once the canopy is in full effect.

I also walked and drove the vineyard, checking the flowering, the shoot tips, the leaves, for signs of botrytis or mildew, and the vineyard looked pretty good.  I did notice a little botrytis blight in Napa last weekend, which made me nervous.  I always get fired up about my vineyard when I'm in Napa, and miss the acidity and structure of Santa Barbara's cool climate viticulture.

Tuesday meetings:  For the last few years, we have Tuesday morning meetings at the Clos.  I meet with Steve Pepe, who we call the 'vigneron', and my mother Catherine Pepe to discuss the week, upcoming events and dinners, sales, website stuff, branding, etc.  This way there's never any surprises and it's a good way to stay on the same page.

Getting my Pork Fix on Root 246:  If you haven't heard, we finally have a potential Michelin-star quality restaurant in the Santa Ynez Valley.  Bradley Ogden has been secured by the Chumash tribe to open an incredible new eatery called 'Root 246' at 420 Alisal Road in Solvang. The restaurant is only open 'soft'--there's no sign yet, but the bar, outside area and the floor are really inviting and classy.  Bradley's running the kitchen personally every night and his sous chefs are kicking on all cylinders.  Sandwich plates are available at the bar for about $12.  I met friends Jeremy and Jim for the Laker game (Game 1 vs. Denver), drinks and bar dinner, and we ate through a good chunk of the bar menu with gusto.  The pulled pork shoulder sandwich was just about perfect and the butterscotch pudding was to die for.  This was a great way to ease my return from Napa.  Some see these type of restuarants and businesses as evidence of a slow 'Napafication' of Santa Barbara Wine Country. If that's true, bring it on.  I'm not against a little Napafication of our hopsitality infrastructure, as long as we stay soulful and personal, and the big wineries don't turn into Disneyland-style tourist traps.  Oh yeah, the Lakers won while I watched at Root and that made the evening perfect. Trevor Ariza, I love you man!

Tomorrow we'll try to finish labeling the rose' and I'll be tasting and topping barrels.  I'm also really excited about a new custom 1 1/2" triclover cap with a female quick-connect air coupling I received today--but that's a story for another blog, in a world where people speak tri-clover.