California Wine Spot

HOLDING ONTO WINE HERITAGE AT ROTTA WINERY

Name:   Rotta Winery, Giubbini Vineyard
Location:  Templeton, Paso Robles
Established:  1908
Owner:  Mike Giubbini
Winemaker:  Marco Caporale
Annual Case Production:  17,000
Website:  www.rottawinery.com
CWC wines featured:  2005 “Paso Robles” Cabernet Sauvignon; 2006 “Monterey” Chardonnay

GOT HISTORY?
During winters as a 12-year-old, when Mike Giubbini was elbow-deep in cold soapy water cleaning glass jugs for Rotta Winery, he never imagined that the winery owned by his grandparents would one day become his life’s focus.  Located mid-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco in Paso Robles, Rotta was one of the first three wineries in a region that now boasts more than 200+ wineries. 

A Frenchman named Adolph Siot started the winery in 1856, then sold it to Joe Rotta in 1908.  In turn, Joe sold it to his brother Clement Rotta in the 1920s.  In the 1930s, Clement applied for a bond and began making robust Zinfandel from his old vines.

Mike’s grandparents operated the winery until the 1970s when they sold it.  “They didn’t want their grandchildren having to work so hard,” Mike says.  “In the ‘50s, ‘60s  and ‘70s, wine here wasn’t what it is today.  And our family already had its hands full since we farmed 600 acres of barley and also had a trucking business.”

Today, a modern winery is rising beside the old cistern and foundation walls of the original stone building that was one of the first pioneers in Paso Robles.  No one would be more surprised at Mike’s resurrection of Rotta than his late grandparents.

IN THE BLOOD
With a winery in the family, wine was on the table as Mike grew up.  “I remember my grandma would use her cane to walk over to the tasting room 50 feet away to get a half gallon of wine out of the cellar.” Mike’s uncle would give the kids 7-up with wine.   A little wine at lunch and dinner was a good prelude to the hard work that would follow.  “They were good old Italians, from the old country, and they worked like hell,” Mike recalls.  So did Mike.  “I learned to drive the tractor, and later, my son did too.  We heard the stories of how Grandpa Clement would work the vineyard with mules, and when it was lunchtime, those mules knew to head right to the barn for their feed.”

In the days when wine was barely on the radar in Paso Robles, the family tended their 40 acres of vines, including the old vine Zinfandel that was their hallmark.  When it came time to sell the place, Mike never imagined it would one day come back to him….

A NEW DAY FOR ROTTA
Rotta’s buyers ended up not paying for it, and in 1985, the family took it back.  At the time, Mike was a fire captain for the California Department of Forestry. In 1990, he returned to the property with his wife and children and began the long, slow process of reviving its neglected vineyard.  “Most of the Zin had to be replanted, and we also planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.”  He also has rights to farm five acres of 60-year-old Zin planted by the Pesenti family.  From 1992 to 2002, Mike sold his Zin to Niels Udsen at Castoro Winery.  “He made Giubbini Vineyard kind of famous, with a vineyard designate.  But I always told Niels once I got my winery going, he probably wouldn’t get any of my fruit anymore.”

That day has come…

THE OLD & THE NEW
After 33 years as a fire captain, Mike is now full-time at Rotta as he works to complete a new 5,000 sq. ft. crush facility.  It includes a tasting room with a window for viewing cellar work that will replace his current site on hwy. 46 west.  Though Mike had to tear down most of the old winery due to earthquake codes, he plans to rebuild the winery much as it was in 1909.  At Rotta, you will find the old and the new, side-by-side, along with Merlot, Reserve Merlot, Zinfandel, Zinfandel Rose, Muscat Canelli, Zinfandel Port, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon (our CWC selection), Chardonnay (our CWC selection) and Black Monukka dessert wine.  “As far as I know, we are the only ones that make Black Monukka, a grape that came from Spain to the Central Valley in the early ‘40s.  It’s won quite a few gold medals.”

Mike sources his wines from his estate, Paso Robles and Monterey County.  Marco Caporale, a local winemaker who has a degree from U.C. Davis, advises Mike and his cellar master, Mike Sanchez, on every step of production.  “Marco grew up in Paso Robles and knew my uncle when he was making wine here,” notes Mike.  It’s another thread of history at Rotta, where a family’s wine heritage lives on!  Before June, visit Rotta at their tasting room at 3750 Hwy. 46 West, Templeton, CA 93465, (805)237-0510. After June 2008, drive to their tasting room at 250 Winery Road, Templeton or email info@rottawinery.com.  Salud, to history!

Napa Wine Auction A Biggie

If you want to attend THE wine country event, try getting tickets for the Napa Auction in early June.  Last year, attendees raised $9.8 million, with a record set for a single bid by John Thompson of Woodside California.  He paid $1.4 million for the Staglin Family Vineyard lot.  That included a luxurious trip to Napa Valley and Italy, wine, and a Maserati Garen Staglin offered up at the last minute to anyone bidding more than $1 million.  Other auction lots included wine from legends like Screaming Eagle and Harlan; four vintage cars, including the first Lexus hybrid luxury sedan ever; dancing lessons from celebrities from “Dancing with the Stars”; a walk-on role in the t.v. series “Ugly Betty”; and vacations to Montana and elsewhere.  Comedian Dana Carvey was master of ceremonies—we don’t know who will be onstage this year.

PLACES TO STAY: The Historic Cary House Hotel

300 Main St.
Placerville, CA 95667
Ph: 530.622.4271
Email: hchh@cwnet.com

If you have children, love history, or would like a very different hotel experience, a stay at The Historic Cary House Hotel in Placerville just an hour from Sacramento is a must. This is the heart of Gold Rush country, and the four-story, 38-room hotel is a centerpiece of that heritage.

The Cary House was built by William M. Cary, a local hotelier who lost his first hotel to fire. It opened its doors in August of 1857 and offered unusual luxury for those days, like hot and cold water and excellent food. No wonder its guests included celebrities like editor and politician Horace Greeley, author Mark Twain, General Ulysses S. Grant and outlaw Black Bart.

Today, the accommodations are even better with air conditioning, television and other touches we expect in the 21st century. Of special interest is the complimentary breakfast area, where you can eat your cornflakes or yogurt as you study marvelous art depicting wild moments in the lives of hardscrabble ‘49’ers who sought their fortune in gold here. One painting includes the Cary House in the backdrop, harking back to the days when Wells. Fargo & Co. had their headquarters here, and bags of gold dust were dropped on the Cary House porch for stage coaches to deliver to the San Francisco mint. The cavernous hotel lobby is also a treat, with its stained glass, antique grand piano, comfy chairs and Tiffany lamps.

Just outside the hotel door, history waits to walk with you up Main St. Across the way, the Hangman’s Tavern marks the site of the hanging tree that swung many an outlaw. The Placerville History Museum is a short walk, as are 15 restaurants and some charming older shops (visit the General Store!).

For wine lovers, The Cary House is only a 20 minute drive from the Apple Hill Wine Trail, where from Labor Day until Christmas, you can sample the bounty of small farmers and wineries (like CWC alumnus Madrona Vineyards). If it’s gold you crave, it’s in them thar’ hills—just ask The Cary House staff where to find a real El Dorado County gold mine. Enjoy!

BALANCE & SUCCESS AT MADROÑA VINEYARDS

Madroña Vineyards
Location: El Dorado County
Established: Vineyards planted in 1973
Winery built in 1980
Owner: The Bush Family
Winemaker: Paul Bush
Annual Production: 12,000 cases
Website: www.MadronaVineyards.com
Our CWC Wines: Madroña 2006 Estate Grown Zinfandel; Madroña 2006 Cardanini Vineyards Syrah

AWARD-WINNING VARIETY
The little winery in the woods above Placerville in El Dorado County’s Gold Rush country founded by Dick and Leslie Bush in 1980 and featured by CWC several times since, has grown up. Madroña Vineyards, named for the majestic Madrone tree that dominates its vineyard, is still the tiny family winery hidden amid the cedar and Ponderosa pines. Set in the high-elevation foothills just 50+ miles from the ski runs of South Lake Tahoe, Madroña produces wines that express the amazing diversity of this region’s terroir, and judges are taking notice. “Our Gewürztraminer and Zinfandel are perfect examples,” says owner/winemaker Paul Bush. “In the past, Bon Appetit picked the Gewürztraminer as one of the “Top 25 White Wines of the World”, and it grows a mere 18 feet away from our Gold Medal-winning Zinfandel. Where else is this possible, growing both a warm and a cool climate grape literally side-by-side? That’s what’s so special about El Dorado County.”

Currently, Madroña produces 23 wines, covering Italian, French, German, and Portuguese varieties. “All are small-lot, hands-on productions, so our favorites change day to day,” says owner/manager Maggie Bush. “It really depends on what we’re having for dinner.” No matter what their choice,the wines are usually award-winners. Madrona’s Quintet (a Bordeaux blend), Merlot and Port have recently led the way with top kudos from prestigious competitions.

SOMETHING NEW
Madroña wines have also won the hearts of a loyal group of followers who are ever ready to experiment and try something different. They’ll certainly find it among the 23 wines Paul makes. New on the block are his sparkling Yellow Muscat aperitif, Viognier and new clones of Syrah and Zinfandel (our CWC selections) with which he’s always wanted to play. “We’ve been making Zin since 1979, but I haven’t used this clone before. It’s more fruit-oriented, with a great mid-palate. The Syrah is also different than our cool-climate standard; it has the great blueberry flavors in the forefront rather than our traditional spice characters.” Recently, Paul also added a “Black Label” line of bottlings selected from “special barrels.”

BALANCING ACT
Madrona has indeed matured, but it hasn’t come without effort. Paul and his wife, Maggie, are raising two small children as they operate the winery his parents built. They manage a staff of 13 and oversee 32 acres of vines around the winery; a 10-acre site next door; and 35 acres in Pleasant Valley
nearby. In 2002, Paul took over the winemaking, with former Madroña winemaker Hugh Chappelle consulting. “We wanted to get the winemaking back into the family so we could focus on the style that identifies our philosophy. And since we grow all of our own fruit, we are in the luxurious position of being able to craft a wine we truly believe in.”

With their success has come the pressure to expand Madroña’s 12,000-case production. They could easily do so, since they have only planted 35 acres of the 240-acre Pleasant Valley vineyard. “Yet, there is a sanity in remaining small. Just as there is a balance in the bottle, you have to have balance in the family too. We’d much rather have time for doing things with our kids while they still want to do things with us,” Paul laughs.

SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE
Keeping the winery small sustains a lifestyle the Bush family treasures. Sustainability is also on their minds in the cellar and in the vineyard. Paul works to reduce the winery’s “carbon footprint” (the measure of how much carbon dioxide a business releases into the atmosphere) with fixes like converting to 100% solar power, electric forklifts and even planting avocado trees to absorb carbon dioxide. In addition, through careful planning, Madroña’s solar system not only produces electricity but also insulates the wine storage building from direct summer sun and harsh winter storms. This in turn saves even more electricity. Out in the vineyard, Madrona sets up owl nesting boxes, recycles wastewater for irrigation and relies on moisture probes. “This year, we had to water the vines only once,” states Paul. “It’s incredibly fulfilling to know that conservation makes great business sense as well.”

UNUSUAL WINE COUNTRY
While Madroña’s tasting room bustles, so do neighboring fruit and vegetable stands, Christmas tree farms and jam and jelly counters of this unusual wine country. “The strength of our region is its diversity,” Paul says. “Cherry lovers buy wine. Wine lovers buy apples. It’s an agricultural ecosystem of sorts that allows small, family farming to prosper in such a beautiful setting.”  The cornucopia of the land’s bounty continues to spill forth, making a harvest visit to Madroña a time for peaches and apple pie as well as Syrah and Zinfandel. The Bush family is ready to greet you, with a glass of outstanding wine, at 2560 High Hill Rd.,Camino,CA, (530.644.5948). Salud!

Green Wineries Growing

Why are more and more wineries “going green” in the vineyard with sustainable and organic viticulture techniques? Why are they adopting solar technologies and calculating their “carbon footprints?” The experience of Dan Morgan, founder/winemaker of California Wine Club alumnus Morgan Winery, sheds some light.

When Dan starting planting his Double L Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County in 1996, he soon saw his three little children playing among the vines. The idea that their playtime would include pesticides didn’t sit well with Dan and his wife, Donna. Not too long afterward, Morgan Winery adopted totally organic farming methods, the first vineyard to do so in the appellation.

Winemakers, like anyone else, want a healthy environment. They want to treat the land that is giving them so much with care and respect. With sustainable practices in the vineyard and cellar, they also hope to win the trust and appreciation of wine lovers who are looking for a great bottle of wine with a “green” pedigree.

To help wineries find their way to sustainable, the non-profit California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) gives workshops on sustainable farming. One of the most popular involves a self-assessment. Winegrowers fill out evaluations of their current operation to determine the kinds of sustainable viticulture practices that might fit into their viticulture. “The beauty of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program is its simplicity,” Bill Cooper of Cooper-Garrod Vineyards says. “A couple of hours for the self-assessment questions, then you review the results and pick the areas that you want to improve first. With the new, on-line version, it is even quicker and easier.”

More than 1,000 wineries and vineyard enterprises have participated in these self-assessment workshops since 2002. Other CSWA education events have attracted over 5,000 vintners and growers in various parts of California wine country.

California wineries going green include:
Sunstone Winery in Santa Barbara County. It has used no herbicides, fungicides or pesticides since its planting in the early 1990s.
Pedroncelli in Sonoma County. This small family uses cover crops and puts grapestems and pumice back on the soil.

Madrone, located in California's Sierra Foothills Gold Country. This family owned and operated winery has erected birdhouses for owls to rear their young—and it's not as simple as you might think. “There’s a science to it. The perches must be a certain distance from the right hand side of the hole in the box because when the little owlets take their first flight, they have to have somewhere to fly to,” says winemaker/owner Paul Bush. “So they won’t use the boxes unless there is someplace to land back home. You put the perch to the right, because the owlets fly to the right.

Handley Cellars near Mendocino. Milla Handley inagurated her sustainable farming practices in 1990.

Bargetto Winery of Santa Cruz. It installed solar panels to operate its vineyard pumps several years ago.

Domaine Carneros in Napa's Carneros region: This sparkling wine house installed the largest solar collection system of any winery in the world, leading California wineries to solar.

Drytown Cellars in Amador County. They took advantage of significant tax incentives to install solar powering for their entire wine facility.

Medlock Ames of Sonoma County. As leader in sustainable farming, this winery features a corridor through the vineyards for wildlife and has just hired miniature cattle to munch the cover crops between rows of vines.

The list goes on, as the world of wine becomes a leading source of “green” practices and sustainable agriculture in California. As winemakers become more adept at producing all organic wines of character, expect to see more such choices on your wine shop shelves. Salud!

Helping Folks Feel Comfortable With Wine

Have you ever met anyone who felt uncomfortable around wine?

Are YOU uncomfortable around wine?

You can probably thank the wine industry for that.

A clueless wine industry full of fermenting wine snobs for many years promoted the idea that wine was only for "connoisseurs". Advertisements and articles on wine implied that if you weren't willing to devote your life to "learning" about wine, well then, you weren't worthy of uncorking a bottle.

It's a happy fact that things have changed. Thanks to groups like the Wine Institute, wine and especially its advertising has gone mainstream and more people are now drinking wine than beer in America.

However, many people still feel snubbed by wine. Old images die hard.
A person may have been embarrassed by a snooty sommelier in a restaurant years ago and shut the door to wine forever more. Or,
an officious tasting room staff might have intimidated and therefore
poisoned one's feelings about le vin.

Not to worry. We have ways of approaching the wine cautious that can support and direct them toward a happier relationship with one of life's greatest pleasures.

Here are five ways to help anyone get comfortable with wine:

1. Throw a FUN wine PARTY. Don't invite them to a wine tasting. It's a wine party, and never forget it. Serve up a bunch of appetizers and wines and let everybody say which wines they like best with which hors d'oeuvres. There are no right answers, because this is a party, not a quiz!

2. Request the friendliest wine sommelier at a restaurant. This way, you'll be sure to get some good advice on which wines to try, without the attitude.

3. Attend a large wine festival. A big wine festival is perfect cover for the hesitant wine explorer. Whereas in a tasting room, it can be hard to blend in, at a wine festival you have pretty much total anonymity if you want it. Two come to mind: The Zinfandel Advocates and Producers Annual ZAP Festival in San Francisco and the Paso Robles Wine Festival mid-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. You can try dozens of wines, ask questions and enjoy.

4. Make a "Wine Dinner". You can find all kinds of recipes with wine suggestions on winery websites. Find one that's appealing and try it.

5. Join a wine club. The kind that delivers wine by mail to your door. This way, anyone fearful of wine can put those fears to rest. They can sniff, swirl, taste all they want. They can find out which wines they like and which they don't. All in the safety of their own home.

Wine snobs are just old relics of the past. It's a new day for wine and time
to enjoy it whatever way you want to. Comfort worth uncorking!

Vote Your Wine Preference

Are you a red wine drinker, or a white wine drinker? Do you prefer a big Zin to a thin Pinot Noir?
Do you know which varietal would win your vote?

Knowing how you would "vote" in an imaginary varietal election is something for wine lovers to ponder. Having a preference in the wines we choose can come from experiencing many wines. Or, it may arise from no experience at all.

If you have given yourself the gift of exploring all kinds of wine, from Napa Cabs to Argentine Malbecs,
Santa Barbara Pinot Noir to French Burgundies, your taste buds have shaped your preference.
If you have had very little experience of wine, but "know" you "always" prefer Chardonnay -- well,
it may be time to take a real look at the candidates.

Some of us grew up in households where mom always had white wine, so we do too. Or, Cabernet
ruled the conversation, so our cellar is full of Cab. It is easy to follow the path others have left for us.

Or, maybe a movie convinced us of our preference. Did Sideways make you a confirmed lover of Pinot Noir? Is that love true?

A joy of wine is that your varietal preference is an expression of your true individuality and something to cherish. If you know the wine you REALLY love, you can enjoy some wonderful explorations.

There may be wine clubs devoted to just that wine, or wine groups. You can search that wine out in all the different regions where it is known to grow well, and compare them, and find your favorites among your favorite wine type. You can even have a "Varietal Vote Party" where everybody brings their favorite "candidate" for a group caucus.

Uncork your vote, and enjoy your preference!

Fun Fact

Here are some wine numbers to consider:

• It takes about 2.6 lbs. of fruit to make a bottle of wine
• One bottle of wine contains 25.6 ounces or four glasses of wine
• A vineyard that yields five tons of grapes per acre can produce around 3,800 bottles of wine per acre
• Wine barrels hold about 300 bottles of wine

PLACES TO STAY: Santa Ynez Inn

3627 Sagunto Street • Santa Ynez, CA 93460 • 805-688-5588 or 800-643-5774
info@santaynezinn.com • www.santaynezinn.com

Pam and I have been to resorts large and small, fancy and not so. The Santa Ynez Inn is a stand out by any measure. If attention to details is the crux of mastery, then these are masters of hospitality. From their carefully selected pillows (they please any preference) to their parade of sumptuous (and complimentary) culinary treats, they have rolled out the red carpet in Santa Barbara wine country.

Located in the heart of tiny Santa Ynez, in Santa Barbara County’s Santa Ynez Valley, this Victorian style resort is just a few minutes from wineries like Gainey, Sunstone, Fess Parker, Firestone and many more. It offers 14 rooms all done up in English country elegance. Huge mirrors, four-poster beds and every amenity are just the start. The spacious dining room with its polished tables, elegant china settings and crackling fire is a touchpoint for pleasure at the Inn.

Mornings bring a memorable breakfast (included) that serves up hot items cooked to order, the pick of fresh cut fruits, and decadently rich pastries such as the dark chocolate cream puff that destroyed our diet. Before dinner, you’ll be lured in for the no-host appetizers and wine tasting, and the wines are superb. They show off local stars like Bradner Sauvignon Blanc and Bridlewood Syrah, and you can always re-pour your favorites.  Do come back from dinner in time for the dessert table. It is loaded with everything from lemon cheese pie to chocolate/peanut butter cake. You can take these yummies to your room and watch one of the great DVDs the Inn provides, or, surf on the wide screen television. Or, just fall back into those luscious pillows on your four-poster and wonder how you can make it back sooner to the Santa Ynez Inn!

A Favorite from Daniel Gehrs Winery

Beef Magnifique

“Dan and I both love to cook,” says Robin Gehrs. “Truth be told, Dan actually cooks more than I do and he is fabulous in the kitchen! This recipe was in a cookbook we received for a wedding gift in 1973. Dan was pre-law in graduate school and I was a new teacher. The book was entitled “Favorite Recipes of California Winemakers.” Did someone know something we didn’t know? We of course recommend it be served with a glass of Daniel Gehrs Syrah. Bon Appetit!

(Serves 8)

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. bacon, diced
2 dozen small white onions
4 lbs. lean beef, cut in 2” cubes
1 tsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 slice orange peel
1 bouquet garni (see below)
2 cups Daniel Gehrs Syrah
1 cup fresh small button mushrooms
Fresh parsley, finely chopped

Preparation:
Brown the bacon in a Dutch oven until crisp. Remove bacon, and brown onions in remaining fat. Remove onions. Brown meat on all sides in same fat. Sprinkle the bacon with flour; return to Dutch oven. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic, orange peel, and bouquet garni. Heat wine; pour over meat. Cover and place in slow oven (250-300°) about 3 hours. Add more wine (including the glass of wine you are enjoying while cooking) as necessary. Meanwhile, sauté fresh mushrooms in a little butter until soft. Add mushrooms and onions 15 minutes before beef is done. Before serving, remove herb bouquet and orange peel; sprinkle lavishly with parsley. Serve with hot, buttered, crusty, sourdough French bread and Daniel Gehrs Syrah!

To make bouquet garni: Tie 2 small bay leaves, 1 sprig thyme, 1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. marjoram and small bunch parsley in piece of cheesecloth.