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From: alan@mtxinu.UUCP (Alan Tobey)
Newsgroups: net.wines
Subject: Re: Question about California wines
Message-ID: <504@mtxinu.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 15-Jan-86 16:42:04 EST
Article-I.D.: mtxinu.504
Posted: Wed Jan 15 16:42:04 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Jan-86 06:37:59 EST
References: <2786@ut-ngp.UUCP>
Organization: mt Xinu, Berkeley, CA
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> Why is it that California wines are almost exclusively varietals?

California wine has gone through several phases in an
ongoing search for its own identity:

1. "Mission Friars" (pre-1849).  Largely Mission grape, indifferently
made [aged in goatskins!].  GOAL: grape wine for the mass, alcohol
for the masses.

2. "European imitation" (1849-1919). Grape varieties imported from 
Europe and planted with some regard to appropriate climate. 
Varieties often "field-blended" -- mixed plantings harvested all at once.
Goal is to match famous European wine types; names such as "Burgundy,"
"Claret," "Rhine" etc. are chosen to represent basic styles.  GOAL:
quality wine in European style.  Some astonishingly good [I had the good
fortune to taste an 1893 Inglenook Claret that was wonderful in 1978].

3. "Prohibition." (1919-1933) Massive abandonment of vineyards; 
replanting of many existing vineyards into coarse varietals such as 
Grenache and Alicante which survived shipment to Eastern home winemakers.
GOAL: survival.

4. "Post-Prohibition." (1933-c. 1955) Beginnings of recovery following
the phase-2 model.  Significant help from UC Davis research largely funded
by Gallo, beginning to scientifically match grape varieties to climate
regions.  Andre Tchelistcheff at Beaulieu and John Daniel at Inglenook
and a few other wineries (Simi, Paul Masson, Charles Krug) begin to
make proprietary-named blends and a few varietal wines of good quality.
Serious research into fermentation science  (malolactic fermentation is
discovered and adopted at Beaulieu, for example).  Simi 1935 Zinfandel
and BV Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from 1947, 1955 superb in 1980.
GOAL: California identity.

5. "Pre-Boom." (1955-1970)  Eastern wine broker Frank Schoonmaker convinces
Almaden, BV, Inglenook, Christian Brothers to market their wines on the
east coast using non-European grape-varietal names in order to gain a
unique identity in that marketplace.  Good sales and favorable reactions
there stimulate efforts to research grape microclimates and winemaking styles.
Robert Mondavi winery is established in 1966, the first substantial new
winery since prohibition, with all-new technology and small-barrel aging.
Ridge is founded in 1969, the first modern "boutique" winery.
GOAL: Definition of varietal flavors and styles.

6. "Boom" (1970-1983)  Americans discover wine in a mass way.  Wines made
in ways that maximize pure (and to some, excessive) varietal flavors --
massive Zinfandels and Petite Sirahs, inky/tannic Cabernets, huge buttery
Chardonnays, grassy Sauvignon Blancs, etc.  Comparative tastings and
fair judgings favor these obvious flavors.  Prices still competitive with
European wines. GOAL: capture a big market of naive consumers who need
to be impressed with easily-understood grape flavors even at the
cost of subtlety.

7. "Post-Boom" (1983-  ).  Rising value of the dollar causes many
newly-captured wine drinkers to (re)discover the relative elegance
of European wines, most of which are traditional blends of varieties
reflecting centuries of experimentation.  California varietals
begin to taste "crude" rather than "impressive."  California winemakers
begin to develop their own senses of style -- often blending varietals
in European fashion and learning how to make wines that age well as
their own early efforts begin to mature and teach them what they did wrong.
New wine names reflect neither European envy nor varietal origin:
Marlstone, Insignia, Granval.
GOAL: Exploiting particular microclimates to make wines that best reflect
each, creating wines with unique local identities and blends, no longer
willing to accept European definitions of the best.