Archive for the "Uncategorized" Category

Old Vines, Somatic Mutation, Chimerism … a little (too much?) terroir science

I’m not a plant scientist, and I don’t want to frighten anyone away with either the science involved here, or my incomplete grasp of the concepts involved. So this short post is intended just to plant a seed for thought. Planting a seed is a good introduction to this thought, since wine grapes don’t grow [...]

Old Ghost from Klinker Brick in Lodi – old vines yielding less than one ton per acre

The Lodi AVA (American Viticultural Area) is particularly recognized for old vine Zinfandel, although it produces other varietals, too. The Lodi AVA is sits at the northern edge of the San Joaquin Valley by San Francisco Bay. It includes parts of southern Sacramento County and northern San Joaquin County, and is bounded on the east [...]

Age is Relative … Old Vine Wines on Long Island

I’ve written before about “old” being a somewhat relative notion for vines. If your vines are the oldest in your area, they are perforce “old” by your area’s standards. I came across a series of “Old Vine” bottlings from Lenz, a winery in Long Island (New York State). I thought to myself, “How old could [...]

THREE MATARO SPINELLI … Century-plus vines surviving in urban Contra Costa County, California.

“Three” is a California North Coast winery owned and operated by Matt and Erin Cline. Matt Cline worked with his brother, Fred, to establish Cline Cellars, before he established his own winery, Trinitas. He sold Trinitas in late 2006 and started Three Wine Company. “Mataro” is an old-time California synonym for Mourvèdre, a classic red [...]

Dusted Valley Old Vine Chardonnay Yakima Valley

Dusted Valley is a winery in Walla Walla, Washington. They bottle an “Old Vine Chardonnay” which is made from the oldest Wente clone Chardonnay vines in Washington State. This vineyard was planted in the Yakima Valley in 1971. Not all that aged, maybe, but pretty old for Chardonnay, and old for Washington State, too. “Wente [...]

Old Vines or Heritage vines or Ancient Vines?

In the past couple of weeks I’ve been drinking more Zinfandel. More Zin because I also have begun a long-planned effort to build a Zinfandel review and information blog-site at ZinSite.com. Sitting in front of me now are three different bottles: Rancho Zabaco Sonoma Heritage Vines Zinfandel 2007; Cline Ancient Vines California 2007 Zinfandel; and, [...]

Vine-Age Wines

Imagine stepping up to a “vine-age wine bar” (don’t be confused — I just made up that type of wine bar — remember, I said “imagine). You wouldn’t be offered a list of varietals and blends by the glass or bottle. Instead, you’d be offered a choice of wines by vineyard age. “Did you want [...]

Old Vines Always Fascinate

Wine lovers have always been interested in old vines, even in the 1800s. Witness this information about “The Oldest California Vineyard” … at the San Jose Winery, 5320 Vineyard Road, Goleta, California. Prologue: Father Fermin Lasuen founded Mission Santa Barbara in 1786. Grapevine cuttings, probably taken from Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, were planted near Sycamore [...]

It takes Rutherford dust to grow great … Riesling?

“It takes Rutherford dust to grow great Cabernet.” (André Tchelistcheff) Rutherford, as you can see by any map of Napa Valley sub-appellations, is in the heart of that Valley, and in the heart of Cabernet country. In Rutherford, Cabernet Sauvignon is where the money is. On the other hand, in California vineyards, Riesling is never [...]

Why aren’t there more, and older, old vines?

The “Three Ps” pretty much answer that question, at least in the U.S.A. The first P explains a bit about European vineyards, too. Phylloxera, Part One … Phylloxera is a small, root-feeding aphid. It attacks the roots of grapevines (and only grapevines) and kills those vines. Phylloxera is native to the East Coast of the [...]