Between The Wines July 2022
hidden Treasures
Hidden Treasures
Trends & observations
What's New
As stated previously, our book is so full of great wines, sometimes a great producer can get overlooked, hence our ‘Hidden Treasures’ feature. Sometimes good juice goes unnoticed. A great example is Neyers Vineyards. To say Bruce Neyers has a pedigree, would be an understatement (ditto for his wife Barbara). After spending his young adulthood in the military— stationed in S. Korea where he was turned on to French wine—he was transferred to The Presidio in San Francisco (lucky boy!). That proximity led him to Napa Valley and the wine business once he left the army. Eventually he joined the new Joseph Phelps winery where he worked for 17 years, ending up as their General Manager, where he was heavily involved in the creation of ‘Insignia’, Napa’s first meritage wine. Upon leaving Phelps, Bruce became the first National Sales Manager for an up-and-coming importer named Kermit Lynch.
At that same time, Barbara was first chef, and then the General Manager of a little restaurant in Berkeley named Chez Panisse (which almost single-handedly changed the way American ate). Along the way, Bruce & Barbara acquired some vineyard land and built a winery. Being an early participant in Napa’s boom meant he had a lot of like-minded friends: his winery was designed by Ehren Jordan of the now renowned Failla Wines (and was also Bruce’s first winemaker). His first vineyard was planted by a little-known vineyardist named David Abreu (who is hardly little-known today!). But Bruce and Barbara both had day jobs, so they quietly made unique, expressive wines that reflected the Neyers’ love of European wine…which was not the fashion at the time.
Continued..
Quotation of the Month: “Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin.” ― Napoleon Bonaparte
Upon retiring from Kermit Lynch, Bruce was able to devote all of his time to his passion project, but quickly realized the landscape was changing, and partnered with the wonderful, and incredibly successful Trinchero family. Now they do all the stuff Bruce doesn’t like to do, so he can ‘play’ in the vineyards and winery. But these wines are not for fun: they are quietly serious, unique, correct wines that don’t get the attention they deserve. His unoaked Chardonnay (cuvee 304) and St. Emilion inspired Cabernet-Merlot blend (Left Bank) are two of our faves.
Between The Wines july 2022
If you haven’t tried these wines, you are missing out on delicious, authentic, artisanal wines that have a stamp of Napa history on them. Discover Neyers Vineyards!
Trends & Observations
Colonel Mustard in the Library with…a Wine Bottle?
Most premium wine producers have long been alert to their environmental responsibilities in their goal of providing us all with delicious wines. ‘Sustainable’ is a word/practice that a very, very large swath of wineries tout regularly. Sustainable is a catchall word that confirms the winery is practicing protocols that reduce energy use, conserve water, minimize vineyard inputs, and even erect green buildings, all in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint and be part of the solution, rather than add to environmental concerns. However, until recently, the bottles a winery used seemed to be excepted from participation/scrutiny: we can cite dozens and dozens of wineries that declare their bona fides as ‘stewards of the earth’ and then stick their wine in a bottle that weighs four pounds!
Case in point: we grabbed tow random bottles in our offices while writing this: Duckhorn ‘Three Palms’ and Nozzole Chianti Classico. The Duckhorn—a beautiful, limited-production wine from a famous Napa vineyard—clocked in at 3.6 lbs. The Nozzole—a classic & classy Chianti Classico--came in at 2.4 lbs. So, over a pound per bottle difference; in a case of 12 that’s an additional 14 pounds per case! Multiply the millions of cases of wine sold in these bottles, and it could be considered the opposite of green (not to mention being rough on the back). Continued...
Between The Wines July 2022
Continued... The reason for using these bottles is simple: the quality proposition. Many wineries—and their clients—believe that the heavier glass helps deliver the message that their wines are serious and ‘special’. Indeed, when paying $150 to $300 for a top Napa Cabernet these days, some people want the sizzle with the steak, and love that these trophy bottles can indeed be trophies when empty. It is not only the extra materials it takes to manufacture heavier, thicker bottles, but the extra energy it takes to make them as well. Plus —and perhaps most impactful—the extra energy/fuel it takes to transport these sometimes 50 lb cases of wine add to the rap sheet for those wineries that are still on this ego-bottle path. We are also increasingly hearing gripes from somms & servers in winecentric restaurants asserting they are suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome from repeatedly pouring wine from these Hulk-like bottles! Happily, there is a general move away from this type of glass. None other than Jancis Robinson, M.W. herself started recording the weight of the bottle of all the wines she reviews in mid-2021; talk about getting called out. And recently, for that shrinking group of wineries that have stuck with the big bottle strategy (their wines are special and it needs to be emphasized they say), the numerous increased costs that all wineries (all businesses) are experiencing of late has forced them to look for cost saving like never before and saving $12 to $30 a case for using lighter glass can add up quickly. At the end of the day, its what’s IN the bottle that matters…
Quotation of the Month: “Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin.” ― Napoleon Bonaparte
Between The Wines
What's New
As very long-term followers of Larry Mawby & Mawby Vineyards (we first met Larry and his wines in 1982!), we are never surprised by their very fun, idiosyncratic, wines/labels/marketing. From ‘Turkey Red’ to ‘Parker 96’ and ‘Big Little’ to ‘Sex’, Mawby wines are inviting on the shelf and in the glass. And here comes another one. Many reading this may not know that Mawby Vineyards started out making still wines only. After a few years, Larry started experimenting (with much success) with bottle-fermented sparkling wines--shockingly good for the time and especially for where they came from…Michigan!? This was followed by making a few ‘tank-fermented’ sparklers, which can be made in greater volume and at lower cost. Slowly but surely, bubbles took over most of the sales at the winery, and by the early 2,000’s, Mawby became a sparkling only winery. The latest addition to the stable is another sparkler of course, this made using a slightly different and historic method. Eff-Nat is Mawby’s entry into the wildly popular Pet-Nat category. Pet-Nat—or Petillant Natural—is largely associated with the natural wine movement of the past decade which is interesting since this production method—also know as ‘methode ancestral’ has been used to produce sparklers for centuries, pre-dating the ‘Champagne method’. In a nutshell, the wine is bottled before fermentation is complete, thereby trapping some CO2 in the bottle…as well as a small amount of lees/spent yeast cells. The wines are usually quite hazy.
July 2022
The Eff-Nat is delicious: 100% Leelanau fruit, a ‘brut’, but quite floral, quite rich. Very interesting and with wide appeal…not just for the natty wine crowd. We don’t get a very big allocation, so get yours soon! NOTE: since we’ve been asked: it is true that after almost 50 years playing in wine in Leelanau County, Larry has finally ridden off into the (beautiful, Lake Michigan) sunset. Larry brought in partners a decade or so ago (grape growers that Larry worked with), to help with their phenomenal growth, as well as to have an exit strategy when the time came. Well the time has come, and though Larry will still provide inspiration, Mike & Peter Laing are now the stewards of this great winery…and we’re sure more great things are to come over the next 50 years. Quotation of the Month: “Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin.” ― Napoleon Bonaparte