A historical look at how Monsanto promoted Roundup as these two Western-themed ads from the 1990's...
Dr. Cecil Sharp of the San Diego Zoo was widely criticized for appearing in the 1997 commercial.
Monday, August 13, 2018
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Mendocino Wine Competition: Top Organic Winners
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| Judges at the Mendocino Wine Competition |
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From left to right, Dan Berger, Deborah Parker Wong, Ellen Scott
Landis and Mike Dunne
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Congratulations to two of the organically grown winning wines in the Mendocino Wine Competition held this weekend in Anderson Valley.
See the full list of winners here.
Winery brands that are fully organically grown are Barra, Bock, Bonterra, Frey, Girasole, and Powicana.
Others that produce some organically grown wines are Campovida (Dark Horse Vineyard single vineyard designate), Dane Cellars (Dharma Vineyard), Dashe (Heart Arrow Ranch vineyard designate), Handley (Estate and RSM), and Naughty Boy (estate only).
Friday, August 10, 2018
This Just In: Jurors Order Monsanto to Pay $289 Million in Roundup Case
Here is the press release from Dewayne Johnson's attorneys:
August 10, 2018 San Francisco, California - - A San Francisco jury returned a verdict today in the case of a former groundskeeper with terminal cancer against Monsanto Company, ordering the agrochemical giant to pay $39.2 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages for failing to warn consumers that exposure to Roundup weed killer causes cancer.
Dewayne “Lee” Johnson filed the lawsuit (case no. CGC-16-550128) against St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. on Jan. 28, 2016, alleging exposure to the Roundup herbicide he sprayed while working as a groundskeeper for the Benicia Unified School District caused him to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
On June 18, 2018, his case was assigned to Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos for the Superior Court of San Francisco, California. Johnson’s case was the first of its kind to proceed to trial due to his terminal diagnosis.
After 8 weeks of trial proceedings, the jury found unanimously that Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer caused Mr. Johnson to develop NHL, and that Monsanto failed to warn of this severe health hazard. Importantly, the jury also found that Monsanto acted with malice, oppression or fraud and should be punished for its conduct.
Monsanto Co. continues to refuse to warn consumers of the dangers of its multi-billion-dollar product Roundup despite the world’s foremost authority on cancer—the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)—listing glyphosate as a probable carcinogen in 2015.
Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman Attorney Brent Wisner Comments on Verdict Lee Johnson is one of more than 4,000 people from across the country to file suit against Monsanto in state and federal courts based on allegations linking Roundup to cancer. He was represented at trial by Brent Wisner of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei and Goldman, David Dickens of the Miller Firm and Mark Burton of Audet & Partners LLP. Co-lead trial counsel Brent Wisner said today’s verdict was a result of newly-revealed, confidential company documents.
"We were finally able to show the jury the secret, internal Monsanto documents proving that Monsanto has known for decades that glyphosate and specifically Roundup could cause cancer. Despite the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to require labeling, we are proud that an independent jury followed the evidence and used its voice to send a message to Monsanto that its years of deception regarding Roundup is over and that they should put consumer safety first over profits."
Damaging Evidence Presented in Johnson Trial Could Hurt Monsanto in Future Roundup Cancer Litigation
For years Monsanto has claimed that there is no evidence that Roundup causes cancer, yet a mountain of testimony and documents was admitted during the trial.
Johnson’s attorneys proved through testimony from Monsanto’s witnesses that company employees “ghostwrote” scientific articles and paid outside scientists to publish the articles in their name. Internal documents revealed that a scientific advisor hired by Monsanto told the company that past testing for Roundup was insufficient because glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, was tested in isolation without the other chemical ingredients that make up the Roundup formulation.
"Many of these confidential Monsanto documents were unsealed for the first time,” said co-lead counsel David Dickens. “They show that Monsanto knew that its testing was insufficient and that there was a synergistic effect when glyphosate is combined with surfactants which help the glyphosate penetrate both plant and animal cell walls.”
In other now-public documents, Monsanto employees reacted to California EPA’s listing of glyphosate as a carcinogen by calling Californians “liberals and morons,” overwhelming Monsanto like a “zombie movie” that they had to take out one at a time starting with the 2016 presidential election.
Jury Heard Heart-Wrenching Testimony from the Johnson Family on the Effects of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Caused by Roundup Exposure
In addition to hearing from expert witnesses, the jury listened to heart-wrenching testimony from Lee Johnson and his wife, Araceli. Araceli recalled for the jury the many sleepless nights Lee spent crying in bed when his children were not around.
“He tried to hide it, and I think he tried to show that he was strong,” she said. “He tried to be positive; he wanted to be…for us and the kids.”
After her husband began chemotherapy, Araceli took a second job working 14-hour days to help pay the family’s rising medical bills while still driving her two sons an extra 45 minutes to Napa Valley School District in hopes of providing them better educational opportunities.
When Lee took the stand, he told the jury how scared and confused he was after receiving the news that he had cancer. He also described the times he contacted Monsanto to see if the skin lesions he developed were related to his use of Roundup. When he did not hear back from the company, he continued to use the herbicide. Most notably, Johnson testified that he would never have used Roundup if he had known of the dangers, and accused Monsanto of concealing Roundup’s safety risks to continue profiting from its billion-dollar herbicide.
“I never would’ve sprayed that product on school grounds or around people if I knew it would cause them harm,” Johnson said during emotional testimony. “It’s unethical. It’s wrong. People don’t deserve that.”
The case is Dewayne Johnson v. Monsanto Company.
A team of lawyers from three law firms represented Mr. Johnson in this trial: The Miller Firm, LLC of Orange, Virginia, Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, P.C. of Los Angeles and Audet & Partners LLP of San Francisco. These firms represent thousands of Roundup cancer plaintiffs across the nation. The firms are nationally known and handle complex product liability cases, among others, and hold leadership positions in the federal and California state Monsanto Roundup litigation. Monsanto faces more than 4,000 Roundup cancer cases nationwide and that number is growing.
The next Roundup cancer trial against Monsanto is also a state case and is scheduled to occur in October in St. Louis, Missouri. Now that the judge in the federal multi-district litigation (based in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco), has accepted several of the plaintiffs’ experts to testify, trial dates for the federal bellwether cases should be announced in the next couple of months.
Press Conference: Mr. Johnson’s attorneys will hold a press conference with Mr. Johnson at 5:30 pm
August 10, 2018 San Francisco, California - - A San Francisco jury returned a verdict today in the case of a former groundskeeper with terminal cancer against Monsanto Company, ordering the agrochemical giant to pay $39.2 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages for failing to warn consumers that exposure to Roundup weed killer causes cancer.
Dewayne “Lee” Johnson filed the lawsuit (case no. CGC-16-550128) against St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. on Jan. 28, 2016, alleging exposure to the Roundup herbicide he sprayed while working as a groundskeeper for the Benicia Unified School District caused him to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
On June 18, 2018, his case was assigned to Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos for the Superior Court of San Francisco, California. Johnson’s case was the first of its kind to proceed to trial due to his terminal diagnosis.
After 8 weeks of trial proceedings, the jury found unanimously that Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer caused Mr. Johnson to develop NHL, and that Monsanto failed to warn of this severe health hazard. Importantly, the jury also found that Monsanto acted with malice, oppression or fraud and should be punished for its conduct.
Monsanto Co. continues to refuse to warn consumers of the dangers of its multi-billion-dollar product Roundup despite the world’s foremost authority on cancer—the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)—listing glyphosate as a probable carcinogen in 2015.
Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman Attorney Brent Wisner Comments on Verdict Lee Johnson is one of more than 4,000 people from across the country to file suit against Monsanto in state and federal courts based on allegations linking Roundup to cancer. He was represented at trial by Brent Wisner of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei and Goldman, David Dickens of the Miller Firm and Mark Burton of Audet & Partners LLP. Co-lead trial counsel Brent Wisner said today’s verdict was a result of newly-revealed, confidential company documents.
"We were finally able to show the jury the secret, internal Monsanto documents proving that Monsanto has known for decades that glyphosate and specifically Roundup could cause cancer. Despite the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to require labeling, we are proud that an independent jury followed the evidence and used its voice to send a message to Monsanto that its years of deception regarding Roundup is over and that they should put consumer safety first over profits."
Damaging Evidence Presented in Johnson Trial Could Hurt Monsanto in Future Roundup Cancer Litigation
For years Monsanto has claimed that there is no evidence that Roundup causes cancer, yet a mountain of testimony and documents was admitted during the trial.
Johnson’s attorneys proved through testimony from Monsanto’s witnesses that company employees “ghostwrote” scientific articles and paid outside scientists to publish the articles in their name. Internal documents revealed that a scientific advisor hired by Monsanto told the company that past testing for Roundup was insufficient because glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, was tested in isolation without the other chemical ingredients that make up the Roundup formulation.
"Many of these confidential Monsanto documents were unsealed for the first time,” said co-lead counsel David Dickens. “They show that Monsanto knew that its testing was insufficient and that there was a synergistic effect when glyphosate is combined with surfactants which help the glyphosate penetrate both plant and animal cell walls.”
In other now-public documents, Monsanto employees reacted to California EPA’s listing of glyphosate as a carcinogen by calling Californians “liberals and morons,” overwhelming Monsanto like a “zombie movie” that they had to take out one at a time starting with the 2016 presidential election.
Jury Heard Heart-Wrenching Testimony from the Johnson Family on the Effects of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Caused by Roundup Exposure
In addition to hearing from expert witnesses, the jury listened to heart-wrenching testimony from Lee Johnson and his wife, Araceli. Araceli recalled for the jury the many sleepless nights Lee spent crying in bed when his children were not around.
“He tried to hide it, and I think he tried to show that he was strong,” she said. “He tried to be positive; he wanted to be…for us and the kids.”
After her husband began chemotherapy, Araceli took a second job working 14-hour days to help pay the family’s rising medical bills while still driving her two sons an extra 45 minutes to Napa Valley School District in hopes of providing them better educational opportunities.
When Lee took the stand, he told the jury how scared and confused he was after receiving the news that he had cancer. He also described the times he contacted Monsanto to see if the skin lesions he developed were related to his use of Roundup. When he did not hear back from the company, he continued to use the herbicide. Most notably, Johnson testified that he would never have used Roundup if he had known of the dangers, and accused Monsanto of concealing Roundup’s safety risks to continue profiting from its billion-dollar herbicide.
“I never would’ve sprayed that product on school grounds or around people if I knew it would cause them harm,” Johnson said during emotional testimony. “It’s unethical. It’s wrong. People don’t deserve that.”
The case is Dewayne Johnson v. Monsanto Company.
A team of lawyers from three law firms represented Mr. Johnson in this trial: The Miller Firm, LLC of Orange, Virginia, Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, P.C. of Los Angeles and Audet & Partners LLP of San Francisco. These firms represent thousands of Roundup cancer plaintiffs across the nation. The firms are nationally known and handle complex product liability cases, among others, and hold leadership positions in the federal and California state Monsanto Roundup litigation. Monsanto faces more than 4,000 Roundup cancer cases nationwide and that number is growing.
The next Roundup cancer trial against Monsanto is also a state case and is scheduled to occur in October in St. Louis, Missouri. Now that the judge in the federal multi-district litigation (based in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco), has accepted several of the plaintiffs’ experts to testify, trial dates for the federal bellwether cases should be announced in the next couple of months.
Press Conference: Mr. Johnson’s attorneys will hold a press conference with Mr. Johnson at 5:30 pm
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Biodynamic Food: The Beginning of the Next Food Revolution
Faced with the increasing commoditization of organic (Costco, Walmart, et al all now have it) and the enhanced flavors of Biodynamically farmed foods natural foods retailers and producers are upping their game by going Biodynamic.
On Earth Day this year, Whole Foods sent out a promotional flyer on Biodynamic products to its entire customer email list. Here's how the giant retailer explains the farming behind these products.
(You will also see an increasing number of new certifications in the marketplace for regenerative organic agriculture.)
It was Whole Foods' tremendous growth - aided by organics (in an era when organic food was not as available) - that drove other supermarket chains to emulate them. The explosive growth of Whole Foods, natural food stores and grocery sales of organic now underlies the $45.2 billion organic food sector, which grew 6.4 percent in 2017.
The fact that there is a newly emerging Biodynamic food was a big part of Demeter USA President Elizabeth Candelario's message to attendees of the first International Biodynamic Wine Conference in May.
What does the coming Biodynamic food wave mean for Biodynamic wine in the U.S.?
No one can answer that question today since enthusiasm for organic food has, so far, been only a limited factor influencing the sales of organically grown wines.
But there are signs in the marketplace that this is changing, thanks to Millenials. (I've been researching the organic and Biodynamic wine marketplace trends for a new article I'm writing for Beverage Media right now.) Wineries are seeing double digit sales growth in Denver and Austin, for instance, for organically grown wines, driven by Millenials. And Natural Grocers, a nationwide natural foods store chain (akin to Sprouts) is leading a new charge to offer the widest product assortment of organic and BD wines the marketplace has ever seen. (More on that in a future post soon).
According to a recent Organic Trade Association study, Millenial parents are the largest segment of organic (food) shoppers in the U.S.
Take a look at one of the brand new ads from one of the natural foods brands launching Biodynamic products that appeal to this segment, too: White Leaf.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Monsanto Roundup Trial - Closing Arguments, Slides + Photos
I'm catching up today on the glyphosate case of Johnson versus Monsanto by watching the full video (on a private link; it's available for $99/month on Courtroom View Network) of Tuesday's closing arguments from the trial.
Johnson, formerly a Benicia school district groundskeeper, is seeking $412 million in compensation and punitive damages from Monsanto, alleging that using Roundup caused him to get cancer.
Jurors began their deliberations today after a month in which both sides provided experts in toxicology, cancer and epidemiology. Attorneys for the plaintiff presented a Who's Who of leading scientists and clinicians who've led the fight against Roundup who testified on Johnson's behalf.
You can get the full flavor of the plaintiff's case here in Johnson's attorney's slides.
• Slides
You can read all of it in the transcript.
• Transcript of closing arguments
• Transcripts of the entire proceedings
Here are a few snippets from the slides (below).
The timeline slides along with the photos of plaintiff Dewayne Johnson's cancer's progression were especially telling.
According to attorney Brent Wisner, Johnson regularly sprayed Ranger Pro (Roundup) for about three hours every other day for his job, releasing about 150 gallons at a time. At times, he was covered with extra heavy doses, when the sprayer malfunctioned.
When his symptoms started to appear, he called Monsanto to ask for medical advice on risks. They did not respond, though documents revealed in court that they were aware of the medical risks. (No warnings on the label).
You can catch a few snippets of these closing arguments in this ABC7 news report.
NBC's coverage includes comments by Zen Honeycutt, of Moms Across America. You can see it here (no embed code available).
Each year the wine industry in California alone uses more than 700,000 pounds of glyphosate on grape vines. Here are maps (from the State Dept. of Health) showing glyphosate usage in Napa on vineyards alone (47,000+ pounds in 2016) and statewide.
(Note; Napa and Sonoma have the highest childhood cancer rates in the state, although no epidemiological studies have been done to find out the specific links that have led to this situation.)
California classified Roundup as a carcinogen in 2016.
Obviously Johnson's exposures were extreme and not like those of most people who use the chemical in vineyards. But there are 10,000 more cases like his - many of whom were faithful residential users of Roundup - waiting in the wings.
One person from Sonoma county who is involved in vineyards is one of the pending lawsuits.
In Johnson's case, there were so many system failures in his story that led to his (now terminally ill) diagnosis.
Protective Gear
One was the lack of protective gear given him by the Benicia Unified School District. Johnson bought his own, choosing a Tyvek suit that didn't protect against sprays. (It was permeable.)
One wonders if this school district and others are following state laws regarding worker safety.
Many schools have been reconsidering the use of Roundup on school grounds for the issues of children's exposure levels.
The city of Irvine has banned glyphosate from its schools and parks for that reason. There's a new movement afoot to have the chemical banned from all sports fields.
Medical Expertise
The failure of the health care system to protect Johnson is another key ingredient in this story. His own doctors didn't see a link between glyphosate and his symptoms. He does have a rare form of cancer. And the medical establishment doesn't have a protocol for glyphosate based harms that reflects reality.
Johnson also needed to keep working and getting a paycheck to support his family, even as he got sicker, and he obtained a Stanford physician's letter saying he was well enough to work, despite the obvious sores all over his body.
Safety Instructions for Using Roundup
Monsanto was responsible for writing the safety guidelines for using Roundup.
There are still no warnings on the label for Roundup products despite California's attempts to remedy that situation.
Johnson, formerly a Benicia school district groundskeeper, is seeking $412 million in compensation and punitive damages from Monsanto, alleging that using Roundup caused him to get cancer.
Jurors began their deliberations today after a month in which both sides provided experts in toxicology, cancer and epidemiology. Attorneys for the plaintiff presented a Who's Who of leading scientists and clinicians who've led the fight against Roundup who testified on Johnson's behalf.
 |
| Plaintiff Dewayne Johnson who is the first of more than 10,000 lawsuits of people claiming Monsanto's Roundup gave them cancer |
• Slides
You can read all of it in the transcript.
• Transcript of closing arguments
• Transcripts of the entire proceedings
Here are a few snippets from the slides (below).
The timeline slides along with the photos of plaintiff Dewayne Johnson's cancer's progression were especially telling.
According to attorney Brent Wisner, Johnson regularly sprayed Ranger Pro (Roundup) for about three hours every other day for his job, releasing about 150 gallons at a time. At times, he was covered with extra heavy doses, when the sprayer malfunctioned.
When his symptoms started to appear, he called Monsanto to ask for medical advice on risks. They did not respond, though documents revealed in court that they were aware of the medical risks. (No warnings on the label).
You can catch a few snippets of these closing arguments in this ABC7 news report.
NBC's coverage includes comments by Zen Honeycutt, of Moms Across America. You can see it here (no embed code available).
Each year the wine industry in California alone uses more than 700,000 pounds of glyphosate on grape vines. Here are maps (from the State Dept. of Health) showing glyphosate usage in Napa on vineyards alone (47,000+ pounds in 2016) and statewide.
(Note; Napa and Sonoma have the highest childhood cancer rates in the state, although no epidemiological studies have been done to find out the specific links that have led to this situation.)
California classified Roundup as a carcinogen in 2016.
Obviously Johnson's exposures were extreme and not like those of most people who use the chemical in vineyards. But there are 10,000 more cases like his - many of whom were faithful residential users of Roundup - waiting in the wings.
One person from Sonoma county who is involved in vineyards is one of the pending lawsuits.
In Johnson's case, there were so many system failures in his story that led to his (now terminally ill) diagnosis.
Protective Gear
One was the lack of protective gear given him by the Benicia Unified School District. Johnson bought his own, choosing a Tyvek suit that didn't protect against sprays. (It was permeable.)
One wonders if this school district and others are following state laws regarding worker safety.
Many schools have been reconsidering the use of Roundup on school grounds for the issues of children's exposure levels.
The city of Irvine has banned glyphosate from its schools and parks for that reason. There's a new movement afoot to have the chemical banned from all sports fields.
Medical Expertise
The failure of the health care system to protect Johnson is another key ingredient in this story. His own doctors didn't see a link between glyphosate and his symptoms. He does have a rare form of cancer. And the medical establishment doesn't have a protocol for glyphosate based harms that reflects reality.
Johnson also needed to keep working and getting a paycheck to support his family, even as he got sicker, and he obtained a Stanford physician's letter saying he was well enough to work, despite the obvious sores all over his body.
Safety Instructions for Using Roundup
Monsanto was responsible for writing the safety guidelines for using Roundup.
There are still no warnings on the label for Roundup products despite California's attempts to remedy that situation.
Monday, August 6, 2018
Sonoma and Napa Organic Wine Grapes Decline from 2015 to 2016
The number of certified, organically grown wine grapes dwindled in both Napa and Sonoma counties from 2015 to 2016, according to recent crop reports.
Certified organic acreage in Napa dropped from 3,897 acres in 2015 to 3,210 in 2016, a drop of 677 acres or 17.6%. In 2015, Napa's organic acreage accounted for 9 percent of total vineyard acres; by 2016, that figure dropped to 7.4%.
On the other hand, the use of glyphosate used in Napa on wine grapes declined from 2015 to 2016 from 53,808 pounds on 37,566 acres to 47,524 pounds on 32,921 acres, a sign that fewer wineries are using the herbicide, a designated carcinogen in California.
On the other hand, the use of glyphosate used in Napa on wine grapes declined from 2015 to 2016 from 53,808 pounds on 37,566 acres to 47,524 pounds on 32,921 acres, a sign that fewer wineries are using the herbicide, a designated carcinogen in California.
Sonoma, a sometimes hotbed of organic dairy, egg, fruit and vegetable crops, also saw a decline from an already small number of organic wine grape vineyards during the same period.
In 2015, Sonoma county had 1,578 acres of organic grape vines, which decreased to 1,405 acres in 2016, a decline of 11%. About 2 percent of the wine grape vines in the county are certified organic (in comparison to Napa, where about 7.3 percent are certified organic).
In 2016, Napa wine growers used 47,000 pounds of glyphosate. Sonoma growers used 74,281.
In 2016, Napa wine growers used 47,000 pounds of glyphosate. Sonoma growers used 74,281.
Organic Curious? Rare Napa Organic Vineyard Tour with Ivo Jeramaz from Grgich Hill Estate, August 31
Looking for a special way to see Napa through the eyes of an organic vineyard expert?
It's rare that the vineyard manager of a major Napa winery leads a tour and tasting but book now to attend a special event at Grgich Hills Estate at the end of this month. Only 20 seats are available.
The tour takes visitors to the winery's American Canyon vineyard, one of five that make up Grgich's 365 acres of organic estate vines. Though everything is grown and certified organically grown, Mike Grgich likes to refer to this as "natural farming."
Tickets ($175) include the tour, tastings, and a box brunch. After brunch, the tour concludes with a tour of the cellars.
I've been on a similar tour with Jeramaz in the past and can only say he is one of the best people in Napa to take a tour with. Grgich Hills is by far the largest organic vineyard owner in Napa and is a leader in sharing knowledge widely with the grower community at large. (Ivo gave one of the best lectures at the 2016 Napa Organic Winegrowers conference, an event sponsored by the Napa Valley Grapegrowers).
Here's Ivo talking about the winery's organic vineyards and why they choose to farm this way.
The tour is a great way to see and experience what makes an organic vineyard special and to get all your questions about this way of farming answered by an friendly, approachable expert.
It's rare that the vineyard manager of a major Napa winery leads a tour and tasting but book now to attend a special event at Grgich Hills Estate at the end of this month. Only 20 seats are available.
The tour takes visitors to the winery's American Canyon vineyard, one of five that make up Grgich's 365 acres of organic estate vines. Though everything is grown and certified organically grown, Mike Grgich likes to refer to this as "natural farming."
Tickets ($175) include the tour, tastings, and a box brunch. After brunch, the tour concludes with a tour of the cellars.
I've been on a similar tour with Jeramaz in the past and can only say he is one of the best people in Napa to take a tour with. Grgich Hills is by far the largest organic vineyard owner in Napa and is a leader in sharing knowledge widely with the grower community at large. (Ivo gave one of the best lectures at the 2016 Napa Organic Winegrowers conference, an event sponsored by the Napa Valley Grapegrowers).
Here's Ivo talking about the winery's organic vineyards and why they choose to farm this way.
The tour is a great way to see and experience what makes an organic vineyard special and to get all your questions about this way of farming answered by an friendly, approachable expert.
Friday, August 3, 2018
Made with Organic Grapes: Top 10 Bestselling Wines - Korbel's Organic Brut (#8)
Korbel's Organic Brut (the only wine it makes from organic grapes) is at the #7 spot in the Top 10 list of wines that in the "Made with Organic Grapes" category.
This is the third (and final) sparkling wine on the countdown so far, coming out ahead of Italian Prosecco's Bellissima and Tiamo.
Believe it or not, this is a $14 wine that made it onto the Wine Spectator's 2016 Top 100 Wines List.
Korbel Champagne Cellars recently changed from offering this wine as a nonvintage sparkler to a vintage sparkler beginning in 2016 and has nearly tripled case production since the brand was launched in 2009. In 2010, case production was 12,000; today it's 34,000. The organically grown wine is made in the winery's certified organic winery in Guerneville, its historic headquarters.
(Overall case production at Korbel is 1.5 million.)
Like many of the most popularly priced sparkling wines on the list (Bellissima and Tiamo - Prosecco's from the glera grape), Korbel's Brut comes from grapes not usually associated with Champagne - in this case, French Colombard (a heavy bearing Central Valley staple) and Sangiovese with some Chardonnay in the blend. (Champagne from Champagne is made from Chardonnay and/or Pinot Noir.) But unlike those, this wine is made via the traditional method. (The Prosecco's are not).
The wine's appellation is listed at California, which means that a minimum of 75% of the grapes came from the Golden State.
The Korbel took Best of Class in the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition for this wine, its one and only organically grown product.
Hear what PRESS Napa Valley Somm Amanda McCrossin has to say about it in a recent video on her SommVivant channel:
This is the third (and final) sparkling wine on the countdown so far, coming out ahead of Italian Prosecco's Bellissima and Tiamo.
Believe it or not, this is a $14 wine that made it onto the Wine Spectator's 2016 Top 100 Wines List.
Korbel Champagne Cellars recently changed from offering this wine as a nonvintage sparkler to a vintage sparkler beginning in 2016 and has nearly tripled case production since the brand was launched in 2009. In 2010, case production was 12,000; today it's 34,000. The organically grown wine is made in the winery's certified organic winery in Guerneville, its historic headquarters.
(Overall case production at Korbel is 1.5 million.)
Like many of the most popularly priced sparkling wines on the list (Bellissima and Tiamo - Prosecco's from the glera grape), Korbel's Brut comes from grapes not usually associated with Champagne - in this case, French Colombard (a heavy bearing Central Valley staple) and Sangiovese with some Chardonnay in the blend. (Champagne from Champagne is made from Chardonnay and/or Pinot Noir.) But unlike those, this wine is made via the traditional method. (The Prosecco's are not).
The Korbel took Best of Class in the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition for this wine, its one and only organically grown product.
Hear what PRESS Napa Valley Somm Amanda McCrossin has to say about it in a recent video on her SommVivant channel:
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Made with Organic Grapes: Top 10 Bestselling Wines - Bellissima (#9), A Christie Brinkley Wine
Number 9 on the list of bestselling wines in the "Made with Organic Grapes" category is Bellissima, organic Prosecco and sparkling wines from Italy.
Just like movie stars Brad and Angelina, supermodel Christie Brinkley has a wine brand - only hers is organically grown. And has bubbles. Bellissima comes in three types: regular ($20), rosé ($21) or zero sugar ($24), which is for diabetics or people who are on a diet, Brinkley says.
Those price points are well above those of Tiamo Prosecco (which sells for $15.99 on wine.com). Since both are organic, I guess you pay more for the model. Perhaps having Botticelli's Venus on the label is worth more than Tiamo's sunflower.
Launched in 2016, Brinkley, now in her early 60's, is the face of Bellissima, and a tireless promoter she is, appearing on CBS, at the wine's launch in Vegas, and at many other venues to drive home the marketing messages.
In an interview in the Dallas Morning News, where Brinkley was in town to appear with the wine at local supermarkets, she is quoted as saying, "When I first started drinking wine, I wondered why there weren't more organic wines out there."
Here she is with Jane Pauley on the CBS TV magazine show Sunday Morning:
The brand's web site is definitely aimed at a female audience and its Instagram feed is plenty active.
In rolling out the brand to Publix supermarket chain's 1,150 stores in 2017, Iconic Brands predicted Bellissima would hit 100,000 case production, based in part on prominently promoting the Zero, which is the only organically grown wine competing in the low-cal wine space pioneered by Skinnygirl (which now has a $15 Prosecco) and Skinny Vine ($11).
(The Skinnies are not really that much lower in calories than other sparkling wines).
Skinnygirl was started by reality TV star Bethenny Frankel while she was on the show Real Housewives of New York City in 2009. Frankel sold the liquor licensing rights to Beam in 2012 for $8 million. (Frankel has famously retained the brand name for all of her other product lines). She originally started with Skinny Girl margaritas and later expanded into wines.
 |
| Skinnygirl founder Bethenny Frankel |
In 2013, Treasury Wine Estate launched The Skinny Vine, which is endorsed by Christine Avanti, author of Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food.
It's worth watching this space to see what supermodel influence like Brinkley's can do to move the needle for a brand and how closely "Made with Organic Grape" wines can move with the broader wine trends.
Made with Organic Grapes: Top 10 Bestselling Wines - Tiamo (#10)
I've been checking out some of the data on the top selling wine brands at retailers in selected states to see what wines in the "Made with Organic Grapes" category are getting scooped up by buyers.
In general, the Made with category trend setters reflect the broader trends in wine overall - more sparkling wines, more rosé, and a few debuting lighter reds (lighter than Cabernet) are coming on strong, as well as fruit flavored beverages.
I'll be counting down this list starting with #10 on the "Made with" List (we'll look at the Organic Wine category separately, since they are a different category both in wine quality and consumer focus). The Made with category outsells the no added sulfite Organic Wines 3:1.
With the exception of one producer, all of the wines are table wines priced under $15.
Most of the wine comes from the U.S. but five international producers have also been successful in this end of the U.S. market. One is from Chilé, two are from Argentina and three are from Italy.
Wines #8, #9 and #10 all feature sparkling wines including two offering Proseccos. (None of the top 7 do).
This list is by no means inclusive of all the great fine wines that grace some retailers shelves, but a list from the mass market.
#10 Tiamo - Still, Sparkling, or Canned?
Tiamo's wines come from a wide variety of wine growing regions in Italy and are tuned in to modern tastes offering both still, sparkling and canned wines.
The label is most famous for Prosecco, but it also has a full line of still wines - a Barbera IGT from Lombardy, Chianti DOCG from Tuscany, and Pinot Gris from the Veneto and a Rosé IGT from the Abruzzo.
They're better known for sparkling wines, making a popular Prosecco DOC from the Veneto.
In 2017, Tiamo launched canned wines, including red, white and rosé, which they're marketing as the perfect beach or picnic wine. Have a look:
In general, the Made with category trend setters reflect the broader trends in wine overall - more sparkling wines, more rosé, and a few debuting lighter reds (lighter than Cabernet) are coming on strong, as well as fruit flavored beverages.
I'll be counting down this list starting with #10 on the "Made with" List (we'll look at the Organic Wine category separately, since they are a different category both in wine quality and consumer focus). The Made with category outsells the no added sulfite Organic Wines 3:1.
With the exception of one producer, all of the wines are table wines priced under $15.
Most of the wine comes from the U.S. but five international producers have also been successful in this end of the U.S. market. One is from Chilé, two are from Argentina and three are from Italy.
Wines #8, #9 and #10 all feature sparkling wines including two offering Proseccos. (None of the top 7 do).
This list is by no means inclusive of all the great fine wines that grace some retailers shelves, but a list from the mass market.
#10 Tiamo - Still, Sparkling, or Canned?
Tiamo's wines come from a wide variety of wine growing regions in Italy and are tuned in to modern tastes offering both still, sparkling and canned wines.
The label is most famous for Prosecco, but it also has a full line of still wines - a Barbera IGT from Lombardy, Chianti DOCG from Tuscany, and Pinot Gris from the Veneto and a Rosé IGT from the Abruzzo.
They're better known for sparkling wines, making a popular Prosecco DOC from the Veneto.
In 2017, Tiamo launched canned wines, including red, white and rosé, which they're marketing as the perfect beach or picnic wine. Have a look:
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Team at Rudd Oakville Estate Ups Its Game: Organic Vines, Stunning Wines
Thousands and thousands of sunflowers line the road, summer's golden glory on display. Beside them, sheep graze (year round), amidst vast green swirls of sorghum. A very big American flag on a tall pole waves in the breeze. Could this really be Napa? Oakville?
Right there in plain view lies one of the valley's treasures, created by a successful and magnanimous man who had a vision, an empire and a long term view.
It was Leslie Rudd's dream - from the start - to have a multigenerational family winery. A trip to Haut Brion at age 21 inspired him to think in generational terms. With his death in May of this year (from esophageal cancer), his dream has become a reality as his daughter Samantha Rudd, 30, and the mother of a new baby (named Rudd), now takes over the reigns of the family's Oakville estate winery (purchased by Rudd in 1996).
Leslie Rudd, a successful businessman, got into the distribution business at an early age in Wichita, where he expanded from his family's business into regions far beyond Kansas. Over the course of his lifetime, he bought and sold food and wine companies, creating an empire.
His businesses included the upscale grocer Dean & DeLuca, the 30 brand wine company Vintage Wine Estates, a kosher winery (Covenant Winery, which he kickstarted), and other ventures.
Rudd originally purchased the property that became Rudd Oakville Esate in 1996 when it was called the Girard Winery (a brand Vintage Wine Estates has recently relaunched).
Dedicated to preserving Napa's history, he also restored Edge Hill, (video), planting a new vineyard there with a field blend of varietals from the past, restored and reopened Oakville Grocery, and launched PRESS Napa Valley restaurant, an eatery with a wine list emphasizing glorious, older vintages of Napa Valley wines.
He was unique, even among Napa Valley's business community, in his passion for the past.
He also funded he Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and his own Rudd Foundation, providing scholarships in Kansas, support for Jewish charities, and the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at UConn.
When he became ill two years ago, he officially passed the baton to his daughter Samantha.
RUDD'S NEW ERA
A new direction had already begun by then, with the decision, in 2011 to move toward organic farming and certification and new staff. In 2013 Rudd hired a new Bordeaux trained winemaker - Frederick Ammons - and a year later a new vineyard manager - Macy Stubstad, who graduated from Cornell in viticulture. (She is also one of the organizers of the Organic Winegrowing Conference put on by the Napa Valley Grapegrowers). The vineyard was converted starting in 2015 and then completed certification in 2018 in Oakville and 2017 on Mount Veeder.
The winery ended its contracts with outside vineyard management companies and started farming solely with an in house crew of 15 that is employed year round (health care and other benefits are included). Stubstad teaches pruning to the crew. "How we prune is the most important stage of the year," she said.
"By integrating the farming, we went from being an estate vineyard - farmed by a vineyard management company - to being an estate winery," said Ammons.
"The wines have only gotten better...We can pick earlier, and there is better balance between sugar/acid ripeness and phenolic ripeness," he continued. "The vines are more balanced...The wines are fresher, with a little bit lower alcohol."
On top of that, there was the organic direction. "Going organic was a no brainer and quite easy," he said.
The team's collaborations are starting to bear fruit in the current releases from the 2014 vintages (and future vintages as well).
THE VINES
Rudd Oakville Estate has 47 acres of planted vines (at the intersection of the Oakville Cross Road and Silverado Trail, on a 55 acre parcel). This part of Oakville could be described as the Beverly Hills of Napa vineyards. Rudd's neighbors are Plumpjack, Dalla Valle, Bond St. Eden and Screaming Eagle.
Purchased in 1998, Rudd's Mount Veeder estate consists of 17 acres of vines plus Rudd Farm. White and red Bordeaux grapes are planted here. The vegetables go to PRESS Napa Valley, a Rudd restaurant next to Dean and Deluca in St. Helena.
The decision to not only farm the vineyard organically but also become certified was made, according to Ammons, "to show that the winery is really doing it."
The two sites give Ammons a big toolbox to play with, along with new winemaking tools he brought into the winery.
Vine age is also contributing to wine quality, as most of the Oakville vines are now 20-21 years old, an age when Cabernet vines start to express themselves more fully.
In the vineyards, life really changed when the winery got a new Clemens [a type of plow], said Stubstad. "It was a game changer," she said. Stubstad had the Clemens retrofitted to be two-sided, meaning one pass can trim the weeds on both sides of the row, reducing compaction. (Rudd's vine spacing is 4 by 4 with a high density of 2,700 vines per acre.)
"Our tolerance changed, too," she said. "A weed by a trunk is not the end of the world."
The winery was also able to cut down on the number of sprays by more than 75% after implementing spore monitoring and tracking conditions more carefully.
"We used to go by the label rates, which say spray every 7-10 days," Stubstad said. (Vineyard management companies also get paid by the number of sprays). "But we started to realize that there was so much less mildew pressure than we used to think." Spraying decreased from 13-14 per year to 3-4 per year, she said.
"We've stopped using fertilizer - we haven't use any for three years now. We use home brewed compost tea and botanical teas," she added.
The winery is also minimizing tillage in favor of crimping, a technique that reduces soil disturbance but cripples weeds. It has also moved toward using misters to combat extreme heat events. "They use only 7 percent as much water as irrigation," said Stubstad, adding that she's learned not to overpamper the vines.
Stubstad has two completely different sites to manage - Oakville, on the hot valley floor, and Mount Veeder, at 1,600 feet in a much cooler area - according to what's best for each.
"What works in one vineyard doesn't necessarily work in the other vineyard. They have their own cultural and climatic demands," she said.
WINEMAKING
In the winemaking department, Ammons also manages two different sites - both on the Oakville property. "We have two different soil types here," he said. "One is the volcanic blocks by the road. The other is the alluvial fan...That's the magic of Rudd - the marriage of the two soils domains in the bottle."
In addition to managing the two soil types from the Oakville property, he makes two estate wines.
To enhance the flavors in each, he created new fermentation vessels - in two different shapes - for the the two different soil types, explaining that each shape of vessel produces a different type of extraction.
The tank with the larger bottom is more mechanical in extraction; he uses this for the volcanic blocks. The tank with the smaller bottom is more fluid, he says, based on infusion. It's better for grapes from the alluvial blocks. He also has terracotta amphora from Italy for some of the reds.
The whites are fermented in concrete eggs and tanks. With the help of a French consultant, Ammons has concrete tanks constructed that are lined with aggregate (not just cement) from the estate, enhancing the terroir driven influences in the wine even more.
THE WINES
On his 21st vintage as a winemaker, Ammons says he has worked with grapes from every appellation in Napa. He's lived through the generation that has moved from preferring maximum ripeness (aka the Parker era) to one based on optimal ripeness. A fan of Burgundy (but one who trained in Bordeaux), his tastes run to more nuanced wines and winemaking.
From the beginning, Rudd sought to integrate Bordeaux sensibilities at his Oakville estate, hiring David Ramey as his first winemaker. Ramey had worked with Christian Mouiex from Petrus to start the Mouiex's Napa winery Dominus.
In presenting the wines in the Howard Backen designed tasting room (cum boathouse) overlooking the pond and gardens, Ammons prefers to sequence the tasting in the opposite order most wineries would present them - starting first with the estate's top wine, $250 Estate (ageworthy), followed by $175 Samantha's (drink now but better of course with age), and then capping off the flight with the $80 Sauvignon Blanc (from Mount Veeder), which feels like it is from a different planet compared to the first two (which it is).
The Estate Red is a different blend each year, and sourced solely from the Oakville estate. While the current release is based on Cabernet Sauvignon, in other years it has beed based on Merlot. It's designed to reflect the terroir of the estate.
The 2014 is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon (77%) with Cab Franc (15%), Petit Verdot (5%) and Malbec (3%). The wine is aged in French oak (74% new).
Though all of the wines are built for aging, the Samantha's can be enjoyed now.
I was especially impressed with the aromatics on the Estate. At first, I put my nose in the glass, and then withdrew it, only to linger just above the glass. The nose is that big...and sumptuous. The old wine tasting note trope that the wine "leaps from the glass" is no trope here. I found that it widened the window of pleasure.
Galloni called it a big departure from previous vintages, writing it's a "hugely promising wine...bursting with energy and class."
The 2014 Samantha's Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from more of the alluvial soil vines and aged in French oak (86% new).
The Sauvignon Blanc is from a completely different set of soils - tufa (which on Mount Veeder is quite common) and cobbles (another Mount Veeder staple). I'm a fan of White Bordeaux blends and therefore appreciated that this wine's a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Semillon (16%). The Rudd has softer, fuller flavors than your basic high end Napa SB, which are going for acid. I found the Rudd SB has, to use my new favorite wine descriptor, more pixels.
In some vintages, Rudd also makes 75 cases of a Semillon based blend called Susan's Blanc, which is named for Mrs. Rudd (a serious gardener who works in the garden alongside the hired help and whose exquisite taste led to the selection of Thomas Hobbs in designing Rudd's unique and elegant gardens.)
Currently Rudd Oakville Estate makes just 3,000 cases of wine a year, but Ammons said that will soon change. "We'll be making more estate wine in future years," he said.
Note: Rudd is open to the public for tastings by appointment only. Serious collectors are encouraged.
You can also taste Rudd's wines at PRESS Napa Valley. There, the Samantha's Cabernet is even available by the glass ($35 a glass).
Right there in plain view lies one of the valley's treasures, created by a successful and magnanimous man who had a vision, an empire and a long term view.
It was Leslie Rudd's dream - from the start - to have a multigenerational family winery. A trip to Haut Brion at age 21 inspired him to think in generational terms. With his death in May of this year (from esophageal cancer), his dream has become a reality as his daughter Samantha Rudd, 30, and the mother of a new baby (named Rudd), now takes over the reigns of the family's Oakville estate winery (purchased by Rudd in 1996).
His businesses included the upscale grocer Dean & DeLuca, the 30 brand wine company Vintage Wine Estates, a kosher winery (Covenant Winery, which he kickstarted), and other ventures.
Rudd originally purchased the property that became Rudd Oakville Esate in 1996 when it was called the Girard Winery (a brand Vintage Wine Estates has recently relaunched).
Dedicated to preserving Napa's history, he also restored Edge Hill, (video), planting a new vineyard there with a field blend of varietals from the past, restored and reopened Oakville Grocery, and launched PRESS Napa Valley restaurant, an eatery with a wine list emphasizing glorious, older vintages of Napa Valley wines.
He was unique, even among Napa Valley's business community, in his passion for the past.
He also funded he Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and his own Rudd Foundation, providing scholarships in Kansas, support for Jewish charities, and the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at UConn.
When he became ill two years ago, he officially passed the baton to his daughter Samantha.
RUDD'S NEW ERA
A new direction had already begun by then, with the decision, in 2011 to move toward organic farming and certification and new staff. In 2013 Rudd hired a new Bordeaux trained winemaker - Frederick Ammons - and a year later a new vineyard manager - Macy Stubstad, who graduated from Cornell in viticulture. (She is also one of the organizers of the Organic Winegrowing Conference put on by the Napa Valley Grapegrowers). The vineyard was converted starting in 2015 and then completed certification in 2018 in Oakville and 2017 on Mount Veeder.
The winery ended its contracts with outside vineyard management companies and started farming solely with an in house crew of 15 that is employed year round (health care and other benefits are included). Stubstad teaches pruning to the crew. "How we prune is the most important stage of the year," she said.
"By integrating the farming, we went from being an estate vineyard - farmed by a vineyard management company - to being an estate winery," said Ammons.
"The wines have only gotten better...We can pick earlier, and there is better balance between sugar/acid ripeness and phenolic ripeness," he continued. "The vines are more balanced...The wines are fresher, with a little bit lower alcohol."
On top of that, there was the organic direction. "Going organic was a no brainer and quite easy," he said.
The team's collaborations are starting to bear fruit in the current releases from the 2014 vintages (and future vintages as well).
THE VINES
Rudd Oakville Estate has 47 acres of planted vines (at the intersection of the Oakville Cross Road and Silverado Trail, on a 55 acre parcel). This part of Oakville could be described as the Beverly Hills of Napa vineyards. Rudd's neighbors are Plumpjack, Dalla Valle, Bond St. Eden and Screaming Eagle.
Purchased in 1998, Rudd's Mount Veeder estate consists of 17 acres of vines plus Rudd Farm. White and red Bordeaux grapes are planted here. The vegetables go to PRESS Napa Valley, a Rudd restaurant next to Dean and Deluca in St. Helena.
The decision to not only farm the vineyard organically but also become certified was made, according to Ammons, "to show that the winery is really doing it."
The two sites give Ammons a big toolbox to play with, along with new winemaking tools he brought into the winery.
Vine age is also contributing to wine quality, as most of the Oakville vines are now 20-21 years old, an age when Cabernet vines start to express themselves more fully.
In the vineyards, life really changed when the winery got a new Clemens [a type of plow], said Stubstad. "It was a game changer," she said. Stubstad had the Clemens retrofitted to be two-sided, meaning one pass can trim the weeds on both sides of the row, reducing compaction. (Rudd's vine spacing is 4 by 4 with a high density of 2,700 vines per acre.)
"Our tolerance changed, too," she said. "A weed by a trunk is not the end of the world."
 |
| Macy Stubstad, vineyard manager at Rudd, with her sheep and sorghum; some of the land is allowed to lie fallow to replenish itself, a sign of more patient and generous farming practices |
"We used to go by the label rates, which say spray every 7-10 days," Stubstad said. (Vineyard management companies also get paid by the number of sprays). "But we started to realize that there was so much less mildew pressure than we used to think." Spraying decreased from 13-14 per year to 3-4 per year, she said.
"We've stopped using fertilizer - we haven't use any for three years now. We use home brewed compost tea and botanical teas," she added.
The winery is also minimizing tillage in favor of crimping, a technique that reduces soil disturbance but cripples weeds. It has also moved toward using misters to combat extreme heat events. "They use only 7 percent as much water as irrigation," said Stubstad, adding that she's learned not to overpamper the vines.
Stubstad has two completely different sites to manage - Oakville, on the hot valley floor, and Mount Veeder, at 1,600 feet in a much cooler area - according to what's best for each.
"What works in one vineyard doesn't necessarily work in the other vineyard. They have their own cultural and climatic demands," she said.
WINEMAKING
In the winemaking department, Ammons also manages two different sites - both on the Oakville property. "We have two different soil types here," he said. "One is the volcanic blocks by the road. The other is the alluvial fan...That's the magic of Rudd - the marriage of the two soils domains in the bottle."
In addition to managing the two soil types from the Oakville property, he makes two estate wines.
To enhance the flavors in each, he created new fermentation vessels - in two different shapes - for the the two different soil types, explaining that each shape of vessel produces a different type of extraction.
 |
| Ammons with his two different shapes of fermentation tanks |
The whites are fermented in concrete eggs and tanks. With the help of a French consultant, Ammons has concrete tanks constructed that are lined with aggregate (not just cement) from the estate, enhancing the terroir driven influences in the wine even more.
 |
| The vintage doors to the winery were sourced from a former ice warehouse in New Jersey |
 |
| Howard Backen designed the winery; the surrounding gardens (not pictured) were created by the legendary Canadian designer Thomas Hobbs. |
On his 21st vintage as a winemaker, Ammons says he has worked with grapes from every appellation in Napa. He's lived through the generation that has moved from preferring maximum ripeness (aka the Parker era) to one based on optimal ripeness. A fan of Burgundy (but one who trained in Bordeaux), his tastes run to more nuanced wines and winemaking.
From the beginning, Rudd sought to integrate Bordeaux sensibilities at his Oakville estate, hiring David Ramey as his first winemaker. Ramey had worked with Christian Mouiex from Petrus to start the Mouiex's Napa winery Dominus.
The Estate Red is a different blend each year, and sourced solely from the Oakville estate. While the current release is based on Cabernet Sauvignon, in other years it has beed based on Merlot. It's designed to reflect the terroir of the estate.
The 2014 is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon (77%) with Cab Franc (15%), Petit Verdot (5%) and Malbec (3%). The wine is aged in French oak (74% new).
I was especially impressed with the aromatics on the Estate. At first, I put my nose in the glass, and then withdrew it, only to linger just above the glass. The nose is that big...and sumptuous. The old wine tasting note trope that the wine "leaps from the glass" is no trope here. I found that it widened the window of pleasure.
Galloni called it a big departure from previous vintages, writing it's a "hugely promising wine...bursting with energy and class."
The 2014 Samantha's Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from more of the alluvial soil vines and aged in French oak (86% new).
In some vintages, Rudd also makes 75 cases of a Semillon based blend called Susan's Blanc, which is named for Mrs. Rudd (a serious gardener who works in the garden alongside the hired help and whose exquisite taste led to the selection of Thomas Hobbs in designing Rudd's unique and elegant gardens.)
Currently Rudd Oakville Estate makes just 3,000 cases of wine a year, but Ammons said that will soon change. "We'll be making more estate wine in future years," he said.
Note: Rudd is open to the public for tastings by appointment only. Serious collectors are encouraged.
You can also taste Rudd's wines at PRESS Napa Valley. There, the Samantha's Cabernet is even available by the glass ($35 a glass).
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Wine.com Launches New Biodynamic Wine Section
Wine.com, the largest online wine store, has launched a new Biodynamic section on its online store where consumers can find wines from Demeter certified vines. This is something new.
Until now, searching for "biodynamic" wine on a wine retailers web site was a hit or miss proposition. Many of the wines were not certified and you had really no idea of what the practices were.
There has never been a wine store or place online to find the wines that are actually from certified Biodynamic vines, so wine.com's new section is a breakthrough for consumers.
Friday, July 27, 2018
Roederer: In Praise of Biodynamic Viticulture
Here are some of the illuminating excerpts:
"He (at Roederer) wanted the vines to have a much deeper root system that plunged into the bedrock of chalky limestone and clay; he believed that would help to protect against heat and drought while better expressing the character of the vineyard. To accomplish this, he eliminated the use of herbicides and fertilizers, developed techniques for training the roots downward and began trials for both organic and biodynamic viticulture...
Mr. Lécaillon adapted the techniques for Roederer and for years ran experiments farming some blocks biodynamically and some organically. Each year, Mr. Lécaillon and his team tasted the results blind, then compared.
After four or five years we were 100 percent able to identify the wines from biodynamic soils," he said. "More intensity, more clarity of fruit, a velvety texture and a link between fruit and acidity. "It's a very intelligent way of farming," he said. "I don't understand Steiner at all, but I see the results."
Nonetheless he said some years his team preferred the wines farmed organically. He said organic farming produced fleshier wines, while biodynamics gave 'more pixels.'"
I wonder how the organic farming was being done (i.e. compost, no or low till, etc.) as there are many factors aside from using less toxic materials that could contribute to the difference in taste.
For those of you wondering about Roederer here in Mendocino following the French example, yes, there are some parallels. But only about 1/4 to 1/3 of Roederer's vines in Mendocino are farmed organically. About 17 acres down the road at Roederer's Domaine Anderson (still wines only) are certified Biodynamic (and a few more are organic).
I, for one, cannot wait to taste some biodynamic Cristal if that's a wine that will be released.
HOW BIODYNAMICS CAME TO CHAMPAGNE
For more on the Biodynamic trends in Champagne, read Monty Waldin's 2016 article published in UK or check out Caroline Henry's fabulous book Terroir Champagne which is a guide to organic and biodynamic wines from Champagne. Filled with stories from "the little guys."
 |
| Valentin de Sousa at IBWC 2018 |
GROWER CHAMPAGNE FROM ORGANIC AND BD PRODUCERS
I should also mention that we had one Biodynamic (and Demeter certified BD) Champagne grower at the International Biodynamic Wine Conference - Champagne de Sousa - and those wines were outstanding. They make 8,300 cases from their 12 acres of vines; those are imported in the U.S. by Charles Neal Selections. The entry level bubbly runs $40; the Grand Cru (Blanc de Blanc) $45.
My favorite was their Mycorhize. (Tech sheet here).
It comes from a tiny plot that is plowed by horse.
POSTSCRIPT
@LouisRoederer tweet today (August 2, 2018)
Maratona: The Napa Cab That Five Generations Wrought
Maratona means "marathon" in Italian and is the fitting name of a somewhat secret wine. How did it come to be?
Napa Wine Co., owned by the descendants of the Pelissa Family, is one of the oldest families in Napa Valley and by far the largest owner of organic vineyards. (It has 550 acres of organic grapes in Yountville and Oakville). They also operate a custom crush operation in Oakville and have a tasting room there for their clients' wines (an excellent place to stop - and you can also visit the historic Oakville Grocery across the street). Today Andy Hoxsey, one of the Pelissa's, is the president.
The company was the 9th winery to be bonded in California.
As growers, the family's grapes are mostly sold - about 88% of them - to other wineries. But Napa Wine Co. has three of its own brands you can sample (and buy):
• Elizabeth Rose, $20 wines from organic vines (best deal in Napa)
• Oakville Winery, which makes a moderately priced ($25-50) Zin and Cab (also a very good deal)
• Ghost Block, its premium wines from Oakville (superb quality, $70-100 for the Cabs)
(You can also find a single vineyard designate from Nickel and Nickel from Rock Cairn Vineyard, another of the Pelissa's organically farmed vineyard.)
So where does the Maratona come in?
In 2012, a great vintage, the family decided to celebrate its more than 100 years in Napa Valley with a special wine to celebrate five generations of Pelissa family farming and grape growing. (They came to Napa in 1903).
This wine was the result.
It's a blend of 50% Cabernet, 25% Merlot and 25% Petit Verdot. Production: 148 cases ($100).
So, if you visit the Tasting Room at Napa Wine Co., ask for the Maratona. They keep it behind the counter.
Napa Wine Co., owned by the descendants of the Pelissa Family, is one of the oldest families in Napa Valley and by far the largest owner of organic vineyards. (It has 550 acres of organic grapes in Yountville and Oakville). They also operate a custom crush operation in Oakville and have a tasting room there for their clients' wines (an excellent place to stop - and you can also visit the historic Oakville Grocery across the street). Today Andy Hoxsey, one of the Pelissa's, is the president.
The company was the 9th winery to be bonded in California.
As growers, the family's grapes are mostly sold - about 88% of them - to other wineries. But Napa Wine Co. has three of its own brands you can sample (and buy):
• Elizabeth Rose, $20 wines from organic vines (best deal in Napa)
• Oakville Winery, which makes a moderately priced ($25-50) Zin and Cab (also a very good deal)
• Ghost Block, its premium wines from Oakville (superb quality, $70-100 for the Cabs)
(You can also find a single vineyard designate from Nickel and Nickel from Rock Cairn Vineyard, another of the Pelissa's organically farmed vineyard.)
So where does the Maratona come in?
 |
| The 5 stars stand for five generations |
In 2012, a great vintage, the family decided to celebrate its more than 100 years in Napa Valley with a special wine to celebrate five generations of Pelissa family farming and grape growing. (They came to Napa in 1903).
This wine was the result.
It's a blend of 50% Cabernet, 25% Merlot and 25% Petit Verdot. Production: 148 cases ($100).
So, if you visit the Tasting Room at Napa Wine Co., ask for the Maratona. They keep it behind the counter.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
New Life for Acre Wines: Boutique Napa Label Changes Hands
There's new life in Acre Wines: Mike and Talley Henry purchased the winery in late 2017, taking over from Bob Babbe and Dave Acker who founded the brand in 2002.
This small label (3,000 cases) has traditionally released a Zinfandel (500 cases, $30) and a Cabernet Sauvignon (500-1,500 cases, $43), buying grapes from Yountmill Vineyards. The vineyards are owned by Andy Hoxsey and his family, who are the largest organic growers in Napa Valley. They own 550 acres of organic vines originally certified in 1995.
Henry has worked in his family's distribution business, Henry Wine Group, before making the leap to buy the brand with his wife Talley, an attorney, in 2017.
"It was always my dream to have a winery," Henry said, "but it was almost accidental that this happened. A friend told me there was an opportunity out there and that's how it began."
The wines are made at Napa Wine Co. (next door to the Oakville Grocery) and sold in the tasting room there.
The label has distribution in 18 states and is sold in Canada, Hong Kong and China.
The label has distribution in 18 states and is sold in Canada, Hong Kong and China.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Organically Grown Supermarket Rosé - Where to Find It: Trader Joe's Rocks, Whole Foods Not
Kudos to Trader Joe's for making organically grown rosé wines available from not one country but two!
After checking the Whole Foods stores in Berkeley, Petaluma and Oakland for organically grown rosé, I was dismayed to come up completely empty handed. Then I visited the Trader Joe's in Corte Madera.
This is what it looks like there. You can choose from two different wines - and they are prominently displayed.
Shaw Organic (more on their wines in a later post) is from the makers of Two Buck Chuck - Bronco Wine Co. in Madera, California (in the San Joaquin Valley).
The other selection, at $8.99, the De Mont, is actually an AOC rosé from Provence's Coteaux Varois en Provence region, where most of the wines made are rosés.
The quality difference? Taste for yourself (or better yet - blind taste) and let me know your comments here.
After checking the Whole Foods stores in Berkeley, Petaluma and Oakland for organically grown rosé, I was dismayed to come up completely empty handed. Then I visited the Trader Joe's in Corte Madera.
This is what it looks like there. You can choose from two different wines - and they are prominently displayed.
Shaw Organic (more on their wines in a later post) is from the makers of Two Buck Chuck - Bronco Wine Co. in Madera, California (in the San Joaquin Valley).
The other selection, at $8.99, the De Mont, is actually an AOC rosé from Provence's Coteaux Varois en Provence region, where most of the wines made are rosés.
The quality difference? Taste for yourself (or better yet - blind taste) and let me know your comments here.
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Dear Readers: Thank You! 10,000 Page Views Last Month
For the first time ever, this blog reached 10,000 page views in a single month. Thank you, readers!
One Acre Wonder Sylvie Estate Scores Its First Restaurant Placement - At the French Laundry
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| Kurt Niznik (winemaker), Cristina Lopez (sculptor and co-proprietor), and Kendall Smith (vineyard manager) |
That is the question that the owners of Sylvie Estate are asking themselves after releasing their first wine - an Oakville Cabernet from their one acre valley floor vineyard on the Silverado Trail.
The wine's first restaurant placement is on the wine list of the ultra prestigious French Laundry.
How often does that happen to a winery's first release?
The success of Sylvie's first vintage, in this case, lies with both the winemaker, the vineyard and the winery.
Sylvie's tiny size - a one acre vineyard in Oakville - is not the only story here. Sylvie is also a case study in Napa (and America's) ethnic mashup when it comes to making fine wine. The winemaker is an American child of Mexican-American and Slovakian-Slovenian parents, the vineyard co-owner is a native of New Mexico and the wine is a French varietal. The name of the wine - Sylvie - comes from the other co-owner's Finnish mother. Wine seems to bring people together.
Sylvie's winemaker is the highly regarded Kurt Niznik, a Yale graduate, who spent five years on the winemaking team at prestigious Continuum (owned by Tim Modavi). That's enough to get anyone to take notice. But that isn't the whole story.
The vineyard, of course, is the other big piece - as well as the loving eye of attentive owners.
With one acre, or actually a little less, vineyard manager Kendall Smith is able to keep her eyes very focused on this tiny (certified organic) vineyard where the Lopez's chickens roam freely.
And where is this micro vineyard? Right there in plain sight - on the east side of the Silverado Trail in Napa. You can't miss Henry and Cristina Lopez's Santa Fe Pueblo style home on the right (near the Dal Valle sign) in Oakville. (Note: The winery is not open to visitors). It's a bold announcement that New Mexico is alive and well in Napa Valley.
Scientist Brian Atwood also partnered with Henry Lopez and the rest of the team on the winemaking venture.
It truly is a sumptuous wine.
Enjoy these photos of the Lopez's world and wine. Sylvie is available (by mailing list only) for $130 per bottle. Both the 2010 and 2013 are available on the French Laundry wine list. It sure is fun to see Napa's tiniest organically grown wine making it to the big time.
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| French Laundry team visiting Sylvie Estate |
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