Falstaff Magazin International Nr. 1/2022

wine / CALIFORNIA

wine / CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA, IN TUNE WITH GLOBAL VITICULTURE, HAS TURNED ITS ATTENTION BACK TO ITS SOILS, ITS LAND, ITS TERRITORY. Above left: Cabernet Sauvignon grapes turning from green to to purple, a process known as veraison. Inset left: Cathy Corison’s winery and her Kronos Vineyard in Rutherford. < in tune with global viticulture, has turned its attention back to its soils, its land, its territory. The top winemakers strive to express place – that amalgam of site, climate, aspect, soil and culture – and the wines reflect their origin. Some winemakers, in fact, have never done anything else. “There have been many turning points in Napa Valley’s history and in ours. I think one of the biggest ones, in terms of wine quality, was when the focus shifted from the cellar to the vineyard. Here at Shafer that started happening in the late 1980s and has continued to evolve every year,” says Doug Shafer of Shafer Vineyards. “We farm over 200 acres and we’re out there just about nonstop from January through November – someone comes in contact with each vine at least 11 or 12 times. The number of times human hands come in contact with Shafer vines each year is more than 2.7 million.” He notes how it took a while to recognise what would work best: “The grape that really shines on our site is Cabernet Sauvignon and that’s the result of a lot of trial and error. Early in our history this property has been planted to Zinfandel, Merlot, Chenin Blanc, Sangiovese, and Chardonnay. The clear winner is Cabernet Sauvignon.” VALLEY AND MOUNTAIN Cathy Corison is another winemaker whose focus never swayed from her vines. She founded her estate in 1987 in Napa’s Rutherford AVA (American Viticultural Area) after working as a winemaker across the Valley. She explains why Rutherford, on an alluvial fan that straddles several AVAs, is special: “Extremely well-drained gravelly loam soils hold water for the vines when they need to grow in the spring. Thanks to rainless summers, they dry out right at Cathy Corison owns the Kronos vineyard with 51-year-old vines. The wine is a Napa icon. veraison, when the grapes change colour, so the vines get busy ripening their fruit.” It is on this land that her real treasure stands: “Kronos Vineyard is situated on the bench with soils so gravelly that we could mine them for gravel,” she says. “The hottest part of the valley, St. Helena, has the perfect climate for Cabernet with the heat to consistently and optimally ripen the fruit, retain acidity and lignify seeds. “Kronos is also one of the last old Cabernet vineyards in the Napa Valley, planted in 1971. Growing on St. George rootstock it avoided the fate of most other vineyards that were on AxR1 rootstock when phylloxera came back. Yields are pitifully low, but it has been a gift to work with these gnarly old ladies. The scraggly clusters of tiny berries result in wines of remarkable concentration. Kronos has been farmed organically for over 25 years, long before it became fashionable, so its soils are wildly alive.” Another historic vineyard on the Valley floor is To Kalon, first planted in 1868, its Greek name meaning “highest beauty.” The late Robert Mondavi (1913–2008), one of the key figures in forging quality < Photos: Ridge Vineyards, Corison Winery, Robert McClenahan, Harlan Estate, Vérité 20 falstaff mar – jun 2022

Above: The mountainous terrain of the vineyards at Harlan Estate. Inset: The trio of Vérité wines from Sonoma. Left: Pumping over fermenting Cabernet Sauvignon. This process helps to extract colour and tannins. mar – jun 2022 falstaff 21