Our Thoughts
Friday, March 5, 2009
This particular portion of our website has always been my nemesis! Looking back at the most recent “Our Thoughts”, I see that it has been a year since I put pen to paper, or rather fingers to keyboard, to get something under this heading. I almost don’t know where to begin except perhaps to start with a “Thank you” to all of our loyalists who continue to enjoy what we produce and seem to be growing in number as well as allegiance.
We have indeed been busy here both in the vineyards and in the market place in efforts to share our wines with new restaurateurs, retailers and wine lovers from coast to coast. Overall, the buzz is happening as we continue to be on track to become a nine year overnight success!
Which reminds me of a movie I happened to watch that told the story behind the historic ‘Judgement of Paris’ tasting between California and French wines in the mid-70’s. Interesting story however I have a feeling that there was a little poetic license for the purpose of drama, etc. Nevertheless, it was a good yarn and it brought back to mind what it was like in my early years in this trade. Things were quite different then in the wine biz as there were actual wine merchants who trusted their palates and their customers trusted them too. The era of the singular all powerful wine critic with his mighty pen and palate anointing certain wines as “The wine of the century”, had yet to dawn. Instead we looked to people like Michael Broadbent, Hugh Johnson and Alexis Lichine to guide our palates, not dictate. The Wine Spectator was printed in a newspaper format (anyone remember that?) not its current glossy look. And the trade overall was still very un-corporate and very Californian. Winegrowers, as shown in the movie, were farmers with a love for the soil and its product. The pursuit of the best from their land being put in a bottle seemed more sincere and genuine. For me personally, it was a great time to learn a trade and I had some great mentors along the way. For that, I am thankful.
But as I said, things were different then. Much has changed in the world and so it goes with what is now the wine ‘industry’. When I drive around the various vineyards that dot our landscape and see the humble beginnings of a burgeoning community of actual wineries, its hard to think of what we (and this is a collective “We” in the form of fellow vignerons and winegrowing neighbors) are doing as an “Industry”. And perhaps, this is part of what makes winemaking in Contra Costa County so special to me. Ask any artisan winemaker with a modicum of experience and he will tell you that each region has a personality. No doubt the result of that unique combination of climate, soil and weather that makes a vineyard, valley or hillside unique and individual. The winegrowers and vintners that share our soil and climate are, to be sure, eager to carve out a living and commerce is the bottom line. However, the spirit behind what we bring in the bottle has a sense of genuine desire to reflect our soil, our own unique terroir and therefore the ‘personality’ of our region.
We (…the same collective “we” again) recently posted huge awards from the San Francisco Chronicle tasting competition. I’ll leave it to others to tally up the totals on awards and so forth but suffice to say that our region showed quite well. Overall, Contra Costa’s brands accurately reflected our regional personality with real sincerity and superb quality. Which again reminds me of the winegrowers in the movie I saw. What’s it all mean? I think it shows that we are on the cusp of breaking through…..as a region of superb winegrowers. We are at the threshold of unprecedented recognition not only on a national scale but internationally. I also think it means that we have a responsibility to our growing fan-base to remain true to our regional personality, to offer the best of what each individual vineyard and vigneron can put in the bottle and to promote our wines with sincerity and passion. Who knows, maybe they’ll make a movie about Contra Costa one day and how we shook up the wine “industry” with the fruits of our labors.
Mark Enlow
General Manager
