Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been working the scene at some pretty big wine tastings and more are on the way throughout the summer.  These are the types of events with something like 500 people walking around, glasses in hand, slightly purple stained lips, going from table to table sampling wines. It’s sometimes loud, always great for people watching, and maybe I might get to sneak off and join the fun for a bit.  As a new producer, it’s really satisfying to hear all the kind comments about our wines.  Most folks ask questions, take a business card or one of our postcards and are off.  While some jaded souls in the industry liken these Grand Tastings to wild drunken booze fests with little actual return (actual being new customers/purchases), I view these events as a counter balance to the more personal wine dinners or private tastings we do. I’m also encouraged by the number of sommeliers and wine buyers I meet there. These wine soldiers haven’t given up looking for new wines or wanting to try new vintages of old favorites. They actually like what they do (like us) and haven’t given up by just buying from the same old book, from the same old distributor.  Good on them!

If you happen to be attending the Telluride Wine Festival, stop by and say hello!

It really is. I started thinking about this post last week with all the broohaha going on surrounding the Napa Valley Auction. I thought it was very interesting to see all of the press about how this year’s results (along with all the other charitable wine auctions around the country) were down.  That’s understandable but almost $6 million isn’t a bad number at all. I was also glad to see that some of the biggest lots were purchased by the vintners. Good on them!

We at VERGE like to continually remind ourselves of the many blessings we have and that there are many folks out there that are not so fortunate. Ours is a life of bounty here in wine country, from the views to the food to the ever present vino!

Check out these charities and be thankful! 

Wine to Water - VWC’s offer still stands to provide the wine for anyone willing to host a party!  Shoot me an email if you’re interested.
World Food Program - Feeding the World
Heifer Project International - You can teach a man to fish. I want to give a couple pigs later in the year. You can help too!
Feeding America - America’s Second Harvest and your resource for Food Banks across the country.

Catfish are jumping and the cotton is high. Or more appropriately grapevines. They are really popping off right now in Sonoma County these early days of June. It seems like (knock on wood) that the rainy days have left and we’ve nothing but prime grape growing weather ahead. The mornings are cool and fog is burning off at VERGE HQ before noon. After a weekend playing catch up in the garden, Emily knew just the remedy for aching backs and complaining husbands. To start, we set up the washers pit in the backyard. This is a relatively easy game similar to horseshoes but more fun.  We fired up the grill, threw on some chops and put the 2008 VERGE Viognier on ice.

I thought I would give a little Viognier love here on “The Lowdown” as it’s a new wine we’ve just released. Mike and I decided that we needed a little white wine to drink during the summertime and that’s just what this wine is for!  We might even make a little rose this year but that’s another post altogether.

Viognier (rhymes with V & J) is a classic grape varietal traditionally grown in the northern Rhone in France, in particular, from Condrieu and Chateau Grillet. Like most grapes, its genetic heritage is murky at best but it is generally accepted that it made its way to France along with the expansion of the Roman Empire. What we love about viognier is that it’s really aromatic and has a lot of perfume and floral qualities.  On the palate it can be light and delicate, laced with minerality or mid to full bodied with a richer mouthfeel.  We like ours for its honeyed/stone fruit character.  It’s got a bit lower acidity that what you would find in France and we like that just fine. Plantings of Viognier in California have increased pretty dramatically over the past decade and are approaching 3,000 acres. Like our Syrahs, our Viognier grapes were farmed organically.

Em and I sat back after playing a few games and let the golden hour descend upon us.  We watched as all the birds flew around our garden, hoping from the overgrown  kale to the peach tree to the birdhouse. The Viognier paired perfectly with the grilled pork chops with peach salsa and garden salad and was a great end to the day.

NOTES:
Jimtown Thursday Wine Bar is a blast. Thanks to Carrie and Crew!
We’re going to do this: Golden Glass
VERGE Syrah is now officially available in Colorado through Premier Cru. Ask your favorite sommelier/retailer to bring it in!
We’re also going to be here: Telluride Wine Festival
I officially dig the restaurant scene in Sacramento. Everyone I spoke with last week was so nice.

Upon returning to Sonoma County and VERGE HQ, I somehow found myself in the weeds. You know, when the inbox piles up and the voicemails go unanswered and all of a sudden you have to deal with them all at once. I’ve learned over the years that I need a structure to do what I do and that system comes mostly from David  Allen’s Getting Things Done. It works for me and I’m able to keep (for the most part) all the plates spinning in the air at once. Running a business in wine industry is (thankfully) at the end of the day, a blast. The weeds though. They grow when you’re not around. But here’s funny story:

One of the accounts I called on when I was in AR was a place I once worked (briefly). Back of the house. In the kitchen. It was a fine restaurant and I knew I would learn tons.  You see, like just about everyone I know, I wanted to enter the culinary arts, become a chef, and I knew (or probably had read that) I needed to start on the ground floor. That meant salad prep and desserts. That first day, man whew, I had no clue and was quickly behind as orders seemed to come flying from nowhere and I barely knew the menu. I was unprepared, uninformed and generally a train wreck. Everyone yelling, watching as I died a six hour death. Did it get better? Hardly. Each service was a massacre with mostly me to blame. The grill guy hated me for making him wait, the sous hated me for obvious reasons. The chef just laughed in pity but I knew he hated me too. I ended up every night for about two months breaking down my station, tired, defeated and smelling like smoke from the grill behind me. I didn’t last.  It was the singular most frustrating and stressful job I’ve ever had.  I tried. I failed and thus began in earnest my profound respect for those people who not only handle it every day but do it with grace, creativity and mad skills. I learned the hard way the difference between a professional chef and a home chef and I gladly count myself among the latter.

And so why did I call on this particular account?  Because I felt like I needed to. Because it was penance for being lame and bailing out on them. Because I wanted to prove something to them that was so sorely lacking when I was last in their restaurant. I had found my calling and wanted them to see (and taste). When I related my sob story to the buyer, he laughed and said the guy I worked for (no longer there) was a jerk and that he would’ve quit too. I didn’t feel so bad then, which was probably his point. He even said, “Hey, that’s the restaurant business.”

The point I guess is that being in the weeds is about picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, finding the inspiration and courage, the gumption, and getting back on the horse. It’s not about being in the weeds so much as how you get out.

Normally, Em and I only get the chance to visit the old home place over the holidays. Needless to say, it’s a busy time of year, shuffling back and forth between our families, dodging ice storms, freak winter time hail, and the near constant full plates of food.

Over the past week, it’s been quite a pleasant trip in Central AR and I gotta say the early spring time weather has been a nice surprise from what I was expecting…ahem…humidity and scorching heat. As I head out to Northwest AR tomorrow, I thought I would share some Little Rock Love:

See this movie - War Eagle
If you only have one meal to eat - Whole Hog
If you have two (that roadside stand outside of Morgan wasn’t there so)- Flying Fish
Place I wish Em and I had time to go - Ashleys at the Capital (beautifully renovated at that)
Educate yourself- Hendrix College
Drinking (and eating like a King) in a Dry County is always nice - Michelangelo’s
It was great to meet up with Jonathon at O’Looneys again - One of the most dedicated Wine Professionals I’ve met in a good while
Muchas Gracias to Joe, Lee, Greg and  Ryan for picking up some wine. Can’t wait to hook it down in the Fall!

Tasting Reminders in NWA
Friday May 22nd, 3-6 (or whenever)
Liquor World

Saturday May 23rd 3-6 (or whenever)
Bordinos

We’re pulling double duty on this first weekend of our 2009 Spring Release. While I’m hanging in the old home place, Mike and Gail will be doing a little pouring around the North Bay.The first event is The 2009 Natural Wine Festival.  This is going to be a great time celebrating wineries who use organic, biodynamic and sustainable farming practices. Nice work to Ryan, who’s the Som at Central Market for organizing this cool tasting.

Event Date:  Saturday May 16th
Event Time: 1-4 pm
Location:  Central Market - 42 Petaluma North Blvd

The second event is the Meals on Wheels Star Chefs and Vintners Gala in San Francisco. I’ve poured at this event myself and it is a blast. Meals on Wheels is one of my favorite charities. It’s their mission to alleviate food insecurity and loneliness experienced by seniors who want to stay home but cannot shop or prepare meals by themselves.

Event Date: Sunday, May 17th
Event Location:  Fort Mason
Event Timeline:
5:00-7:00 PM * HORS D’OEUVRE & WINE RECEPTION
7:00-9:00 PM * SEATED THREE COURSE DINNER,
LIVE AUCTION & FUND-A-ROUTE
9:00-11:00 PM * DESSERT, DANCING & AFTER DINNER DRINKS

If you are at any of these events, stop by and say hello to Mike!

In conjunction with our 2009 Spring Release, I thought it would be fun to talk a little bit about the methodology we use in selecting the vineyards for the 2007 Syrah. I know Mike’s going to weigh in quite a bit, but I wanted to get the conversation started. First and foremost, we look for vineyards that are on the edges of wild lands. There is such a massive amount of syrah planted in California that we immediately wanted to differentiate our approach to sourcing by limiting it to these vineyards.  Secondly, we look for vineyards that are farmed organically or biodyamically. This is something that Mike and I both are passionate about, but Mike has actually had first hand experience (here) transforming conventionally farmed (or as is the case there, sustainably farmed) vineyards to organics.  The first thing you notice is the amount of diversity of life within the vineyard increases. Over the course of the next few weeks, Mike and I will describe some of that diversity and how it affects winegrowing.

But what I find equally fascinating is the amount of diversity beyond the vineyard and how and what effects the “beyond” has on wine and grape quality.  This is where site selection is critical because you can’t necessarily or easily change the area around which you plant.  People typically look at a vineyard as an isolated tract of land, staked and wired with a specific clonal, rootstock and trellising system. That tract is then influenced by the immediate mesoclimate, the soil beneath, and the vintage. Finding vineyards that are next to wild lands increases the number externalities like wildlife, insect life, wind, flora etc. . .and to me opens up the number of influencers on the vineyard.  That makes the spot (and the wine) more interesting. Organic farming is a natural compliment to farming with the wild because organic methodology is more inclusive of those externalities.

Control is really what we’re talking about here.  Do we work with Mother Nature to grow expressive Syrah or do we attempt to bend the site to our will?  What makes the most sense to wine quality and to the quality of life for the vineyard and the wild lands beyond? Here’s some reading that has helped me come to my conclusion:

Farming with the Wild
One Straw Revolution
Four Season Farm
Wendell Berry
Walden

Part of the reason I wanted to start my own company was so I could have more control over my schedule. The good news is that I’m able to travel back to my home state and hang with friends and family whenever I want to. The bad news is that I have to work when I’m there. Ha. Wait a minute. It’s not really work!  It’s actually a lot of fun.  I always make the joke to Emily that we’re on permanent vacation out here in Healdsburg and a lot of times it feels like that.  Great weather, great wine, year round gardening for fresh food.  At the end of the day though, I still miss AR sometimes, especially the spring and fall.  When I get to come and pour wine for folks back home, it’s really special because I feel like I’m sharing a little bit of what makes Sonoma County my vacation home. If you have the notion, stop by any of these tastings and say hi.

Central Arkansas
Colonial Wine & Spirits Tasting-May 15th 4-7pm
Working the Tasting Bar

Hendrix College-May 16th 7pm
Alumni Odyssey

Crush Wine Bar-May 18th 5:30-7pm

Northwest AR
Liquor World-May 22nd 3pm-6pm

Whew…it feels like it’s been a while folks. There’s been no shortage of things going on in VERGE land, that’s for sure. We’re prepping all the little things that go into our Spring Release, which is coming up in mere days.  Tasting notes, website updates, label approval, bottling, all the tiny details that go into actually moving the wine from barrel to your hands. When I worked for Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, the winemaker there (an insanely talented taster) Nicki Pruss used to liken it to an elephant moving downhill. Once the ol boy gets going it’s hard to stop. In the end, it’s all eyes on the prize though and the BIG SPRING RELEASE is right around the corner.

This weekend is going to be huge! VERGE will be participating for the first time in Hospice du Rhone, which is one of the largest worldwide celebrations of Rhone varietals (like Syrah people!). We’re taking the whole crew down, so it should be real fun.  Mike and I (and Em and Gail) will be pouring at both the Friday and Saturday events. We’ll have the 06/07 Syrahs and maybe a little splash here and there of the 2008 Viognier. Good stuff all around. Stop on by our table and say hello.

Right after that, I’m headed to my alma mater, Hendrix College, back in AR to do a little wine tasting there. I can’t wait to see how much the campus has changed. The good news is that it’s still the libral arts bastion of Central Arkansas and I’ve heard you can actually drink in this dry county now. Sign me up.  And if you’re an alum, sign yourself up.

Notes
These folks design our stuff: Sheryl Chapman, Will Collins, Scribe Marketing, Byron Hoffman(website soon).
I can’t get this out of my head. Iran So Far.
Really cool debate on Biodynamic Farming-I love it when folks get randy.
The HdR Twitter Taste Live was great-We sat next to Randall Graham, which was uh…interesting. It was cooler to meet BrizChixLiza and Xandria
I want one of these someday. Younglove.  Monaco.
If you want to  host one, we’ll pour the wine for one dollar.  Water to Wine.
Here’s a sneak peek at our 2008 Viognier Label for reading to the bottom of the post! Check it. 

Long ago, in an unnamed wine country locale, I first saw Twitter Taste Live as it was happening.  One of Mike’s other wines was on the big screen in front of us and we all watched as the tasting impressions volleyed back and forth. I must admit that at first it made me dizzy. All those tweets coming in from around the country, everyone tasting the same wine at the same time and sharing all about it. It was maddening trying to keep up but at the same it was beautiful.

VERGE is stoked to have our 2006 Syrah among the participants in the  April 17th event hosted by Hospice du Rhone at ESTATE Restaurant in Sonoma. To be in the company of greats like Tablas and Kinton is alone a high honor! Mike and I both will be sharing the love at Estate and hope you can join us.

Because of the limited nature of our production, the best way to get a bottle of the wine and play along is to call or shoot me an email here at the winery -707.490.4585 or jay@vergewine.com - or by logging into your account at www.vergewinestore.com.  You can also give the fine folks (Ms. Paige to be specific) at the Jug Shop in San Francisco a call and let them know you wanna tweet it up!

Get more details about TTL here -  http://campaign-archive.com/?u=32e07b01a951c98e248a61ec2&id=ced0ae87e4

Follow us @VERGEwine

Follow the event #ttl

Good Times Indeed!