California terroir

[badthings]

Mr. Grahm, as a longtime admirer of your wine and your demetia, I'd like to thank you for submitting to our importunities here.

Considering your history with pinot noir, and your current varietal promiscuity, I would like to hear your thoughts on California terroir. It seems that you enjoy discovering and promoting some unique terroirs (Oakley, Gilroy), and yet also taking advantage of California's relative freedom to make interesting blends.

3) Retaining as much of the natural qualities of the grapes (especially fragrance) through minimal cellar treatment;

5) Paying particularly close attention to the old chestnut that wine is produced in the vineyard. We try to enact the appropriate cultural practices that will lead to the fullest expression of terroir and variety.

I guess, considering these items of your creed, I wonder how you determine that one unprecedented california expression of a grape (say, viognier), is a worthwhile pursuit, while another (say, pinot noir) is not. Of course, it is your fine palate, considered judgement, and native genius -- but what is it , exactly, that you're shooting for?

I have many more, less coherent questions that flow from this one, but thinking about your malvasia is too distracting.

[Randall Grahm]

Dear Max,

Thanks very much for your question. It is really one that I ask myself on a daily basis. Why make one wine and not another? For me it is really a very personal, subjective call. Do I feel that a particular wine really makes a contribution to the world? Is the world really a better place for it? For example, the malvasia bianca. Does it in any way, shape or form express terroir? No, absolutely not. Is it a great wine? Probably not. But the world is definitely a better place for its existence. If I feel that I am making a wine that is just banal or working with a grape variety that I don't really care for or feel I have nothing new and distinctive to add to the world's appreciation thereof, I will (after at least an iteration or two) place myself on the sidelines. As far as pinot, I just don't think that I have the time and attention right now to do it justice. Maybe you will ultimately see a winnowing in the BDV portfolio as I take the time to really be rigorous with myself and look myself in the eye. Best, RG.

[badthings]

If I may be allowed to importune further (and this ties in to to the other questions about italian varietals and cheap california wines):

The world is definitely a better place for your malvasia. And it will probably be one if you can hit a home run -- or even get on base -- with aglianico. But the issue gets a lot more complicated at the intersection of authenticity (terroir), drinking pleasure, and price. The Saintsbury Pinot Noir you mentioned, for example, works in terms of the last two, if not the first. But what is the point, to pull out my usual straw man, of making albariño in Carneros if it costs twice as much as in Rias Baixas? The point has to be that you can do something incredible with albariño here that they can't do in Galicia, right?

So, closer to home, how do imagine the Cigare at this intersection? Are you expressing something uniquely Californian using the Chateauneuf template? Or are you making a "chateauneuf" here that provides more pleasure than comparably-priced "real" Chateaux-neufs?

Regardless, we are all better off for the "tremendous amount of trial, error and imagination" you have put into experimenting in California. Thank you -- especially for freisa!

[Randall Grahm]

Dear Max,

You have hit the nail squarely on the head. There is absolutely no reason for a Carneros albarino that sells for $30 or for a so-so CA Sangiovese that sells for $25. I do ask myself regularly if I feel that the Cigare is really making a contribution to enriching the world and if it really is competitive w/ Chateauneufs or indeed with other wines that sell for the same price. As far as offering pleasure, I am pretty satisfied that it holds its own w/ Chateuneufs of comparable price. For me it is worthwhile because it is a work that is not yet done and I feel strongly that there are many things that I can still do to create/find greater depth and complexity in the wine. Glad that you like the freisa. RG.