On occasion, Joe Canal’s staff members are able to go on trips to meet the producers of the items we sell. Whether we travel to the great wine regions, or any other location, the trips are educational, great for team-building, and, of course, they’re fun.
Brandon Bartfalvi, Senior Wine Manager at our Lawrenceville store, recently visited California wine country on just such a trip with other Joe Canal's team members. Here's Part 2 of his report:
DAY 2 – LIFE IS GOOD… REALLLLLYYY GOOODDDD
The day started well and I knew it was going to be
memorable. First stop – breakfast! Several glasses of OJ and five hard boiled
eggs later and I was ready to make this day happen.
First stop: Saint Francis Winery.
THE WINERY (ST FRANCIS WINERY):
For more than four decades, the wines of St. Francis
Winery & Vineyards have reflected the finest mountain and valley vineyards
in Sonoma County. The founder, Joe
Martin, fell in love with Sonoma Valley and established St. Francis Vineyard in
1971, planting 22 acres of Chardonnay and the first 60 acres of Merlot in
Sonoma Valley. After achieving great success as a grower, Joe opened his own
winery in 1979, with his business partner Lloyd Canton.
The first winemaker, Tom Mackey, joined St. Francis in
1983 and was renowned for elevating both the quality and style of Sonoma Merlot
as an ultra-premium, stand-alone varietal. He also cultivated an in-depth understanding
of every Sonoma appellation, enabling the winery to acquire and develop new
vineyards and expand its wine portfolio.
In 1988, St. Francis partnered with the Kopf family, long
admired for their historic legacy in the wine and spirits industry and
their commitment to quality. That legacy began in 1933 with the repeal of
prohibition, when Rudy Kopf founded the wine and spirits division of Macy’s
Department Store in New York, turning it into what was then one of the finest
wine and spirits retailers in the country. He later established his own wine
and spirits company, now owned by his three daughters.
Today at St. Francis, a new generation of
winemakers, Katie Madigan and Chris Louton, continues the long
tradition of luscious, elegant, fruit-driven wines from Sonoma County
grapes. The winery farms more than 400 acres of Certified
Sustainable estate vineyards in Sonoma Valley and Russian River
Valley, each with varying compositions of loam, clay and volcanic soils. It
also nurtures long-term relationships with top Sonoma County grape growers,
giving the Winery access to some of the region's most coveted old vines
Zinfandel and other varietals from acclaimed vineyards.
OUR VISIT:
We're not in New Jersey anymore!
What a way to start the day! Good weather, good friends and a beautiful
winery only minutes from our lodgings.
As we pulled into the winery you could see just a fraction of the
estates holdings and the view was magnificent.
So what is the first thing we do as soon as we get out of the van? Take pictures in front of the winery of
course! After several minutes of intense
picture-taking (ok it wasn’t intense but I have a story to tell), we made our
way into the tasting room and we were greeted with a delicious glass of St
Francis Chardonnay. I will admit that I
haven’t had this Chard in a while and I was glad to be reminded of how much I
really enjoy it (not over-the-top, just balanced and tasty). As we waited for our guide we perused the
immediate grounds and, again, dove into some intense picture-taking again. It felt good to be there among friends,
slowly meandering around the grounds and taking in the scenery! We all work hard every day (at least that’s
what I will tell you) so it feels good to step back and really enjoy life. After a little downtime our guide introduced
the winery and its philosophy and then walked us to the exclusive dining area
(one table just for us) where she presented the wines paired with different
dishes specifically chosen by the winery’s chef.
A fantastic meal and a great way to introduce the team to
the different wines and their food-pairing abilities. After a wonderful conversation regarding the
wines, marketing, the future, and, of course, local honey, we had to choose our
favorite wine of the lineup (Cab, Merlot, Chard or Old Vine Zinfandel) and
there was not clear favorite. Each
person liked a specific wine for their own reasons. I thought the Cab was really nice and worked
well with the food while someone else preferred the boldness of the Zin. It was a win-win situation because all of the
wines were very good and the food was delicious! As a side note, it really was hard to choose
a favorite wine because each wine was distinct and brought something interesting
with it, especially with the food. HMMMMM, I’m still leaning toward the Cab but
the softness of the Merlot was very appealing.
After our discussion we made a short drive to the
production facilities right behind the visitor center (where we were eating and
drinking ). We lucked out because we
were there during crush so everything was in full swing. We took our time and toured the barrel rooms
and I couldn’t believe there was this much juice in the warehouse, along with a series of
experimental lots that the public may never see. I have seen these type of warehouse set-ups
before so it wasn’t overwhelming for me but it was nice to hear the expressions
from the newbies on the trip. This is
the first time some of them have been to a winery before and especially one of
this scale. It really does put things
into perspective when you see the behind-the-scenes view of the winery.
One Barrel Room at St. Francis
As we made our way out of the warehouse we were just in
time to see the tractor trailers unload their supply of grapes. One of the winery interns walked us through
the entire process and we couldn’t have had better timing. We had to say our farewells so we could make
our appointment at the next winery. And
this concludes the first winery visit of the day and it was going to be hard to
top that……..
WINES TASTED:
St. Francis Chardonnay
St. Francis Merlot
St. Francis Cabernet Sauvignon
St. Francis Old Vines Zinfandel
Next stop, Benziger Winery! We drove by our lodge and up the hill and
there it was the entrance to Benziger. I
had heard great stories about the winery visit here and I couldn’t wait to get
started (and to top it off, Kathy Benziger was our guide).
THE WINERY (BENZIGER FAMILY WINERY):
The following is an excerpt written by Chris
Benziger and his description aptly sums up the background info:
"Our entire portfolio of Benziger wine is certified sustainable,
organic or Biodynamic©. Not because we want to be known as 'the green
winery,' but because we know that great wine has green values. In our
pursuit of fine wine, we follow agricultural, winemaking and business practices
that are good for the earth and the vine, good for the farm worker and the
farmer, and good for our colleagues and our customers.
Our family has been growing grapes on Sonoma Mountain for
close to thirty years. My brother Mike and his wife Mary discovered this
vineyard in the late seventies and purchased the property with the help of my
parents Bruno and Helen. It soon became a real family affair when our brothers
Joe, Bob and Jerry joined the business, followed by my sister Patsy and her
husband Tim. As the youngest siblings, my sister Kathy and I came along with
our parents and spent our high school years as New York transplants in a Sonoma
vineyard.
In the beginning we farmed the same way as everyone else
around here. You spray to keep the weeds in check, to keep the bugs away, and
to increase yield per vine. It worked for a little while and the wines were
decent. But after a few years Mike really pushed us to consider something
different. The earth didn’t look as rich as it once had. Things seemed drier
and harder and quieter. Once we really started thinking about the cycles of
nature and how interrelated everything is, we realized that our farming
approach - while certainly modern - was a little backward.
In the mid-90's, Mike befriended a man named Alan York who
was, and still is, one of the leading international experts on Biodynamic
farming. In this ultra-organic approach, the vineyard is viewed holistically.
Chemicals and artificial inputs are eliminated and natural balances are
re-instated. With Alan's help, we learned which flowers attracted the bugs we
needed to keep pest populations in control. Habitats were created for birds and
owls, and we brought cows, sheep and chickens to live on the property.
Once the estate found its balance, the wines did too. As
we tasted the wines grown from such a healthy and vibrant place, we realized
that the distinctiveness and authenticity we were lacking before was right in
the glass. Healing the land had led to an amazing new caliber of wines and we
knew we had to begin applying the lessons learned on our estate to all the
vineyards we worked with.
Around 2001, Mark Burningham, VP of Winegrowing and the
only non-Benziger Partner in our company, put together a sustainable farming
program for all of our growers. Within it, he created protocols and metrics and
guidelines that would help a farmer tailor a sustainality plan to his specific
vineyard, one that would require him to make progress each year towards an
ultimate goal of organic or Biodynamic certification. Since 2007, Stellar
Certification Services has audited our program each and inspects all the
vineyards that hold its certification.
Today with over a dozen Benzigers active in our winery
business, our family is committed to this philosophy now and for generations to
come."
OUR VISIT:
I don’t even know where to begin but I will simply say
that this was one of the best tours I have ever been on! I could probably write pages on this tour but
I will keep it nice and short for your sake.
We parked the car and as we exited the van we just stopped
and looked up at the massive sequoias towering over us! After we picked our jaws up off the ground,
we strolled up to meet Kathy but on the way to the meeting place we stopped and
took in the surroundings: a copse of sequoias with a place to sit and relax, a
small outside tasting area, gardens and tram cars…..What??!!!! Yes, a tram tour!
We roamed around for a few minutes then a small bundle of
energy and excitement roared out of the building and rushed our way: this energy source was the talented, fun and
friendly, Kathy Benziger. After some
quick intros we jumped on the tram and Kathy jumped into the drivers seat. Oh yes, this was going to be a hell of a
tour! When you meet Kathy you just
instantly fall in love with her energy, enthusiasm and pure charm (and a lot of fun – a
down-to-earth sweetheart of a person).
She makes you feel like you are part of the family and if you are shy
she will break you out of that cocoon.
So, back to the tour…. Kathy took us for our first stop in
the vineyards. A quiet little place
surrounded by indigenous plants, gardens and wildlife (did I mention grapes
too?!) Before she started to tell us
about the winery and its philosophy she poured us some delicious Sauvignon
Blanc so we could taste while she talked.
The history of the winery and how her family ended up in Sonoma is very
interesting (ask me next time you are in the store and I will tell you more)
and the evolution of their vineyard was even more interesting. She described how they converted to a sustainable
winery over time and the gist of it goes like this: When they started the winery they hired a
consultant from Napa to show them the ropes because at that time Sonoma wasn’t
as established as Napa. Well this
consultant told them where to plant, what areas to clear, what pesticides to
use, etc. The winery was successful for
years but then the family woke up and realized something was wrong. They said “listen, what do you hear?” and the
answer was nothing. All of the
wildlife, all of the essential ingredients to the vineyard were not there. No insects, no birds, no plants other than
grapes. They stripped the land and now
it was quietly dying. They knew the
future was going to be short unless they made major changes. So they decided to adopt the sustainable (and
biodynamic) philosophy in order to bring life back to the land. The family used plants from the local
mountains in their vineyards to create balance and to bring the insects back. Over time the land started to regain its
health and the family did their research.
If there were pest problems then they would use natural means to
regulate them. After years, the
vineyards become balanced, healthy organisms in their own right. As we toured the grounds we found all types
of plants from the area, each with a
specific job. It’s remarkable to see
what they are doing and my words truly can’t do it justice, it’s something you
need to witness first hand.
Well, as we drank our Sauvignon Blanc, Kathy roamed around the
vineyards and picked grape tomatoes for each of us (yes, there really are
gardens in the vineyards) and then she gave us each a basil leaf from the plant
to her right. We wrapped the tomato
inside the basil leaf and popped it into our mouths. So clean, so fresh, so good!
After our quick snack and taste of Sauvignon Blanc, we continued
our tour of the grounds. We roamed
through one of the gardens (I call it a garden but it is a little oasis filled
with the local flora and fauna) and then back to our tram for more stops (and
more tasting tables). Kathy described
more of the background and history of the vineyards and showed us the pond and
wetlands on the grounds. This pond is
self-sustaining and uses its various stages (wetland, pond and such) to
naturally recycle the “gray” water runoff from the vineyards. By the time this “gray” water makes it to the
final pond it is clean and naturally filtered and ready to be used again in the
vineyards. Truly a remarkable system!
We made our way through the vineyards and drove down to
the crush pad where we met the man behind all the action (and total vineyard
philosophy), Mike Benziger. Mike is the
general manager and the winemaker for the higher-end Tribute bottling. As mentioned previously, it is right in the
middle of crush so we can witness the action but it is also the busiest time
for the winery so face-to-face time with Mike seemed improbable. To our surprise, Mike took time out to
introduce himself and to personally greet each one of us and to explain the
winery philosophy and the direction the winery is going. We even had a chance to talk to Joe Benziger,
who also was assisting with the duties (and he has his own line of wines named
Imagery). This truly is a family
business and passion!
I also forgot to mention a certain bovine visit.... read
Rachel's blog because I'm sure she will cover this story!
After meeting with members of the team (and family) we
made our way to another tasting table and enjoyed the 2010 Benziger Tribute
Meritage. Those that follow my reviews
know that I always love this bottling and the 2010 was absolutely
delicious. I usually like some age to
this bottling but the 2010 was silky and smooth revealing dark fruit notes
framed by spice and chocolate notes. The
finish just caressed the palate and just would not end. Keep an eye out for this release!
Kathy also showed us a “secret room” that hides some
special magic but I'm not giving away this spicy little morsel in this blog..
consider it a teaser! You can ask me
about it but depending on my mood I may not reveal the secret. Visit the winery and find the answer!
Finally, we made our way to the tasting room where we had
the opportunity to sample some special wines that were only available
there. This was sadly the end of our
tour and after our goodbyes we made our way back to the lodge (then a long, fun
night in Santa Rosa!!) Oh, for you beer
geeks out there, we spent some time at Russian River Brewing (the dark sour was
delicious!).
WINES TASTED:
Benziger Merlot Sonoma County
Benziger Chardonnay Sonoma County
Benziger Sauvignon Blanc
Benziger Cabernet Sauvignon (btw, this is one of my fav
Cabs under $20)
Benziger Tribute (read the description in the blog)
deCoelo Pinot Noir (winery only)
Signaterra line (wine club wine)
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