Christian Brothers’ New Testament : Change in Marketing, Wine-Making at Napa Valley Firm

A common comment echoed by veteran Napa Valley observers these days is that everything has changed at the Christian Brothers Winery, except their religion. Major change comes hard in this century-old conservative wine region in the Napa Valley and even harder for the Christian Brothers, who have been making good wines since the 1880s, but in recent years have suffered from slumping sales.

The new directions have improved the wines immeasurably. A prime example is a soon-to-be-released, barrel-fermented Chardonnay, 1985, in a rich, buttery style that is generous and fruity, with restrained accents from Vosges oak aging. This is not the kind of wine that would have been made several years ago, when for commercial purposes high-volume quantity, like 75,000 cases, was a must. Only 600 cases of this boutique-style Chardonnay have been produced at an attractive price of $10.

The change in marketing strategy and wine-making policy has been largely wrought by the brothers’ youthful president, Brother David Brennan, 44, who has decided that the brothers must change with the times and take charge of their own marketing destiny, formerly conducted by the firm of Fromm and Sichel.

The new wine-making policy is implemented by academically trained Tom Eddy. He made the 1985 and 1984 Chardonnay, the latter by first tasting 40 Napa Valley Chardonnays and then conducting a series of tastings seeking the brothers’ input. In each, two or three wines stood out, most of which came from grapes owned by Christian Brothers. It is no secret they are the proprietors of more than 1,000 acres of Napa Valley vineyards and as a consequence have the luxury of making boutique-styled wines any time they want.

Changed for the Better

Still available is the ’84 Chardonnay, which has changed for the better since earlier tastings, although it does not come from as good a vintage as the ’85. Coming from an early hot year, it is a more aggressive, bigger wine, without barrel fermentation, but there is good flavor and texture here. It does not carry the dimension of greatness like the ‘85, but at $8 it is good value.

Developing better is the 1984 Cabernet in a silky, spritely style, showing some wood tones. The wine, although requiring several years of additional bottle aging, is an even better value at $7.

Eddy’s contribution to upgrading is best illustrated by the Brothers’ blockbuster Cabernet Sauvignon, Money Lane Vineyard, 1985. Definitely developing well, it comes from a gem of a vineyard located in the southern part of the Napa Valley. It will be released in early 1988.

The brothers’ willingness to make smaller batches of prime wine may be a calculated gamble on their part, but not so with the ’85 Money Lane produced in a sizable quantity of 20,500 cases. Make no mistake, even though this wine will be released in the $7 to $9 range, it is worth waiting for and considering for cellar acquisition even before French claret. While the vintage, a superb one, may be largely responsible for the quality, the brothers are determined to maintain a string of boutique-like Cabernet successes.

A definite success is the recent reopening of the brothers’ renovated historic Greystone Wine Cellars, which was declared earthquake unsafe a few years ago, but which now will surely become a must-see stop on a Napa Valley tour. It has taken three years to remodel and reinforce this treasure trove of a structure built in 1888, to provide cellar space for wine aging in the hope of growers securing higher Napa Valley prices. It will now be known as the Christian Brothers Visitors Center, where tastings will be conducted seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. There will also be tours of specially constructed displays on wine making and the historic role of the building.

A ‘Beautiful Old Friend’

Brother Timothy, 76, and Greystone’s cellar master since it was acquired by the brothers in 1950, describes the building as a “beautiful old friend, a structure that is chock-full of Napa Valley history and has an amazing ability to survive the likes of the phylloxera epidemic of the last century, San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake, and even Prohibition.” His magnificent corkscrew collection along with other wine country memorabilia also will be on display.

Unique to the Napa Valley, and perhaps Greystone’s most exciting feature, is the creation of a public barrel-tasting room, where consumers will be invited to taste up to six new wines, make a taste evaluation and then discuss with a trained wine maker the wines’ relative merits. Tasters will be able to discern differences among wines aged in various kinds of barrels, such as Nevers, Vosges and Limousin oak.

The launching of a barrel-tasting room is something wineries here and abroad will be viewing. Most, if not all, are reluctant to allow consumers with untrained palates to taste raw, unfinished wines.

“The point of a tasting room is to educate consumer palates,” said Brother David, “a purpose not inconsistent with our overall aim of education, and while these kinds of tastings are reserved for enologists and academicians, we are confident the public will enjoy them.”

The room and Greystone will be under the management of seasoned enologist and veteran Los Angeles County Fair wine judge Diana Burnett. A fee of $3 will be charged for the tasting, which will run three times daily at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m..

Century-old winery structures have always been an attractive lure to wine lovers, who like to fantasize that in the bowels of the structure there must be hidden ancient cellars filled with treasures of great taste, age and charm. None has been unearthed at Greystone, except for the wines placed in the cornerstone in 1888. Note such treasured relics as Sauvignon Vert, 1887, Bourne and Wise; Carrignan (Carignane), 1886; Beringer Brothers Brandy, 1884; Riesling, 1885, Charles Krug and Johannisberg Riesling, Louis Zierngidl.

At Greystone’s reopening ceremonies, Brother David cautioned the brothers to expect even more changes. “What will not change,” he said, “is our basic faith and the need to make the best wines from our vineyards no matter how small to support our Brothers of the Christian Schools, a vision initiated by our founder Jean Baptiste de la Salle, that did not begin in the 1880s but some 300 years ago in another wine region, Rheims, Champagne.”