10 Years Later, No One’s Laughing at Carneros

When the idea of recognizing the Carneros region as an American Viticultural Appellation first surfaced, it didn’t appear to have much going for it. There was but one winery and fewer than 1,000 acres of vines when the application was submitted in 1979. What’s more, Carneros didn’t follow any existing boundaries, embracing parts of the southern ends of both Napa and Sonoma counties--at the time painted as the Hatfields and McCoys of the wine world.

But this week, as it prepares to celebrate its 10th anniversary as an officially recognized AVA, Carneros is widely regarded to be one of the program’s real success stories.

Today, there are more than 6,500 acres of vineyard land, owned by the likes of the Robert Mondavi Winery and some of the world’s top producers of sparkling wine. Moet’s Domaine Chandon, in Yountville, has the bulk of its vineyard land, some 700 acres, in the Carneros. France’s Taittinger and Spain’s Codorniu and Freixenet are all located in the Carneros, having erected magnificent edifices to display their jewels. Freixenet’s Gloria Ferrer and Codorniu Napa have made wines far better than anything yet produced in Spain. And the bubbly of Domaine Carneros, Taittinger’s U.S. venture, has received wide acclaim.

Purists like Carneros because it verifies the French argument that soil and climate can merge to provide a hospitable environment for a limited number of grape varieties. Carneros, which could lay claim to being America’s equivalent to Burgundy, has cast its lot with the same grapes as Burgundy--more than 85% of the vineyards are planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay--and the results have been excellent.

Carneros has certainly come a long way since the day in 1979 when Anthony Bell of Beaulieu Vineyard--which didn’t even have a winery in the area--first submitted a 3 1/2-page request to the federal government to certify the carefully drawn area just north of San Pablo Bay.

“It was a time when everyone was worrying what the definition for ‘Napa Valley’ should be,” says Bell, “and no one cared about Carneros.”

But the Carneros had already won the minds and hearts of dozens of wine lovers and winery owners who saw this arid region as more than logical. The government received no opposition to Bell’s petition and certified Carneros as an AVA in September, 1983.

Driving through Carneros, one is struck by the fact that so few wineries are visible. Fewer than 20 wineries exist here, including pioneer Carneros Creek, the only winery when the application was submitted. Most are located off side roads and are not visible from the Carneros Highway, which links southern Napa and Sonoma.

But just because few wineries are here doesn’t mean the grapes aren’t prized. Carneros is loved around the state by those who have seen the quality of the fruit. Many wineries own property here, far from their crushing facilities.

* Ferrari-Carano Winery in Healdsburg, in northern Sonoma County, now makes a Reserve Chardonnay that is 90% from its Carneros planting.

* Cuvaison Winery in Calistoga, 20 miles northeast, makes excellent Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from its 300-acre ranch on a hill adjacent to Domaine Carneros.

* Silverado Vineyards on the Silverado Trail north of Napa makes a Limited Reserve Chardonnay that is largely from its property in the Carneros.

* Wineries as distant as Clos Pegase (Calistoga), BV (Rutherford), Clos du Val (Napa) and Robert Sinskey (Napa) all own ranches here.

In addition, it’s estimated that 60 wineries buy their fruit from independent growers here. The grapes from Angelo Sangiacomo’s 900-acre ranch on the Sonoma side of the Carneros have been celebrated in wines made by Jed Steele, Joseph Phelps and dozens of others. ZD Winery has long used Carneros fruit for its award-winning Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Even Duckhorn Vineyards now buys grapes here.

The history of the region dates to the days of Spanish rule, in the 1840s, when Carneros was home to four huge land grants and the rolling hills were filled with sheep ranches. ( Carneros , in fact, is Spanish for sheep.)

After the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt and subsequent annexation of California to the United States, the region’s fertile land, moderate climate and proximity to San Pablo Bay made the area prime for cattle, hay, dairy products, fruit and grapes. Wharves sprang up on the Napa River and Sonoma Creek as shipping points.

BV and Louis M. Martini Winery planted vines here in the 1940s, the latter acquiring 200 acres of land in 1942. Soon it was found to be hospitable to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Cool nights during the harvest kept acid levels from dropping as they did in warmer climates. And grapes usually ripened slowly, gaining added flavor with more time on the vine.

It was another 20 years, however, before three pioneers moved to the arid land. Of the three--Ira Lee, the Sangiacomo family and Rene di Rosa--it was di Rosa, a former San Francisco newspaperman, who did most to popularize the region as a fine wine-growing area. He promoted Carneros and sold a wide range of top-quality grapes from his Winery Lake Vineyard, including exceptional Riesling and Gewurztraminer. But there was a small market for those wines, so the varieties were converted to more profitable grapes.

“But in 1979, when I submitted my petition,” Bell recalled, “there were very few grapes growing here. Mostly it was just rolling hills of bare land.”

In 1986, Di Rosa sold his ranch to the multinational firm Jos. Seagram & Sons, which owned Sterling Vineyards and Mumm in the Napa Valley and wanted the grapes for its table and sparkling wines. Seagram reportedly paid more than $8 million for the 176-acre vineyard, which works out to a then unheard-of price of $45,000 per acre.

Carneros makes a more delicate wine than many areas of California, in part because of the cooler climate, although Saintsbury, one of the leading wineries here, makes one of the richest Chardonnays. However, Saintsbury’s best wine is a sublime Pinot Noir, loaded with fruit but lighter than the Pinot Noir in other regions.

Acacia Winery, on the other hand, makes a more refined Chardonnay, and its Pinot Noir is a bit more gutsy and long-lived.

Buena Vista Winery, one of the largest Carneros producers, has two bargains from the area that show the fruit handsomely. A 1991 Chardonnay is delicate and loaded with fruity charm; a 1991 Pinot Noir is strawberry-ish in aroma and gracefully flavorful. Both wines sell for about $9--excellent values.

Other top-rated Carneros Chardonnays, all about $15 a bottle, include: 1991 Conn Creek “Grand Reserve”; 1991 Rombauer Vineyards; 1991 Gloria Ferrer; 1991 Acacia “Marina,” and 1991 Saintsbury.

Of the top Pinot Noirs from the area, try 1991 Saintsbury ($15); 1990 Martini “Las Amigas” ($16); 1991 ZD Winery ($20, winner of a gold medal at the California State Fair wine judging), and 1991 Acacia “St. Clair” ($18).

If Carneros is to develop fame for another grape variety, my pick would be Merlot. Ever since tasting a 1983 Buena Vista Merlot, I have been smitten with the Merlots from in this region. Proof may be found in the wonderful 1990 Cuvaison Merlot ($22), from the winery’s Carneros ranch. The wine is deeply concentrated yet has all the grace a Merlot should have.

Two new Merlots of excitement from the area are 1991 Havens--”Truchard Vineyard” ($17)--and a stunning new wine, 1991 Macrostie Merlot ($17) from Lee Hudson’s vines. Macrostie, better known for his own and for Roche Vineyards’ buttery-rich Chardonnays, made 1,000 cases of this handsome, richly scented wine that will be released Nov. 1.

Wine of the Week

1992 La Vieille Ferme, Cotes du Luberon (white) ($6.50) --The proprietary wine Le Vieille Ferme has long been known as a tasty Rhone-style red wine that first was exported to the United States in the early 1970s. The companion white wine was always tasty but usually a bit coarse. At the behest of importer Robert Haas, winemaker Jean Pierre Perrin (son of the proprietor of the highly regarded Chateau de Beaucastel in Chateauneuf-du-Pape) decided in 1992 to change the style of the white wine. This is the result, a wine that is richer and softer in texture and has ample complexity for so reasonable a price. The trick is that 10% of it was fermented in new barrels and left on its lees ( sur lie ) to gain fatness and fullness. There is a light spice note to an intriguing fig, pear and apple aroma. At last, the red La Vieille Ferme has a worthy companion.