Pouring Their Hearts Into Wine

Most of us can enjoy a glass of wine without giving it much thought. Then there are those of us who investigate wine lore--its mythology, history and geography--as a new way to experience the world. And a rare few hear a call from the very center of the wine universe. They will follow their passion to its logical conclusion: making wine themselves.

That kind of wine fan-turned-producer is increasingly found in the restaurant world of Master Sommeliers (accredited by the London-based Court of Master Sommeliers after rigorous study and testing).

Spago wine director Michael Bonaccorsi is a good example. In the course of his high-profile job he manages the restaurant’s wine cellar and oversees wine service to some of the most wine-knowledgable diners in the world.

Now he has the satisfaction of serving his own wine. In 1999 he made 240 cases of Bonaccorsi Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Last year, he added Syrah and took production to 1,200 cases. In addition to loyal mailing list customers, he sells the wine to such restaurants as Campanile, Water Grill and Capo in Los Angeles, Fifth Floor and Rubicon in San Francisco--and, of course, Spago. Not that he pushes his own label. He doesn’t need to. “I poured it once for the waiters and then shut my mouth,” he says. The wine spoke for itself.

Bonaccorsi is not alone. Frank Ostini, chef/owner at the Hitching Post in Buellton, produces the highly acclaimed Hitching Post wines, including four Pinot Noir bottlings. Super-sommelier Larry Stone, of San Francisco’s Rubicon, makes a Napa Valley Cabernet called Sirita (his daughter’s nickname). Emmanuel Kemiji, former sommelier at the San Francisco Ritz-Carlton, makes several varietals under his Miura label, including a stunning Napa Valley Merlot. And restaurateur Manfred Krankl, a partner and one of the founders of Campanile and La Brea Bakery, gets rave reviews for his Sine Qua Non wines, the blossoming of a longtime passion.

It was trips to Burgundy, with its incredibly complex range of wines, that got Bonaccorsi thinking seriously about winemaking. One day he was kicking around the notion of buying a winery with his boss, Wolfgang Puck. “We were looking at a $5-million winery, and Wolfgang said to me, ‘If I look at your resume, there’s nothing on there that says you can do this.’ I realized he was right, and three months later I was out in a vineyard, sorting grapes.”

Bonaccorsi spent time in Burgundy with noted winemaker Christophe Roumier, and worked the crush at Williams Selyem and at Kistler in the Russian River Valley. For his own wine he got Chardonnay from the historic Sanford & Benedict Vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley and Pinot Noir from the 35-year-old vines at Santa Maria Hills, not far from famed Bien Nacido. The wines are made in a leased facility in Lompoc, where Bonaccorsi now spends most of his free time. “The difficulty of coming from the restaurant side is that you’re clueless about how to make it happen, whereas a production guy’s handicap is not having the global tasting experience. Now that I know the mechanical movements of wine in a winery, I’m a much more forgiving taster. I’m more sympathetic to the winemaker’s trials and tribulations.”

Frank Ostini also loves the hands-on aspect of wine production, which he’s been doing since 1979. As each harvest approaches, Ostini and his longtime wine business partner, Gray Hartley, get excited all over again. “We’re like kids,” he says. “When the grapes are nearly ripe, we’re out in the vineyards getting samples, contacting pickers and explaining how proud we are of the product, getting them to be proud of it so they’ll do a good job. It keeps us young.”

Hartley was a commercial salmon fisherman in Alaska for 25 years before retiring to this most land-based of businesses in 1991. The superb balance typical of Hitching Post Pinot Noirs reflects their complementary personalities. “Gray has always understood the romantic side of wine, and I’m pragmatic,” says Ostini. “He’s the dreamer and I’m the nuts-and-bolts guy.” They make most of the wine at Au Bon Climat, the rest at Talley.

For all the youthful pleasure he finds in winemaking, Ostini was a reluctant commercial vintner. “It was a hobby that turned into a business, and I resisted. The restaurant is a serious day-to-day project, and I didn’t need it.” The fact that the wine practically sells itself makes it more bearable. It also gives the Hitching Post restaurant a presence in such glamorous eateries as Chez Panisse, Boulevard, Spago and Patina.

Emmanuel Kemiji’s view of the wine game was exactly opposite. He wanted his hobby to become a successful business. And when it did, he left his sommelier job at the San Francisco Ritz-Carlton and became a full-time vintner.

Kemiji’s Miura label took shape in a smoky haze. “At the end of ‘94, a bunch of Ritz-Carlton guys and Gerald Hirigoyen (co-owner/chef of Fringale in San Francisco) were smoking cigars and drinking wine at my house. Somebody said, ‘Hey, why don’t we make some wine?’ ” As a Master Sommelier, Kemiji was made the point man.

“Of course, I didn’t have a clue,” recalls Kemiji. “But I jumped into it anyway.” He called Rombauer Vineyards, a large custom-crush facility in Napa Valley, and got some winemaking space. Then he contacted Franciscan Vineyards chairman Agustin Huneeus and talked him into selling a few tons of prized Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Quintessa, Huneeus’ private vineyard in Rutherford. “We made six barrels between seven of us. And the wine turned out pretty well, because we didn’t know enough to screw it up.”

By ‘98, he says, “I decided I really love this, and crushed 1600 cases. My friends couldn’t drink everything I made, so I actually had some to sell.” The label is a tribute to Don Eduardo Miura, breeder of the most famous fighting bulls in Kemiji’s native Spain. Kemiji’s son Aristos came up with the name for a second label, Candela--a Spanish word for flame that can also mean passion. The Candela line, about half the price of the Miura wines, was created to offer a more affordable line of wines.

In the 2000 vintage, Kemiji produced 2,500 cases of Miura and 2,700 cases of Candela. A Carneros Chardonnay accounts for half of the Miura line. There is also a Talley Vineyards Chardonnay, 300 cases of Pinot Noir from the Pisoni Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County, and 250 of a Napa Valley red wine blended by Kemiji and Ritz-Carlton chef Sylvain Portay. And for the 2001 vintage, he’s hired a real pro: longtime Saintsbury winemaker Byron Kosuge. “I’ll do some consulting,” Kemiji says, “but I won’t go back full time. It turns out that working with great vineyards and being a steward of the land is what I love, and that’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”

While none of these wines are the world’s greatest examples of their type--in large part because they aim for the top level of fine artisan cuvees--they are all in the upper class of small California producers. So now, whether they’re buying wines for their restaurants or recommending wines to customers, they get full attention and respect for knowing what they’re talking about. They’ve walked the winemaker’s walk.