Winery Forced to Turn to Plan B

After a warehouse fire wiped out huge chunks of his wine inventory this fall, vintner Ted Hall took stock. On hand was new wine that would take months to mature and a pile of pomace -- grape skins and seeds left over from harvest.

That’s when he hit on Plan B: Make grappa, the potent after-dinner drink distilled from pomace.

“We’re making lemonade out of lemons,” Hall says with a wry smile.

Normally, the pomace would have become fertilizer for Hall’s organic Long Meadow Ranch in the Napa Valley, which also sells extra-virgin olive oil and grass-fed beef.

Turning the pomace into grappa made for a higher-profile product that can help keep the Long Meadow name in front of restaurants and other customers during the wait for new releases, crucial for the fast-moving, short-attention-span wine business.

“The real issue is maintaining relationships and awareness of who we are,” says Hall, a veteran of the wine industry. He served as executive chairman of Robert Mondavi Corp. for most of 2004 until it was sold to Constellation Brands Inc.

Long Meadow lost its 2001 and 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, which would have been the current and upcoming releases, when fire broke out in October at Wines Central in Vallejo, a storage facility at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

Also gone was the 2002 Sangiovese, a red grape varietal; the 2003 Ranch House Red, a blend; and the entire “library” collection, a selection of wines saved from previous years, going back to the first vintage of 1994.

The losses -- Hall didn’t want to give a figure but said they amounted to three years’ worth of sales -- could have been worse.

More than 70 wineries had wine in the warehouse, and total losses have been estimated at as high as $100 million. Authorities ruled the fire an arson but have not made arrests.

Long Meadow had insurance, and in a stroke of what Hall calls “just dumb luck,” the winery had scheduled a late date for bottling the 2003 wine still in barrels at the winery, so that vintage is safe.

The winery will release its 2003 Sangiovese in March, along with a Sauvignon Blanc, and the 2003 Cabernet in September.

Still, the fire left a gap, one that is being experienced by a number of other wineries that lost substantial inventory.

“The problem is you’ve basically got to start over. Because if you’re on a wine list, or you’re on a shelf and you can’t supply, you lose your placement,” says Mike Fisher, a partner at wine consulting firm Global Wine Partners, based in the Napa Valley.

Other strategies being adopted by those wineries include trying to stretch out what wine is left or moving up release dates, he says.

At Long Meadow, Hall plans on making about 50 cases of grappa, which will probably be priced at about $35 for a 375-milliliter bottle and could be available by June.

Although it’s often found in tall, elegant bottles, grappa has a bit of a reputation as a tonsil-toasting brew. But in recent years, high-end makers have been adopting changes, such as using fresh pomace from just one type of grape, to produce a much more polished product. That’s the style Long Meadow is after, and early tastings indicate the grappa should reflect the Cabernet character of its origins, Hall says.

Grappa is a small part of the spirits market, but it is becoming more popular as customers have warmed up to the habit of serving a digestive spirit after dinner, says Gary Marcaletti, owner of specialty seller San Francisco Wine Trading Co.

“I think it’s becoming a little more prominent. We carry 25 to 30 grappas so that gives you some idea,” he says.

At up to 100 proof, grappa packs an alcoholic punch and is definitely for sipping, not slurping. Traditionally, grappa has been thought of as a way to ease one’s worries. Hall is not expecting miracles from his new spirit. But he does hope that it dilutes the sour taste of the fire losses.