Monthly Archives: January 2010

2009 Vintage Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Rosé

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Posted by Gus on January 7, 2010 – 11:59 am
Filed under In The Cellar

With the 2009 reds appearing to be finished with malolactic, it was time this morning for a visit to the cellar to taste the new wines. First, I had to freshen up my palate with a quick taste of the 2009 rosé, which has been moved to a small stainless tank for aging on the fine lees. The rosé is currently resisting malolactic fermentation, so will be warmed up a bit and reinoculated with a few liters of its red counterpart in barrel.Rose Tank Sample 1.7.10

The 2009 reds are currently in three lots. MB1 is all Malbec, the first to be harvested, tank fermented, and now tasting like it will serve as the foundation for a 2009 Velocity. Then there are seven barrels of Cabernet franc, whose herbal character can be surprising at this stage. I admit to having had a love/hate relationship with Cabernet franc until I had the opportunity to enjoy a few Loire Valley bottlings of the grape, at which point I determined to embrace its herbal nature as varietally typical and very food-friendly.

Thief 1.7.10

There are also about fifteen barrels of MB2, the second lot of Malbec which boasts plenty of currant, cherry and dried herb aromas on a somewhat softer, leaner body than MB1, leading me to believe that it is likely to find a home bottled as Velo.

For such a copious vintage there is very good concentration and substantial structure, especially in MB1. These will all be fun wines to work with.

New Bicycle

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Posted by Gus on January 6, 2010 – 3:43 pm
Filed under From The Bike, In The Vineyard

I got a new bike for Christmas!

What does this have to do with winemaking? It happens to be my personal philosophy that winemakers should make wines only from vineyards they can readily visit by bicycle. This is my “intimate knowledge of the land” principle and is by no means practiced by myself alone, except maybe for the bicycling part. Walking is fine, too, but in the Rogue Valley our vineyards don’t neighbor one another as closely as in some more established regions, so I use a bike whenever possible. Besides, it’s fun.

This bike has a history. The deep wine-colored frame was originally custom built for Sherman Lamb in the early 1980s by Roland Della Santa, who was also busy at the time building frames for Greg Lemond, who was busy becoming the first American to win the Tour de France. Sherman, who was one of the first winegrowers in the Rogue Valley to plant Syrah, sold the bike to his friend Randy Gold a couple of years ago, but it was the wrong size for Randy so he stepped up to a brand new Felt road bike late last summer. Out of curiosity or desire I measured the frame when Randy said he was going to sell it, and voila! A frame custom sized for me.

Randy, of course, is the owner and manager of Gold Vineyard in Talent, from which all grapes for Velocity and Velo wines (and even my new white wine project – more later) are now sourced. How many bicycles can claim such a viticultural pedigree?

My wife, Julia, was kind enough to listen to my irrational explanations for having two bicycles, and presented the new bike on Christmas with a red bow around the handlebars. Thank you, Roland, Sherman, Randy, and Julia. I will try to be a worthy owner of such a machine.

I did get out for a quick ride when some sun broke through after Christmas. It rides like a thoroughbred, or as I imagine one must ride. Lucky me!Bike