While there are several historically significant old-vine sites scattered throughout the Santa Clara/San Benito region, the “Enz Vineyard” seems to be receiving the most attention these days.
The “Wirz Vineyard”, “Besson Vineyard”, and other plantings are subject to increased popular awareness nowadays; quantitatively, however, internet search results appear to favor the Lime Kiln Valley’s Mourvèdre-heavy heritage vineyard.
"The boys return for the first episode post the 100 ep milestone and they’ve brought along their good friend Ian Brand, to make cryptic dad rock references, trigger Duck, and chug Mourvedre. There was A LOT of discussion on the episode title, and we’re all really sorry that ‘COVID-19’s Mourvedrophosis’ didn’t make the cut, nor did ‘Lessvedre,’ but if you have your own wine podcast you’re welcome to steal them. Patreon.com/disgorgeous and buy some damn merch at https://disgorgeousshop.bigcartel.com/ Wash Your Hands!
The Santa Clara Valley Wine Trail has been in existence for several years. However, for a long time internet searches for its San Benito County counterpart yielded dead links - at best. That’s no longer the case…
Bedrock Wine Company began bottling a vineyard-designated red wine from the “Enz Vineyard” with the 2018 vintage.
Here is a short, silly video clip of the Bedrock crew talking about “rocks” in the vineyard from September, 2020 - posted to Instagram by Morgan Twain-Peterson on December 16, 2020.
** Don’t forget about the Historic Vineyard Society’s“Virtual Vineyard Tour – Central Coast” online event on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 (5:00 - 6:00pm, Pacific Time) **
“Despite the cool vintage of 1983, we picked at full maturity in this very old vineyard in San Benito County. These stressed vines produced intense individual character. For the first time in ten years we were unable to take a Zinfandel through its secondary fermentation, as the very firm acidity testifies. The vineyard was let go in 1984, so this will be a unique example for us. Though we have no history by which to judge, the solid structure of this wine should extend the period of development over the next five years. PD (6/85)”
I had the Lime Kiln Zin back in the day but it was one of Ridge’s lesser ATP wines. In the early years Calera did make a couple of zins from Lime Kiln AVA grapes. The Doe Mill was a favorite. I think the Monterey Peninsula Winery also made zin from there but not sure.
I kinda presumed that Ridgeonly made one vintage of a “Lime Kiln” Zinfandel because of unsatisfactory results. An older Wine & Spirits magazine article mentioned that the winery had tapped over 100 grape-growing sites over the decades. According to Mr Paul Draper, many vineyards did not merit continued attention for one reason or another.
A fairly comprehensive history of the Monterey Peninsula Winery is provided on the Gold Medal Wine Club website (an occasionally useful source of archived winery info):
Calera truly should get more attention on this thread: I just don’t have a tasting background of their wines; nor, generally speaking, is my nerdiness centered on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers.
I certainly was not aware of Zinfandel being in Calera’s stable.
The downloadable map only provides the identities/names of the County’s wineries; all other plots involving winegrape-growing are color-coded (based on acreage).
“This map created by Santa Clara County Planning Office. The GIS data was compiled from various sources. While deemed reliable, the Planning Office assumes no liability.”
The official County of Santa Clara site also provides annual crop reports, newsletters, and monthly agricultural updates:
I shared a video featuring San Martin-based Creekview Vineyards a couple of years ago in this post.
I was recently reviewing older email exchanges with Ms Bev Stenehjem (regional author & expert on Santa Clara Valley winemaking). She referred me to Creekview as a source of old-vine Mourvedre.
Creekview Vineyards’ Facebook page includes a handful of photos highlighting prior harvests and vineyard shots.
Several views of the +120-year-old Santa Clara Valley Zin vineyard are posted. The winery appears to be more reserved with respect to its Mourvedre source, only sharing photos of filled harvest bins.
Bedrock Wine Company has increased its old-vine grape sources over the years, gradually reaching out from Sonoma County to Napa, Mendocino, Contra Costa, Lodi, Amador, and Santa Barbara. Santa Clara and San Benito County’s surviving old vineyards are unique examples of California’s grape-growing history. The Bedrock team is dedicated to preserving ancient viticultural treasures and utilizing sustainable farming practices.
The first vintage of Bedrock’s Cienega Valley “Wirz Vineyard” Riesling was 2014; 2015 marked the inaugural bottling of the “Under the Mountain Vineyard” in Santa Clara Valley; in 2018, the “Enz Vineyard” in Lime Kiln Valley became a vineyard-designated red wine.
With the Historic Vineyard Society’s “Virtual Vineyard Tour: Central Coast” online tasting/roundtable event scheduled for April 21st, it seems all the more appropriate to share the following Bedrock vineyard tour video.
Bedrock Wine Company YouTube video “Wine Harvest Diary #2: South Trip Part I”
February 16, 2021
· Part One: “Under the Mountain Vineyard”
HVS profile - link
"When you enjoy a glass of negrette at DeRose Winery, you are also tasting a surviving piece of the early commercial wine history of California, on the spot where it began—in San Benito County’s Cienega Valley.
"Pioneer winemaker Théophile Vaché first planted grapes in this remote valley in the Gabilan Range in 1851. Eight acres of negrette vines planted before 1880 are still growing there; one of the acres was planted by Vaché in 1855.
“‘We only get about three tons of grapes off those acres,’ said winemaker Al DeRose. ‘It’s a lot of work to make this wine—it’s not even a barrel off an acre. But it is worth it.’
"Almost 40 acres of French varietals planted before 1906 still grow on the original Vaché estate, now the home of DeRose and Eden Rift Wineries. The two properties make up the oldest commercial vineyards in California, producing wines that have been winning awards internationally for over 120 years.
"…It’s normal to think of Sonoma and Napa as the heart of the California wine industry, but Vaché had his fields planted before either region had commercial wineries. Agoston Haraszthy, known as the ‘father of California wine’ founded Sonoma’s first winery in 1856, five years after Vaché. And in 1861, Vaché was expanding his vineyards with black pinot noir, trousseau and trousseau gris vines sent around Cape Horn in soil-packed barrels at the same time that Charles Krug founded Napa’s first winery.
"Vaché’s selection of the Cienega Valley for his vineyards was astute. The winery sits directly on top of the San Andreas Fault, and that rift has created a perfect wine-growing environment.
“‘Because of the proximity to the coast,’ said Al DeRose, ‘we have a good climate with cool nights and warm days. Because of the elevation, we don’t get the fog. Our soil profile has a lot of limestone, which makes for quality grape-growing regions. It is a perfect area for growing.’
"…By 1880, according to Elliott and Moore*, he was producing 10,000-15,000 gallons of wine from 25 varieties of grapes annually. Vaché was described as the ‘happy possessor of the only vineyard of any particular importance or pretentions in the county.’ In 1883, he finally found a buyer in German immigrant William Palmtag, selling his vineyard for $10,000. He returned to France, dying a year later.
"…‘Vaché founded the winery,’ said DeRose, ‘but Palmtag expanded it. He is really the one who put this area on the map by winning a silver medal at the 1900 Paris Exhibition.’
“…The 1906 earthquake did major damage to the property, destroying almost all of the wine stored there, and in 1907 both Palmtag and Lewis sold their interest, leaving Dickinson in control.”
"During Prohibition, a San Francisco bank took over, but the vineyards still remained active and cultivated, selling grapes and making sacramental wine. After Prohibition, there was a succession of owners including Edwin Valliant, W. H. Taylor, and Almaden Vineyards.
"By the 1980s, the historic winery was in disrepair. Vintage grapes were harvested, then sent off to become mass-produced, lower-shelf wine. This distinctive valley had gone from being a driving force in the wine industry to essentially a grape factory.
"In 1986, Almaden sold the land to Heublein, Inc., and they split the vineyard into two pieces. They sold part to the DeRose and Cedolini Families, who created the DeRose Winery, and to Joseph Gimelli who founded Pietra Santa Winery. Finally, after decades of neglect, the weeds and overgrowth hiding the old vines were cleared out and classic fine wines were once again being produced.
"In 2016, Christian Pillsbury bought Pietra Santa and created Eden Rift Winery.
“With the DeRose Winery as a next-door neighbor and Calera Winery just up the road, the proud tradition of winemaking that Théophile Vaché began in the Cienega Valley 170 years ago is in good hands indeed.”
“Gilroy is part of the historic Santa Clara Valley, one of California’s oldest wine growing regions and home to more than 35 family-owned wineries and tasting rooms. Even though some of Gilroy’s wineries have been around since the turn of the century, we are still one of California’s best-kept secrets when it comes to wine tasting!”
“The map shown above was found in an incredibly insightful book, Wineries of Santa Clara Valley by Bev Stenehjem. This is an early map of the Santa Clara Valley winery region around 1970.”
Writer Beverly Stenehjem is an expert on the history of Santa Clara Valley wineries and vineyards. The Visit Gilroy blog features several posts highlighting the area’s oldest wineries:
"…Brent Mayeaux of Stagiare lives and loves to push boundaries: he calls the wine ‘Cheeky Bisous’, French for cheeky kisses.
"Having spent some time in France, where blending grapes from different regions like that would be met with frowns of disapproval, you could say Mayeux has found his happy place in Santa Cruz. He’s working with kindred spirits Ryan Stirm, Megan Bell and James Jelks at JP Palowski’s River Run winery facility in Aromas, where Mayeux says each brings something to the table.
“‘Megan is an awesome winemaking talent and brings her business sense, James is super disciplined and organized and Ryan is a phenomenal winemaker and our ringleader,’ says Mayeaux.
"He’s not throwing words around. Megan Bell’s Margins wines showed absolute mastery of the ‘marginalized’ varietals she chooses to showcase…She likes leaving the grapes, even the whites, on skins for two days before fermenting. They’re bone dry, filled with lipsmacking fruit and finish with finesse.
"…James Jelks of Florez Wines pilots his own boat with a firm hand on the tiller. He rocked a suit with confidence in a place that doesn’t do suits, but he could care less. His wines speak for themselves. But he’s not shy about sharing their provenance.
"…Jelks also loves the Enz Vineyard in San Benito, where he sources The 2017 Pope’s Smoke Grenache (13%), a wine that practically pulsates with a dark red-fruited acidity. ‘I didn’t want to do any stem inclusion, because that would raise the pH and I like the plentiful acid,’ he explained, reiterating that he adds nothing to the grapes when he barrel ferments them.
"…Anyone who loves Riesling already knows Ryan Stirm: he’s practically synonymous with the grape. No wonder: his 2017 Wirz Vineyard Riesling is an utter delight, with perfect petrol aromatics and candied lychee on the palate. The 2018 Wirz Vineyard Rose is essentially Vitamin R, as Stirm refers to it, with a squeeze of red to give it color. It’s light and delicate, and works really nicely in the canned version, which his buddy Andrew Nelson cans at Companion. If you like Zin that can dance and get out of its own way, you’ll appreciate Stirm’s zippy 2017 Wirz Zin. It smells more like Grenache, with all its cheery cherry perfume. Make no mistake, though, although it can dance a gig, it still has that eternal Zin finish that doesn’t leave the building.
“…Assiduous Wines is the province of Keegan Mayo, who has been winemaking at Bargetto for three years now, after a stint at Testarossa. He sources fruit from known and handy sources…His 2017 Malbec from Black Ridge Vineyard (Los Gatos) may be one of the best Malbec’s I’ve tasted this year. ‘We used to make Malbec from this vineyard when I was at Testarossa, and I hated to throw it into the (Mountain Select) blend!’ It’s great that he gets to liberate this varietal so it can shine, and shine it does, with supple red and blue fruit, along with the classic cedar and tobacco…”.
“Erica Manfre, the Moody Wine Drinker, talks to George about his childhood, growing up at a winery, how the industry has changed, his role in staying current as market demands shift, and more!”
"…Siletto Family Vineyards is a farming company that bridges the history of the county. Ron Siletto was a California wine legend. As the president of Almaden Wines, he rubbed shoulders with the Mondavis and Gallos. When Almaden was purchased by Heublein in 1986, Ron decided to stay in the area he loved. He purchased one of the smaller Almaden properties, and began grape farming. He made a name for himself doing it, supplying grapes for Ken Volk and a host of other renowned winemakers. Ron was known for his charm and optimism. He never met a stranger. He became fast friends with the avant-garde winemakers entering the San Benito County market.
"Ron Siletto passed away in July of last year. Son John Siletto had assumed some responsibility in the company a year prior, after his own distinguished career at another well known agribusiness. While Ron got them this far, John is at the ready to write the next chapter of the family business. And he’s very excited about his customers and the future of San Benito County wine. We caught up with him in February, 2021 to hear why.
"…The Wine Write: ‘San Benito County has an extensive viticulture and wine history that flies under the radar.’
"John: 'Right near where Calera and Eden Rift are located, there once was Grass Valley Vineyard. It was an experimental vineyard that was planted around 1912. Dad and I leased it once. It was about three hundred acres. It had the most amazing, eclectic mix of varieties. Cabernet Pfeffer was there. That’s my favorite grape we grow. Pinot St. George, which is now called Negrette, was there. There were all sorts of Grenaches. White Riesling was in there. It was really cool.
"'Right up the road was Enz Vineyard. They still have century old, dry farmed Mourvèdre and Cabernet Pfeffer. The Wirz Family is out there and has some really old, interesting head trained vines. DeRose Winery is just next to Eden Rift. They have some field blend stuff that has Alicante Bouschet mixed in. That area is just one of those special places. All of those I mentioned are along the San Andreas Fault.
"‘If you go further east, you get to the Calaveras Fault near Tres Picos Creek. That’s where I am today. South of me Almaden had thousands of acres planted at one time. Almaden built on the history here for a bit, but now that they have gone away, San Benito County is reviving. We grow grapes that are fabulous in quality, but we are still somewhat under the radar. We have some winemakers coming here that realize this is a pretty cool place.’
"…The Wine Write: ‘A lot of talented winemakers are finding you.’
"John: ‘It’s crazy. Last year I had thirty-nine customers. It’s such a great mix of people. A lot of them are natural winemakers. All of them are looking for good quality and good value. The fact that we grow all these eclectic varieties organically helps. These folks are cool. Some of them are like rock stars.’
"…The Wine Write: ‘I would assume the farming practices have changed a lot over the years.’
"John: 'Dad did a lot of grafting. He really innovated in that area. He tried to stay ahead of trends…
"'He had a handful of oddball varieties he planted for Ken Volk. Ken was into Cabernet Pfeffer and a few other things. A guy named Bryan Harrington came in later and wanted some more obscure Italian varieties. We have about seventy-five percent of our acreage planted to commodity grapes, and a quarter planted to more eclectic varieties.
"'Our vineyards are not high yielders. We won’t get ten tons an acre. Maybe we’ll get about four. We are going for complete organic farming now. Those practices will build our soils. Our winemakers want as much life in the vineyard as possible. We’re doing some remediation work with the vines. We’re being patient on our grafts. I look at this as a next generation reset. We have some new equipment. We don’t use any herbicides. We’re taking our farming another step forward. Dad’s focus was on growth and varietal change. We’re now looking more at our soils and improving the health of the plants. We will honor him by building more on that eclectic variety mix he enjoyed.’
"…The Wine Write: ‘Your dad, Pat Wirz, and the Enz family are probably responsible for some of those obscure varietals, like Cabernet Pfeffer, continuing to exist in California.’
"John: ‘I think they were. I really do. Mr. Wirz, Mr. Enz, and my dad are to be thanked for that. Good for them. These young winemakers now are looking for something that’s fun and different. And they are doing some special stuff with these grapes. One of the wineries we work with is called Jolie-Laide. Ryan Stirm at Stirm Wines is another. They buy Cabernet Pfeffer from us and do some amazing work. Both pick at lower sugar levels to bring out the true expression of this fruit…My dad and I believe in subordinating our work to that of the winemakers. If we do our job right, the winemakers make great wines, and the consumers are happy. “Aligning our vines with your wines” is our mission statement.’
"…The Wine Write: ‘How do you tailor your farming to fit a customer?’
"John: ‘Every winemaker wants what he or she wants. Communication needs to be clear and consistent. It needs to be as frequent as is comfortable for the customer. I don’t want to overwhelm them. Last year I hired a young woman named Amelia Rider just out of college…She was my harvest intern. She handled all the administrative parts of communications for me. She sent out brix and pH reports each week. Each of our buyers has a profile telling us what reports they want. Customers like Ian Brand are familiar with the vineyards. But you have to handle logistics like which blocks to pick first, whose bins to use, and how big a harvest crew is needed. All those details are super important to winemakers. We interviewed all our winemakers after the season. We surveyed them on our service and quality. We’ll use that feedback to improve in coming years. Our business is built on service…Delivering good service is as important as the farming.’
"…The Wine Write: ‘How do you connect with most of your customers?’
"John: 'That’s interesting. Dad had found a lot of our buyers before I got back here. It’s a community thing…The website also helped a ton, because people who look at it can learn about all the different grapes we grow. I don’t think it’s our marketing so much…Word of mouth is a big driver. I get calls from winemakers that Scott Schultz sent my way. Last year Ian Brand connected me with Raj Parr. Raj came and bought some Chardonnay. That’s cool.
"‘Here’s the hard part: you better be credible, transparent, and forthright with these guys. If you are not, they will know it in a second. There’s no faking anything. If you do, you are done. We really put our best effort out for our customers. I hope they’re all pleased.’
"…The Wine Write: What special characteristics does your area possess that allows you to grow so many varieties at a high level?
"John: 'We’re a bit like a universal donor area. We don’t get too hot or cold. I grow Cabernet and Chardonnay a few thousand meters from one another and both do well. I just pick them at different times. We’ve got southern facing slopes and some northern aspects. Generally the soils are alluvial. But they can be different. We have some gravelly loams that are really sparse. Other places we have some silts that actually hold some water. There’s a lot of diversity here.
“‘Dad got lucky with that. He also experimented with varieties. Most of what he planted worked. We may pick Cabernet later here than in a lot of places. Monterey Bay influences us. It drains in here and cools us down. We are twenty-five miles from the ocean in a river valley. If it was too hot or cold, we couldn’t do all this. We are in a nice spot…’.”
Read the entire interview with John Siletto at The Wine Write website:link
I will post my personal notes from the HVS “Central Coast” roundtable ZOOM event in the near future (on its own thread) soon. This was the only one of the three Historic Vineyard Society remote tastings that I was able to attend “live”.
I strongly encourage everybody to participate in any future livestreams! It was a blast.
"…Some names like Conrotto or Scagliotti are still relatively well known. Others like Pappani or Roffinella are fading quickly. And there are host of names such as Mary Carter or Dominic Ortalda that popped up in my research but very little is known about their lives. We really do have quite a heritage to honor and remember.
“After World War I and even into the years of Prohibition, the Solis was home to more than 20 vineyard owners. Yet before 1970, there were only six viable winery operations remaining along Hecker Pass and Watsonville Road. The Great Depression, generational changes, and the passing of the small family orchard of prunes, apricots and pears resulted in dramatic lifestyle shifts. That’s why a trip out to Andy’s Orchard is not only fun, but the visit is actually an important cultural experience…”.
"Our 3rd vintage of Cabernet Pfeffer, the 2020 SOGI, looks a little different this year. We know that this varietal tends to have aggressive tannins, so for 2020 we fermented the juice true carbonic. We bled off its juice everyday then lightly pressed the wine and aged it in neutral French oak barrels. This wine is unfiltered and no SO2 was used during fermentation or at bottling.
“Cabernet Pfeffer is a bit mysterious – it’s thought to be a child of Cabernet Sauvignon and Trousseau Noir but it is not proven. There is even a theory it is Gros Verdot our guess, however, is that’s probably not true. We do know that its namesake Dr. Pfeffer was a horticulturist in San Jose who identified the variety and named it. Pfeffer is also the name for pepper in German which is fitting for this varietal which can have pepper notes…”.
The true identity of the grape variety in this particular bottling may depend on the vineyard source. It is widely accepted that Cabernet Pfeffer was genetically verified to be Mourtaou. Vine materials from different San Benito County vineyards previously submitted to UC Davis for genetic analysis returned varying results. An interplanted old-vine block could host several grape varieties with similar physical traits. Historically, as many as three different individuals originally played a role in the propagation and dissemination of what was colloquially known as Cabernet Pfeffer.
I do not have a strong understanding of this subject. I hope my upcoming post of notes from the Historic Vineyard Society’s “Central Coast” Virtual Roundtable ZOOM event will shed light on the confusion surrounding Cabernet Pfeffer. Nicole Walsh, Ian Brand, and Morgan Twain-Peterson discussed Cabernet Pfeffer at length in the video.
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