Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/299589
3 8 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | M a y - J u n e 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m how a similar approach would work on radically different sites." W a l l a c e a n d h i s p a r t n e r s searched for compelling, but dis- parate, plantings of mourvedre. He had worked for winemakers who specialized in single-vineyard pinot noir and chardonnay and was intrigued with the different expres- sions of the same variety. "In doing this, we start with the challenge that there is not a huge amount of mourvedre planted in California," he said. "When you do find it, it is often grown as some- thing that will be in a supporting role, versus something meant to stand alone. Once we do find vine- yards that work, often the tonnage is painfully low, 1 to 2 tons, and they are usually hours away. But we are small, and a 1- to 2-ton lot of something truly fascinating is worth getting excited about." Wallace now works with six mourvedre vineyards spanning more than 650 miles, from Santa B a r b a r a C o u n t y t o M e n d o c i n o County's Redwood Valley. For a new brand focusing on exceptional sites, Wallace said he thinks his biggest challenge is to keep preconceived notions of how a wine or vineyard should be out of the picture. "In just four vintages, we could probably hold a record for lessons learned and mistakes made," he said, "but every sin- gle year we get better, we learn, we unlearn. As serious as we are about the adventure and exploring, we are the same way with getting profitable. This is not money we can lose. We have to make great, interesting wines, to effectively share their stories, and to build our market from what seems to be the ether." This burgeoning market offers opportunities for winemakers to get creative and push boundaries. It seems that the most successful projects have involved the adapta- tion of varieties that are success- ful in other global regions, varieties that are appealing and have estab- lished reputations of quality else- where. Wines that are obscure just to be obscure will probably not have much staying power compared to wines that are grown and produced with care from varieties that intrigue and please people's palates. Remi Cohen is the vice president of operations for Cliff Lede Vine- yards in Napa Valley. Her primary areas of expertise include viticulture, sustainable vineyard management, winemaking, grower and winery relations, and strategic business development. She also writes a wine industry blog, which can be found at blog.vinestowine.com. Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwmmedia.com.