Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics - September/October 2016

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

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American Made The 2011 vintage, which was widely panned, was indeed diffi cult in Napa and Sonoma. It was a cool year, and some win- eries had trouble getting their Cabernet Sauvignon suffi ciently ripe, which resulted in green fl avors. If you hadn't taken the proper steps in the vineyard earlier in the season, Fletcher says, by the time you got to harvest "you were out of luck." But it was a decent year in much of the state. "I don't think it was nearly as tough down here as it was in the North Coast," says Kevin Sass, winemaker at Halter Ranch in the Adelaida District of Paso Robles. It was cooler than normal, "but it was still pretty warm in Paso Robles," he says. There was also a big storm in October, which hurt some late-ripening varieties. But "the whites were great," Sass says, and 2011 was "one of the best Syrah years we've had." Stuart Spencer, winemaker at his family's St. Amant Winery in Lodi, agrees that 2011 was cool, "but cool years are good for Lodi," where summer heat can be fi erce. In Santa Barbara County, according to Bob Lindquist, Qupé's founder and winemaker, 2011 was also a cool year, but the wines turned out well. "I love the '11s," he says. "They were so intense and had such great acidity. They were my kind of wines." ON A GOOD RUN Since then, California has been in a drought (Even the winter of 2015-16, which was expected to be wet because of an El Niño weather pattern, didn't produce as much rain as everyone hoped for). Grapevines need water, but most of California's vine- yards are grown with irrigation, usually drip irrigation. As long as there's suffi cient water to draw from -- either in surface sources like reservoirs or underground water that can be pumped – the vines will survive and continue to produce grapes. Drought years typically result in smaller clusters and berries, which translates into more con- centration and intensity in the wines. And rain is unlikely to spoil the fall harvest in a drought year. On the downside, long droughts stress the vines and make them more susceptible to pests. "The vines just don't look as happy," Sass says. Salts can also build up in the soils if there's not enough winter rain to fl ush them out. The bottom line is, an extended drought could eventually re- sult in problems for grape growers, but winemakers generally like the quality they get in a drier year. "I would have to say quality is better in a drought year," Sass says. Several winemakers singled out 2014 as a particularly good Halter Ranch. Kevin Sass, winemaker `at Halter Ranch "...THE WHITES WERE GREAT... 2011 WAS ONE OF THE BEST SYRAH YEARS WE'VE HAD." — KEVIN SASS, WINEMAKER AT HALTER RANCH 40 Beverage Dynamics • September/October 2016 www.beveragedynamics.com Jordan Vineyard & Winery Estate.

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