The Lore of the Loring

January 29, 2009 by Ivy Kupec
Filed under Inspired Posts, Sean Chaudhry

Brian Loring has come to learn that it works best to mix old with new.

A winemaker since 1999 whose boutique Pinot Noir caught and held wine critics and wine enthusiasts attention, Loring has been known for New World or Caliesque style dark, fruity wines often seen from the Central California region. However, it is his underlying Old World attitude that puts his focus on the importance of the grapes and terroir that is clearly coming through and tempering some of that in your face description he heard about his earlier vintages. It is also why his wine has become so noteworthy. The most recent vintage to be reviewed, the 2007 Loring Wine Company Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir received its highest marks yet from Pinot Report with a 97 rating.

Without a doubt, Brian Loring is on a life-long quest for the best Pinot Noir. Each year, he buys grapes from 10-13 of the best, most prestigious growers that span the cooler California and Oregon Pinot-growing area. In announcing the sale of his 2007 vintages he apologized that despite it appearing to threaten his credibility, they were even better than the 2006; great wines in their own right. Not so surprising. Throughout California, 2007 vintages are expected to be outstanding. Low yields meant very concentrated wines, and great weather at harvest resulted in lower alcohols. The bottom line: were in for some tasty Pinot Noir.

Pinot Noir on the whole is lighter bodied than Cabernets or Merlots, but the Caliesque style features a more robust Pinot. The 2007 Loring Clos Pepe is a richer ruby color and described as having big, full, rich dark cherry and plum flavors with peppery notes, and its the complexity of flavors, perhaps, that made Pinot Noir the centerpiece of the 2005 movie, Sideways.

A little Loring Lore

Self-described as a total Pinot Freak, Loring got interested in wine during college when he worked for various wine shops. Despite his career as an IT engineer, he didn’t forget his love for wine, and specifically Pinot Noir. In 1999, after being a Cottonwood Canyon Pinot Noir self-proclaimed groupie who attended every wine event there and pumped its proprietor Norm Beko with thousands of questions, he took the leap and started his own winemaking. Using $20,000, a couple of barrels of grapes from Beko and part of a leased warehouse, he made his first wine while still working full-time as a computer programmer, mostly for the military. No winery. No vineyard. No experience. But, apparently, very good wine.

In 2000, he started getting grapes from Clos Pepe, a burgeoning grape grower, and together, he made wine he, himself, was so impressed with that he sent some to Wine Spectator to taste, not knowing if they would even review it. The outcome: Wine Critic James Laube raved, and the spotlight was turned on for Loring Wine Company.

The evolving Loring Pinot

Initially, Loring just dreamed of becoming a winemaker and some day producing 3,000 cases of Pinot each year in his own winery. These days, he is living the dream. He is a full-time winemaker at a 20,000 square foot winery in Lompoc, Calif., producing 7,000-8,000 cases and having a new goal of 10,000 cases/year in the future. Because of his very limited experience in the wine business, his philosophy has always been to rely on the experience and knowledge of the best grape growers he can find. He pays top dollar for his grapes, so the growers can focus on smaller yields and produce a better product.

For Loring, the key to success is very simple: its all about the grape.

-Ivy F. Kupec

Tags: People, Pinot Noir, Vineyards

Vines for these times, Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyards

January 22, 2009 by Ivy Kupec
Filed under Inspired Posts, Sean Chaudhry

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It can’t possibly be coincidence that Andy Beckstoffer’s most well-known piece of wine country is rooted in viticultural history. Since Civil War days, his 89 acres, known as the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, have been notable. A mix of sun-kissed sandy soil and fine vintage sediment left over from floods-past make high-quality grapes plentiful, especially when Beckstoffer has added new technology and technique to foster that growth.

Since the ‘70s, Beckstoffer has worked diligently to shine the California wine spotlight on what matters most: its grapes. And, perhaps it’s his attention to all the conditions that lead to high-quality fruit that has more than 50 wineries as loyal customers, including Paul Hobbs, Bounty Hunter, Carter, Janzen, Provenance, Realm, Tor, Schrader and Waypoint.

Beckstoffer is now the largest independent grower on California’s North Coast, owning and farming more than 3,000 acres of vines in Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties. Consequently, he has noted “his responsibility” for maintaining a higher standard in viticulture. “We have to have something different, something better to recommend our grapes. We have to have the best terroir, the best clones, the best trellising system. And that’s a wonderful challenge to meet,” he said in Wines and Vines in 1994.

From the start, Beckstoffer was looking at how best to approach rootstocks, grafting, trellising, pruning, soil compaction, irrigation and vine spacing. He has weather sensors, moisture sensors and other technology to keep track of the grapes. Whether it is helping to control costs, knowing how to curb the nematodes and other pests, or preserving and protecting the land, Beckstoffer has led the way, which is a bit surprising when one considers his education was in engineering and business administration.

His environmentalist leanings have led him to take steps that break away from standard practice. Others seem to follow suit as he finds a better way for doing business. From having one rootstock that is resistant to a nematode commonly found in the soil there to opting for a European approach to clean up scions, branches with new buds, rather than heat treatment, he considers how best to build wine character, rather than take it away.

Clearly, Beckstoffer’s work has paid off. Wine connoisseurs recognize that his grapes mean quality wine. The reviews are quite clear. In Wine Spectator’s recent ranking of California Cabernets, 16 of 20 wines with Beckstoffer grapes earned a rating above 92. The other four were in the upper 80s.

What does high quality cost?

In 1975, Beckstoffer started the Napa Valley Grape Growers Association with a primary goal being to organize and help develop pricing strategies collectively. Grape growing just wasn’t profitable as wineries controlled negotiation, so producers were getting out of the market.

He recommended basing the price of a ton of grapes on the future price of a bottle of wine. According to his Web site, “Under his bottle price formula, wineries projected the retail price of the finished wine and agreed to a standard multiple for each grape variety. If a winery planned to price a bottle of cabernet sauvignon at $10, and the standard multiple of that grape was 100, the price of the grape would be $1,000 a ton.” Mondavi and Christian Brothers quickly adopted the formula, and grape growers were essentially back in business.

A bit of history

This emphasis on horticulture is nothing new at To Kalon. The original owner, Hamilton Walker Crabb, is considered the “first true horticulturist involved in Napa Valley wine”; he grew more than 400 different grape varieties and was a research leader in developing rootstock resistant to phylloxera, a common grapevine pest. Also, he was the one who coined the name, To Kalon, which is Greek for “the highest beauty” or “the highest good” in 1868 when he took ownership.

The interest in horticulture continued with To Kalon’s second owner, a banker, E.W. Churchill, who set aside land for the Department of Agriculture to do viticulture research in 1911. The University of California-Davis now has its Oakville Experimental Vineyard there designed to understand how field practices influence fruit composition and wine quality. Beckstoffer additionally started clonal research for Cabernet on his tract in 1980.

Sunny days

So, what happens to the grape grower who seems to have it all? He continues to look for technology to help him deal with whatever Mother Nature throws his way. These days, it is a winter heat wave. The good news is a sunny, dry winter makes vines less susceptible to fungal disease eutypa and more time to get ahead on drip irrigation repair and pruning. The bad news: it could force early buds and leave plants thirsty.

Available at HinsdaleCellars.com:

The Carter Cellars Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon is available at HinsdaleCellars.com. The last two vintages of wine from the legendary original To Kalon vineyard have garnered Spectator ratings of 95 and 96 points respectively. This wine is a seamless montage of cassis and dark berries, with alluring notes of spice inviting the senses ever deeper into the wine’s many-nuanced flavors. Dense and concentrated, this Cab delivers the size, length, and depth one would expect from a truly great wine. Avialable here for $147.99/bottle.

– Ivy F. Kupec

Tags: Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley