I came down to Monterey from the North Coast wine regions in 1998 to continue working in the wine industry.  At that point I was, frankly, sick of Chardonnay and tired of the same, redundant heavy, oaky, malo-lactic-y, flabby stuff.  A lot of my disinterest stemmed, also, from many years of monitoring thousands of chardonnay barrel fermentations (the kind of job given to novice but enthusiastic cellar rats because nobody else wants to do it).  In one particularly large winery I worked for, it meant hours upon hours of manuevering a scissorlift through a cellar crisscrossed with wine and air hoses and  also with “fixed” stacks of barrels — sometimes 30 feet high – and doing my best to not to get stuck in drains (not fun when 30 feet in the air, leaning like the Tower of Pisa) or pop a cellarguy’s airhose (it’s hard to flee from a mad cellarguy in a slippery wine cellar, take my word for it).  So, I guess you could say that Chardonnay and I had shared some baggage.

Then, I came to Monterey and learned what Chardonnay is down here, and it renewed my interest and enthusiasm in the most common of varietals.

I bet most people don’t know that some or most of the grapes in an ”X” bottle of $8-,$10,$12-California or Central Coast Chardonnay most likely came from Monterey?  Then, of course, there are the higher-end local Chardonnay producers, such as Talbott (Sleepy Hollow, Diamond T), Paraiso, Morgan, Pessagno, and Mer Soleil — to name a few — that are well known for great Monterey Chardonnay.  Yep.  There are roughly 38,000 acres planted to winegrapes in Monterey County and around 14,000 acres is Chardonnay.  That’s a lot of grapes, and they make their way into a huge range of wine products. 

Historically, much of the land in Monterey has been used for dairy farms or grazing, with the rich, fertile soil in the Salinas Valley used for row cropping.  But there are benchlands and rather rough, rocky places that weren’t good for traditional farming, and the land wasn’t all that valuable either, so early wine companies started planting grapes, and mostly white varietals on the recommendation from UC Davis.  Well, as it turned out, not only was it relatively affordable to plant grapes on land in Monterey, but the climate and soils here are very well-suited for Chardonnay.  Monterey Chardonnay has got to be one of the most dependable and consistent agricultural crops around — I would bet money on it.  From year to year it is simply, and beautifully, the same:  relatively easy to manage in the vineyard, good, dependable croploads, highly consistent flavors and attributes, great acidity, vintage to vintage.  That’s one reason why those “X” bottles of Chardonnay are so reliably consistent from year-to-year.

As for Cima Collina Chardonnay, it has been an overwhelming success and we are, officially,  Sold Out.  With that said, we have saved a few cases to get our restaurant friends, such as the Village Fish House, Sierra Mar and Passionfish, through the summer.  I’ve also heard that Star Market in Salinas has a little left.  Here’s to Monterey Chardonnay and summer!

 

An article about the proposed Monterey Wine Corridor was presented in a print publication called “Business 101″, published by a local newspaper, The Salinas Californian, this week (unfortunately, there is not an online link to this particularly well-written article that deals with this subject in an even-handed manner).  The Monterey Wine Corridor, which would include the River Road, Metz Road and Jolon Road areas, would be dedicated regions where wineries can establish tasting rooms and/or wineries and associated vineyards, much in the same way that other major wine regions are established.  The challenges in establishing this corridor are myriad with very often conflicting political views and misinformation about wineries, vienyards, tasting rooms and the associated prerceived increase in traffic, building, noise, pollution, etc. that would go along with an increase in the number of winereis in the area.  These challenges are compounded with a great deal of disagreement over the establishment of a Monterey County General Plan as well.  But, for me, this issue boils down to the facts that are mentioned in the article and quoted here:

Of all the grapes grown locally, about 70 percent of the resulting juice is shipped to wineries elsewhere and only 5 percent of wines produced here have Monterey County appellations, vintners say.  The county has more than 20 wineries.

‘We have woefully inadequate crushing capacity in Monterey County and the grapes we do grow are going to other counties that are adding value to the product,’ said Bob Roach, assistant agriculture commissioner.

Further on in the article:

‘Monterey County needs a regional identity, and the way you do that is you have small processors that are artists who promote their wines,’[Kurt Gollnick, vice president and chief operating officer for Scheid Vineyards Inc,] said…….He estimates the Monterey County wine industry could capture another $1 billion of value if all the grapes and wine that leave the county for processing stayed here and were marketed as local products.

Monterey grapes have long been components in most major California white wine labels, but with almost zero recognition of that fact (sorry, “Central Coast” appellation doesn’t cut it for us in Monterey).  Most of the grapes/juice/wine are shipped outside of the county to be processed in the Central Valley, Napa or Sonoma.  Additionally, this county has about 25 wineries in a region that has almost as much planted vineyard acreage as Sonoma County, but with far less wineries (Sonoma County currently has 189 wineries).

So, from my viewpoint is that the wine corridor is a great idea because:  it concentrates wineries in certain areas within the county to minimize traffic and other tourism- and production-related impacts on most of the county’s residents; it actually encourages keeping home-grown fruit within the area to create a value-added product from which jobs can be created; it diversifies the local economy (currently, Monterey’s two biggest employers are row-crop agriculture and hospitality); increases tourism inland (as opposed to just on the peninsula); fosters local pride.

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We will participate in the Monterey County Vintners & Growers Association’s Winemaker’s Celebration on August 12, 2006.  Click below for more information:

“Get me some Cima Collina before the Green Slime gets me!”

Well, dude, you’re in luck because Cima Collina is more available than ever. And, if you get desperate, you can always call or email us

Southern California:

The Wine Exchange, Orange

Carmel-by-the-Sea:

Bouchee

Grasing’s

La Playa

Monterey:

Stokes Restaurant

Taste of Monterey

Monterey Fish House

The Grill at Ryan Ranch

Clementine’s Kitchen

Carmel Valley:

Paradise Wine Bar

Village Fish House

Deli Treasures

Santa Cruz:

Shopper’s Corner

Aptos:

Deluxe Foods

Saratoga:

Uncorked, Saratoga

Salinas:

Star Market

Carmel:

Mission Ranch

The Bountiful Basket

Bixby’s Martini Bistro

Bahama Billy’s

Pebble Beach:

The Market at Pebble Beach

Silicon Valley:

Village Bistro (Santana Row)

Wine Styles (Willow Glen)

San Francisco

The Wine House

A16 Wine Bar

EOS Wine Bar

Big Sur:

Sierra Mar at The Post Ranch

Nepenthe

If you happen to be in Central Illinois and would like to try our 2004 Monterey County Pinot Noir, it is at these fine establishments:
Hilton Garden Inn, Effingham
Gateway Liquors, Charleston
Charleston Country Club, Charleston
Firefly Grill, Effingham