Let’s Hear it for Restraint & Subtlety!
January 5th, 2007 by Annette
I got the rare opportunity taste a 1984 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet the other night. Now, let me first state upfront that on any given day my preferred red wine is Pinot Noir, hands down. Now that I’ve cleared that up: this was a fabulous wine!! Dark, black fruit, sublime texture, long finish; all the components were well integrated and seamless. This was not a fleshy, tannic, edgy, alcoholic wine, but purely enjoyable, drinkable, well-made, aging quite well. Quite an epiphany for me , especially when I saw on this on the label: 12.9% alcohol. 12.9%! 12.9%! I could write a stupid little song like “Ode to 12.9%” and dance around the room.Â
“Seeking Balance
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This may seem quite ridiculous to you to be so happy about this seemingly minute and insignifcant point, but to me it is a big deal. As a relatively young winemaker who has had a career shaped during a rather turbulent stretch in the wine industry**, one of the challenges with which I struggle is deciding upon the style of wine to produce and at the same time seek a balance between all of these factors: what a vineyard can deliver in terms of quality and style, conditions of the growing season, commercial considerations (how much of a wine to make/will it sell/will it be appreciated?). Winemaking being my job, and the wine industry being incredibly competitive, I have to find a way to be successful, but these days one can be pulled in so many directions in order to make a wine that will thrive in the marketplace. For instance, big, alcoholic wines have drawn much recent acclaim and lots of money and top scores. With a eye on job security and success, I have queried myself about whether I should follow this path.  The problem, though, with making bold, over-the-top wine is that I don’t necessarily like drinking it, and the purist in me doesn’t think they deserve much merit (the optimist in me says that if I don’t like them, then others don’t either). So, I choose to make wines I prefer to drink and, overall, that style is food friendly and restrained, but this style of wine is not immediately obvious, doesn’t jump out of the glass and grab one by the nose, and takes someone with a trained palate, or at least someone who is tired of other wines, to appreciate.Â
So, quite honestly, to taste a refined wine such as this Monte Bello Cab not only renews my enthusiasm for wine, but helps me sleep at night, too. Afterall, Ridge is one of those pillars in the industry — they’ve been doing basically the same thing for probably close to 30 years now, and they’ve done it well. In the long-term I hope this will prove to be a strategy worthy of following.
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**Here’s a little summary of what I deem a “turbulent” time in the wine industry:
- late 80′s through late 90′s: most vineyards were replanted due to the AXR/phylloxera debacle. This coincided with the availability of new clones and rootstocks, new available technology and knowledge regarding planting and maintaining vineyards as well. Additionally, many new vineyards were planted all over California, including Southern California, the Sierra Foothills, Central Coast, and the Northern Central Valley. Overseas, Australian practicality and prowess increased not only their wine production, but intensifed marketing efforts in the US.
- As the wine industry grew during this time, corporations bought-out smaller wineries left and right; winemakers played “musical chairs” as they were offered bigger and better positions within these new mega corporations. At this time, “cult cab” became big.
- In addition to the then-existing wineries, even more players entered into wine production from outside the industry which influenced all areas:Â package design, wine style, marketing and sales campaigns, pricepoints, etc.
- studies that proved wine is good for health started to get media attention
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