Vintage New World (VNW) is a national and international wine
marketing and sales company. VNW is the marketing and sales arm of Raft River Vintners,
a winegrowing company owned by the Middleton family, the Anderson and Middleton
Company of Hoquiam, Washington. They have been involved in agriculture and
timber in Washington and California for more than 100 years. Read More...
It's the grape that Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson, in the latest World Atlas of Wine, say is enjoying "a new lease of life with glamorously Gallic associations."
Those Brits and their alliteration...
Mourvedre is a late-ripener, which is why it generally does fine near Paso Robles, and with this year's wide temperature swings and even late season frost, it's no wonder the Red Cedar Vineyard Mourvedre held out until the end.
Mourvedre is an important grape in Spain, and in southern France in the Rhone and Languedoc, where it's generally blended with other varieties. At Clayhouse, winemaker David Frick uses Mourvedre for blending with other Rhone wines like the Petite Sirah or the Estate Cuvee.
And how was the 2008 Clayhouse harvest overall? David, a graduate of the always-pragmatic school of winemaking and PR, says honestly that he's very pleased with the flavors of the new wines he's been tasting from tank. While yields were down on some varieties, production at Red Cedar Vineyard was generally in line with historic norms in 2008.
Do you ever feel like there are so many wine competitions these days that medals don't mean as much as they used to? That consumers could care less about Silver and Bronze, and are only interested in Gold? Or that a wine with a medal is like a Senator with an earmark...they all have one?
Wine writer Robert Whitley told me many years ago (after I told him I didn't want to enter our wines in another competition) that the best reason to enter competitions is that they provide an alternative to the 100-point scale. Okay, I guess I can see that, and I'm willing to support alternatives whenever possible, so we selectively enter Vintage New World wines in competitions.
But we choose carefully. We enter competitions that have panels of respected judges. We enter competitions whose results are used in the California Grapevine's annual tally of top medal-winning wines. And we try to support regional competitions where our sales team can make good use of the results.
So our winningest wines from the 2008 round of competitions are:
Clayhouse 2006 Adobe Red
Double Gold/Best of Class CA
State Fair
Gold Mid-State
Fair (Paso Robles)
Silver Long
Beach Grand Cru
Silver Orange
County Fair
Silver San
Francisco Intl. Wine Comp.
Silver Critic’s
Challenge Wine Comp.
Bronze San
Diego Intl. Wine Comp.
Clayhouse 2005 Estate Cuvee
Gold/Best of Class New
World Intl. Wine Comp.
Silver Long
Beach Grand Cru
Silver Riverside
Intl. Wine Comp.
Silver Monterey
Wine Comp.
Silver Dallas
Morning News Wine Comp.
Silver San
Francisco Chronicle Wine Comp.
Bronze Mid-State
Fair (Paso Robles)
Clayhouse 2005 Petite Sirah
Gold Long
Beach Grand Cru
Silver/Best of Class CA
State Fair
Silver Critics
Challenge Wine Comp.
Silver Monterey
Wine Comp.
Bronze San
Francisco Intl. Wine Comp.
Bronze Riverside
Intl. Wine Comp.
Bronze Mid-State
Fair (Paso Robles)
Clayhouse 2005 Hillside Cuvee
Double Gold San
Francisco Intl. Wine Comp.
Gold CA
State Fair
Gold Critics
Challenge Wine Comp.
Gold Orange
County Fair
Silver Mid-State
Fair (Paso Robles)
Silver Riverside
Intl. Wine Comp.
Silver San
Francisco Chronicle Wine Comp.
The Yard 2006 Acacia Vineyard Shiraz
Gold: Critics
Challenge Wine Comp.
Silver San
Francisco Intl. Wine Comp.
Silver Monterey
Wine Comp.
Silver New
World Intl. Wine Comp.
Silver Riverside
Intl. Wine Comp.
Bronze San
Diego Intl. Wine Comp.
Bronze Dallas
Morning News Wine Comp.
Capel Vale 2007 Debut Chardonnay
Gold New
World Intl. Wine Comp.
Gold Critics
Challenge Wine Comp.
Silver Dallas
Morning News Wine Comp.
Silver Riverside
Intl. Wine Comp.
Bronze San
Francisco Intl. Wine Comp.
Bronze Monterey
Wine Comp.
Capel Vale 2005 Debut Shiraz
Gold San
Diego Intl. Wine Comp.
Silver Long
Beach Grand Cru
Silver Critics
Challenge Wine Comp.
Bronze San
Francisco Intl. Wine Comp.
Capel Vale 2005 Mt. Barker Shiraz
Platinum Critics
Challenge Wine Comp.
Gold Long
Beach Grand Cru
Bronze San
Francisco Intl. Wine Comp.
Bronze Dallas
Morning News Wine Comp.
For a complete list of the Vintage New World portfolio winners, drop me an email at
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Episode 545 of Wine Libary TV finds Gary V talking about SBS in general and reviewing three examples, including Cadaretta SBS. He also reminds viewers that the Wine Advocate (Jay Miller) gave the 2007 Cadaretta SBS a score of 90. Click this link to see the episode: http://tinyurl.com/45dnj9
From Paso Robles to Napa Valley, California is experiencing a compressed and erratic harvest. It's clear that the spring freezes (some of the coldest since 1972) have had a big impact.
In Paso Robles, Clayhouse winemaker David Frick notes that two weeks of cool weather have kept sugar levels in the grapes stagnant, and in some cases have actually caused numbers to decline as grape vines take up water. David says that there are two extremes he's noticed: some growers had poor fruit set and now have high sugars, but immature flavors, while others have good flavor development, but not enough sugar.
David has picked all of the Clayhouse Sauvignon Blanc so far, but has yet to get into most of the reds, other than small amounts of Zinfandel and Syrah. While he's waiting for sugar levels between 25 and 26 (depending upon pH) for most of the red varieties, he says that the Petite Sirah is still "way off...," with sugars sitting between 20 and 21.
Up in Napa, Tom Eddy says the current Indian summer weather is "pristine," but that early heat spikes, combined with the short crop and vine stress, are causing some vines to shut down early. The grapes have plenty of sugar, but the current cool nights are keeping acids very high, as well, forcing winemakers to decide between leaving the grapes on the vine to respire acid, or picking soon to minimize further sugar - and eventual high alcohol - development.
Tom says he'll remember 2008 for three things: the smoke (from North Coast fires), the frost (worst since 1972), and the early ripening caused by heat combined with a generally smaller crop. The key for quality this year, he says, is to evaluate each vineyard individually and not make blanket picking decisions. Tom currently has eight small tanks fermenting, only about 10% of his total Napa harvest so far.
Clayhouse winemaker David Frick picked the first 2008 Sauvignon Blanc grapes of the season (see photos) on Thursday, August 28th, and reports that Red Cedar Vineyard block 64 had the honor of being first off the vine this year:
"
The first pick of the year always
has its kinks. Consider that the grape bins that the tractors haul have been sitting all
year and appear generally fine, until they get loaded down with grapes and their tires go flat. Block 64 Sauvignon Blanc is almost invariably the
first pick for Clayhouse each year, so we tend to identify all the initial problems there.
Maybe we should rename the block 'flat tire block.'" See harvest 2008 photos below
Flat tires or not, David's doing something right. Recent reviews of Clayhouse Sauvignon Blanc show that the grape is thriving in what is generally considered a warmer region. David says it's the diversity of the vineyard blocks at Red Cedar and the clones (he has a lot of Musque clone planted, for example) that give the Clayhouse SB its appeal.
Of recent note, the Connoisseur's Guide to California Wine gave the Clayhouse 2007 SB a score of 90 (plus one puff); roll on, flat tires!
TOM EDDY TAKES BACK THE CAB ONE LAST TIME BEFORE CRUSH
Tom has only begun his Take Back the Cab Quest, but a hiatus is inevitable because of the 2008 harvest. Of course prior to that, Tom had to make a pit stop in one of his best U.S.markets, Florida, to pour some new releases with old buddies.
This first shot of Tom is the one taken for the bankers at home. Tom (second from left) is with Mitch, Nate and Erik at the Grotto in Jacksonville, Florida, and they're arguing about who gets to take home the half-full bottle after all the consumers have left the tasting.
The second image (note that Erik's expression shows that he lost out on the half bottle) shows the guys digging in to their harvest beverage of choice: Blue Ribbon. It takes a lot of good beer to Take Back the Cab during harvest!
Hoboken, long associated with Old Blue Eyes, is now an official Take Back the Cab city. Tom stopped yesterday for a visit with the folks from Sparrow Wine & Liquor and a meeting with local writer John Foy. On the way out of Maryland the day before he entertained his boyhood dreams of stardom at Ripkin Field in Aberdeen.
While on the road, the Take Back the Cab idea is catching on, helped, admittedly, by Eric Asimov's story in the August 20 New York Times. In fact, blogger Fredric Koeppel recapped Eric's story (and mentioned that he has a bottle of Tom Eddy on his shelf) at http://biggerthanyourhead.net/2008/08/21/asimov-on-napa-cab/
Friday is the last day of this current Take Back the Cab leg...we're in Bean Town (go Sox) and Tom hosts a dinner at the Boston Wine School tonight, including a vertical of Tom Eddy Cabernet from 1991 to 2003...get ready for the epitome of balance and elegance!
