Named the sommelier at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas on his 21st birthday, Chicago-born Mark Bright has become one of the Bay Area’s most coveted young wine pros since relocating here two years ago…
Despite being younger than some of the wines they pour, youthful sommeliers are energizing the Bay Area dining scene…”They always ask: Are you even old enough to drink?”…
We asked hundreds of leading sommeliers in America to pick the most promising new talent in the business today…our Best New Sommeliers of 2005…
Today I took a trip up to Napa not only to get out of the hustle and bustle of the City (and the less than stellar weather) but also to visit two fantastic wineries, ZD Winery and Robert Sinskey Winery. My first stop was at Cornerstone Place in Sonoma for a quick sandwich from Sage Fine Foods and then popped into the Roshambo tasting room to say hi and get in a quick game of Pac man. It was an overcast and slightly humid day but perfect weather to taste a little vino and make some new friends. I headed to the CA-29 and cut over the 128 to Silverado Trail (which I later found out was named for it being one of the original trails during the silver rush built from Napa to Calistoga as a major trade route). As I pulled into the ZD winery parking lot the sun just began to peek through the clouds. ZD Winery is located along the Silverado Trail a short drive from Lake Hennessy and neighbors to Mumm Napa Winery. It’s set on 6-acres of prime Rutherford real estate and from the back of their facilities they have a stunning view across the valley. I met with ZD’s regional sales manager, Kendra Gillette and she showed me around the facilities. She gave me the history and a quick peek into the “library” (a collection of bottles from each vintage and varietal produced at ZD starting from 1969) I then got to look at their bottling equipment and barrel taste some of their upcoming pinots and cabernets mmmmmm. ZD stands for the two gentlemen that started the winery, Norman deLeuze and Gino Zepponi. It also stands for “Zero Defects” a term used in aerospace engineering (a profession that both owners were in prior to becoming wine makers) also a practice that ZD applies to their wine making. ZD is also a certified organic winery that has been using sustainable organic practices since the 80’s but became certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) in 1999. On top of farming organically in the fall of 2007 ZD installed 712 solar panels to power its winery. Some interesting facts about the solar panels used by ZD: over the course of a year…
They could Power 22 homes for a year
Remove the equivalent CO2 that 32 acres of trees would process
Power 1,238 100 watt light bulbs a year
Remove the equivalent of 16 cars from the road a year
This blog is slowly beginning to turn into a short story and I haven’t even begun to talk about Robert Sinskey yet. I’ll have to save that winery for another post. I would like to mention one of ZD’s standout wines, 2007 Founders Reserve Pinot Noir. This wine was absolutely delicious cherry cola, raspberry, spice and beautiful hints of herbaceousness (made up word) most of these aromas followed through on the palate with the addition of structured tannins that give it a great backbone, an absolutely wonderful pinot that has won more than a few gold medals in wine competitions throughout the country.
Another post will follow with my dynamic time at the biodynamic winery of Robert Sinskey.
I have to say, meeting Jerold O’Brien of Silver Mountain Vineyards is like meeting the beginning of organic vine growing from before it was known.
Jerold is one of the few Irish vine-growers and winemakers in the state of California. He began his love of wine when he was in the Air Force and was stationed in Europe. One of his first statements to me was that when you are in the military you learn many things and one is “drinking.” He was never a big beer or distilled spirits fan, but quickly found a love of wine. That is one of the main reasons why he asked to be stationed in Northern California – the center of modern wine-making in the country.
He quickly found his amazing plot of land and bought it when he was stationed here in San Francisco. He planted and farmed organically ever since 1980, and it wasn’t until 2001 when he was certified organic (at that time the first in Santa Cruz Mountains). The only reason he wasn’t pursuing it before was because he didn’t realize such a recognition existed – it was just how he farmed – with the earth.
No one should ever miss his small production wines – they are as amazing as anything else in the state – but he focuses on fruit forward and powerful wines!!! These wines are for the Burgundy driven drinker – and for the experience drinker – they are an experience in the intensity of fruit and power that Pinot has to offer. Enjoy (and don’t miss the Muns Vineyard). All Pinots are under 200 case production – contact us at markriswine.com to taste and attain some of these amazing wines.
Not only is Jerold into organic farming but he is into completely sustainable farming. He recently added a new steel canopy that covers his entire winery. This is what he is accomplishing with this simple structure:
- No longer needing to use energy to cool his cellar – the shade and natural elevation and wind keeps it a natural and cool 55 degrees.
- He is adding over 200 solar panels to power his entire facility and others.
- The canopy collects over 50,000 gallons per year in natural rain water, eliminating the need for water from other sources and depleting our collective resources.
What else can we say – Genius.
P.M. Staiger is another producer in the Santa Cruz Mountains that has been invisible for a long time. These wines have been produced in such small qauntities for such a long time, no one can find them besides the mailing list members themselves.
Amazing high altitude wines that sit high above the rest of the Santa Cruz Mountains!!! They only produce Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in extremely small quantities. With the best barrels produced and often re-using these barrels, you find some of the best producers with price thought wines – for the purity of the vineyards.
Finding P.M. Staiger is a gem in the mountains – start looking my friends – the details will lie in the search, unless we find them for you 
