August 2, 2000
Here's the "just in" scoop on this year's harvest from the folks who know! An unnamed, but very credible source, told me last week that the 2000 grape harvest looks heavy-as heavy as the '97 vintage. Another source told me this harvest looks really good and will be much earlier than the '99 harvest.These prognostications might be good or bad. I know that many winemakers, for example, thought 1997 was marginal owing a lot to just the sheer magnitude of the harvest. Then too, for many vintners, what's called long hang-time is a plus. Long hang-time gives greater depth and complexity to the fruit, so "early" is not necessarily a virtue. Time will tell.
I got this news last week when I attended The Wine and Food Society of the Santa Maria Valley dinner at Massimi's Ristoranti in Los Olivos, as Joe Carrari's guest.
This cornucopia of Italian food was served in the gorgeous al fresco setting behind the restaurant under the pepper trees in downtown Los Olivos.
The wines served were all from Santa Barbara County producers. The appetizers of crostini and mini pizzas were served with Babcock's bright and crisp 1999 pinot grigio. With the succulent prawns and pasta course was served the Beckmen 1997 nebbiolo from grapes grown at Stolpman Vineyards out on Ballard Canyon Road, and aged in barrel for 22 months. Fresh tomatoes and onions in vinaigrette were matched with a 1998 Morovino barbera from Carrari Vineyards-a vineyard which is now owned by Louis Lucas and retired judge Royce Lewellen. The outstanding veal saltimbocca was matched with the Il Podere dell'Olivos Teroldigo, an Italian red grape prominent in Trentino which wine author Jancis Robinson opines is "just the sort of local, supremely self-confident speciality in which Italy excels." Teroldigo is very rare in California and the grapes came from a vineyard near Gilroy. Il Podere is owned by Jim Clendenen, who is the Mind Behind Au Bon Climat. With the Tira Misu was a 1999 Lucas & Lewellen late harvest sauvignon bianco which had been made over at Rusack Vineyards. When we had the wine with dinner it had been in the bottle for six hours!
The Wine and Food Society's members and guests for this buon gusto affair reads like the "Who's Who" of the local wine industry-living legend pioneer growers like Joe Carrari and Louis Lucas, and Bill Davidge whose family along with the Bettencourt family planted the first vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley back in 1969. And there were winery owners and winemaking talent the likes of Jim Adelman of Makor, Au Bon Climat and Qupe, Gary Mosby of Chimere who has a new tasting room on Bell Street in Los Alamos, in front of the Alamo Motel, Seth Kunin, the production manager at Central Coast Wine Services, and Tom Beckmen of Beckmen Vineyards and president of the Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association. Community leaders and friends of the vine like the Honorable Jim Iwasko, the Wine and Food Society president, judge, and good friend of Chef Rick Manson, Erling Pohls, Doug Coleman, talented home winemaker who runs the crime lab for the Santa Maria Police Department, Mike Clay of Hampton Farming, Stan Kadota, retired judge Royce Lewellen, former county supervisor Harrell Fletcher, home winemaker and veteranarian, Dave Olwin, orthopedic surgeon Reo Reiswig, A.J. Diani, Ken Martin, Lawrence Orbe from The Alternative Board, Tom Targer, and Hardy Hearn, who with his wife are the new owners of the Santa Maria Inn and TK in TK were also enjoying gustatory evening at Massimi.
Besides the food, wine and camaraderie of the evening, what impressed me the most was the chartered school bus which brought this august group down from Santa Maria and even picked up the Los Alamos contingent right in front of the Union Hotel. It shows real responsibility. All wine and food societies should do it when they take junkets!
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Karen White started digging for news as a reporter for this paper a year before pioneer grapegrower, Uriel Nielsen, started digging the dirt in the Santa Maria Valley and planted the first post-Prohibition vineyard in the county back in 1964.
Her beat was the backroads of Santa Barbara County long before legends like Louis Lucas of Tepusquet Vineyard, and Joe Carrari were on the scene growing grapes.
I've known Karen White for about 15 years, and nobody knows the backroads and vineyards of this county as well as she does. After all, before she graduated from Cal Poly, she was reared at Oceano Beach, clam digging and drinking York Mountain zinfandel. I'm glad to be on her team.
Bob Senn lives in the Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
