July 28, 2004
Norm and Traudl HuberFridays at Ellen’s in Buellton, one of the lunch specials is always a chili size. It’s one of those meals, with an ice-cold root beer that’s hard to beat, especially on a hot day.
Earlier this month, I met Norm and Traudl Huber at Ellen’s for lunch. The Hubers own a vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills-off Hapgood Road, out toward Lompoc, near Clos Pepe and Rozak. They have 24 acres planted-sixteen acres of chardonnay, six acres of pinot noir, and two acres of dornfelder.
Norm told me most of the vineyard was planted back in 1988. They planted the pinot noir in 1994, Norm said. In the early years they sold fruit to Rick Longoria. Now, most of the fruit they sell goes to Gainey and to Rusack.
The Hubers produce limited amounts of wine under their own label.
Dornfelder is one of the prizes found in their vineyard. It is very rare in the United States, and their planting may be the only one on this continent. Dornfelder is a red German grape from the Rheinpfalz region on the Rhine River in Germany.
I have tasted all of Norm’s vintages of dornfelder. The wine is not for the feint of heart. These wines-at least to me-show hints of stone fruit in the nose. These are big wines that require matching with big foods. Possibly a good pairing would be with Traudl’s Wiener schnitzel and red cabbage. One guy I know described dornfelder as pinot noir on steroids. If you love pinot noir like I do, this is a supreme compliment.
While most grape varieties in California are propagated from bud wood, rootstock that is stuck in the ground, their dornfelder plants were shipped and then planted. I guess it would be like getting pony packs, but vinifera grapes rather than Sweet 100 tomatoes, or red-hot chili peppers.
A vintage vignette and projection-
Over lunch, Norm told me he expects to see yields down for 2004. He thinks yields will be down because of the winds during flowing in May. He told me he expects about three tons to the acre yield for the dornfelder, but only a ton-and-a-half for the chardonnay, and even less for the pinot noir.
Veraision is occurring right now. As the berries soften and start to change color, they become tempting fare for birds and other critters. Traudl said it would soon be time to cover the vines with netting.
Life’s a peach at Buttonwood.
Speaking of stone fruit, it’s peach season, and this is the time of year when I enjoy peaches and cream for breakfast and peach margueritas at the cocktail hour from Buttonwood Farm!
Their flyer says Buttonwood has become known as the “Georgia of Southern California.” No herbicides are used and no chemical fertilizers are used according to orchard manager, Fred Munch.
The flyer says Elbertas are the “queen” of the fruit kingdom. That means, I guess, Elbertas are to peaches what pinot noir is to wine grapes.
They also have Babcock, O’Henry and Red Haven.
Stop by Buttonwood Farm. The tasting room is located at 1500 Alamo Pintado Road north of Solvang. Open daily 11 to 5. (805) 688-3032. Check out the wine too.
Bon appetit!
Peach lover and wine lover and Santa Maria Times Wine columnist, Bob Senn, lives in the bucolic Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
