Contra Costa County Wine Heritage

[Drew_Goin]

In case it already is not apparent, the 2018 harvest in eastern Contra Costa County, California, has begun!

In a recent email from the California Wine Broker, Mr Mike (with his “enforcer”, a dog named Gentleman Jake) stated that red grapes are ready to be harvested, as he has notified his email list of “Wineo’s” of the second and third picks for the season.


From the email:

"…We are going to have the 2nd pick on Saturday, September 1st, and the 3rd pick on Sunday, September 2nd.

"Both picks will be held in Oakley, Ca, but NOT at the same vineyard.

"The 2nd pick will be held on Saturday, Sept.1st, at a vineyard that we have picked before. These Oakley Zinfandel grapes are mature grapes that have produced many award-winning wines.

"The 3rd pick will be held on Sunday, Sept 2nd, at a vineyard that we have never picked before. There will be two grape varietals on this pick; Zinfandel and Carmine. These grapes are authentic OLD VINE Oakley Zinfandel and Carmine grapes.

"Some of the Zinfandel vines on the Sunday pick are said to be around 150-years-old.

"I’ve been making and drinking zinfandel from old vine grapes for more than 20 years. I have had a bottle of zin made from the Old Vine vineyard we are picking on Sunday. I can honestly tell you that the wine was the best zin I have ever had.

"The other varietal on this pick is ‘Carmine’. This varietal is a clone created at Davis from Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignane, and Merlot.

"I had never heard of this grape before two weeks ago. I had a bottle of this wine from the vineyard we are picking on Sunday. It was very rich, deep, bold, black wine with an extraordinary fruit finish.

"A truly exceptional wine.

“…This may be your only opportunity this year, or ever, to get winegrapes of this quality. So, show up… ready to pick grapes.”


On the California Wine Broker website, the following grape varieties are planned to be available over the course of this year’s harvest:

Brentwood area:

Alicante-Bouschet, Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Mourvèdre, Petite Sirah, Syrah (“Chicken Coop Syrah”*; “Gold Medal”), Tinta Cao, Zinfandel


Oakley area:

Carignane (Old Vine), Mataro/Mourvèdre (Old Vine; “Double Gold”), Zinfandel (Old Vine, around 1890-1900’s vintage), Zinfandel (Oakley, 14-year-old vines; “Double Gold in 2011”), Chardonnay, Malvasia Bianco, Merlot, Muscato, Rousanne, Marsanne, Zinfandel, Malbec, Grenache, Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Touriga National, Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz, Souzao, Valdepenas, Primitivo


I have included all of this information because, to my thinking, the use by vineyard owners of a broker guarantees that all fruit is purchased year after year.

I do not know how long the lease on life is for CoCo’s at-risk vineyards. The California Wine Broker’s website states that 100 tons of fruit were sold via his services in 2017. Given the vagaries of larger commercial grape sales, property holders (hopefully) are able to find a little peace of mind in keeping their vines in the ground due to access to grape brokers representing home winemakers and small wine producers.


California Wine Broker website: http://www.calwinebroker.com
info@calwinebroker.com

\

• I am scratching my head over what a "Chicken Coop Syrah" is - perhaps the phrase is a reference to a geographic marker for the vineyard’s location???

[Drew_Goin]

Continuing with the topic of the 2018 vintage in Contra Costa County…


Romick in Oakley
“The Grape Harvest Has Started in Oakley”
by Kevin Romick
August 22, 2018


"…Typically the harvest starts around Labor Day in Oakley, however; the hot summer has pushed the start of the harvest ahead a few weeks. Growers and winemakers are checking sugar content daily to determine which vineyard will be picked next.

“…The harvest will continue through the first of October so be wary of slow moving farmequipment on the roads. Oakley’s vineyards are dispersed throughout the community making the movement of vehicles including tractors, forklifts and trucks essential to a timely harvest and this means your friendly farmers will be sharing the road with you more frequently as they drive their ‘implements of husbandry’…”

[Drew_Goin]

Two new vid-jos of the “Evangelho Vineyard” from Mr Hardy Wallace of Dirty & Rowdy Family Wines:

Dirty and Rowdy: Evangelho Vineyard Outside In

Harvest 2018: IG Stories Evangelho Vineyard 9/1

Dirty & Rowdy Family Wines website: https://www.dirtyandrowdy.com

[Drew_Goin]

Okay, one more new video of the “Evangelho Vineyard” from Dirty & Rowdy:

Harvest 2018: Evangelho 8/28

[Drew_Goin]

Mr Kevin Romick, City Councilman and former mayor of Oakley, CA, posted the following on Facebook today:

_"This morning’s walk took Harrison and I north along Marsh Creek to where it ends and connects with the Big Break trail. Checked out the ancient vineyard, planted in the late 1800’s by Joaquin José. The 14-acre vineyard is the Carignane varietal.

“On the way back we took the city maintained trail that separates the new housing and Dutch Slough Tidal Restoration Project. The Dutch Slough Tidal Marsh Restoration Project is the first major tidal wetlands restoration effort in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to be implemented by DWR. The project will transform 1,187 acres of land into tidal marsh to provide habitat for salmon and other native fish and wildlife. There is a lot of grading in progress. The walk continued to Sellers Ave where a 55-acre park will be built. The property was recently handed over to the city.”_


The Carignan vines of the 14-acre “Joaquin Jose, aka Emerson, aka Lucchesi Vineyard” date back to ~1890.

As mentioned in a previous post on this thread, The Press published in April (2018) article by Tony Kukulich on the Dutch Slough project and the protracted battle to leave the vineyard intact:

“…A 14-acre vineyard that has been in use for more than 100 years will be preserved, though the original project plans called for the vines to be removed. Oakley City Councilmember Kevin Romick fought hard to get the plans adjusted to save the vineyard.”


Additional Information on the Dutch Slough Debate:


East County Today
“Oakley Works to Save 14-Acre Vineyard State Wants to Remove”
by Staff
January 26, 2014


Romick in Oakley Blog
“Ancient Vines along Marsh Creek”
by Kevin Romick
April 2, 2013


I am happy that a compromise was established in the debate. Saving a unique viticultural site is important, as is ensuring that the Delta’s ecosystem is protected from further harm.

To provide one with a glimpse of what this region has been subject to over the past +100 years, Take a look at what the area looked like in ~1900 compared to today…

The map images were provided by the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Historical Ecology Study.

[Drew_Goin]

It looks like Dirty & Rowdy Family Wines has the monopoly on “Evangelho Vineyard” harvest images for the 2018 vintage!

[Drew_Goin]

Dirty & Rowdy Old-vine Mataro/Mourvèdre Pick at Antioch’s “Evangelho Vineyard” (…continued):

Dirty & Rowdy Family Wines website: https://www.dirtyandrowdy.com

[Drew_Goin]

In a perfect world, the following information would provide a curious mind an answer to how many bottles of Dirty & Rowdy Family Wines “Evangelho Vineyard” Old Vine Mourvèdre one might anticipate for the 2018 vintage:


_"Conversion Factors: From Vineyard to Bottle

"…What we can learn
Pounds of grapes in a bottle of wine

"The number
150 gallons of wine per ton of grapes

"Range
120-180 gallons in normal conditions

“A standard bottle of wine is 750 milliliters (ml), meaning a case of 12 bottles contains 9 liters, or 2.378 gallons. At 150 gallons per ton, a ton of grapes becomes 150/2.378 gallons per case, or a little more than 63 cases of wine. With 12 bottles per case, we have 756 bottles in total…”_


IF all 2 tons of “Evangelho Vineyard” Mourvèdre picked and brought to the winery is successfully converted into wine, with zero loss of juice (be it through evaporation, spillage, generous and frequent use of the “wine thief”, etc) zero juice passed on to another producer, zero finished wine sold on the bulk market, THEN:

• 2 tons of grapes x ~63 cases of wine = ~126 cases

• ~126 cases of wine x 12 bottles per case =

~1,512 bottles of 2018 Dirty & Rowdy Old-vine “Evangelho Vineyard” Mourvèdre would be available for fellow Wine Berserkers to purchase and gift to Drew Goin.


Equation (and others, tinged with a soupçon of sarcasm, compliments of Chris Gerling) available at:
https://grapesandwine.cals.cornell.edu/newsletters/appellation-cornell/2011-newsletters/issue-8/conversion-factors-vineyard-bottle/

[Drew_Goin]

Aha!!

Mr Morgan Twain-Peterson, MW, of Bedrock Wine Company (owners of the “Evangelho Vineyard”) posted this photo of Carignan in the Antioch-based site:

[Matt_Wood]

Some new photos for you Drew. I got some Carignane, Mataro and Petite Sirah today Old vine in Oakley. Not the best photos, I was trying to go quick, some hot days out there lately.

[Drew_Goin]

Very awesome!!! Thanks for the photos, Matt!

That last pic looks kinda like the “Del Barba/Oakley Road Vineyard”.


I hafta ask once more (no offense): didja go through the CA WB? His email for Sunday’s pick announced an opportunity to pick:

_"OOOOOLD VINE MATARO (Mourvedre)
OOOOOLD VINE CARIGNANE
OOOOOLD VINE PETITE SIRAH
OOOOOLD VINE ZINFANDEL

"…These excellent Oakley, CA grapes have produced double gold best-of-show quality wine in local, State and National Competition including the SF Chronicle Wine Competition.

"To have this quality winegrapes available to you at this price is truly astonishing!

“To have this quality winegrapes available to you at any price is truly astonishing!”_


Regardless, I am super-jealous!! You’ve got some good lookin’ stuff there!

[Matt_Wood]

Hey Drew, I did go through him yes, I end up getting some grapes through him about every year. This vineyard kinda has sections with Petite and Mataro and Zin and the Carignane is randomly interplanted in those blocks. I was going mostly for Carignane and Mataro but I knw I grabbed some Petite also, I just checked and everything is 24brix after soaking since 10:30 this morning.

[Drew_Goin]

Thanks again, Matt!!!

Is Rue Ferrari your personal label?

[Drew_Goin]

Matt Cline’s Three Wine Company is a Wine Access favorite:

Wine Access: 3 Wine Co. 2014 “Mazzoni Vineyard” Petite Sirah



“Tannin That Cellars Longer Than Most California Cabernets”
by Vanessa Conlin DipWSET
Wine & Spirit Education Trust Diploma
Stage 2 Master of Wine Student


"Wine Access clients know Matt Cline as the guardian of some of America’s greatest and most historic vineyards. When translated to bottle, these sites yield dramatic offerings, loaded with class and lush, dark-berry fruit. ‘Mazzoni Vineyard’ is perhaps the crown jewel in Cline’s historic portfolio, planted in 1885 by Italian immigrants, Spike and Guido Mazzoni. In these sandy soils, rare 50-year-old Petite Sirah takes on a completely singular character…

"…When you first set eyes on ‘Mazzoni Vineyard’, you can’t help but do a double-take. There’s no dirt, no gravel, no galets roulés. Here everything is sand, in which many of the ancient vines planted got their start over a century ago when Portuguese and Italian immigrant families - the Mazzonis, Lucchesis, Evangelhos, and Jacuzzis - rode buggies down from the old Buena Vista Winery and twisted 6-inch budwood into the shorelines of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.

“It’s not easy to grow Petite Syrah here, which is why Matt’s 50-year-old vines are both improbable, and incredible. The vineyard work required to maintain them is practically double, but so are the rewards…”.

Historic Vineyard Society “Mazzoni-Live Oak Vineyard” profile:
https://historicvineyardsociety.org/vineyard/live-oak

Three Wine Company website: http://www.threewinecompany.com

[Drew_Goin]

As I have been looking up the ATF/TTB establishment of the various AVA’s of San Benito County in another thread, I decided to do the same for Contra Costa’s - the massive San Francisco Bay AVA.


SF Gate
“Wineries Win Rights to Magic Words: Printing `S.F. Bay’ on labels means increase in sales”
by Kevin Fagan
January 22, 1999

"…Never mind that there are no commercial wineries in San Francisco itself, and that the new label law is mainly intended for six other counties around the city.

"It’s a name thing. A touchy one. And lucrative.

“This is great news for us,” said Tom Lane, winemaker for Concannon Vineyards of Livermore, one of the top winemakers in the East Bay. ‘We take a lot of pride in our wine and where we are, but saying we’re from the San Francisco Bay will help us sell even more overseas.’

"…Winemakers in Sonoma and Napa counties, the longtime mecca of fine winemaking in California, were predictably displeased at the ruling announced Wednesday by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Some Santa Cruz vintners did not like it either. It cuts into their action and their identity.

"…Attaching the words ‘San Francisco’ to your Zinfandel or Cabernet when you’re not really there is misleading about true geographical origin of what’s in the bottle, the argument goes. And under the new rule – to take effect March 22 – the ‘San Francisco Bay’ viticultural area will designate grapes grown not just in the county where the sparkling, hilly city sits, but also Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and parts of Santa Cruz and San Benito counties.

"…William Drake, retired deputy director of the bureau, was unimpressed and unamused by anything associated with the new ruling, and he wrote one of the arguments against it printed in the Federal Register.

"‘The appellation, varietals and price are very important in getting decent wine, and this new label is misleading,’ Drake, who grew up in Contra Costa and went to school in San Francisco, said yesterday. 'It’s being done totally for economics and the tourist trade.

"‘This area (in the new appellation) is very different depending on where you are – you can start off in shirt sleeves at one end and end up in an overcoat at the other end. It’s silly to say it’s all one.’

"The ATF, which regulates what is allowed on wine labels, was petitioned for the change in 1997 by 75 growers and vintners led by Wente Bros. of Livermore.

"It eventually decided the region made geographical sense because ‘it is distinguished by a marine climate which is heavily influenced by the proximity of the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean,’ according to an agency statement.

"As the announcement started filtering through the winemaking grapevine this week, it caused either shock or jubilation wherever it became known.

"‘In the wine world, this is a big deal,’ acknowledged bureau spokeswoman Tracy Hite.

"Until now, wineries from Livermore to Santa Barbara were only able to label the bottles as either from ‘California,’ the ‘Central Coast’ or the individual county where the grapes originated.

“…The world-famous region boasts more than 450 wineries, and the new ‘San Francisco Bay’ region represents only 39. And that doesn’t count Central Valley grape growers, who collectively produce more grapes than anyone in the state…”



I wholeheartedly agree with the comments made to the effect that the San Francisco Bay AVA is so large that it’s meaningless. The ATF/TTB assertion that the counties within the viticultural area are “…distinguished by a marine climate which is heavily influenced by the proximity of the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean,” is vague, if not inaccurate.

The degree that a region is affected by the “marine climate” of the Bay/Carquinez Strait/Sacramento Delta/etc varies depending on specific existing geographical features. Sub-Appellations in other parts of the nation have been created due to subtle differences in maritime winds and/or fog.

I probably wouldn’t consider this as significant of an issue if the fate of the old vineyards in eastern Contra Costa County was under less threat of destruction, and if the AVA name was not evocative of such a distinct place, one completely unrelated to most of the 7 counties in the region.


The Free Library
Wines & Vines
“An Inside Look at the San Francisco Bay AVA”
by Catherine Falls
November 1, 2000


TTB website
“San Francisco Bay AVA”
Final Rule T.D. ATF–407 (PDF download)

[Drew_Goin]

These two photos are from Mr Kevin Romick of Oakley’s vineyards:

8-acre Zinfandel vineyard @ SW corner Empire Ave & Oakley Rd:

Unidentified vineyard (possibly the same one):

[Drew_Goin]

California’s vineyard acreage has changed in volume and distribution in recent years. For a considerable part of the 1970’s-90’s, much loss of historic plantings occurred in the San Francisco Bay AVA / Contra Costa County region.

The first edition of Charles Sullivan’s [u]A Companion to California Wine[/u], as well as other websites and books, assert that the majority - upwards of ~85% - of the state’s Mourvèdre plantings belonged to Cline Cellars. Carignan vineyards ranged more broadly across the state.



Cline Cellars’ Blog
“Ancient Vines, Old Vines, It’s All Greek to Me”
by Charlie Tsegeletos, Director of Winemaking
July 23, 2009


“We use a couple of criteria when deciding which vineyards to source our ‘Ancient Vines’ Carignane, Mourvedre, and Zinfandel from [errata]. First, the weighted average age of all the vines must be at least 50 years old. Our Carignane and Mourvèdre grapes come exclusively from two vineyards in Oakley, California. The Carignane vines were planted in 1906 and 1925; the Mourvèdre was planted in 1920. While the majority of the grapes for the ‘Ancient Vines’ Zinfandel are sourced from the same Oakley vineyard (planted in 1906 and 1910), we also select fruit from a group of historic vineyards in Lodi, Mendocino, and Sonoma.”

“The second criterion is that the vines produce intense and flavorful grapes. We pick these grapes at about 26 degrees brix which turns into about 15% alcohol. We want our ‘Ancient Vines’ series to have big body and intense flavor to keep the wine in balance…”



Breakdown of Reported Planting Dates:

• Carignan: 2 Oakley Vineyards

› 1906
› 1925

• Mourvèdre: 1 Oakley Vineyard

› 1920

• Zinfandel: 1 Oakley Vineyard*

› 1906 & 1910


As indicated in the blog entry, Cline Cellars’ “…Carignane and Mourvèdre grapes come exclusively from two vineyards in Oakley, California.”

• On the other hand, “While the majority of the grapes for the ‘Ancient Vines’ Zinfandel are sourced from the same Oakley vineyard (planted in 1906 and 1910),” the 'Ancient Vines’ Zinfandel fruit also comes from vineyards in other counties.
  
  
  Cline Cellars’ Blog: “Our Roots Run Deep”:
  https://clinecellars.wordpress.com

Cline Cellars website:

Cline Family Cellars | Home

[Drew_Goin]

Mr Morgan Twain-Peterson, MW, of Bedrock Wine Company posted the following image of an old Mourvèdre vine in Antioch’s “Evangelho Vineyard”:

Mr Twain-Peterson, MW, stated that the 2018 vintage is shaping up to be a fantastic year for grapes.

2017’s old-vine Mataro, Zinfandel, Carignan, and Palomino from “Evangelho Vineyard’s” West-facing “Block 11” is planned to go into a special, small-scale bottling independent of the traditional Bedrock “Evangelho Vineyard” red wine!!!


Bedrock Wine Company website:
https://bedrockwineco.com

[Drew_Goin]

Former Mayor and current Oakley City Council member Mr Kevin Romick posted these photos of a vineyard:

---

Romick in Oakley blog
“Saturday, September 22nd from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Heart of Oakley Festival”
by Kevin Romick
September 12, 2018


"Save the date to join us for the Heart of Oakley Festival on Saturday, September 22nd from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

"This annual event that takes place downtown and in the Civic Center Plaza, 3231 Main Street. Admission and parking are free.

“The festival features a wide variety of entertainment, vendors, gourmet food, art, cultural exhibits and children’s activities. There will be micro-brews and wine for sale along with commemorative glasses.”

Events like this serve to increase local/regional awareness of the cultural treasures found in this part of the county. I fully support any effort to aid in the preservation of the old vineyards of Contra Costa!!!

[Drew_Goin]

More images of the “Oakley Road Vineyard” from Mr Joel Peterson…