Marin County Wine Celebration – June 26, 2016
I attended the Marin County Wine Celebration in late June, and wrote a report for the Grape-Nutz.com website. A portion of the report is below – there are more comments, photos, and tasting impressions of over 35 wines from 16 producers here:
11th Marin County Wine Celebration – June 26, 2016
Report on the 11th Marin County Wine Celebration presented by the Marin County Winegrowers Association, held on Sunday, June 26th, 2016, at the Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, California. The event focuses on wines from the Marin County AVA.
The Marin County Winegrowers Association promotes wines from the county, and supports cooperation among growers and wineries. It helps to raise awareness of Marin’s wine history as well as of its current wineries and wines. The event this year also served as a benefit for the Throckmorton Theatre’s Arts and Education programs, and included a silent auction of selected Marin County wines.
Marin County is located just north across the Golden Gate from San Francisco and south of Sonoma County. With the Pacific Ocean to the west and San Francisco Bay to the east, the maritime influence on the climate helps make Marin one of the cooler growing areas for winegrapes in California. Winegrape growing in Marin dates well back into the nineteenth century, though it’s always been a very small-scale industry compared with other agriculture in the county. The earliest post-Prohibition commercial plantings date from the end of the 1960s, with Pacheco Ranch becoming the first bonded winery since Prohibition in the early 1970s. Even today, commercial winegrape growing is tiny in scale, with less than 200 acres planted throughout Marin. Wines labeled as being from Marin County were virtually unknown until Pinot Noir bottlings from Vision Cellars (from Chileno Valley Vineyard) in 1997 and Dutton-Goldfield (from Devil’s Gulch Ranch) in 2000.
Map courtesy of Marin County Winegrowers Association (http://www.marinwine.org)
Overall Impressions
After a year’s hiatus, it was great to have the Marin County Wine Celebration back. The event was promoted noticeably better this year than it was two years ago, and it was in a nicer venue, the beautiful and historic Throckmorton Theatre in downtown Mill Valley. The result was far better attendance than the tasting two years ago – good to see that interest in Marin County wines continues.
As has been the case at past Marin County Wine Celebrations, there was a spread of delicious Marin-produced food available to enjoy. There were cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, and Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, charcuterie from Devil’s Gulch Ranch, breads from Brick Maiden Bakery and Bovine Bakery, and olives and olive oils from McEvoy Ranch.
Winery tables were set up around the perimeter of the modestly-sized theater, with a large food table in the center. It was easy to find specific producers, and there was plenty of room to circulate throughout the space. Lighting was kept on the low side to help prevent the space from getting too warm, and although it did heat up somewhat by later in the afternoon, it never got too hot inside. Midway through the afternoon tasting, there was a brief introduction and talk by three noted Marin growers and vintners – Mark Pasternak of Devil’s Gulch Ranch, Stewart Johnson of Kendric Vineyards, and Blake Yarger of McEvoy Ranch. Thanks to staff and volunteers, everything ran smoothly throughout the afternoon.
This event provides a unique opportunity to sample wines sourced from Marin County fruit. As always, the producers included many based outside of Marin – there are only a handful of wineries actually located within the county. A total of 16 producers were represented at the tasting this year. Most were on hand to pour their own wines, while Mark Pasternak – who farms several of Marin’s best-known vineyards including Chileno Valley Vineyard in addition to his own – poured wines for three of them (Easkoot, Earnest Bloom, and Terrien) at one table.
An interesting development that could be just around the corner for some Marin vineyards is the official approval of the Petaluma Gap AVA. A number of northern Marin vineyards – including Azaya, Chileno Valley, Kendric, McEvoy Ranch, and Stubbs – will be within the Petaluma Gap appellation, which will cover parts of Marin and Sonoma counties.
While Pinot Noir remains Marin’s hallmark grape, there have been a few other varieties that have been grown there for a number of years. Chardonnay and Riesling do well in the cooler climate of northern and western Marin, while the warmer eastern side of the county is home to its oldest current commercial vines – Cabernet Sauvignon planted in the late 1960s. Other more recent plantings include Viognier, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Barbera, Montepulciano, Refosco, and Alicante Bouschet, and it sounds like other varieties may be on the way soon.
Bryan Vais, Bailiwick
The Marin County Wine Celebration is a fairly small event, so I had time to get to all of the winery tables and I believe I tried every wine that was poured there. Not surprisingly, Pinot Noirs dominated the tasting, with smaller numbers of whites, rosés, and other red varieties and blends. Most of the whites and rosés were from the 2014 and 2015 vintages, while current-release Pinots were mostly from the very good 2013 and 2014 vintages, although there were also a few current releases from 2012. Several of the still-available older Cabernet Sauvignons were surprisingly good, with a couple from the 2005 vintage that were standouts.
The overall quality of wines produced from Marin County fruit continues to get better. The first couple of times I attended this event, in 2009 and 2010, tasting wines from Marin seemed almost more of a novelty than anything else, with only a handful of standout wines. But in the years since, the wines have improved across the board with many more highlights. I feel this reflects improvements on both the growing and winemaking sides over the years, and the area’s vineyards seem to be attracting increasing attention of talented vintners.
Most of those pouring at the tasting presented strong wine line-ups, and all of them poured at least one standout wine. It’s tough to pick favorite producers at a tasting such as this one, since most poured only two or three wines, and some of those were multiple vintages of the same bottling. But given the small sampling size, it’s still notable that all the wines from a few vintners made it onto my list of Favorites.
This year was a return to form for the Marin County Wine Celebration, with great attendance at a fine new venue, and more standout wines than ever. The potential of winegrapes grown in Marin County has never been more apparent, and I believe we’ll see the wines from Marin fruit continue to improve in the coming years. The Marin County Wine Celebration continues to showcase the steady progress that these wines are making, and it’s an event that fans of cool-climate California wines should not miss.
Jonathan Pey, Pey-Marin
Favorites
Whites and Rosés
Pey-Marin 2015 “The Shell Mound” Riesling
Skywalker 2015 Skywalker Ranch Rosé
Straight Line (Couloir) 2015 Devil’s Gulch Ranch Chardonnay
Reds
Bailiwick 2013 “Borderline” Pinot Noir
Brooks Note 2013 Marin County Pinot Noir
DeLoach 2013 Marin County Pinot Noir
Dutton-Goldfield 2014 Azaya Ranch Pinot Noir
Easkoot 2014 Chileno Valley Vineyard Pinot Noir
Ernest Bloom 2013 Marin County Pinot Noir
Kendric 2013 Marin County Pinot Noir
McEvoy Ranch 2011 “Red Piano”
Pacheco Ranch 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Pey-Marin 2014 “Trois Filles” Pinot Noir
Point Reyes 2005 Quail Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Others of Note
Bailiwick 2012 “Borderline” Pinot Noir
Brooks Note 2014 Marin County Pinot Noir
Burning Bench 2013 Moon Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir
Couloir 2013 Chileno Valley Vineyard Pinot Noir
DeLoach 2013 Stubbs Vineyard Chardonnay
Dutton-Goldfield 2014 Devil’s Gulch Ranch Pinot Noir
Kendric 2012 “Reserve” Marin County Pinot Noir
McEvoy Ranch 2012 “The Evening Standard” Pinot Noir
Sean Thackrey 2012 “Andromeda” Pinot Noir
Terrien 2014 Marin County Pinot Noir
