Demetria Estate

As I was putting this portfolio together, I asked my friends in Santa Barbara to recommend some new producers. One name kept popping up, Demetria. Demetria was established in 2005 when they purchased the former Andrew Murray property in Santa Ynez Valley. It's a property I knew well, and have visited it several times. The vines are pristine, I knew they were planted with great rootstock. I was especially intrigued about Deemetria's approach to farming. They subscribe to biodynamics.
I am at heart a skeptic. I also know about biodynamics from my Uncle, who is a Rudolph Steiner devotee. But here's my take on this. Every winery I have ever come across that uses biodynamics is of exceptional quality. I believe that this sort of caring for the earth and the vines is a very interesting and exciting approach. It can't help but raise the quality of the end product. I applaud the efforts that Demetria is taking for both the environmental impact, and for the painstaking commitment to quality.
So how are the wines? Well, they're terrific, Demetria makes Rhone varietals form their Santa Ynez Estate , and , they make Burgundian Varietals from their Estate in Santa Rita Hills. I've tried red and white from both locations and each wines shows a restraint, complexity and a sense of place. These were exciting wines to try,and I can't wait to start showing them to my accounts and friends

Silver Wines

I met Benjamin Silver about 10 years ago in SB. At the time, he had just launched his winery, and was starting to take a stab at Italian Varietals grown in and around Santa Barbara. What struck me about him though, was his sincerity and easygoing confidence. I could tell Benjamin would be a great winemaker, at that time, he actually already was.
Benjamin grew up on the East Coast, and studied to be a Veterinarian. As is so often the case, the wine bug bit him. He moved out west upon graduation, and landed with Zaca Mesa. He worked his way up through the ranks and learned the lay of the land. When he began making his own wines, he took a European approach, although, not a French but rather and Italian passion for the wines. His mere attempt to wrangle Nebbiolo in Santa Barbara and create a world class bottling would have seemed crazy, except, he succeeeded. Many people will vouch for the quality of his Italian Varieties. His best wine, may be his Julia's Vineyard Pinot Noir. Fruit from this vineyard is coveted, and usually only 6 producers get thier hands on it in any given vintage. The fact that he has made this wine so many times speaks to his proficiency. Silver has tightened their focus in recent years, and is now focusing on the traditional SB varieties along with a Cab/ Sangiovese blend or 2. We are extremely pleased to reunite with the wine sof Benjamin Silver.

Langdon Shiverick Imports

Langdon Shiverick Imports was founded over 20 years ago when Louie Langdon and David Shiverick teamed up to import some of the finest wines from Europe. David Shiverick eventually purchased the company outright and has been searching for and representing some of the top estates in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. David is very well-known for his ability to find outstanding producers in Europe and then developing the wines through a distributor network of twenty states. Many of the producers are very highly rated and although limited in quantity, he makes sure all markets have a chance to purchase his wines. Robert Parker once said "David Shiverick maintains a remarkably low profile in view of the high caliber of his portfolio. The estates are not always household names and that's the reason why wine insiders are his biggest fans."

David's portfolio now contains over 50 top producers. Ampelography is very proud and excited to now represent Langdon Shiverick Imports. In the coming weeks, I will post about many of these individual producers.



Thanks to JD Johns for his contribution to this post.

How to sell wine and sleep at night...

6 years ago, I was a Sommelier at a really good Restaurant in Santa Barbara. My view every day was of the beach, I watched the sunset over the Santa Barbara bay every night. I had autonomy of a 500 bottle list, and loved my job. I never really liked salespeople, even though I dealt with them on a daily basis. I always felt that a necessary evil of the wine business was that occasionally, people needed to sell wine that they didn't like. If my opinion and knowledge were my source of credibility, how could I ever maintain that being obliged to sell wine insincerely. This was easy to say as a Sommelier, and easier to do. I was approached many times to try my hand at selling, and I always said "no thank you".
One day, The Henry Wine Group came a knockin. I quickly said no, but for some reason, I tossed and turned over my decision. I came back and accepted this time. I decided that if I were to ever make the leap, this is the situation for me. I was very comfortable with my job, and didn't feel like I was challenged anymore. This decision changed my life.
Henry was the perfect company for me because for 2 reasons: a) Best Portfolio in California, huge with great imports b) very professional organization. They taught me how to sell and be honest and upfront. No dealing, everything above the table. They taught me about the value of being knowledgeable about wine. It is these lessons that have a will carry me through my entire career.
Once you decide what type of salesperson to be, the rest is easy. I decided to be myself, with opinion (but not opinionated, you don't need to be an expert at everything), and curious (always learning). This gives me consistency. It also serves me well as the choices I've made and opinions I've given were always for the noble pursuits of servicing or educating my customers. If my restaurants can't use the information I give them to sell more wine and improve their wine program (both are equally important), then I have failed.
I could easily sell wine with animals on the label all day long, but then, who have I benefited? In this business, you always have 3 customers in each transaction: Your account, Your supplier, and the company that signs your check. If you don't represent the right wineries, someone else may suffer, usually, this is your customer as you shill mediocre crap with your supplier or employers best interest. I had to find a way to appease all 3. The only real way to appease all 3 was to only represent producers I believe in. So now I have assembled a portfolio. It's not finished yet, but it's starting to look like something. And this is exciting. It's all producers I believe in. There are commonalities to all of them, but that probably just reflects my personal opinions. Now I can walk into any restaurant or Retail store, represent these 13+ producers and hold my head high because I'm proud of these wines. That's how I sleep at night.

Anne Amie Vineyards

Every now and then, you come across a winery that is just doing everything right. Not flashy, no gimmicks, just really cool people making and selling great wine. That describes Anne Amie Vineyards to a "T".
Anne Amie is the baby of Robert Pamplin, Philanthropist, Author, Minister, Environmentalist, Educator, and much more. He purchased Chateau Benoit in 1999 in Willamette Valley. I can't speak to the quality of the wine prior to his purchase, but my understanding is that there was a lot of unfulfilled potential. He changed the name, and began bringing in some pretty key personnel. They kept one vineyard with Muller Thurgau, and pretty much replanted, grafted and generally changed everything else. They also purchased 3 additional estate vineyards. Most plantings are as recent as 2000-2001. Benoit had been producing every wine imaginable, but now, Anne Amie would, appropriately, focus on the 3 Pinots. L.I.V.E. and Salmon Safe practices were instituted, and Anne Amie was eventually certified.
With prime vineyards containing a diversity of Clones and Soil types, blending would be key. Single Vineyards bottlings can show great style, but many believe that blending different elements can result in a superior wine. The answer is there's no right answer, just style preferences. The results of Anne Amie are hard to argue against though. Using the right amount of age, and master blending results in very complex refined Pinot Noirs. The whites show the only flashiness, with rich Pinot Gris and racy Muller Thurgau, the whites have found thier own cult. As the wines gather age, and the winemaking and winegrowing team continues to flesh out the nuances of the grapes, this is a winery that is already making great wines, but has an even brighter future!

Parker's Bitch

Thanks Craig, for sharing this fascinating video. This video shows the backlash we're starting to see against the "Parker style". As I speak with younger wine drinkers, they are beginning to appreciate wine with character. I have also had discussions with almost every producer that ampelography represents about their style, and how tastes are coming back to wines with lower alcohol. Creative and credible marketing can replace scores!


Robert Parker's Bitch from Josh Hermsmeyer on Vimeo.

Lachini Vineyards

I've been a pretty big fan of Oregon Pinot Noir since about the 1998 Vintage. This was further solidified during my time at Oregon Pinot Camp. I'll eventually wax poetic about why Oregon Pinot Noir is a s good as it is. One of the hottest producers in recent years has certainly been Lachini Vineyards.
Ron Lachini has a long standing passion for Pinot Noir. In 1997, he and his wife, Marianne moved from California to Oregon to find a vineyard site. The discovered a plot of land, 47 acres, in Newberg with nice, shallow Willakenzie soil. Their first vintage was 2001.
Since the Lachinis started, they have added World Class Winemaker, Laurent Montelieu, and Peter Rosback, of Sineann (ed note: crazy good wines) for the "S" bottling. They have also paid special attention to their farming practices. They are moving towards Biodynamics, are Salmon Safe, and participants in L.I.V.E. "Low Input Viticulture and Enology, Inc. program (LIVE, Inc.) is a program providing vineyards and wineries official recognition for sustainable agricultural practices that are modeled after international standards such as the practice of Botanical diversity in the cover crop and management practices that favor beneficial insects."
Oh, by the way, the wines are outstanding! It's apparent that the Lachinis are looking to Burgundy for thier Pommard style Pinot Noirs. Great tannin structure and
ageability. Lachini is one of the most exciting new producers in Oregon.

Buttonwood Farm

In the Wine Business, one of the characteristics that separates the everyday portfolio to that of distinction, can be the ability to see see the potential of greatness. I have known Buttonwood wines for about as long as I've been in the business. I bought them and enjoyed them, but always viewed them as a good value, but unremarkable.
Sometimes the thin line that lies between vision and potential is never crossed. Understanding the potential and matching it to a vision is a very difficult thing to do. We see a square peg in a round hole quite a bit. Once upon a time, every varietal was planted throughout Santa Barbara. Now that has been refined as visionary wineries refined their scope and found what worked. Because of the microclimate on the Eastern edge of Santa Ynez Valley, Bordeaux Varietals planted here have gotten pretty good.
Buttonwood planted about a third of their 100+ acres to vineyards, largely Bordeaux Varietals. The winery is almost 30 years old, what's changed? As is so often the case, the Winemaker. Karen Steinwachs has some really good experience working at 2 of my favorite wineries, Foley and Fiddlehead. 2 years ago, she came to Buttonwood and truly helped to improve what they were doing. They already had pretty good fruit sources, but how could this translate into wines of character? Karen surely must have looked to Bordeaux for inspiration, but probably not Pomerol or Medoc, but Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, or the satellites. As I've tasted through Karen's wines, her Sauvignon Blanc could easily pass for good Bordeaux Blanc. She's not afraid to use some Semillon, and they exhibit a richness and minerality you don't often see in California, along with a nice musty, earthiness. So far, the reds are showing great earth and restraint. These are wines that have their own distinct character and are a tremendous value. I'm excited to see where these wines go from here!

Niner Wine Estates

Niner Estates came to me through an old friend from my days in California, Ken Bryant. Ken, now the National Sales Manager for Niner, is gregarious, friendly and charismatic. You can really see the energy of the room change when he's in it.
We were catching up about 6 months ago, and he told me about his new position at Niner. I'd never heard of Niner before, so Ken sent me a case of samples. As Heather & I tasted through them over the course of a week or so, the wines kept getting better and better. After we finished, I began to get the full story from Ken.
The winery, established in 2001, was based on 2 Estate Vineyards, Bootjack Ranch and Heart Hill, both planted by legendary viticulturist Jim Smoot. The rest of the management team brought tremendous experience capped off with winemaker/consultant, Chuck Ortman. Eventually, they would find a full time winemaker in Amanda Cramer, who has worked at Chimeny Rock, d'Arenberg, Casa Lapastolle, and with the famed Heidi Barrett. Amanda has clearly put her thumbprint on these wines, which are like no other I've had from Paso Robles. The wines has a great richness of texture and each is dark fruit driven. I've tasted stunning examples of unruly varietals like Barbera and Sangiovese as well as Cabernet that tastes like Napa bottlings of twice the price. With a tatsing room scheduled to open in late summer, Niner Estate has all the pieces in place for great success. It's very exciting to add them to our portfolio.

Cornerstone Cellars

What happens when you take one of the hottest winemakers in California, Celia Masyczek, and combine that with Howell Mountain Fruit? Cornerstone Cellars.
If you read Wine Blogs, you probably know about Craig Camp, if not, check out the Wine Camp Blog on the links portion in the left margin. Craig is one of the the top bloggers, and expert sales and marketing gurus. He landed at Cornerstone about 6 months ago. I've know both Craig and Cornerstone for some time. The business seems like it keeps getting smaller!
I've been a fan of the Cornerstone Cabs for a while. Their powerful, age necessary, Howell Mtn Cabs are a bit of a throwback. The Napa bottling is slightly more fruit forward, but should still lay down for 5+ years. Production is limited to a mere 1800 cases. They have been making great strides at sustainability from a winemaking perspective and are sensitive to their carbon footprint. These world-cals Napa Cabs are a great addition to ampelography!

CG di Arie

Anyone that loves to sell wine knows that telling the story is the best part. CG di Arie has the most unique story of all. Chaim, owner and winemaker is known as Cap'n Crunch! Why? Because he invented it! In fact, Chaim was such a prolific food scientist, that his worked shaped your childhood, at least from a food standpoint. Astronaut Food, Hidden Valley Ranch, Power Bars, Crunchy breakfast cereal, Chaim has his thumbprint all over the salad days of Food Science.
He retired in 1998 to follow his dream of starting a winery. He and wife, Elisheva, purchased over 200 acres in El Dorado County.
With a new approach to winemaking technology, Chaim has built a gravity flow winery on a hillside for Zinfandel and Rhone Varietals. He has also pioneered a technique called submerged cap fermentation, that allows skin contact without releasing volatile flavor components. By treating his wines in such a way, he has developed a "House Style" that emphasizes texture without being too alcoholic or tannic.
Couple the new approaches with his fruit sources, which include the original "Grandpere" vineyard that Renwood made famous in the 1970's, and the potential is endless!

Drew Family

Drew Family wines have been sort of ubiquitous throughout and within my Wine Career for the better part of the last 10 years.
Back in the day, I was a big fan of Babcock wines. They made a ton of different wines,all interesting, but really rocked the Pinots and Syrahs (Not to mention the Cab franc!).
At this time, Jason Drew was one of the Assistant Winemakers. I was honored enough to host Bryan Babcock's only Annual Winemaker Dinner in Santa Barbara.
On one occasion he trotted out his 2 assistant winemakers and Peter Cargasacchi of Cargasacchi Vineyards. This is when I met Jason. Even though we're about the same age, Jason, had already finished a successful Growing career and now moved on to Winemaking.
This seemingly rapid career growth came from a very unassuming source. Jason has an easy temperament and tends to pepper sentences with phrases like "right on!". Eventually, he started his own winery, and eventually left Babcock with the blessing of Bryan. His early releases were exciting and good as he began to find his style. Eventually I brought his wines to Ohio, and he has clearly evolved.
Jason is now making World Class Pinots and Syrahs. He is certainly on a very short list of coveted new producers of Pinot Noir, he has received quite a bit of play in the press giving him scores that are really impressive, but not from the Oak-Monster loving critics that have initials like J.L. and R.P.
One thing I really like about Jason's wines are his ability to bring unexpected flavor components to wines. He is sourcing quite a bit of fruit from Mendocino now, and has really championed this up and coming appellation. In addition to his Mendocino Wines, you will still find first rate bottlings from the Central Coast. I can't help but believe that Jason's background in Vineyards helps him to really find the true fruit character.
I couldn't be more excited to once again be representing the wines of Jason and Molly Drew.

Eric Ross

Eric Ross is a boutique winery in the heart of Sonoma. 15 years ago, 2 Photographer friends from the Bay Area that shared a passion for many thing including baseball, food and wine decided to try their hand at winemaking. The winery is now solely in the hands of Eric Luse (John, original partner, retired a few years ago). Eric's opinions about the style of wine and french food set the house style. He makes Pinots and Chards with character, balance and restraint. Carignane finds it's way into several bottlings, and Eric has actually tamed this varietal.
Perhaps Eric Ross is most famous for their Zinfandels. Made from a variety of great vineyards over the years, the Zinfandels are powerful and earthy but not overly extracted. Zinfandel can be a product of it's terroir as much as many of the more esteemed varieties, Eric has learned what this finicky variety needs to show it's true character. All this and the inclusion of several Rhone varietals make this an exciting winery to represent.

Nalle

One of the events that reshaped my entire perspective on California wine took place in a "potato bunker" in Dry Creek in 2006. We met Doug Nalle at his winery. He was very skeptical as to why we were there ,and why we would want to sell his wines. Doug is maybe the most opinionated Winemaker I've ever met, a claim he would gladly admit to. Doug suspiciously tasted us through a lineup of wines, as he began to realize that we sort of got it, he started digging through the back of his winery, reminding me of Yoda in his excitement. He broke out 15 year old Zins that had alcohol in the mid 12% range. They aged like Bordeaux! Doug has mastered the art of making beautiful wines with low alcohol. He is best known for his Pinot Noir (which has a very apparent Lactose quality you rarely see outside of Burgundy)and Zinfandel. His Zins will reboot your perception of the entire varietal. elegant, acid structure, balanced red fruit. Old Vine extraction is maybe a little overrated. Doug told me last week that Zinfandel is the absolute hardest grape work with. He also proudly declared that high alcohol wines are falling out of favor, a statement I agree with wholeheartedly. Never being one to follow trends, his high quality wines are very consistent in their style. It's nice to see the seachange come back to lower alcohol wines, but even if it didn't, I'd know that Doug would continue to craft long lived benchmark wines just as he has been for 20 years. We are proud to add Nalle Winery to our portfolio. If you are looking for some good wine geek entertainment check out his side labels for his Zins on his website.

Core

Anyone that knows me knows that I looove the Rhone. Almost more importantly, I am fascinated by US producers that come very close to replicating Rhone wines. In the coming days, this will be a recurring theme.
I met Dave Corey on Facebook. I'd never met him, got a friend request, and saw that we knew like 6 of the same people. So I friended him (like you've never friended somebody you don't know). And then I checked out his site. One Friday, about a month ago, he said "anyone know a good California Broker?" and I said, half jokingly, "How about Ohio? (I was just putting a wish list together) He responded with a sort of strong opinion about how someone really needs to understand wine to sell his. This sounded like a challenge right up my alley (witness one of tomorrow's announcements)!
I convinced him to send me some samples, and guess what, they were awesome! The only white he sends me is primarily Grenache Blanc; clearly he has confidence in his wines. Each of the wines have structure and balance, tons of Grenache and Rhone Varietals. We chat a few more times, and as he loosens up, I realize that not only does he have some strong opinions, they seem to be correct, even if sometimes unpopular. Want to know how to pick out a great winemaker? They are usually the most righteous. Core is an excellent producer with a few different labels under it's umbrella. This one will be fun! Learn more here.

Medlock-Ames

We are very excited to make our first winery announcement. We will be representing Medlock-Ames! If you aren't familiar with this exciting winery, check out their website here.
Perched atop Bell Mountain in Alexander Valley, they are crafting Bordeaux Varietals with great style and structure. The quality that I always am reminded of is the texture of their wines. The tannins are from the beautiful fruit they use, not from oak. As a result, their wines are like velvet on palate. This winery is completely off the grid. They are solar powered, and use organically grown grapes. Gravity flow, low yields all the right things. Read more at their site, and keep an eye open for tasting notes.

Making me rethink my position on "Dawgs"

I have a really good friend in my cousin's husband who hails from the Atlanta area. Among other things, he is a huge Georgia Tech fan. Me being a pretty big Wolverine's fan, listen attentively to his comparisons of the vapid nature of both Georgia and Ohio State fans. We unofficially agreed years ago to root for each others teams out of respect for each others sports views. Somehow, I now despise Georgia Bulldogs just as I despise Buckeyes. I am now beginning to rethink my position. As I have been trying to build this business, I have called upon many friends and associates for counsel, one individual has been especially helpful and dependable, Mat Garretson. First, checkout his blog, it's a hoot. You may not make the connection, but Mat Garretson is best known as the proprietor and winemaker of Garretson Wine Co in Paso. He had so many great lines on his website and tshirts, one was centered around hi wine called "Craic" (pronounced crack). I also remember something to the effect-"No Chardonnay, No Cabernets, No Whining" Sadly, Mat had to pull the plug on the winery back in November due to a very tough business climate. As Mat has been networking looking for his next move, we hooked up. His experience and perspective has proved to be invaluable. It continues to prove that every connection you make in this, or any business can come back to be worth it's weight in gold. Respect your connections! As you climb any ladder, it's often the people above you that can bring up to the next rung. Mat will land on his feet,and has some solid options in front of him in the Wine Business. He is also a big Dawgs fan as evidenced by this label. So between Mat,a nd the fact that the Lions are probably going to pick Matthew Stafford #1 (and set the organization back another 5 years). I'm starting to feel like I may need to rethink my stance on the "Dawgs"!

Devil? Details.

As we are getting closer to our official launch date (4/1/09), I am finding that there are a few details that need to be handled. The inevitable exchange of information and paperwork from the wineries. The actual business needs to register with the state. And then there's all the liquor licensing, for each state. Not so fun, but getting done. Think of me Friday as I spend more time than I'd like talking to each individual state liquor board. Good news, looks like we added winery # 10 today. This is a big deal. 10 is the minimum of where I wanted to start. I am pretty confident we'll get 2-3 more through the weekend. I've got my fingers crossed about that one I mentioned yesterday also.

the grandaaddy of all wine geeks

I continue to be unable to get too specific in my acquisition of new brands. I am going to try to tell a story that hasn't ended yet. For you, it will be a serialized drama, for me, just drama. But hope survives. As I was putting together a wish list of wineries, I picked producers that were realistic because of past relationships, and producers that I am really passionate about. Last week, I had a wild hair, and feeling very good about my presentation, I sent a random email to a winery where i have virtually no contacts, but have always been a big fan. I met the owner once, but I'm sure he doesn't remember me. "Hi, you met me once at a restaurant where I worked, can I be your exclusive agent in 4 states?". I proceeded to send of a fairly impassioned email (didn't want to seem to eager though, right?). Now this winery is very important in the New World, particularly for their great wine, but almost as significant in their championing of sometimes unpopular and quirky ideas. Nonetheless, true visionaries. The sort of producers, were they included in the ampleography portfolio, that would help to define it. I mean, they get it. The problem is that they have been around for a while, in fact, they were bigger and are now smaller. This means that a) they already have strong distribution channels b)they may have downsized to accommodate their new focus. No chance, right? well, sometimes I do things that can seem outside of my grasp at the moment. Sometimes, they pay off.So I fired off the email to some names I found on their website(LinkedIN would frown on this) and I tried to figure out the method to their email addresses and assimilate the owners as well. I didn't expect much. But today, an hour ago, I received a response. The owner said kindly no. But, the Sales Manager, thought it may be a good fit nonetheless (maybe). So, now I need to sell myself on why I can do this, and why I'm the right fit. No pressure. So I'm cooling myself down, thinking about the next step. To even get this far is still a coup, So I'm pretty excited just based on that. Wish me Luck!!!

The power of a clear wine brand (I don't mean like Zima)

I learned something 2 weeks ago, that now has worked it's way into my skill set. I learned how to make sure you have a message. I am applying this to a wine brand. as I'm thinking about producers and their wine lineups, I'm am seeing that there is opportunity in narrowing the focus. In France it's easy, if you're in Burgundy, you make Burgundy, you can make chardonnay or pinot or both. That's pretty much in. In California, you have about 150 choices. What if you want to make everything? Well, I guess that's what a wine club is for. For my purposes, it helps if i have one line about a producer to explain their story. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what that one thing is, but it's getting easier. I've learned that I don't need to categorize based on the varietals grown. Maybe there's a common thread running through everything... hmmm....