California dreamin'

"If California is not at present the favorite grape-growing country in the world, it is certainly destined to attain that rank, and also become one of the most extensive." This notion probably seemed rather fanciful when penned by a certain Ben Truman in The New York Times way back in 1868.

Today, it's clear this prediction was on the right track. With 173,000 hectares (425,000 acres) of vineyards, the state of California is now effectively the world's fourth-largest wine producer, behind the three Old World superpowers of France, Spain and Italy. In fact, California accounts for well over 90 percent of U.S. wine production, with two-thirds of American consumption being Californian. And there's still plenty left over for the rest of the world.  

Ever since Franciscan monks founded the first of a series of Roman Catholic missions in 1769, wine grapes have been part of the California landscape. The first grape planted was known as Mission, which later spread out among the local smallholders. Unlike locally found varieties that, being vitis californica, are unsuited for wine production, this was an imported vitis vinifera grape, now identified as País (famed if not overly esteemed in Chile, for example). It remained the mainstay of production for well over a century.

After the gold rush, winemaking exploded along with the population. By 1900, the state had some 800 wine-making enterprises, including vineyards planted with a huge range of European grapes. The boom was followed by a series of predictable downturns fueled by a number of factors - greedy overplanting, a subsequent collapse in grape prices, vineyards devastated by phylloxera, Prohibition, the Great Depression and World War II. By 1946, California was down to about 120 wineries.

In the 1970s, America started to take a serious interest in wine, prompting new investments by moneyed folk from many exotic walks of life looking for a touch of glamour in the sun. As of the latest count, California has more than 2,700 wineries. The winemakers take their craft with extreme seriousness, regularly getting together in a friendly spirit of competition, ever eager to improve. Trends play a huge role, too. A few scenes in the film Sideways were enough to turn droves of tipplers away from Merlot and on to Pinot Noir.  

At the end of March this year, the chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy, Mary Thompson-Jones, invited the great and the good of the Czech wine trade to the ambassador's residence in Bubeneč to taste the best of California. Importers and wines hoping for a place in the Czech market displayed their wares.

Many top names were represented, such as Firestone, Francis Ford Coppola, Bonny Doon, Stags Leap, Sutter Home, Robert Mondavi and Kendall-Jackson, to name but a few.

Winery of the month: Association Otmíčská hora

Vineyard Johanka was planted on a south-facing slope near the village of Otmíče, some two miles from Zdice, near Beroun, in 2004. It has thus renewed the rich vinous tradition in the area southwest of Prague, which dates back to the thousands of Burgundian grapevines gifted to the royal town of Beroun by Emperor Charles IV in 1355, when he stopped there after his coronation.

Under the auspices of Josef Hrdlička, who also grows grapes in Prague's Modřany district, the small vineyard of around 8,500 individual vines was planted with Pinot Blanc, Traminer, Pinot Noir and Zweigeltrebe grape varieties. The vineyard functions along the lines of a citizens' co-op, with tiny parcels rented out to several dozen local enthusiasts who are charged with the regular upkeep of their rows and delivery of grapes for processing. The wine is bottled under the Keltská label (after the Celtic oppidum and tumular cemetery found in the vicinity). Several related events take place here over the course of the year, including harvest in the farmstead of Kočvary in September. Wines are available from the cellar in the Hotel Žebrák, located in the eponymous town nearby. For more information, write to v.chladkova@volny.cz.

Wines of the month   

White: Chardonnay, "Don Miguel" Vineyard, Russian River Valley, 2004

Producer: Marimar Estate, M. Torres, Sonoma County, California  

Deep golden to the eye, with no sign of old age showing yet, despite its maturity. Powerful nose of ripe apples, orange peel, butterscotch and a hint of oak, the latter by now fully integrated and not a dominant feature. The palate has a complex viscosity, filled with loads of ripe sun-soft fruit, with a lush, long finish. This lovely drop is made to perfection by Marimar, sister of the famous Catalan pioneering wine producer Miguel Torres, near the coolest part of the coast, the northern Sonoma Valley above San Francisco. (890 Kč)

Red: Pinot Noir 2009 - cask sample  

Producer: Stapleton-Springer, Bořetice, Moravia

The most interesting feature of this wine from the Stapleton-Springer stable (featured in this column in August 2009) is that it has yet to be bottled. Hence, the sample was drawn straight from the barrel. It would not be surprising if, at some future time, Stapleton-Springer wines are sold on this "en primeur" basis, i.e. tasted, assessed and purchased some time before bottling as a hedge investment. This is how it's done in Bordeaux, for example, in order to satisfy demand, which may exceed the supply. This wine exhibits typical Pinot Noir characteristics, rich and concentrated red fruits on the tongue, with plums salient. Still extremely young, but it should flesh out into a full-bodied gem. (220 Kč for unoaked Pinot Noir 2008)  

Events diary  

The Slovenian Embassy and the Prague Wine Society are offering a taste of the wines of Slovenia at the Slovenian ambassador's residence Wednesday, June 16, at 6 p.m. Space is limited, so early booking is recommended. For reservations, write to edgemmell007@yahoo.com.

Helena Baker can be reached at
features@praguepost.com