It was mid-August in the freakishly cool summer of 2010, and along parts of the Sonoma Coast, only a handful of days in the previous three months had seen the temperature rise above 70°F. The weather up and down the state’s coastline had been so cool, in fact, that if someone had asked the region’s pinot noir producers to make a prediction about the coming harvest, two clear plotlines would likely have emerged. For vintners who prefer the big, jammy, fruit-forward wines for which California has become known, things did not look good. They hadn’t seen enough of the long, hot days necessary to ripen the fruit and boost the sugar levels, so the grapes were maturing slowly. Meanwhile, the small but growing number of winemakers who champion lean-bodied pinots with sharp acidity and lower alcohol levels were getting excited about what was shaping up to be a very good year.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, several extreme heat events (that’s winemaker-speak for very hot weather) bombarded the coast like a series of Molotov cocktails. Placidly basking grapes were suddenly subjected to several days of unrelenting temperatures reaching into the triple digits—and the two camps of pinot noir makers bolted in opposite directions. Many of those who were attempting to cultivate riper fruit saw their grapes roast in the heat, the sugar content quickly rising and the hot sun scorching the grape skins. By the time the harvest ended in Sonoma County, many grapes had been ruined by sunburn. Yields dropped dramatically, and the financial losses are expected to set records. Brian Loring, a proprietor of and a winemaker for the Loring Wine Company and an advocate for the riper style, says that he typically harvests 70 tons of grapes each September. This year, he brought in just three tons that month. Meanwhile, those producers who favor more balanced wines brought their grapes in early and are looking forward to what promises to be one of the best low-alcohol vintages in a long time.
This difference in harvest dates represents more than a simple stylistic choice. It points to the long-standing rift between the high-alcohol-wine faction and the low-alcohol camp, a split that has become increasingly wide.
Alcohol levels in California wines have been creeping up for decades. In 1971, Napa Valley’s wines averaged 12.5 percent alcohol; today, the average surpasses 15 percent. As that level has risen, the tone of the argument has become more contentious. “Have you ever sat at a dinner table with Republican and Democratic family members and watched them go at it?” asks Jamie Kutch, a young winemaker who produces his highly regarded Sonoma Coast pinot noirs under an eponymous label. “That’s the difference in opinion when it comes to alcohol and wine. We can fight it out all day long and never come to an agreement.”
Advocates of the two styles have been at loggerheads for years, but lately, the dynamic has shifted. Low-alcohol enthusiasts have long felt like resistance fighters battling an overwhelming conspiracy, the lone voices of reason in a world gone mad with its attraction to high-alcohol wines. But the tide has shown signs of turning as more vintners are making wines with lower alcohol levels and more sommeliers, retailers, and members of the media are beginning to appreciate them.
While a few winemakers across the state have always clung to a more restrained style—Jim Clendenen and Bob Lindquist, in the Santa Maria Valley; Randy Dunn, Jeff Virnig, and Cathy Corison, in Napa—the opposition to higher alcohol levels has sharpened in the past few years. In 2007, shop owner and celebrated wine guru Darrell Corti, who operates Corti Brothers, in Sacramento, created a firestorm when he decided that he would no longer stock unfortified wines that were higher than 14.5 percent alcohol. Restaurant wine directors have become more vocal as well. Rajat Parr, wine director and co-owner of RN74 (as well as my coauthor for Secrets of the Sommeliers), refuses to stock new-world pinot noirs and chardonnays that clock in at higher than 14 percent.
A handful of producers—Ross Cobb, Parr, Arnot-Roberts, and Wind Gap—are now focusing their efforts on restrained, lower-alcohol wines. For Wells Guthrie, cofounder and winemaker of the highly respected boutique label Copain, the move to a more balanced style was a dramatic one. Guthrie had been making ripe, fairly alcoholic wines that received lavish praise (scores of 95 and up) from the powerful critic Robert Parker. At the same time, he had been traveling in France, drinking old burgundies with alcohol levels of 13.5 and 12.5 percent. The fact that those wines still had energy and focus after 10—or even 30—years in the bottle left a big impression. So, in 2006, Guthrie did an about-face and harvested his grapes when the sugar levels were still quite low. He wanted to make a higher-acidity pinot noir with an alcohol level of less than 14 percent. Guthrie knew he would likely lose Parker’s support and a few followers, but he was intent on making a more balanced style of wine. He took a risk, and in the end helped prove that sometimes, simply by picking well-managed vineyards earlier in the season, you can still make ripe wines with good color and flavor but with a lower level of alcohol.
Prominent voices in the media are also making the case for more reasonable alcohol levels in wine. Eric Asimov, the influential wine writer for the New York Times, leads the way in the mainstream, while critic Allen Meadows, who publishes Burghound, a newsletter devoted to pinot noir, has shown a willingness to criticize wines for overripeness and excessive alcohol.
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