Clos Pepe Newsletter

Budbreak 1999

Inside this Newsletter

News and Reviews Buds are breaking, Longoria Wines offers 85 cases of Clos Pepe Chardonnay (from the Wente Clone) to our subscribers.

Personalities
The ‘A-Team’, Ariel and Angela are back at the Clos. Wes’ website goes BIG.

Vigneron’s Narrative Steve Pepe tells a tale about a Man Who (preferred to) Never Return[ed], the French Connection and Ohio Wine merchants

Viticulturist Writes!

Buds are Breaking, Hoes are Falling, Our Backs are Sore!

It’s an exiting time in the vineyard. The special cover-crop that our favorite botanists Ariel Lavie and Angela Hobbs recommended is thriving--the Pinot Noir planting is a verdant garden filled with oriental radishes, barley, oats, bell beans, California poppies and dwarf clover. We have eliminated the vast majority of weeds by careful timing of discing and cultivation, and the diversity of beneficial insect life, bright flowers and lush plant life is enough to make the daily chore of hoeing almost a pleasure. Almost. We continue in our all-too-rare philosophy of no restricted materials in the vineyard, and no herbicides or pesticides besides sulfur. Most local vineyard managers think we’re nuts. This is not a cost-efficient way of running a vineyard, but we believe the common practices of using seed sterilant and herbicide negatively effect soil structure and are tantamount to poor stewardship of vineyard land. The Burgundians we met agree with our philosophy. How can one talk about ‘terroir’ in California wines when the soils are so commonly poisoned? If nothing else, our vines, grasses, spiders, and ladybugs love us.

As the buds swell on the dormant Pinot noir canes, the buds in the Chardonnay vineyard are bursting with small green shoots that almost look like red-tinged flowers. Soon the growing tips will emerge proudly and the tiny grape clusters will appear a few inches above. Then the season shifts into second gear, spraying has already started to inhibit powdery mildew pressure, and before we know it we will start tucking the shoots into trellis wires that guarantee excellent sun and wind exposure on the fruit.

Longoria Wines Offers 1998 ‘Clos Pepe’ Chardonnay

Richard and Diana Longoria will offer the 1998 Longoria Chardonnay, ‘Clos Pepe Vineyards’ exclusively to the subsribers of our Newsletter. I visited Rick’s new winery in Lompoc during the first week of March and tasted through all of his 1998 Chardonnays from barrel. The following descriptions are from my barrel-tasting notes:

"Longoria Chardonnay 1998, ‘Clos Pepe Vineyards: 1/8 new oak ‘barriques’ (60 gallon barrels), a mix os Sirigue, Seguin and Francois Frerer cooperages. 100 cases will be available--all Clos Pepe fruit, from the Wente Clone on the western edge of the Chardonnay vineyard. An amazing golden color from the long season and full leaf-thining..super-ripe flavors on the nose and in the mouth--apple, pear and especially strong tropical esters of passion-fruit and banana. A hint of tea flavor. Finishes with Burgundian-style structure..low pH, high acid, which nicely compliments the high level of ripe and floral flavors. Hints of lime and minerals in the finish. This is not a shy wine. Nice intensity in the middle of the palate and a good, structured finish. Shows well for such a young vineyard."

Rick expectes the wine to sell for $25 a bottle and will most likely offer a discount for case (or multi-case) purchases. This wine, along with the Babcock (Dijon 76) and the Hitching Post Chardonnay (Davis 4) will be single vineyard, single clone wines--some of which are fetching astronomical prices in Napa and Sonoma. This is also a wine produced without any restricted materials in the vineyard. Rows were hoed by hand, and no herbicide or sterilant has ever been used on our soil. Reserve your cases or bottles early--this wine is expected to sell out soon. Call Wes Hagen at 805-735-2196, and he’ll set everything up. We’ll make it easy for you to get your wine when it is released later this year.

Our Website, www.closepepe.com Celebrates 4000 Hits

Folks around the world are flocking to the Clos Pepe Website, which can be found at www.clospepe.com . Wes has been hard at work during dormancy to produce the best California Vineyard website, to promote Clos Pepe fruit and to teach the cyber-public about the importance of grape farming in wine. As of mid-March, the site is receiving up to 100 brand new visitors, plus a number of folks who check in every few weeks. Updates, promotion and useful information are the key to any successful website, and the phenomenal success of clospepe.com is due to many educational features hosted by the site. The newest feature is the ‘World Wine Web Search’, a collection of ‘links’ to 450 wine and vine-related websites. This might be the best catalog of Internet wine resources in the world. Ever since the viticulturist-in-residence (Wes) put this links page up, traffic on the site has gone through the roof. Other prominent features include a French Wine Journal with all my best pictures, tasting notes, and journal entries from Alsace and Burgundy. See us in the fabled cellars of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. See the Vigneron tackle a plate stacked high with sausages and sauerkraut. The website entertains and educates with feastures like Virtual Vineyard Tour, Wes’ Picks for Local Wines, and picture archives from last year’s harvest.

The ‘A-Team’

The (in)famous team of Ariel Lavie and Angela Hobbs has returned to work the season at Clos Pepe. Both have B.S. degrees from U.C. Santa Cruz and are quick to exhibit their ‘Banana Slug’ pride. Ariel is an amazingly talented young botanist, and Angela’s specialty is Environmental Studies with a focus on Integrated Pest Management. In other words Ariel knows the plants and Angela can tell a good bug from a bad bug immediately. With their help last season we were able to beat El Nino and harvest a crop.

VIGNERON'S PAGES

By Steve Pepe

THE TRAIN IS LEAVING THE STATION

OHIO RESTAURANTEUR TRIES TO CORNER

THE 1998 CLOS PEPE MARKET

1998 was marked by several momentous events: El Nino, the first impeachment of a president in this century and Clos Pepe’s first chardonnay vintage!! L’Agent decided to give three fine Santa Ynez Valley winemakers, Babcock, Longoria and Hartley-Ostini, a chance to show their metal or medal with Clos Pepe’s first chardonnay vintage. Hartley-Ostini will vineyard designate their Davis 4 clone and sell most of it at The Hitching Post Restaurant. Rick Longoria will probably use his Wente clone to enhance (no humility from L’Agent) his Santa Rita Cuvee. Initially, Brian Babcock was going to use his allotment of Wente and Dijon clones to round out his own vineyard’s Grand Cuvee release. However, after tasting the Dijon clone in the barrel, he decided it was distinctive and interesting enough to warrant a vineyard designation, so he will make 8 barrels or about 200 cases of 1998 Clos Pepe Chardonnay. He has agreed to give our faithful newsletter subscribers (albeit non-paying) first opportunity at this new release.

Hearing this, Richard Alberini, owner of Alberini’s Restaurant in Niles, Ohio, (the wine mecca of Ohio!!) has decided that Clos Pepe will be the next cult chardonnay and surpass the Cabbage Patch dolls and Firbees in mass appeal. By cornering the market on 1998 Clos Pepe Chardonnay, he hopes to finally move his restaurant’s wine list to the Wine Spectator’s grand award level and use the profits to keep his family members employed. L’Agent and Brian Babcock both remarked "show me the money and its all yours." However, the Vigneron exercising his community property rights, has insisted that our faithful newsletter subscribers should not be overlooked for a mere profit!! Well not Ohio profit. Reluctantly, L’Agent and Brian Babcock have agreed to wait until April 15 before accepting Alberini’s offer. Alberini, who has judged wine with the Vigneron at the LA Fair for the last 11 years, was non-plused – he was heard to murmur that the la la land newsletter subscribers will not recognize a Firbee when they see it and he will get all 10 barrels.

Unless you want to travel to Niles, Ohio, e-mail or fax or phone your orders to Wes at weshagen@thegrid.net, (805) 736-5907 (fax) or (805) 735-2196 (phone).

L’AGENT AND THE FRENCH CONNECTION

After three years of writing checks, Clos Pepe in 1998 with its first crop actually received some income, technically revenue since costs exceed it, which the IRS and Congress are counting on to enhance the budget surplus! With some cash in his jeans, the Vigneron decided to visit the Cote d’Or to celebrate. L’Agent exercising her community property rights insisted that the trip also include Alsace and the Viticulturist-in-Residence whined until it was agreed to include Paris as well. So off to Paris, Alsace and the Cote d’Or the threesome went with the Vigneron mumbling that there weren’t any vineyards in Paris and Alsace only produces white wines, albeit excellent ones.

While in Paris L’Agent recalled her visit there in the early 1960’s during her youth. She could not wait to use the Metro – it is such an "adventure" she gushed. The Vigneron, who has no sense of direction and is "adventure" adverse, opted for taxi cabs. However, after leaving the Musee d’Orsay and seeing a Metro station nearby, L’Agent insisted that the "adventure" begin and an adventure it was!

After entering the Metro station L’Agent was studying the maps to figure out how to get back to the hotel. Meanwhile, the Vigneron politely cooled his heels. After about 5 minutes a "good Samaritan" seeing L’Agent’s confusion, offered to help and in passable English after some questions about the location of our hotel and how long we were going to be in Paris, suggested that we purchase a four day Metro pass. L’Agent said great and he asked her if we had a credit card. The Vigneron pulled out his American Express, MasterCard and Visa card and the Good Samaritan said, no, one needed a special Metro credit card and showed us his. He then offered to use his card and without asking for any money or suggesting the cost. The Vigneron thought this was strange and for a Parisian, quite extraordinary. L’Agent meanwhile was chatting away in French and having a great time. The Good Samaritan used his credit card to purchase two tickets and then asked the Vigneron for 500 francs – about $85.00. The Vigneron was about to say thanks but no thanks but the L’Agent flashed him one of her "now be nice" smiles and continued chatting away in French. The Vigneron paid the 500 francs in 3-100’s and 10-20 franc notes. Off the Vigneron and L’Agent went to find their train.

At the turnstile a French man in blue jeans and sneakers looking like one of the characters in the French Connection came up to us and in broken English asked if we had purchased a Metro ticket from a man upstairs. The French Connection explained that the man upstairs was a con artist who was preys on tourists and flashed his French Metro credentials which were all in French and the Vigneron could not read them. Meanwhile, with the rush of adrenaline, L’Agent’s fluency in French faded away with the Vigneron’s anxiety. The Metro police officer then called to his partner on his walkie-talkie, but since it was in French the Vigneron did not understand most of it. He then conducted L’Agent and the Vigneron to the back office of one of the ticket windows where the ticket agent who was somewhat fluent in English, between issuing tickets, would come back and translate. After a few minutes another Metro Police officer came from the room next door and showed the Vigneron and L’Agent the I.D. card of the Good Samaritan which they identified. L’Agent was starting to suffer from the vapors. The French Connection Metro Police officer then asked the Vigneron how he had paid the man and Vigneron responded that he paid him with 3-100 franc and 10-20 franc notes. The Metro Police officer then produced the same denomination of notes and the Vigneron verified that those were the denominations that he had given the good Samaritan and asked when he could get it back.. He was advised "later". He was then asked for the tickets which the Vigneron produced. The French Connection Police officer said they were worth about 5 francs each or, .85¢ apiece.

After another half hour, the French Connection, his superior and sidekick escorted the Vigneron and L’Agent through the Metro system to a nearby police station – using their passes. We were told that another Metro Police officer had given all of the information to the Police and they had written it up and all that was necessary was for us to sign the report and we could be on our way. Au contraire. Upon arrival in a turn of the century (the 19^th not 20^th century) police station under a railroad track we were greeted by a French policeman out of central casting – his salt & pepper hair was parted down the middle with sideburns and a walrus mustache. He spoke no English, chain smoked and wrote his report in a 19^th century large ledger book. There was not a computer or typewriter in sight. After about 30 minutes of conversation with L’Agent (in French, of course), he then had L’Agent read it and sign it. He then gave the Vigneron the 500 francs. L’Agent inquired how this would help since we were tourists from California and would not be able to show up and testify at trial. He remarked that this was France, not England, and there was no doubt that her signed statement would be more than enough to convict the Good Samaritan. Vive la France.

The Metro police officers conducted us back to the Metro, gave us directions to our hotel and then took off on another Metro train. When we changed trains we went through a one-way exit door and a ticket was required to enter the next train station. The Vigneron said he might as well use his 500 franc – 5 franc tickets from the Good Samaritan, however the machine rejected them. They were in an area where the ticket booth was closed and the ticket machines only took coins and all the Vigneron and L’Agent had was paper money. At about this time, the Vigneron was tiring of this great "adventure" and the only thing going through his mind was the Kingston Trio’s song about "The Man Who Never Returned". Finally, the Vigneron started pounding on the closed ticket window booth and low and behold out came a ticket agent who had been on lunch and after some explanation opened the gate and let them through.

Thereafter, L’Agent didn’t suggest any further "adventures" on the Paris Metro system.

Here ends yet another set of articles in the Vigneron's Page Saga

Water to Wine: Why Grow Grapes in Santa Barbara County?

By: Wes Hagen, Vineyard Manager, Clos Pepe Vineyards

I recently asked three local vineyard managers, "With so many established wine-growing regions in California, why did you choose to manage vineyards here in Santa Barbara County?"

All agreed that Santa Barbara County, and the Santa Ynez area specifically, is a special place to grow wine. The axiom "wine is grown, not made" has become a mantra for premium California winemakers—echoing the French focus on "terroir," or allowing vineyards to showcase the "somewhereness" or unique qualities of their site. Vineyard management is as important to making great wine as the winemaker's craft. These are exciting, innovative times for the winegrape grower and the winemaker, especially as Santa Barbara County wines gain a cult following and a strong foothold in world wine markets.

Craig Macmillan is the vineyard manager and winemaker for the Macmillan Wine Company. He manages a number of vineyards from Lompoc to Santa Ynez, which allow him a great deal of creativity from site to site. "Within this County is an unusual diversity of microclimates." This means that any winegrape variety can be successfully grown here—Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Viognier—you name it. Craig notes that every site needs to be designed and planted differently. Spacing between plants and vine rows, selecting the perfect vine "clone" for the soil and climate, designing irrigation systems—all of these elements must be modified from site to site. Diversity in the soils and climates spell extra work for dedicated vineyard managers who have learned that different vineyards require vastly different methods of management. But diversity in site also translates into wines that suit every drinker's taste.

John Krska manages small vineyards all through the County, focusing his talents on newer vineyards between Lompoc and Buellton. This cool-climate area is famed for the quality of its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir—and is being planted at a rapid pace. Winegrape growers have joined together to designate this area as the "Santa Rita Hills American Viticultual Area."

"It's great to watch this area evolve," said Krska. "You watch the ground-breaking, and all the labor, and then three years later you're making wine from the vineyard. It's like watching a dream come true. I think the focus for the future will be these small, family-owned vineyards that are focused on environmentally friendly farming practices, low yields, and growing great wine. I see a real push in the direction of organic farming all over the County, or at least reducing the use of pesticides."

Jeff Newton’s company, Coastal Vineyard Care, installs and manages vineyards all over the County. Jeff grew up in the Ojai/Ventura area, and he fell in love with Santa Barbara at an early age. He returned to UCSB for a Masters' Degree in Economics—and dreamed of establishing a career in Santa Barbara agriculture. "Growing wine was something I could be passionate about. It was artistic, passionate and it was connected to nature. I've heard it said that ‘Winery work is intellectual, but the love is in the vineyard,’ and I agree."

Winegrowers in the Santa Ynez Valley have clearly fallen in love with its diversity. Limited only by their ambition and hard work, these winegrowers are blazing trails in Santa Barbara County – and the wine world.

Watch them.

Wes Hagen is Vineyard Manager at Clos Pepe Vineyards, a Wine Judge at the L.A. County Fair, a Viticultural Consultant and a Wine Writer/Educator. He can be reached at 805-735-2196 or at weshagen@thegrid.net . His website focuses on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Santa Barbara and Burgundy. Check it out at www.clospepe.com This is a reprint of an article published in 'Inside Santa Ynez Magazine', the Spring Issue: 1999.

***********

Click Here to Return to the Newsletters Section

Click Here to Return to the Main Page