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Contea di Sonoma, California

Sonoma County

Every now and then, the word ‘singularity’ is used to describe a particular wine that stands apart, for whatever reason, from other wines of its type. But just what is singularity, and how can wine express it? Wine writer Tamlyn Currin investigates.

What makes a wine truly singular? Tamlyn Currin explores the rare bottles that defy convention and challenge the rules of the wine world.

Searching for Singularity in wine

Searching for Singularity

Xiao-Li Meng, professore di Statistica Whipple V. N. Jones a Harvard e fondatore e direttore responsabile di Harvard Data Science Review, si è lasciato ispirare da uno studente per combinare vino e statistica — ottenendo intuizioni ben oltre quanto entrambi si aspettassero.

From wine tastings to data science, Xiao-Li Meng explores how statistics reveals simplicity in complexity – one glass, experiment, and insight at a time.

Wine, statistics & serendipity: A Harvard journey

Semplicità nelle statistiche, complessità nel vino, il resto nei biscotti della fortuna.

Driving through Napa and Sonoma, the land still bears the scars of 2020. The wildfires that raged through the region have left a long-lasting mark, whether it’s lengthy reconstruction efforts or the stark, charred tree trunks that cover the mountains. But it’s more than that. To an outsider, the fires feel intangible, terrifying yet somehow conceptual. Talking to those that lived through them, however, makes you instantly realise quite how petrifying that season was. The trauma of those flames is still smouldering away.  In 2017, fires hit Northern California on 8th October, however most producers had already harvested. Indeed, the fire even crossed the Kistler property, but their vines helped act as a firebreak. Two years later the Kincade fire swept through Sonoma County at the end of October. But in 2020, the first fires arrived earlier. The LNU Lightning Complex started with what is known as the Hennessey fire on 17th August. Sparked by lightning after thunderstorms, the complex was a weave of 250 different fires that collectively raged through almost 150,000 hectares of the region. The damage was enormous: 1,491 buildings were destroyed and six people lost their lives. While the fire did diminish in size, it wasn’t entirely extinguished until 2nd October, almost a month and a half after it started.  Before the Lightning Complex had fully subsided, the Glass Fire attacked. The blaze started on 27th September, east of St Helena near the Silverado Trail, spreading north to Calistoga and then south and west, towards Santa Rosa. It burned until 20th October, encompassing over 27,000 hectares and taking over 1,500 buildings with it, including numerous wineries. It cut through Eisele Vineyard, across 90 acres of hillside and forcing them to rip up 1,000 vines. Fortunately they’d already picked all their fruit (finishing their harvest three days before the fire broke out, on 24th September). And this was all in the midst of Covid-19.  Wildfires aren’t new in Northern California, but they’re certainly more prevalent than ever before. Indeed, as Cory Empting – Director of Winegrowing at Promontory, Harlan and Bond – tells me, the region’s indigenous people, the Wappo, used to describe autumn as “smoky mountains”.  Paul Hobbs – who has been making wine in “the Valley” (as the locals would say) since the late 1970s – remembers a fire in the 1980s that burned its way along the Silverado Trail. “All it took was a gust of wind,” he says – and one flame turned into something uncontrollable in the blink of an eye. He remembers climbing up on a roof to see the sobering effects of the fire.  Perhaps partly due to this early exposure, fires have always been at the forefront of his mind when picking a site – avoiding rugged, dry areas like Diamond Mountain or Calistoga. And he is exacting with forest management of the sites he works – even on our wander around his Goldrock Estate vineyard, he notices some saplings that are troubling him, and calls over his vineyard manager to take a look, conscious to reduce the risk as much as possible. And he’s deservedly cautious. The 2017 vintage was his first working with Cleary Estate out in Freestone-Occidental, and he paid almost $2 million for fruit that he couldn’t use. The fire itself is one challenge, however vines are natural firebreaks so don’t tend to suffer much direct damage (although the heat from a blaze can sometimes scorch vines). The real threat, however, is in the air – smoke. But the science of smoke taint is complex, and poorly understood. Producers can send samples to laboratories to be tested for the compounds responsible for the taint (guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol) but the exact level of perception isn’t known. These compounds also naturally occur in some varieties, eg Syrah, and come from oak barrels (in particular the toasting process).  Of course the impact of smoke is dependent on proximity to the fire, the intensity of the smoke, elevation and the wind. Hobbs explained how in 2020 much of the smoke from the Glass Fire stayed north for several days, but then the wind shifted and sent it south to the Bay Area. As smoke travels, and ages, the volatile compounds also degrade, so there is also a significant difference between the impact of “fresh” smoke, versus what Hobbs describes as “atmospheric” smoke. The latter may look bad, but it’s unlikely to hold significant taint, whereas if you’ve got fresh smoke, it’s “game over”.   Lots of producers do micro-ferments to look for smoke taint, testing to see if it’s worth the expense of picking the fruit and making the wine – however that’s also not a sure-fire way to know if you have smoke taint. The nature of these compounds means that they can lurk, undetectable in a wine, and emerge in bottle as hydrolysis occurs. “That’s why it’s so insidious,” Hobbs says.  If you’ve got smoke-tainted fruit, the options are limited. The compounds are concentrated in the skins, so the aim is generally to minimise skin contact. Indeed, some producers made rosé in 2020, having picked earlier, with higher acidity than normal. Otherwise you can use reverse osmosis or spinning cone (both expensive processes that are used for de-alcoholisation), or carbon fining – or a combination of all of the above – to try and strip out the smoky flavour. The result, as Mark De Vere MW at Robert Mondavi said of trials they’d done, it generally didn’t work, but if it did, “It took so much else out.” (Robert Mondavi ended up making almost no 2020 wine.)  *  Read anything about 2020 and there is a cacophony of opinion. “Everyone handled the vintage differently,” Cate Kistler of Occidental told me. They picked on 18th August, not in response to the fire, but because that was when the first fruit was ripe. They didn’t do any micro-ferments or send samples to labs (“We’re not data-crunching people,” Kistler says). The cost of picking was, for them, “a drop in the bucket” in comparison to farming the vineyards the rest of the year, so they tried to do what they could.  “It was going to be either Occidental, or nothing,” she said with a shrug. They took their time, committing to making every decision as if it was a normal year, finishing on 6th September just as the Labor Day heatwave hit. They didn’t use everything they picked, but they made all five of their single-vineyard wines – and the 2020s we tasted are glorious.   Some, like Colgin, didn’t make any wine at all, while many producers made around 40% less (such as Williams Selyem and Peter Michael). Many of the 2020s that will be released were picked before the fires struck. Cathy Corison had all her fruit safely in the winery more than two weeks before the Glass Fire hit, but the challenge was to keep the smoke out of the winery. She bought industrial grade air filters to shield her ferments. “They’re beautiful,” she says with a quietly proud smile.  At Dalla Valle, Maya Dalla Valle doesn’t pretend that it was an easy year, but she’s pleased with the wines they made (all with fruit picked before the Glass Fire). As ever, these are wines that speak of their year – which wasn’t just the fires, but a hot, dry year that (along with a block that was being re-grafted) cut their crop to a mere 2,700 cases in total. At Dominus, they did micro-ferments after the Lightning complex, and had picked their last row of fruit on the morning the Glass Fire broke out.  Steve Matthiasson – the leading viticulturalist who also has his eponymous label with his wife Jill – told me how it was set to be “an epic season” before the fires hit. He highlighted how the smoke meant there was less UV light reaching the grapes, and that meant the fruit wasn’t as phenolically ripe. They pick early, so had started harvest 10 days before the Glass Fire broke out. The Cabernet Sauvignon in their Phoenix vineyard was still out, but they managed to pick it the morning after the fire broke out, before the smoke was able to take effect.  Most who picked early are in agreement that the hot, dry conditions were in their favour. Promontory saw only eight inches of rain, versus the 30 of a normal year. But that hydric stress helped them – it meant the crop was small and the vines shifted to ripening the fruit earlier, so even though they picked on 22nd August they had no pyrazines. As Will Harlan says, in some ways, “The stars aligned”.  The 2017 vintage might have prompted people to start thinking about climate change, but 2020 was a real wake-up call for the region. It prompted Martin Reyes MW to try and create a community around climate action. Eventually, working alongside Anna Brittain, he founded Napa RISE (standing for Resilience Innovation Sustainability Empowerment), a climate and wine symposium that first took place in 2022 (with the 2023 symposium currently underway). It’s early days, but they’re “trying to build into the DNA [of Napa RISE] this notion of action”. He’s keen to avoid a conference focused on discussing concepts, but an industry convention that drives change.  One part of that conversation is inevitably fire – and a session last week focused on forestry management. “The relationship with fire we have is complicated – but it can be a healthy relationship,” Reyes tells me.   Controlled burning has long been a part of life for indigenous peoples – both in North America and Australia, where wildfires have now become a threat. In the US, controlled burning was officially banned in 1911 when the Weeks Act was introduced, but California is gradually realising the need for its reintroduction.  “Agroforestry was happening before conservation took it off the table,” Empting (of Domain W. Harlan) tells me. He talks about how when the previously evicted Miwok people were allowed to return to Yosemite, they were horrified by what they saw – where “conservation” had destroyed the ecosystems. For native peoples, seasonal work like controlled burns was a way of life – seen as their responsibility to the land. But it was a responsibility that colonialism robbed from them, and didn’t take on.  At the Pepperwood Preserve, native peoples do controlled burns. Empting visited to explore the practice and see if it’s something they could take up as part of their stewardship of the land. The challenge today is the paperwork – and politics. Permits are difficult to obtain, the fire department is reluctant and has to be involved, and then there are the neighbours to contend with.  Hobbs highlights that it’s not just that there aren’t enough controlled burns, but that manmade structures have taken over swathes of land – and they burn hotter, leading fires to rage in less predictable ways.  Of course, as with 2017, the 2020s are already being marred by rumour and reputation of a smoke-tainted year. The reality is so much more complex – and, although I haven’t tasted enough to make pronouncements on the vintage, there are some brilliant wines. Of course you’ll need to choose carefully, but for top producers there is nothing to be gained by releasing wine that is anything less than flawless.  While the fires have left scars, the land’s capacity for renewal is remarkable – with vibrant vegetation flourishing in amongst the scorched trees. The 2020 vintage wasn’t the first to see such challenges and it won’t be the last. The soils can recover, and so can the people, but a sustainable way to manage these threats is essential to long-term survival. Read more about California or browse all California listings

Wildfires have become a yearly occurrence for Napa and Sonoma – but what is their impact, and how can producers handle the effects? Sophie Thorpe spoke to some of Northern California’s leading producers to investigate the issue

Talking to Napa and Sonoma’s top producers about wildfires and the 2020 vintage – Paul Hobbs, Harlan, Kistler, Occidental, Promontory, Mondavi and more

Wildfires and the 2020 vintage in California

The way the wind blows

Unlike many wine-lovers, I came across Occidental before Kistler. I worked for a company that imported some of its early vintages – and they were like nothing I’d ever tasted. These translucent Pinot Noirs glimmered, but their pastel-pale shade was nothing but a nudge and wink at the Burgundies that inspired them. Aromatics leapt from the glass – floral and febrile, but it was the vivid, intense, crystalline purity of the palate that I found so beguiling. Seeing where these wines are made – on the brink of the Pacific, where ocean breezes lash at the vines, and thick fog grasps the dramatic, undulating landscape – only made them all the more enchanting. Even today, 18 years after Steve Kistler first put down vines here, the region is sparsely planted – with Occidental one of a handful of pioneers of the outer reaches of the Sonoma Coast. The area was long deemed too cold to ripen fruit, with dairy the main industry – and fields of grazing cattle and sheep are still interspersed with plots of vines. Occidental’s vineyards – now 85 acres in total – now neighbour those of Platt, Littorai and Joseph Phelps’s Quarter Moon site, sitting at 500 feet above sea level – a modest altitude when you consider some of Napa’s mountain districts have parcels above 2,000 feet. But it’s their proximity to the ocean (which is just five miles away) that makes the climate here so cool – and damp. Leaf-pulling and spraying are key to managing disease pressure – unfortunately making organic farming almost impossible. “We want the purity of fruit to shine,” Catherine (Cate) Kistler says. She joined her father, Steve, six years ago, working as his Assistant Winemaker – just one element that makes the venture a true family business. Not in the way that Walmart or Ford are a family business, but in the hand-to-mouth, everyone-mucks-in, this-is-both-their-livelihood-and-legacy kind of way. It’s a “tight little universe” where they work, live and farm, Cate explains. This is one reason that Steve stepped away from the iconic winery that he’d created in 1978 – Kistler had shifted and grown, becoming something larger than he’d ever anticipated, or necessarily wanted.  Kistler had humble beginnings – with Steve making the wines in what was essentially a wooden shack, and living upstairs. That building – up in the Mayacamas – was consumed by the fires in 2020, and today Kistler works with around 300 acres (including their own vines and those farmed by growers for them). The investment of Bill Price (a man whose first major move in the wine industry was buying, and later selling, Beringer) has added further gloss to a winery that has become one of California’s cult names. If that makes it sound like there’s been wholesale change, that’s far from the truth – a clear succession plan has ensured only the gentlest of evolutions at Kistler, and ensured the producer maintains its position at the top. Jason Kesner – who describes himself as a “vine and yeast shepherd” – is the man at the helm today. He joined the team in 2008 (aged 40), working alongside Steve for close to a decade before taking the reins.  Although born on the East Coast, Kesner grew up around wine. He moved out to California aged eight, where his mother had taken a job as Head Microbiologist at Robert Mondavi, and his soon-to-be stepfather worked as VP of Vineyard Operations – the smells and sounds of a working winery firmly familiar. Despite his early initiation to the industry, he studied cultural anthropology and left both the area and industry. He was eventually lured back, working first for Francis Ford Coppola (the man behind Inglenook’s revival), but in a non-wine role – managing his special projects. Via Coppola’s poker games, Kesner connected with Pat Kuleto and ended up planting vineyards for him, before finding himself at Hudson (his “graduate school for Chardonnay production”). This prestigious name features on bottles from the likes of Aubert, Kongsgaard, Cakebread, Failla and Ramey – and Kesner got to work with all of them, growing top-tier fruit for 34 clients, including Steve Kistler. And Steve was different. He was, Kesner says, “very, very focused”, “hyper-intelligent, borderline genius” and – along with his business partner, the late Mark Bixler – thought about things on a different level. When the duo started Kistler in the 1970s, working with a single clone and single sites, no one else was doing it – with his unparalleled energy and intent, Steve created something profound. Although Kesner had already worked closely with Steve at Hudson, it was only when he arrived at Kistler in 2008 that he realised how differently Steve operated. “I had jumped into a different timeline and a different pace,” Kesner tells me. “Steve and I had conversations that, quite literally, spanned years.” These conversations would be picked up each vintage, just a handful of sentences on a topic expressed until the next season. For Kesner, this long-term vision was what set Kistler apart: “It’s not about the people who are doing it at the moment. It’s about everything that’s come before and it’s about everything that will come after.” The Kistler evolution has been slow, but it has happened – past their phase of “embracing the cocaine ’90s” (“If you weren’t, you weren’t paying attention,” Kesner says), with a shift toward earlier picking, native ferments and reduction in new oak (from 50% down to around 38% across the range today) – but without sacrificing the seductive, silken style that defines their Chardonnay. “Our job is to polish the jewel,” Kesner says. “The diamond doesn’t need to be re-cut.” The vines are also gradually gaining in age (currently averaging a spritely 35 years), which is only improving the wines further. Kesner is continuing Steve’s work and the philosophy remains true to the original concept. “The best and highest use of a given site is when you're guiding it, not driving it,” he says, pointing to Mother Nature (rather than Bill Price) as the ultimate boss. He loathes the title “winemaker” – fully aware that it’s an entire team behind Kistler. “There are 56 people who are dedicated to the production of these wines. They’re out there pruning in January and then they’re going to be out there picking for this year in October. And it’s because of that really powerful group of people that we’re able to do what we do.” Meanwhile, out on the coast, Steve is continuing his own quest for terroir. Occidental, Cate tells me, is all about exploring “what this ridge means”. The yields at Occidental, overlooking the Pacific, are tiny, maxing out at around two tons/acre. The work is painstaking, with careful canopy management and spraying to avoid mildews, and steep slopes that need to be hand-hoed to manage the weeds. And, as at Kistler, the Pinot Noirs here are all made identically – so it is the site, rather than hand of the maker, that shines through. Be that though it may, it takes exceptional talent to make wines like this. “[Steve] is yet again 30 years ahead of everybody in California,” Kesner says. “It might take the American palate a while to catch up with them, but I firmly believe those will be recognised as some of the best Pinot Noirs in the world. Hands down.” Steve’s an elusive character – and seems happiest tucked away in his remote corner of the Sonoma Coast, away from the limelight. “He’s not a man of many words,” Kesner says, although suggests that working with Cate has drawn him out of his shell a little. Cate talks about him unsurprisingly lovingly, but doesn’t shy away from admitting there are challenges to the “weird and wonderful world” of family business. Harvard-educated, she’s quick-witted and sharp, and has clearly inherited her father’s passion for wine. Not only is he clearly deeply embedded in everything Occidental, but his interest goes beyond vine-growing, with what I suspect is an enviable collection of his own, from the alluring line-ups of Grand Cru Burgundy that I’ve glimpsed on Cate’s Instagram. It takes something rather extraordinary to be willing to give up your name, to start from scratch, all over again, with a new winery and new vineyards. But there’s a reason that his longtime vineyard manager (Ruben Molinar) and cellar master (Raymundo Abarca) left Kistler with Steve in 2017; and it’s a tribute to the man. Now Molinar and Abarca’s children are working alongside Steve’s – and the family is growing. But Cate and Steve don’t want to create Kistler 2.0. They’re developing another ranch, but they don’t want the project to become so big that they’re no longer doing most of the work themselves (“We’ve seen that movie,” Cate jests). The first vintage of Occidental was only 2011, but the wines are already making their mark. Steve’s legacy at Kistler lives on, safely being shepherded by Kesner and his team, but it’s also being re-born at Occidental, and set to be carried forward by Cate. “Wine is my dad’s world,” Cate tells me. And it’s quite a world – one that anyone tasting his wines is fortunate to be part of. Browse all Occidental and Kistler listings, or read more about California

Kistler’s Chardonnays are the stuff of legend – but now Steve Kistler has a new project, Occidental, crafting Pinot Noir on the outer reaches of the Sonoma Coast. Sophie Thorpe explores the winemaker’s legacy and these two very special estates

Kistler Chardonnay is the stuff of legend – but now Steve has a new project, Occidental. We explore his legacy and the two special Sonoma wine estates today

Kistler & Occidental – site expression in Sonoma

In pursuit of Sonoma’s true identity: Kistler and Occidental

Think of the Golden State and you imagine sunshine, orange trees and top-tier surf. But this past week, I’ve seen crazy winds, dramatic (and welcome) rainstorms, below-zero temperatures and more snow than anyone in Napa has seen for 50 years. In a similar way, it’s all too easy to shoehorn the region’s wines. Big Cabernet. Buttery Chardonnay. Those, like the sunshine and surf, are the clichés. But there’s much more than cliché to California, an area as large as many countries, and the wines made here. Over 1,000 miles from north to south, with vineyards sitting at altitudes of 50 to over 2,000 feet, cooling influences from the Pacific and San Pablo Bay, complex ancient soils (up to 140 million years old)… California is far from simple. And you’ll find everything from Arneis to Pinot, Grüner Veltliner to Schioppettino. This week, we’ve been on the road, exploring Napa and Sonoma, talking to just a handful of the producers that have made California such a special place for wine-lovers. The scale of this landscape is grander, with a sense of space to breathe, the parcels of vines tucked in amongst hills and mountains, with the expanse of coastline just a short drive away. You can see why it was – and is – a land of promise.
 While Napa and Sonoma are firmly established as fine wine regions today, their history is comparatively short. George Yount (who gives his name to Yountville) is thought to be the first person to plant grapes for wine in Napa in the 19th century, while Charles Krug was the valley’s first commercial winery, founded in 1861 – closely followed by names such as Schramsberg, Beringer and Inglenook. By 1889 there were over 140 wineries in the area. But phylloxera struck, then Prohibition, and the thriving industry’s expansion was sharply curbed. Producers that survived that difficult period found loopholes in the law, such as unofficial home-winemaking kits and sacramental wine. After Prohibition’s repeal in 1933, it took time for the industry to find its feet. The Mondavi family – who bought Charles Krug – was integral to its development, but the focus wasn’t immediately on fine wine. Figures such as Georges de Latour, Louis M. Martini and André Tschelischeff started changing the story, but it was arguably Robert Mondavi – who struck out on his own to found the eponymous winery – who led Napa into a new era, championing it as a region that could compete with the Old World. Of course, the now legendary 1976 Judgement of Paris was the turning point. When California came out on top in Steven Spurrier’s blind tasting, the world took note. Soon the cult of Napa Cabernet was born, and as Parker’s scores swayed palates, prices soared. 
But it’s unfair to think of that as the region’s story – for there is much more to uncover beyond the sheen of those 100-pointers. While of course some producers come with the polish you might associate with Napa, almost every winery we’ve visited has been fast to focus on the vineyard, whisking us out to walk or drive through the vines. As an agricultural state (grapes – both wine and table – are only the second biggest crop here, following the dairy industry, and with almonds only just behind), farming is at the heart of its culture.
 And it’s ever more relevant, with the region at the forefront of climate change – as this week’s extraordinary weather conditions show. Drought is an ongoing challenge (although recent rains have replenished groundwater), and wildfires have stolen headlines – especially in the 2017 and 2020 vintages (expect much more from us on this soon) – ravaging vast swathes of land, the flames and the associated smoke taking both lives and livelihoods. Despite these challenges, there’s such excitement here – with an electric vitality to the industry. Land prices in Napa are enormous – over half a million dollars per acre for the best sites, and planting any additional land is almost impossible. But that isn’t stopping its evolution, with shifting farming, winemaking, varieties and styles as producers look to redefine modern Napa. Head west towards the Sonoma Coast, where the ocean breezes and fog are bone-chilling, and new frontiers are being forged. The skies here are moody, thick fog cloaking the view of this exposed area, but fields of sheep and cows are being replaced with vineyards as people push limits to create restrained styles, especially of Pinot and Chardonnay. 
We can’t thank producers who have swung open their doors to us enough. We’ve already had so many fascinating conversations about the trends and challenges in the region, about what people are doing in the vineyard and winery and why, and tasted some remarkable wines. Hundreds of thousands of people headed west in the 19th century, drawn to this corner of the land of opportunity. Many didn’t find their fortune in the Gold Rush, but this is still a place that holds such promise.  Reinvention and revolution is the Californian way, powered by a uniquely American entrepreneurship. Forget the scramble for treasure, today the bold and the brave are creating their own destiny – and it’s filled with hope.
 Read more Editorial


After a week spent touring some of Napa and Sonoma’s best wineries, exploring the Golden State and what makes it so special. Sophie Thorpe considers why – three centuries after the Gold Rush – California remains a land of opportunity

After a week of touring Napa and Sonoma, we consider how California wine producers are creating their own destiny – and exceptional wines

Wine’s land of promise – California

Land of promise: California

Per oltre due decenni, Donum ha lavorato con discrezione alla creazione di vini da singolo vigneto, singolo clone e talvolta singola botte. Con un nuovo vigneto di proprietà, Rachael Ryan – Senior Buyer della nostra divisione statunitense, Vinfolio – si è seduta con l’enologo Dan Fishman per scoprire di più su questa ambiziosa tenuta. 
 Come gran parte del Nuovo Mondo, la California evita una gerarchia dei vigneti. Eppure, in assenza di Grands Crus e Premier Cru classé, alcuni vigneti sono semplicemente riconosciuti come un gradino sopra gli altri. Chiedete a qualsiasi enologo una lista dei desideri di vigneti, e ricorrerà una manciata di nomi familiari. Uno di questi è il Savoy Vineyard. 
 Annidato all’estremità nord della Anderson Valley, Savoy è stato piantato per la prima volta nel 1991 ed è diventato rapidamente una fonte di Pinot Noir per alcune tra le cantine più rispettate della California del Nord, tra cui Littorai, Williams Selyem, Radio-Coteau e Peay, con molti altri in lista d’attesa. L’anno scorso, però, è stato acquisito da Donum, una cantina con sede a Carneros con la reputazione di produrre piccoli lotti di Chardonnay e Pinot Noir, venduti esclusivamente a collezionisti privati e quindi raramente visti sul mercato. 
 Dal 2001, anno della sua fondazione, Donum aveva lentamente esteso il proprio raggio d’azione oltre Carneros, con vigneti nelle valli del Russian River e dell’Anderson, oltre alla Sonoma Coast. Con l’acquisizione di Savoy, tuttavia, la loro già invidiabile collezione di vigneti ha compiuto un salto molto notevole – e consistente. L’acquisizione di questo prestigioso vigneto segna un cambiamento per Donum, che ora produrrà vino solo da uva di proprietà: 130 acri nella loro tenuta a Carneros, 16 acri al Winside Vineyard nella Russian River Valley, 20 acri nel nuovo Bodega Vineyard sulla Sonoma Coast e 42 acri piantati al Savoy Vineyard nella Anderson Valley. 
 Già ben noti per la loro collezione d’arte di livello mondiale (con oltre 50 opere di artisti come Keith Haring, Yayoi Kusama e Ai Weiwei), ciò che molti visitatori potrebbero non realizzare è che Donum ora ha una solida presenza in ciascuna delle regioni di punta per Pinot Noir e Chardonnay della California del Nord. Per certi versi, i vigneti di proprietà di Donum sono intrinsecamente simili, forse collegati soprattutto dallo strato marino. Questa densa coltre di nebbia arriva dall’Oceano Pacifico quasi ogni pomeriggio durante la stagione vegetativa ed è una caratteristica chiave di ciascuno di questi siti. La dinamica di questo strato marino rinfrescante è in parte semplice. Quando le temperature salgono nella California interna, l’aria calda si alza, creando un vuoto nel quale si riversa l’aria più densa e fredda che sosta sopra l’Oceano Pacifico. In una tipica giornata estiva, le aree costiere sono completamente coperte di nuvole nel tardo pomeriggio, e la nebbia continua ad avanzare nell’entroterra, cercando varchi e valli nelle catene costiere per estendere la sua portata. Quest’aria fredda e umida sia riduce le ore di luce solare sia mantiene basse le temperature. In altre parole, questo fenomeno costiero è un aiuto estremamente utile nella produzione di vini vivaci che conservano un margine di freschezza. 
 A parte l’influenza della nebbia rinfrescante, tuttavia, i vigneti coltivati da Donum sono topograficamente piuttosto diversi. La proprietà di Carneros, con le sue dolci colline e la vicinanza alla baia, si estende nella porzione meridionale delle contee di Sonoma e Napa (sebbene la proprietà di Donum sia saldamente situata sul lato di Sonoma), con venti costanti che soffiano da sud-est sopra la San Pablo Bay conferendo alla regione un’ampia escursione termica e ai vini risultanti un senso di tensione energetica. L’Anderson Valley, d’altra parte, è una stretta striscia incisa in una fitta e antica foresta di sequoie, ed è difficile non collegare mentalmente le colline scoscese che fiancheggiano la valle su entrambi i lati con un analogo nucleo sempreverde e terroso nei vini. La Russian River Valley è un microclima più caldo, più distante dall’influenza rinfrescante dell’oceano o della baia, con suoli limosi che producono uno stile di vino più concentrato, con frutto fresco opulento. 
 Ma per Dan Fishman (Vice President of Winemaking and Vineyards) forse la caratteristica più unificante tra i vari siti è un’iper-attenzione all’agricoltura, che ritiene sia il modo migliore – e forse l’unico – per mettere in mostra questi terroir unici. Quando entrò in Donum nel 2007 come stagista di cantina, la conduzione era convenzionale, con applicazioni di routine di erbicidi e fertilizzanti sintetici. Negli ultimi anni, tuttavia, ha guidato una svolta verso l’agricoltura biologica. 
 Tra gli elementi salienti di questo approccio vi sono un programma di compostaggio in loco, in cui il letame delle aziende lattiero-casearie locali viene aggiunto alle vinacce della cantina e ai tralci della potatura. Altre iniziative ecologiche includono un sistema di lotta integrata, un ampio inerbimento (Fishman stima che Donum utilizzi attualmente 20 diverse miscele di sovesci composte da oltre 40 specie vegetali), nonché animali introdotti tra i filari per il pascolo invernale. Tutti questi sistemi hanno migliorato la struttura del suolo, “restituendo al suolo più di quanto gli togliamo”, spiega. Uno sguardo tra i filari della tenuta di Carneros rivela questo cambio di filosofia viticola, con sovesci rigogliosi e api in volo. Tra le sculture che punteggiano la proprietà si celano viti coltivate meticolosamente. Sebbene l’arte sia spettacolare e difficilissima da ignorare, l’attenzione ai dettagli nei vigneti è forse ancora più impressionante. Donum è ora una delle prime cantine della contea di Sonoma ad aver ottenuto lo status Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) per tutti i suoi vigneti di proprietà, ed è anche certificata biologica dalla California Certified Organic Farming Association (CCOF) dall’estate del 2022. Lo status ROC, tuttavia, è quello di cui Fishman è particolarmente orgoglioso, poiché comprende non solo la salute del suolo e la gestione della terra, ma anche il benessere degli animali e le condizioni di lavoro dei dipendenti. 
 Alla domanda se abbia riscontrato differenze nel comportamento delle viti e nella qualità dell’uva da quando ha intrapreso un rigoroso approccio alla viticoltura biologica, la risposta di Fishman è un sì deciso. Indica la stagione di crescita 2023 come esempio lampante. In un anno caratterizzato da precipitazioni da record protrattesi fino all’inizio della primavera, la minaccia della peronospora era insolitamente alta. “I nostri vicini convenzionali spruzzavano a più non posso e avevano comunque peronospora,” dice Fishman, “ma noi ovviamente usavamo metodi biologici applicandoli meno frequentemente, e abbiamo avuto molta meno peronospora. Penso che stesse emergendo la resilienza naturale delle viti.” 
 In linea con una più ampia tendenza generale nella California del Nord, Fishman afferma anche di aver cercato di mettere a punto peso e concentrazione di Chardonnay e Pinot Noir prodotti in ciascun vigneto. Se la sfida storica della Borgogna è stata ottenere una maturazione omogenea vendemmia dopo vendemmia, il problema della California nella coltivazione di Pinot Noir e Chardonnay è stato quasi l’opposto: come domare l’abbondante luce solare e controllare il vigore risultante da giornate calde e suoli fertili. Se la nebbia aiuta in questo compito, un vantaggio inatteso dell’intenso focus aziendale sull’agricoltura, spiega Fishman, è che le viti sono più in equilibrio. “È qualcosa di sottile,” dice, “ma anche la nostra chimica del vino sta migliorando – acidità più alta e più sapore a zuccheri più bassi.” L’opulenza ha lasciato spazio a misura e sfumatura. 
 La gamma risultante dei vini di Donum è un’impressionante dimostrazione di vinificazioni in piccoli lotti, suddivise non solo per denominazione o vigneto, ma spesso anche per singoli appezzamenti. Nel 2021, la cantina ha prodotto in totale sei Chardonnay distinti e 17 Pinot Noir da Carneros, Russian River Valley e Anderson Valley. Con lo sviluppo del loro vigneto più recente sulla Sonoma Coast, la già complessa trapunta di vini di Donum sta per diventare ancora più ampia. Con una mano leggera sia in vigna sia in cantina, Fishman spera di mettere in risalto le variazioni più minute in ogni vino, permettendo che le caratteristiche innate di ciascun sito emergano. “Abbiamo un focus davvero intenso innanzitutto sul sapore di vigneto,” spiega. 
 “Non stiamo cercando di imporre uno stile di casa, lasciamo che sia il vigneto o l’appezzamento a parlare,” continua Fishman, “Stiamo cercando di fare il miglior Pinot Noir e Chardonnay della California, ovunque essi nascano.” Con accesso a un assortimento così ampio di posizioni di primo piano, ora includendo l’illustre Savoy Vineyard come piuma nel cappello metaforico, dire che il futuro di Donum è entusiasmante è davvero un eufemismo. Sebbene molti possano pensare al Pinot Noir e allo Chardonnay californiani come a un unico gruppo di vini, un monolite con poca variazione di stile, Fishman e il suo team di Donum sperano di cambiare questa mentalità, un vigneto alla volta. 
 Storicamente i vini Donum sono stati disponibili solo per coloro che erano nella loro mailing list, ma ora stiamo lavorando direttamente con la tenuta: sfoglia tutte le inserzioni attuali di Donum.

L'attenzione di Donum al territorio la contraddistingue. Parliamo con l'enologo Dan Fishman dei vini, dei vigneti e delle ambizioni significative della tenuta.

Donum’s focus on site sets it apart. We talk to winemaker Dan Fishman about the wines, vineyards and estate’s significant ambitions

Discovering Donum’s single-site wines

Primo posto: Donum

The 2023 vintage was rare for Burgundy – offering both quantity and quality. But it isn’t quite that simple, with an atypical growing season, almost too much fruit, and a less homogenous crop. We report on the vintage and its wines – the best of which are remarkable

The 2023 vintage was rare for Burgundy – offering both quantity and quality. We report on the growing season and the wines it produced

Burgundy 2023 vintage overview

Burgundy 2023: vintage overview

The latest from Latour In the wake of last week’s launch of the 2016 vintage of the First Growth’s third wine, Pauillac de Latour, the Pauillac powerhouse will be releasing the 2013 vintage of the Grand Vin, as well as 2015 Les Forts de Latour, its second wine. The 2013 is only the second vintage of the Grand Vin that the property has released since it moved away from en primeur – and there’s no doubt, despite the vintage’s sometimes maligned reputation, that this is going to be highly sought-after. New from Champagne March brings with it a bounty of fine fizz releases. Top of our wish-list are the new wines from Henri Giraud – a House that produces small volumes of outstanding, terroir-driven wines, almost all of which are oak-fermented (and is, for that reason, often compared favourably to Krug). We’ll see the latest release of its multi-vintage cuvée (described by Jancis Robinson MW as “a sort of Montrachet of Champagne”) and the new, 2013 vintage of their top wine, Argonne. Keep an eye out also for 2007 Bollinger R.D. and Pol Roger’s 2012 Sir Winston Churchill.  Single-farm spirits The unfailingly modish and exciting Irish distillery Waterford has been making waves in recent weeks, having scientifically proven terroir’s influence in whisky. This month will see the latest spirits from the Irish distillery released – two single-farm single malts that offer a chance for you to explore the concept yourself. One comes from Hook Head – a site on the southern coast with clay-loam soils, while the other hails from Lakefield, with deep loam soils in County Laois. Burgundy There are still a few 2019s emerging from the Côte d’Or – including wines from Domaine des Lambrays and Le Grappin. Clos des Lambrays was a stand-out from our trip in October last year, while Aussie Andrew Nielsen’s Le Grappin wines (a darling of London’s restaurant scene) offer brilliant value year in, year out. The 2021 collection from Maison Leroy has almost entirely sold out, however we’ll also see the latest releases from the rest of Lalou Bize-Leroy’s empire – Domaine Leroy and Domaine d’Auvenay. Available, as ever, in tiny volumes, these are some of the world’s most collectable wines, and unmissable for Burgundy aficionados. Italian icons After a series of superlative 2016s from Brunello, Tuscany is on the mind. While Castello di Ama’s 2017 San Lorenzo is already available, the 2018 vintage of the Chianti Classico property’s flagship wine, L’Apparita, will be released in the coming weeks. Tasting through a selection of the range with our team, CEO Lorenza Sebasti told us that she and winemaker Marco Pallanti feel it’s “the best we’ve ever made”. We’ll also see the new vintage of Ornellaia’s entry-level bottling – Le Volte dell’Ornellaia, which provides an affordable and earlier-drinking taste of this Super Tuscan estate, ahead of the release of Ornellaia “proper” in April.

A new month brings another flurry of fine wine and spirits releases. While Bordeaux en primeur is on the horizon, March sees new vintages from Latour and the Grandes Marques, as well as releases from Tuscany, Burgundy and Ireland’s most exciting distillery: here’s our pick of the bunch

A new month brings another flurry of fine wine and spirits releases. Here, we pick the best of the bunch – from Latour, Castello di Ama, Waterford and more 

The wines and spirits to look out for this March

What to look out for this March

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