Organic Wine and Food Matching

Nicolas Joly. Decanter. Without a doubt, the most influential proponent of biodynamic grape growing in the world is Nicolas Joly, who became converted to the method in the late 1970s when he noticed the soil of his Coulée de Serrant estate in Savennières (in France’s Loire Valley) becoming lifeless, and beneficial insect like ladybugs and other wildlife such as partridges no longer thriving on his property. Seeking a sensible alternative to chemical herbicides and synthetic applications to save his vineyard, Joly soon discovered the “spiritual science” of the Austrian philosopher/scientist/farmer, Rudolph Steiner, encapsulated in a series of lectures delivered in 1924 called Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture . Completely embracing Steiner’s connecting of “dynamic” relationships between biological and spiritual forces towards the establishment of individual, self-sustaining agricultural systems, Joly has not only been farming biodynamically since the early 1980s...

Neal Family Vineyards in St. Helena, Napa Valley “When I told my dad we were going to take the company organic,” says Mark Neal, “he drove over to Sonoma and came back with a tray of rotten apples and peaches and said, ‘this is how our grap es will look when you grow organic.’” Not to be dissuaded, Mark initiated the transition of vineyards owned or managed by Jack Nea l & Son – established in 1968, and at nearly 1,900 acres, the largest single vineyard management company in Napa Valley – from conventional to organic grape growing in 1984.  Mark Neal. Jack Neal passed away in 1994, but not before seeing most of their vineyards accredited by California Certified Organic Farmers (i.e. CCOF ) by 1991. Today, with over 1,800 acres of vineyards fully certified, Jack Neal & Son is by far the largest grower of organic wine grapes in Napa Valley. About 1% of these grapes go into wines bottled under the family’s own label, Neal Family Vineyards (the winery established on Howel...

Frog's Leap founder/grower/winemaker John Williams “Times fun when you’re having flies,” was the motto at Frog’s Leap when they first burst upon the persnickety Napa Valley scene in 1981. They're going stronger than ever, even long after the departure (in 1992) of founding partner Larry Turley, who went on to further glory (only the most prestigious producer of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah in the country). Original winemaker/proprietor John Williams has remained. Mr. Williams has been growing his grapes organically long before it was hip to be green. You can say he was “green” before it was the new black. Yet even after all these years, the only hint of environmental consciousness on the label of any Frog's Leap bottle are the words, discreetly printed, “responsibly farmed.” The wines sell because of their quality; and, of course, sense of "fun." "Responsibly farmed" for Williams means it makes sense to provide organic matter to establish the healthiest po...

  Tres Sabores in Napa Valley's Rutherford AVA. I spent more time with Julie Johnson at her CCOF certified Tres Sabores than any other single winemaker during a recent three week swing through the West Coast this past spring. Why? Admittedly, because I can drink her wines all day or night, everyday. Also, because everything she does, as a grower and winemaker, just seems to make sense.  My vinous sensibility is simpático with Tres Sabores. Johnson farms a 32 year-old vineyard in the heart of the Napa Valley’s famed Rutherford AVA ; originally planted to Zinfandel (making killer reds), but to which she added two acres of Cabernet Sauvignon (yielding no more than a couple hundred cases a year) after first acquiring the property in 1987.  Julie Johnson. Vinolust. As a former partner at Frog’s Leap, her instincts were, and still are, organic, but for all the right reasons: this vineyard is also her home, her refuge, her sustenance, and an extension of herself – every...

Pinot gris, a.k.a., Pinot grigio In Italy the Pinot gris grape is called Pinot Grigio, and there it yields delightfully fresh, easy drinking dry white wines, in boatloads of quantity. As catchy, ubiquitous, or maybe annoying, as ABBA. In France’s Alsace region, the grape is called Pinot Gris (yes, it’s a gris or “gray” mutation of the Pinot Noir grape), and there it is turned into fuller, softer, and considerably more viscous, minerally and aromatic white wines than that of Italy. Often as deep, multi-faceted, and crescendoing as, say, Antonin Dvorák. In Oregon – probably the only other place on earth where the reddish-gray skinned Pinot is grown with import – the resulting white wines are usually as full as that of Alsace, as lively and tart edged as Italy’s, yet with its own, unique indentations on the grape profile. As bright, fresh, full and fragrant as, say, the Lovin’ Spoonful's You and Me and Rain on the Roof .   King Estate. Case in point: the 2007 King Esta...

Rob Sinskey. San Francisco Chronicle. When Biodynamic® guru Alan York began consulting with winegrower/proprietor Rob Sinskey of Robert Sinskey Vineyards (a.k.a. RSV), the first thing he advised was to “get over the voodoo doo-doo” and find the “practical ways to get it done.”  “I was never that heavy into Rudolph Steiner’s spiritual philosophy anyway,” confesses Sinskey, “but what makes sense are the steps that give your vineyard a distinctive personality… if it means planting according to the rhythms of the earth and employing sheep herders to mow the grass, so be it.”  Although Biodynamic® certification didn’t come to RSV until 2007, the original “tipping point” for Sinskey goes back to1990; when he observed one of his Chardonnay blocks in Carneros shutting down and phylloxera strangling the vines. “At that time we were spraying and constantly sterilizing the soil to the point which it had basically become a ‘dead zone,’ showing little sign of life, almost no birds o...