Napaman goes to new heights to get the story! (1,600 feet elevation, to be exact - to Mount Veeder Winery)
True story: In my days in the food industry, I often visited supermarket buyers across America to encourage them to list food products, which I had developed. After work, my sure-fire way to close the deal was to take the buyers to dinner and if Magnificat, the glorious, rich, and balanced wine from Franciscan, were on the wine list, I’d order two bottles.
Without fail, the buyers were fawning over this wine by their second sip; bonhomie and all the great gabbing about wine and life, which followed, softened my sales pitch and inevitably, by the end of the evening, I closed the deal. Every time, Magnificat, one bottle or two, was my magic elixir. My food products always got listed in the stores… and I had the chance to enjoy one of Napa Valley’s most consistent, pleasurable wines.
So in one respect, when I was asked this week to join Franciscan for a day in the vineyards, and also to visit its sibling property, Mount Veeder Winery (both owned today by Constellation Brands), I couldn’t say no. I saw this as an opportunity to publicly thank the producers of Magnificat for all those highly productive dinners. And for another reason, it would give me a chance to check out the vineyards on Mount Veeder as we approach harvest.
Mount Veeder
It’s funny, when you wanted to get high in the 60s, you smoked pot. Today, in Napa Valley, when you want to get high, you just head up to the summit of Mount Veeder.
Most vineyards here are planted between 1,000 and 1,600 feet elevation.
Mount Veeder is the name of Constellation Brand’s winery here, as well as the name of the sub-appellation itself (one of 15 sub-appellations in Napa Valley). Winemakers have been growing richly intense, mountainside fruit here since the decade Abe Lincoln was president!
Due to its elevation, Mount Veeder wines have the longest growing season and lowest yields of any Napa Valley sub-appellation, according to Matt Ashby, vineyard manager at Mount Veeder Winery. Virtually all vineyard work is done by hand, owing to the rugged mountain terrain and extremely steep slopes.
Above the fog line and planted on shallow topsoil, vines here produce very tiny berries, intense with flavor. Mount Veeder is the only hillside appellation in Napa Valley, which adjoins the cooler climate Carneros, which benefits from the cooling influence of San Pablo Bay.
Matt Ashby, vineyard manager, Mount Veeder Winery
Matt and his winery colleagues invited a small coterie of wine writers (napaman included), to the top of Mount Veeder to explain how the 2010 vintage is progressing. Or is not progressing, as the case may more properly be expressed.
Readers may have heard that we had a cool summer in Napa Valley and that the harvest is “late” this year.
Late? According to vineyard manager Matt, “we may harvest later than ever before. Historically, the latest we ever harvested was November 5, but we might even be later this year!
Matt confirmed that there was a hot spell in August, which was tough on grapes, causing them to raisin, and start to shrivel. As well, there were too many ensuing cool days, which prevented the grapes from properly maturing.
“We lost 80% of our Petit Verdot,” says Matt.
Mount Veeder Winery maintains three ranches atop Mount Veeder, which account for 44 acres of vines.
To give us a sense of the decade’s wines, Matt arranged a tasting high atop the Mount Veeder crest.
Of four vintages poured, my favorite was the youthful, luscious, 2004 Mount Veeder Cabernet Reserve, a perfectly balanced wine containing Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. I scored it 91 points.
In total, Mount Veeder produces 30,000 cases of wine annually.
After a visit to Franciscan’s Oakville vineyards, the group assembled for a casual luncheon at Franciscan, one of the prettiest wine properties in Rutherford.
The most pleasant food pairing of the meal: pan-roasted, day boat scallops served with the 2007 Franciscan Cuvee Sauvage, a wild yeast-fermented Chardonnay, which they have been making on site since 1987.
What a gorgeous wine, with authoritative weight in the mouth, fabulous length and beguiling charm. This barrel-fermented, lees-stirred, Chardonnay was aged in new French oak and put through malolactic fermentation, according to Janet Myers, director of winemaking at Franciscan since 2005.
I found the Cuvee Sauvage, whose fruit is entirely from the Carneros, to have a Burgundian finish. Scoring 91 points, the wine reminded me how versatile a great Chardonnay can be at mealtime; I thought it had sufficient weight to even be paired with a pan-roasted tri-tip, which followed.
Janet Myers, director of winemaking at Franciscan and Mount Veeder Winery
Should you wish to visit Franciscan, here’s what you need to know:
Open daily 10 to 5pm. No appointment necessary to taste in the Visitor Center. Seminars are daily by appointment; call 707-967-3830 to plan a visit, or email info@franciscan.com. Located on Highway 29 at the corner of Galleron Rd.