February 2025 – Power Tasting – The Wine Tasting Experience

Dealing with the Weather in Wine Country

Not surprisingly, climate is one of the major factors in terroir, the totality of the environment in which wine grapes are grown. A vineyard may have the best soil, the perfect exposure to the sun and excellent drainage, but if the growing season is too hot, too cold, too dry or too rainy, the resulting wines will suffer. In our travels, we have wilted with the heat and humidity, shuddered in cold fog, frozen in ice storms and, of course, luxuriated in balmy sunshine. Sometimes all in the same day!

One of the beauties of wine tasting trips is that Wine Country, with a little judicious planning, you can be sure to have great weather. Some years ago, Power Tasting published a series on wine tasting in Napa/Noma, one month at a time. And indeed, there are reasons to visit there all year long. The same may be said of most of the better winemaking regions of the world, including Burgundy, Bordeaux and even Long Island’s North Fork.

Napa Valley in February. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Many times we have travelled to California in December and found ourselves in temperate days and cool nights, basically sweater weather. But there was one December when it was colder in Napa Valley than it was in New York. The parking lot at our hotel was a sheet of ice. We were used to doffing our heavy coats in Wine Country, but not that time.

Wine grapes grow especially well if they are in an area with overnight and morning fogs that burn off and are replaced by sunny, hot afternoons. In many parts of northern California, the shift from fog to sun is not gradual; it takes about fifteen minutes to go from grey to blue, usually around 10:30 in the morning. So if we set off earlier than that, we bundle up with long sleeves and coats, only to find ourselves overdressed by the time we reach our second winery.

It’s not just California where the weather can be so changeable. The south of France is famed for the mistral, the chilly wind that blows across the Mediterranean from Africa during the winter and early spring. No one told us that it can sometimes occur as early as September. So when we went there to experience the harvest, we were totally unprepared. The weather did hasten the vendange though.

There is the other extreme as well. There have been many trips when we have sweltered. There have been occasions that we retreated from the vineyards to dive into the pool at our hotel. The managers of European wineries are more sensible than us Americans. They close for lunch from around 1:00 until 3:00, then stay open until 6:00 or so. They go to lunch, so we visitors have to as well. Very civilized.

So before heading to Wine Country for a wine tasting trip, we try to remember to consult the weatherman. And then, if we expect heat, we also pack a sweater. And there are short-sleeve shirts in our luggage in winter. A packable light down jacket is often a great idea in any season. There’s just no telling.

Hot Wine Tasting

There are multiple meanings to “hot wine”. Around Christmas time, it is popular in some circles (not ours) to drink mulled wine, spiced and heated. The trendy wine that everyone seems to be drinking these days may be called a “hot” wine. (Non-alcoholic, so-called wines are “hot” these days. Yecch!) And wines with a lot of alcohol, that sting your mouth, are also called hot wines.

In Power Tasting’s last issue, we gave tips on dealing with the alcohol. In this issue, we want to focus on what’s in the glass rather than who’s behind the wheel. If you are fond of wine tasting trips, as we are, you are more likely these days to encounter wines that pucker your mouth, more so these days than ever before. So, here are a few things to think about if you’re not a fan of hot wine.

Some grapes just don’t make it. Photo courtesy of One Green Planet.

Winemakers are driving up the levels in many areas. Bordeaux, for example, almost uniformly made wines that were 12.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). Today, they are in the 14% to 15% level, matching northern California. One factor was the taste preferences of one man, Robert Parker. He liked (and presumably still likes) big, bold wines. Many growers in both Bordeaux and Napa Valley sought his approval and his magazine’s ratings and so pushed both ripeness and alcohol upward.
And climate change is another big factor. It’s no secret that the world is getting hotter. Winemakers we have spoken with tell of changing to more resistant grapes or moving their vineyards to higher altitudes to keep a better balance of ripeness and alcohol. It may prove worthwhile, especially at better wineries, to taste the current releases and also try some library wines if available, just to see how the winemakers have dealt with increasing warmth. Even if a tasting room won’t offer these older wines for sampling, they will tell you the amount of alcohol in some of the older bottles.
Consider the flavor, not the alcohol level. There is a rough equation that says more time on the vine means more sugar means more alcohol. But more time on the vine also leads to greater ripeness of the grapes and thus more flavor. In areas with naturally high temperatures, such as Paso Robles, alcohol levels can be extreme, sometimes tasting overripe. At the other extreme, in northern climes such as in Alsace, low-alcohol wines may taste drab and a little flabby. Vineyard managers and winemakers attempt to find the perfect time to harvest, with maximum savor and manageable alcohol. As you taste, you are in effect serving as the jury as to how well they did.
Alcohol levels haven’t increased everywhere. Champagne makers still keep their wines in the range of 12% to 12.5%, as do those who make Prosecco. Rieslings tend to be under 13%. And many sweet wines have less than 10% alcohol. (Careful with these latter wines, though. Many dessert wines, such as Port or Tokay are fortified with additional alcohol.)

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Of course, there’s a wonderful Rhone wine called Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It comes from the vineyards around a Provencal village called, well, Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In French, it means “the Pope’s new castle”. The town was there before the Popes arrived in the 14^th century, due to the Babylonian Captivity that split the Catholic Church over matters of…oh, you probably don’t care. It seems that the 14^th century Popes didn’t actually live there (they were in nearby Avignon) but one of those Popes built a castle and town has been named for it ever since. The castle survived for many centuries until more than half of it was destroyed by the German army at the end of World War II. The remains dominate the village to this day.

The castle ruins atop the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

The village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is located on a hill, with winding streets that lead up to and around the castle ruins. If you visit Châteauneuf-du-Pape your objective will likely be to go wine tasting; there is no denying the appeal of these fine wines. But the renowned vineyards and tasting rooms are located in the flatlands around the village, not on the hill itself. We don’t want to drag you away from wine tasting – never! – but we do recommend that you save a little time to visit the village itself.

You can and should walk up to the top of the hill to see what’s left of the castle. If you’ve seen Greek or Roman ruins, you know that there is a melancholy poetry to what is left of destroyed ancient buildings, and so it is in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Moreover, you have the views from there of some of France’s greatest vineyards, stretching out to the horizon.

There are other attractions, such as an old church, a pretty fountain, tasting rooms, wine stores and even a wine museum. Still, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is just a small French village, with less than 3,000 residents. But it is a village with money, derived from the wine trade. So it is a spic and span village, ready to welcome visitors. It looks very much like the French village you dreamed of, which so few actually are.

Photo courtesy of Booking.com.

If you come to Châteauneuf-du-Pape for wine tasting, complete the experience with a stellar meal. There is no shortage there of restaurants, cafes, bistros and watering holes. After a few hours of tasting wine, or maybe the next day, you’ll be ready to settle down with some Provencal cooking and a bottle of, well, Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

In good weather, you can dine outdoors with those vineyard views and, on a clear day, of the Rhône river just beyond. Buttery croissants in the morning; pâté and cheese for lunch; local leg of lamb roasted or venison stew for dinner. Yum! Of course, this being in the heart of French Wine Country, there is haute cuisine to be had as well. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a small village, but it boasts eleven restaurants listed on Michelin’s website. Almost by definition, all these restaurants have fine cellars to match their cooking. What more could you ask for a southern French experience?

Melville Winery

You can visit wineries in Bordeaux that are still owned by original families, but the Rothschilds of today, for example, are the descendants of the founders. Even in Napa Valley, Robert Mondavi, Warren Winiarski and their like are no longer with us. But one of the things that makes wine tasting in Santa Barbara County, the Santa Rita Hills in particular, is that the founding fathers (and mothers) are still making wine in their namesake wineries.

One such is the Melville Winery, owned and operated by Chad Melville. The winery even offers a private tour and tasting with Mr. Melville himself. You won’t get that at Château Latour!

Located in the Santa Rita Hills not too far from Buellton (although the address is in Lompoc), Melville’s tasting room is located in and beside a handsome, mission-style yellow building. A tasting at Melville has the vibe of a garden party far more than that of most wineries. Oh, they do have an indoor room that’s cozy in a rustic sort of way, but the real Melville experience is to have your tasting on their wide, capacious lawn. [Melville also has a tasting room in Santa Barbara, which is a totally different experience.] Although we were told that they occasionally receive tour groups and they say they can accommodate 150 people, it’s difficult to imagine it ever getting rowdy at this winery.

Rather, visitors either recline in Adirondack chairs or gather around widely spaced tables under white umbrellas. They sip their wine viewing the vineyard and the mountains beyond. So very civilized, especially considering the completely opposite experience in some tasting rooms, not least in nearby Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone. Guests can even bring picnics.

We were a bit surprised by the wines they serve at Melville. Santa Rita Hills is rightly famed for Pinot Noir, which they do serve. But we also tasted Chardonnay, Grenache and Syrah. There’s nothing wrong with those grapes, but they weren’t what we expected. We think this may say a lot about changing climate, even in such a contained space as the Santa Rita Hills, or maybe a broader audience for the wines made there, some of whom may not be Pinot Noir fans. That said, of the wines we tasted, the Pinot Noirs were our favorites.

For a long time, it has been possible to taste quality wine in California far afield from Napa Valley and Sonoma County. It seems to use that Santa Barbara County, and the Santa Rita Hills in particular, are coming (or have come) into their own. There are wines we have tasted there, especially Pinot Noirs, that are the equal or better than any we’ve had in that state. Now, we think the winemakers in the Côte d’Or can sleep well at night, but overall we find the Pinot Noirs made in the Santa Rita Hills to be more Burgundian than we have tasted elsewhere in the US.

Melville is an exemplar of the region’s arrival. Power Tasting doesn’t review wine; our specialty is the wine tasting experience. We can say that a visit to the Melville Winery is a lovely way to while away an afternoon with some well-regarded wines.