I’ll Drink to That!

The year was 1981 and we had decided to get married in September of that year. Temple Beth Hillel in North Hollywood, California would be the location, chosen because other family members had been married there and spoke highly of the Rabbi…Rabbi James Lee Kaufman, fondly referred to as just Rabbi Jim. That would be the beginning of a long relationship with this temple and its beloved Rabbi.

Rabbi Jim went on to marry others in our family and preside over all rites of passage including bar/bat mitzvah, baby namings and britot, home blessings, and burials. No matter when we called or what was required, Rabbi Jim was there. At one such event held in our home, after the formalities were over we offered the Rabbi something to drink. He replied that a glass of wine would be nice. I asked, “what kind” and he answered, Cabernet, if you have it. Ah…a “cab guy”, I thought, and went to retrieve the best bottle I had. (Sorry I don’t remember what it was, but he seemed to like it. )

The year is 2010 and the results of the San Francisco Chronicle are in.  Willowbrook Cellars Pinot Noir, Kaufman-Sunnyslope Vineyard, 2008 has been awarded a medal. Kaufman-Sunnyslope Vineyard named after its owner…..In 1994 Rabbi Jim and his wife, Sue, thinking they would like to someday retire in Northern California, purchased a then un-planted 6 acre parcel in the prestigious Sonoma Mountain AVA. They originally planted the site to Merlot, then grafted over to Pinot Noir in 2007. Their first Pinot harvest of 3.5 tons in 2008 was sold to Willowbrook Cellars to be used in a single vineyard designated wine.

Rabbi Jim has been a part of Temple Beth Hillel’s clergy since 1973, and although he stepped down from his position as senior Rabbi in 2010, he remains active in the temple community. It is there where I caught up with him to find out more about his passion for wine and how it led to vineyard ownership.

Perhaps that passion is summed up best when he says, “I drink wine because it interests me…I like the way it evolves in the glass”. Indeed, he says that it is the nose of a wine that most intrigues him, and can sit with an empty glass for quite some time enjoying the changing bouquet coming from the residual wine…much to the chagrin of many an impatient waiter hoping to clean up a table. In fact, patience as well, is part of what appreciating wine means to the Rabbi. He marvels at the historical component that wine inherently offers, as so many wines go back to vintages of multiple decades gone by. Patience must be practiced by the winemaker as he conscientiously checks his barrels over the years and holds back bottles for further aging in the cellar. Patience must also be a discipline of the consumer/collector as he buys bottles and lays them down until they reach the optimum maturity. Then, and this is Jim’s favorite part as an olfactory sensitive taster, comes the patience required to just let the wine sit in the glass for a bit to gather its bouquet for presentation. The Rabbi has on occasion used the making of wine as a comparison when conducting marriage counseling, pointing out that both require patience and nurturing to thrive and have the best possible outcome.

Rabbi Jim’s first wine encounter was in 1980 with a bottle of Chateau Montelena 1978 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon. He began collecting California cabs in 1980, and his collection includes verticals of Gemstone and Garric. While Jim doesn’t necessarily drink wine every day, he really looks forward to opening up an older bottle periodically to see how it has developed. Rabbi Jim has shared his love of fine wine with his five children. One family tradition calls for celebrating a college graduation with a Double Magnum of 10-15 year old Joseph Phelps Insignia. He sighs and says the “kids” have become quite spoiled and when he tries to serve them some of his “homemade” cab they tend to balk and ask for the “good stuff”. Although he doesn’t drink much Bordeaux, he did indulge in a half bottle of ‘83 Margaux this last New Year’s Eve and enjoyed a ‘70 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild for his 25th wedding anniversary and has another cellared for their 50th.

Rabbi James Kaufman

Kaufman-Sunnyslope Vineyard is located in the North section of Bennett Valley in the Sonoma Mountain area and is planted to two Pinot Noir clones. The influence of the marine layer coming through the Cotati Gap keeps this section cooler allowing for a more exposed grape in the canopy without danger of sunburn. The fruit achieves fully developed varietal characteristics with ripe Brix, low pH , high malic acid, excellent skin color and great aging potential. 2009 yielded about 12 tons of fruit which was sold to Willowbrook, Paro Cellars and Malm Cellars, some of which will be bottled soon. In 2010, due to cold and fog in June and July, the site production was reduced to about 6 tons and was sold to three different wine producers.

The Rabbi and his wife might  build a home on the property someday…when he really does retire.

I’LL DRINK TO THAT!

This last Saturday was the second annual Pinot Days event held at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. The Grand Tasting featured over 90 producers from Pinot Noir regions from California, Washington and Oregon. More than 300 wines were available for tasting representing a wide range of styles. It never ceases to amaze me that in a hanger full of wine all made from just one varietal, that there can be so many different styles and flavor profiles. Something for everyone’s taste - that’s why I love wine!

Lisa Rigisich, (center), Pinot Days event founder

This year I had the opportunity to take one of the “regional tours” conducted by a winemaker from each region. I chose the Santa Maria Valley AVA and our tour guide was James Ontiveros of Native 9 Wines. A small group of us gathered as James drew a map and explained all about mountain ranges, coastal climate, rainfall, growing season and alluvial soils that make this AVA good for growing the temperamental Pinot Noir grape. James is a ninth generation Californian, and he and his family have been working the land of Santa Barbara County for a very long time.

James Ontiveros of Native9 Wines

So with much enthusiasm James then escorted us off to our first stop on the “tour”. We would visit 6 wineries/tables in the next hour and a half, meet with their winemakers and taste their Pinot. Our tour took us to Riverbench, practicing sustainable farming, where I liked all three of their offerings, then on to Native 9 where we also tasted his Alta Maria label. The Alta Maria had more of a fruit forward profile, while the Native 9, which is whole cluster fermented, had a more intriguing and very unique profile with smoke coming through on the finish.  At the Hitching Post table we met Gray Hartley, who is co-owner along with Hitching Post restaurant owner Frank Ostini. Gray talked a lot about barrel influence on wine, which I found to be very interesting, and I enjoyed both of the vineyard designates he poured for us.

Gray Hartley of Hitching Post Wines

Ken Brown of Ken Brown Wines has been in the wine business for 34 years. To quote his website, “Most of my career has been spent pursuing the elusive traits that make great Pinot Noir”. Seems to me he has found them. This man knows his winemaking and the two elegant Pinots we tried that day are testament to that fact.

Ken Brown at Pinot Days

Ken Brown wine

Josh Klapper of La Fenetre hardly seems to need any introduction at all. His name and wine pop up at all the tastings, and write-ups abound. And for good reason. This very likable young winemaker has been recognized for quite some time in the food and wine scene and now is  is making some wonderful wine, negociant style, and in small  case production.  As we tasted through 3 vintages of Pinot, the ‘05 and ‘08 being my favorites, he spoke about how he loves the 2010 vintage, stating that it was great “stem vintage”. Josh was one of the winemakers at this event whose enthusiasm about what he does was surpassed only by his desire to share his wine with others.

Josh Klapper of La Fenetre Wines

Our last stop was with Joe Wagner of Belle Glos Wines to taste  his Clark and Telephone Vineyard Pinot, 2008. This big wine with great concentration of fruit and very soft tannins, offered brown spices like nutmeg and cloves with a bit of vanilla right into the finish.

Joe Wagner of Belle Glos Wines

Our Santa Maria tour was over but the day certainly wasn’t. There were many more tables to visit. Londer Vineyards from the Anderson Valley in Mendocino, an area I also like very much for their Alsatian whites, came through with a couple of elegant Pinots with plenty of soft fruit. Enjoyed meeting and talking at length with Rosalind Manoogian and her husband James of Fog Crest Vineyard and I tasted both of her Russian River Valley offerings including Fog Crest’s  inaugural vintage of their Estate Bottled Pinot. This small production Pinot, (75 cases), had lots of bing cherry and blackberry in the nose, cola and spice nuances and medium tannins.

James and Rosalind Manoogian of Fog Crest Vineyard

I especially loved listening to Greg La Follette of La Follette . Talk about enthusiasm! He was making the ins and outs of wild fermentation seem fascinating. His offerings from Sonoma and Mendocino were very interesting to me with complicated, yet well balanced flavors including bacon and smoke, which he attributed to the wild fermentation. A lot of information in a very short period of time left me hoping to have more time some day in the future to speak further with this knowledgeable winemaker.

Greg La Follette

La Follette Pinot Noir

So much Pinot, so many styles, wonderful group of winemakers - it all makes for a great way to spend a few hours. Thanks to the producers of Pinot Days for bringing us this opportunity to learn, taste and compare. Cheers!