Paul - your mention of Leon Adams' book reminded me of a bit of my own personal history. Back in another lifetime (mid 1980's?), the management of the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco discovered that book, and asked me as a consultant to source and create a special wine list for them...finding at least one wine from each of the 50 states, and getting those wines to California through any distribution system I could find. It took a lot of work and research and phone calls and complicated logistics to source and clear wines from across the country...many of them wines that had never left their local markets. Somehow I accomplished the feat. It was a fun project, one that I had forgotten about until reading this column!
Boordy started a lot of my friends on table wines. When they shut down they had a clearance sale, $4-6 per case.
They were ahead of their time. The only wine with significant residual sugar was Aurora Blanc at about 2%.
At that time there were few consumers for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They should have had more stickies.
For $50 I delivered 10 cases of wine to several folks, I filled a pickup with 50 cases on two trips. I kept 50!
I recently came across a Pinot Noir, no vintage. It has a lot of ullage, 50 ml.? Next gathering of folks we will find out how past it’s prime it is.
We planted Chenin Blanc in 2011. Scot Williams said we were probably the only planting since 1988. We have managed it well enough that we have never used a pesticide.
According to the EPA,
“Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest. Any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant. Any nitrogen stabilizer.”
By this definition a jet of water to wash aphids off your plant is a pesticide. I approve this definition.
When I say we have 11 vintages of making wine from grapes with Zero Pesticide use, I mean zero. None of this subterfuge of “no synthetic pesticides”, “only natural pesticides”, only pesticides approved by… Organic and Biodynamics both have long lists of approved pesticides. Some are highly controversial.
Except for water, pesticides are in some manner synthesized by humans. Soap? Yup we make it. Oils? Yes we process and refine them. An argument can be made that sulfur does naturally occur and is mined. It still gets significant processing. Throwing chunks at a vine won’t ameliorate fungus pressure!
We have sold some CB at the highest prices ever for CB, $1/lb, $2000/ton, to 3 other wineries.
Thanks for this interesting background. My personal belief is that Chenin vines need a good 30 years of age before they can deliver truly complex and detailed wines. Before that they're just simple fruit bombs. So the big gap in planting means that any vines that remain from 1990 or earlier are particularly valuable.
Kiona was making great Chenin Blanc from the early vintages.
Don Tocici had fricking awesome third leaf Cabernet. Then not so special for a while.
Old vines stay old because they are a result of conditions that make something special.
I know as a horticulture guy that it can take many seasons to get all the care right. Carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, vinifera all have a learning curve. But, sometimes, we get it right first season. Then we need to try and figure out what we did.
After a few seasons we , sometimes, have enough knowledge to keep the desired characters in play.
Let’s keep appreciating Chenin Blanc as a truly lovely grape for wine. (pretty dang good to eat fresh)
There's a reason that in the Loire they wait for the old vines to make the great wines. Yes for Cabernet and others a third year vine can make delicious wine. That's not my point. It's not that someone can't make a tasty wine from a very young vine. It's that the real complexity and elegance will not be there until the wine has several decades of growth.
I think the conditions of irrigation in vineyards in our regions trump other factors.
Most of our drip irrigated vins have fairly small root zones. No moisture in the soil, no roots.
In an environment where Mother Nature is the H2O source a large root structure provides stability. But then vintage becomes paramount because of moisture variations. Big root zones are a buffer.
No irrigation in the Loire. Big root zones.
I have made wine from vines on Radar Hill that hadn’t been irrigated for a year plus. Small yield, of
Ok fruit. Better in years the vines had better balance.
It’s always about balance!
Kiona and L’Ecole have been making lovely Chenin Blanc since the 80’s, the same vineyards. Now they are “old”.
Best Washington CB?
Worden’s 1990 made from two vineyards planted in 82 and 83?
It was really good.
I’m hoping I can learn enough to produce really lovely CB every year.
Love the fact that you were able to poke some fun at your own attempt in making wine. I also dipped my toe into a similar venture, but only as a amateur winemaker with vines that I planted. In the beginning, I would bring an unlabeled bottle to a gathering in order to obtain unsolicited responses. One of my favorites was, "this wine has no discernable flaws".
Apart from the Waitsburg Cellars wines (which were actually quite good and made with professional guidance) I have two Cab Franc vines planted in my gravel driveway and have made a few bottles of true home made vino on several occasions. If I could get a "no discernible flaws" comment out of my wife I'd be thrilled!
I remember the Waitsburg Cellars wines turning up a Grocery for a pittance. I brought home a case, then had to leave for the East Coast on family matters, and when I got back it was all gone. We doled out our bottles gradually, savoring the last one--a Chevray--during the pandemic. It's a real shame that Chenin Blanc cannot pay its way--I suspect a lot of old vines have been torn out, never to return.
Janet, the ongoing destruction of the old vines was in large part what prompted me to try my hand at making really good Chenin Blanc. I also learned that many if not most of those grapes were being overcropped and dumped into generic white blends - a complete waste of their true value. I know for a fact that there are many more small wineries making old vine Chenin these days, but as far as new plantings of Chenin Blanc they are few and far between.
I'm very familiar with the Boordy story. Andy Tudor was the California wine maker hired to start the Prosser winery and he was encouraged to use French hybrid grapes rather than vinifera. What worked on the East coast was not successful in Washington state and most of the first wines were (to put it mildly - horrible). Andy was a good winemaker but was forced to use the wrong grapes. He was able to make some Reisling the first year or so and it was good so Prosser Boordy headed in the vinifera direction but sadly Mr Tudor died suddenly before the Boordy wine could gain respect in the national picture. Boordy left the Northwest with a sullied reputation for their wines and since they had done advertising in publications such as Sunset magazine didn't do the fledging Washington wine industry any favors. The Tudor family remained in the Yakima Valley and the children and grandchildren continue to make wine and grow fine grapes!
Great background Linda and thank you for sharing this. I had read that Boordy started in Washington with non-varietal blends but I didn't read anything about them using French hybrid grapes in their Washington wines. Do you have any idea where those hybrids were grown? As you can see from the bottle pictured here, Boordy did have an interest in Burgundian varieties and made the comparison on the back label. So it's a little puzzling why they would force their winemaker to use hybrids. As always the more you learn, the more questions turn up!
Aurora and Baco Noir were the backbone of many of their wines. I only recall Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and a hint of Riesling as the vinifera wines.
Most were dry table wines, I knew few folks in 1975 who had developed a taste for that type wine.
In my opinion, home winemaker since 1966 at age 13, the wines were sound. At age 22 I put 50 cases in my cellar and 10 in the cellars of several friends. By the time they consumed 120 bottles of dry or less than 2% RS wines, they no longer drank Blue Nun!
Don't know if they still do it, but 30 years ago St. Michelle had a map on the back label showing the latitudinal alignment of the main WA wine area with France.
Paul, Ashley from Bosma Estate Winery here- I enjoyed the history piece of this; however, I am most excited about learning that you were the maker of Waitsburg Cellars wine! I stumbled upon a bottle at Grocery Outlet in Sunnyside a few years ago. I used to frequent trips to Lewiston, ID, so thought a "Waitsburg" wine was a cool find. It was delicious, and I have continuously looked for it since. Thanks for sharing!
I think I had the 2015 Cheninières. I was pleasantly surprised as I am not typically a Chenin Blanc fan (at least from what I had previously tried). Definitely left a lasting impression :) Cheers and Happy New Year!
love the old history, however this post is about waitsburg. missed before that you are based there, and I wonder if you have a regular booth at bar bacetto? what a gem!
Ha! A regular booth at Bar Bacetto does not exist. If it did I'd weigh 400 pounds. But last week I had a spectacular birthday dinner there with good friends. It is a very special place.
Great article Paul. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of Boordy. I knew about Associate Vintners, SMWE, and Santa Rosa Winery. The name SRW has always been hilarious to me. Gotta admire the big swing launching at 200,000 gallons. Yikes.
Paul - your mention of Leon Adams' book reminded me of a bit of my own personal history. Back in another lifetime (mid 1980's?), the management of the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco discovered that book, and asked me as a consultant to source and create a special wine list for them...finding at least one wine from each of the 50 states, and getting those wines to California through any distribution system I could find. It took a lot of work and research and phone calls and complicated logistics to source and clear wines from across the country...many of them wines that had never left their local markets. Somehow I accomplished the feat. It was a fun project, one that I had forgotten about until reading this column!
Fred, that's one heck of an assignment. Especially way back then. I am amazed that you pulled it off. Would have made an excellent book!
Thanks for the memory jog!
Boordy started a lot of my friends on table wines. When they shut down they had a clearance sale, $4-6 per case.
They were ahead of their time. The only wine with significant residual sugar was Aurora Blanc at about 2%.
At that time there were few consumers for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They should have had more stickies.
For $50 I delivered 10 cases of wine to several folks, I filled a pickup with 50 cases on two trips. I kept 50!
I recently came across a Pinot Noir, no vintage. It has a lot of ullage, 50 ml.? Next gathering of folks we will find out how past it’s prime it is.
We planted Chenin Blanc in 2011. Scot Williams said we were probably the only planting since 1988. We have managed it well enough that we have never used a pesticide.
According to the EPA,
“Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest. Any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant. Any nitrogen stabilizer.”
By this definition a jet of water to wash aphids off your plant is a pesticide. I approve this definition.
When I say we have 11 vintages of making wine from grapes with Zero Pesticide use, I mean zero. None of this subterfuge of “no synthetic pesticides”, “only natural pesticides”, only pesticides approved by… Organic and Biodynamics both have long lists of approved pesticides. Some are highly controversial.
Except for water, pesticides are in some manner synthesized by humans. Soap? Yup we make it. Oils? Yes we process and refine them. An argument can be made that sulfur does naturally occur and is mined. It still gets significant processing. Throwing chunks at a vine won’t ameliorate fungus pressure!
We have sold some CB at the highest prices ever for CB, $1/lb, $2000/ton, to 3 other wineries.
Thanks for this interesting background. My personal belief is that Chenin vines need a good 30 years of age before they can deliver truly complex and detailed wines. Before that they're just simple fruit bombs. So the big gap in planting means that any vines that remain from 1990 or earlier are particularly valuable.
I disagree.
I learned that the key is balance of the vine.
Kiona was making great Chenin Blanc from the early vintages.
Don Tocici had fricking awesome third leaf Cabernet. Then not so special for a while.
Old vines stay old because they are a result of conditions that make something special.
I know as a horticulture guy that it can take many seasons to get all the care right. Carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, vinifera all have a learning curve. But, sometimes, we get it right first season. Then we need to try and figure out what we did.
After a few seasons we , sometimes, have enough knowledge to keep the desired characters in play.
Let’s keep appreciating Chenin Blanc as a truly lovely grape for wine. (pretty dang good to eat fresh)
There's a reason that in the Loire they wait for the old vines to make the great wines. Yes for Cabernet and others a third year vine can make delicious wine. That's not my point. It's not that someone can't make a tasty wine from a very young vine. It's that the real complexity and elegance will not be there until the wine has several decades of growth.
I think the conditions of irrigation in vineyards in our regions trump other factors.
Most of our drip irrigated vins have fairly small root zones. No moisture in the soil, no roots.
In an environment where Mother Nature is the H2O source a large root structure provides stability. But then vintage becomes paramount because of moisture variations. Big root zones are a buffer.
No irrigation in the Loire. Big root zones.
I have made wine from vines on Radar Hill that hadn’t been irrigated for a year plus. Small yield, of
Ok fruit. Better in years the vines had better balance.
It’s always about balance!
Kiona and L’Ecole have been making lovely Chenin Blanc since the 80’s, the same vineyards. Now they are “old”.
Best Washington CB?
Worden’s 1990 made from two vineyards planted in 82 and 83?
It was really good.
I’m hoping I can learn enough to produce really lovely CB every year.
Love the fact that you were able to poke some fun at your own attempt in making wine. I also dipped my toe into a similar venture, but only as a amateur winemaker with vines that I planted. In the beginning, I would bring an unlabeled bottle to a gathering in order to obtain unsolicited responses. One of my favorites was, "this wine has no discernable flaws".
Apart from the Waitsburg Cellars wines (which were actually quite good and made with professional guidance) I have two Cab Franc vines planted in my gravel driveway and have made a few bottles of true home made vino on several occasions. If I could get a "no discernible flaws" comment out of my wife I'd be thrilled!
We have Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah and Viognier. Just enough for a couple of barrels blended and about 120 L of Viognier in S.S.
I remember the Waitsburg Cellars wines turning up a Grocery for a pittance. I brought home a case, then had to leave for the East Coast on family matters, and when I got back it was all gone. We doled out our bottles gradually, savoring the last one--a Chevray--during the pandemic. It's a real shame that Chenin Blanc cannot pay its way--I suspect a lot of old vines have been torn out, never to return.
Janet, the ongoing destruction of the old vines was in large part what prompted me to try my hand at making really good Chenin Blanc. I also learned that many if not most of those grapes were being overcropped and dumped into generic white blends - a complete waste of their true value. I know for a fact that there are many more small wineries making old vine Chenin these days, but as far as new plantings of Chenin Blanc they are few and far between.
Great sleuthing. I used to love digging up stuff like this. Even better that you can tie it to your own project.
Thanks Harvey! And a very Happy and Healthy New Year to you.
I have a couple of bottles of Boordy. Horrible stuff.
No comment. I've never had it. But I don't imagine any of it is drinkable at this point in time.
I'm very familiar with the Boordy story. Andy Tudor was the California wine maker hired to start the Prosser winery and he was encouraged to use French hybrid grapes rather than vinifera. What worked on the East coast was not successful in Washington state and most of the first wines were (to put it mildly - horrible). Andy was a good winemaker but was forced to use the wrong grapes. He was able to make some Reisling the first year or so and it was good so Prosser Boordy headed in the vinifera direction but sadly Mr Tudor died suddenly before the Boordy wine could gain respect in the national picture. Boordy left the Northwest with a sullied reputation for their wines and since they had done advertising in publications such as Sunset magazine didn't do the fledging Washington wine industry any favors. The Tudor family remained in the Yakima Valley and the children and grandchildren continue to make wine and grow fine grapes!
Great background Linda and thank you for sharing this. I had read that Boordy started in Washington with non-varietal blends but I didn't read anything about them using French hybrid grapes in their Washington wines. Do you have any idea where those hybrids were grown? As you can see from the bottle pictured here, Boordy did have an interest in Burgundian varieties and made the comparison on the back label. So it's a little puzzling why they would force their winemaker to use hybrids. As always the more you learn, the more questions turn up!
Aurora and Baco Noir were the backbone of many of their wines. I only recall Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and a hint of Riesling as the vinifera wines.
Most were dry table wines, I knew few folks in 1975 who had developed a taste for that type wine.
In my opinion, home winemaker since 1966 at age 13, the wines were sound. At age 22 I put 50 cases in my cellar and 10 in the cellars of several friends. By the time they consumed 120 bottles of dry or less than 2% RS wines, they no longer drank Blue Nun!
Don't know if they still do it, but 30 years ago St. Michelle had a map on the back label showing the latitudinal alignment of the main WA wine area with France.
I have a number of old Ste. Michelle bottles from the early '70s with that map. Probably worth another column one of these days.
Paul, Ashley from Bosma Estate Winery here- I enjoyed the history piece of this; however, I am most excited about learning that you were the maker of Waitsburg Cellars wine! I stumbled upon a bottle at Grocery Outlet in Sunnyside a few years ago. I used to frequent trips to Lewiston, ID, so thought a "Waitsburg" wine was a cool find. It was delicious, and I have continuously looked for it since. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Ashley! The last vintage was 2015. I still have bottles from all five vintages and I have not (yet) found one over the hill.
I think I had the 2015 Cheninières. I was pleasantly surprised as I am not typically a Chenin Blanc fan (at least from what I had previously tried). Definitely left a lasting impression :) Cheers and Happy New Year!
love the old history, however this post is about waitsburg. missed before that you are based there, and I wonder if you have a regular booth at bar bacetto? what a gem!
Ha! A regular booth at Bar Bacetto does not exist. If it did I'd weigh 400 pounds. But last week I had a spectacular birthday dinner there with good friends. It is a very special place.
Great article Paul. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of Boordy. I knew about Associate Vintners, SMWE, and Santa Rosa Winery. The name SRW has always been hilarious to me. Gotta admire the big swing launching at 200,000 gallons. Yikes.