Gary's Wine Travelogue

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Napa Harvest '07

If you’re a championship partier, then when early March comes along you have to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. If you’re a football fan, well then I suppose when February comes along you need to be wherever the Super Bowl is that year. And if you’re into wine, then at least one early October in your life, you hope to find yourself in Napa for the crush.

So, to pay our respects to Napa wine and its makers, Gary Fisch (proprietor and chief of all things at Gary’s Wine and Marketplace), Brian Maxwell (Californian and Italian wine buyer) and yours truly (writer, photographer, and pack-mule in residence) packed up for a quick but fruitful trip out west to check out the 2007 harvest.

In true GW&M fashion, we wasted no time kicking back. Fueled by gallons of coffee, we visited about a dozen wineries and winemakers in just over 48 hours, checking out the fruit that was in various stages of harvest (some still hanging on the vines, some coming in along the sorting table, some already beginning fermentation) and barrel tasting whatever we could from the 2006 and 2007 vintages as well as some finished bottles from ‘03, ‘04, ‘05 and ‘06.

When we arrived on October 7, a good deal of the grapes had already been picked with the large exception of Cabernet. While some vineyards had already begun picking in anticipation of Tuesday night’s rain shower, others were waiting it out, hoping their grapes could soak up the last few rays of sun. As always, there were discussions on how ripe is too ripe, but most vintners we met with seemed confident with how things were shaping up. It’s been a nice long, sunny growing season, and we were glad to see that the vintners were happy with their grapes. When they’re happy, we’re happy.

We had the chance to taste some baby ‘07 Pinot Noir straight from the barrel when we visited with Dick Ward of Saintsbury. When I say these were baby wines, I mean some hadn’t even finished malolactic fermentation yet, so this is VERY early on to be assessing a vintage. Still, we were pleased with what we tasted. Across the board they had lively fruit and were shaping up nicely.

We also tasted quite a few ‘06 Cabernets still in barrel. This was a cooler growing season, which generally translated to wine with lower alcohol and higher acidity than usual. Many are anticipating that this will mean longer-lived wines. Gary noted that many held more gripping tannins than he expected in ‘06, and that most seemed less fruity than ‘04 and chewier and more tannic than those in ‘05.

In all, it was a terrific trip, and one that sparked a number of exciting new projects. Our thanks for all the hospitality from those we visited and to our consultant and friend, Melinda Kearny, who acted as our tour guide and keeper of the clock.