Robert Sinskey Vineyards MERLOT, LOS CARNEROS, NAPA VALLEY, 2013
DEBBY S BEEN WORKING AS A DIRT FARMER (Sung to the tune of Julie s been working for the drug squad by the Clash) I m going to state the obvious - wine is agriculture... and the great, unsung heroes of wine are those who toil in the vineyards. RSV has been fortunate to have Debby Zygielbaum as vineyard manager for the past 13 years. Debby, along with winemaker Jeff Virnig, have honed RSV s vineyards into something special by growing organic and beyond. But there is more to it than just watching the grapes grow. Debby is a dirt farmer - spending most of the year caring for the health and tilth of the soil. It s that rich, healthy soil that allows the vines to produce such superlative fruit. Sheep graze the cover crops and add manure in the winter. Debby makes and applies biodynamic preps in the summer and distributes home-made compost and soil amendments in the fall. These activities and more contribute to the yearly calendar of soil building. Veraison, when the grapes turn from green to red, is the culmination of each busy season. Debby works with her vineyard team to make sure the grapes make it to ripeness in the best possible condition. This includes working with a falconer to assure the starlings don t take more than their fair share and, once the grapes are perfectly ripe, staying up all night to bring the fruit in. These Winegrowing Notes were written by Debby for Nopalize, an online food and media project, as a document of the 2013 harvest and, since we are releasing the 2013 Merlot, I thought we should revisit the circumstances that contributed to the delicious character of the wine. Cheers, Rob Sinskey Merlot, Los Carneros, Napa Valley 2
Winegrowing Notes - by Debby Zygielbaum, Dirt Farmer and Sheep Wrangler Harvest in the year twenty-thirteen Another harvest is over. Hallelujah! This year s crop was beautiful and bountiful, our poor cellar crew just managing to empty the tanks in time to stuff them full again. Oh, but they ve put some gorgeous wine in barrel! I breathe a sigh of relief as the vines dress for autumn in hues of golden yellow, burnt orange, and leaf roll red. After a ridiculously late crush in 2012 we finished two days before Thanksgiving this year s crush came ridiculously early. We started mid-august and were finished by the beginning of October. It was a picture-perfect harvest, the grapes queueing up to be picked in orderly fashion. Even the rain didn t faze us as our Pinot and whites were already in the cellar and the Bordeaux varieties don t mind a little moisture. We were done in six weeks and we even had Sundays off. It was all so shockingly civilized... unless you worked in the cellar, then it was pure insanity as they barely finished one lot of wine before the next batch of grapes came through the door. Hats off to RSV s ass-busting troglodytes! Compare that to the heat wave of 2010 when we couldn t bring in the fruit fast enough one weekend, we started picking at 1am and had pulled in 40 tons (by hand) by 2pm that afternoon. It was 4pm by the time we finished moving equipment and went home only to start all over again that night at 1am. It was brutal and it involved a lot of [expletive deleted]! But this year, it s a full three months before we start pruning and another five before the vines even think about waking up. Our soil amendments are spread, our cover crops are seeded, and our straw wattles for erosion control are laid. A sense of quiet relief washes over the valley as we button up our vineyards for the winter and wait for the rain. And I can breathe I love an early harvest. I finally have time on my hands to plan and dream and mend fences, fix owl boxes, upgrade trellises all the projects that get put off during the busy season. The crew has time to take vacations and rest. And that worry in the pit of my stomach recedes to a thing of the past for now. Debby Zygielbaum is the Vineyard Manager (or, as she s fond of saying, Dirt Farmer ), at Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Napa. She can be found @walkthevine on Twitter and Instagram Merlot, Los Carneros, Napa Valley 3
Tasting Notes - by Jeff Virnig, Winecrafter Los Carneros Merlot as a Cereal Commercial Man 1: Are you gonna try it? Man 2: I m not gonna try it. It s Merlot and it s from Carneros. It s going to suck! Man 1: Well they sent it to us. They must think highly of it. I don t think they would not have sent it otherwise. Man 2: I ve got an idea... lets get Bobby to try it, he drinks everything. Man 1: Hey Bobby, hey Bobby And so it goes - another review and another 96 point wine that s so delicious you can barely finish the glass. When did taste in wine become determined by a handful of critics whose palates have been permanently altered by overly extracted and heavily oaked, high alcohol, low acid and sweet, red libations? Or, did they help create this style by promoting the 100 point scoring system? The 2013 Los Carneros Merlot is none of the above. It is a balanced wine with the structure to last. The aromas are of beautiful red berries and jam. The amazing thing about the aromas are that they behave like perfume: light and lifted with red berries, bramble, violets and chocolate. The second year of the drought rendered fruit of amazing concentration and flavor without over ripe characteristics with a brilliant mid-palate acidity that is framed by medium firm tannins and a rich, long finish. This merlot is grown in three of RSV s organically farmed Los Carneros vineyards. The northern Vandal Vineyard provides merlot with richness and mid-palate depth as well as Cabernet Sauvignon (5% of the blend), that adds structure and vibrancy. The OSR Vineyard provides merlot with ample red berry essence coupled with chocolate and mocha. Finally, the Three Amigos Vineyard provides brilliant red fruit with bright acidity and grippy tannins. Less than 1,000 cases of this delightful beverage were made. Merlot, Los Carneros, Napa Valley 4
MRS. POTATO HEAD I grew up in a small neighborhood where everyone knew each other and life was a continual open house. No locked doors, food at every stop, and an endless supply of entertainment from a variety of stupid kid and stupid pet tricks. It seemed as though our next door neighbor always had a plate of diamond cut potato torta on the counter. To me these small tasty bites were the height of sophistication. Our neighbor carefully guarded the recipe of this pure potato pleasure passed down from her Italian mother. My mother, after plying her with a few glasses of wine, convinced her to reveal her secret. What she got was a list of ingredients and some notes but no formal recipe. This rough recipe was tweaked by my mother, written down on a recipe card and eventually filed away. The memory of this unique potato dish haunted me for years, so one day I asked my mother if she had the recipe. She had to dig deep but she found it. I tried it and then further refined it. This is one of those recipes which can match just about any wine but goes particularly well with RSV s beautifully proportioned Merlot - a wine brimming with complex bing and sour cherry notes backed by a hint of bramble and earth. RSV s Merlot always possesses a pleasing, balanced amount of natural acidity that makes it a fine partner for this fragrant tart. If you don t have a crowd, divide the recipe in half and bake it in a 12-inch round or square galette. The filling doesn t run, so a low freeformed crimped edge will work just fine. Until the Next Wine... Maria Merlot, Los Carneros, Napa Valley 5
Merlot, Los Carneros, Napa Valley 6
POTATO ONION TORTA This is a very versatile recipe. Add 2 teaspoons of chopped sage or thyme or a ¼ cup of chopped parsley for a bit of diversity. A good French Comte can be substituted for the Parmesan. Cook sliced pancetta until crisp and crumble finely for a little more substance. Pork can be omitted altogether for a vegetarian option. Cut into bite-sized pieces and use as a base for a dollop of sour cream and chives. Top with smoked salmon or caviar to pump up the elegance factor. Yield: One 11-inch x 17-inch sheet pan Torta Dough, recipe follows 12 medium Yukon Gold potatoes 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 4 ounce chunk salt pork or pancetta, optional 4 large onions, cut into very thin wedges 5 large eggs, lightly beaten plus 1 egg lightly beaten to egg wash 2 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese 2 ounce piece blue cheese, finely crumbled 1. Prepare the dough and roll according to the instruction in the Torta Dough recipe. Refrigerate. 2. Peel the potatoes and cut in half crosswise. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the potatoes. When the pot returns to a boil reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are just tender. They should slide easily off a knife when inserted into the center of the potato. Drain the potatoes into a colander placed in the sink. Cool for 10 minutes and sieve into a large bowl. 3. While the potatoes are cooking, heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and salt pork or pancetta. When the salt pork is golden, add the onions and cook until the onions are translucent and starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the onions from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 4. Remove the salt pork and add the onions to the potatoes. Mix gently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 5. Make a well and add the eggs. Mix lightly then add the cheeses and mix gently until combined. Taste for seasoning again and add more salt and pepper if needed. 6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 7. Spread the potato mixture to evenly fill the dough. Pour the beaten egg over the top and smooth over the entire torta. Bake for 20 minutes then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until the torta is golden and puffed, about 20-25 minutes. 8. Remove the torta from the oven and cool to warm. Trim off the outside crust and cut into diamonds, squares or circle. Serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate if not serving within 3 hours and rewarm to serve. May be served with sour cream and chives and/or topped with smoked salmon or caviar. TORTA DOUGH 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon sugar 1½ teaspoons kosher salt 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled 3 large eggs Warm water 1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the butter and mix until the butter is the size of coarse cornmeal. 2. Add the eggs and mix until the dough comes together and is uniform. If the dough is dry, add a few drops of warm water to bring together. 3. Pat into a 1 inch thick patty and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour. 4. Roll 1 / 8 inch thick to line a half sheet pan. Prick well with a fork. Wrap and chill in refrigerator if you won t be using immediately. Merlot, Los Carneros, Napa Valley 7
FINE WINES. ORGANIC VINES. Robert Sinskey Vineyards 6320 Silverado Trail Napa, CA 94558 707.944.9090 robertsinskey.com Winemaker: Jeff Virnig Chef: Maria Helm Sinskey Photos and Text: Rob Sinskey Vineyard Manager: Debby Zygielbaum gluttons@robertsinskey.com