A little more about Heritage Barrels and John Schilter!
John Schilter has been in the wine industry for over 20 years. He graduated from U.C. Davis in 1988 with a B.S. in Fermentation Science and in 2002 with an MBA in Finance & Marketing. Upon graduation from Davis in 1988, John worked in Europe for 1 ½ years, including a harvest in the Médoc, before returning to California to work as a winemaker. In 1995, he joined Seguin Moreau where he worked for ten years, beginning in sales and working his way up to Vice President of Production and President/CEO. Most recently, John was President of Vinquiry, Inc. before establishing Heritage Barrels LLC with his partners. John keeps making wine under his own small label. He lives in Napa with his wife and four children.
This California region has reinvigorated itself with new blood, creativity and rapidly improving wines.
By Steve Heimoff
The purpose of Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Region of the Year award is to recognize not only excellence in wine quality, but also innovation and excitement.
Wine regions far more famous than Paso Robles produce great wines, but few places exhibit the spirit and can-do positivity of this Central Coast appellation. It’s not easy for a wine region to reinvent itself, but Paso is doing it with flair.
Put another way, it’s the region to watch.
Its vinous beginnings are similar to other Californian regions. Grapes were planted in the 18th century by Franciscan padres for altar wine when the state was Mexican territory. By the 1880s, Paso had a thriving commercial wine industry.
Historians debate when Paso’s modern era began. Certainly, Gary Eberle’s arrival in 1973 (he later started Estrella River) was a milestone.
By the 1980s, the boutique winery movement had arrived, symbolized by the 1981 arrivals of Jerry Lohr and Ken Volk. The decade also saw the proliferation of Syrah, which would have a huge local impact.
But it has been in the 2000s that Paso Robles has turned the corner on its past reputation.
In part, that reputation—for excessive heat—was valid, especially in the appellation’s eastern and northern corners. But it was also never completely justified—there simply had been few vintners willing or able to exploit Paso’s varied terroirs.
The regrettable tendency for wine writers to repeat conventional wisdoms not necessarily grounded in truth didn’t help matters.
What caused that to change is a bit of a chicken-and-egg conundrum, but the issue was described well by ONX winemaker Brian Brown, who told Wine Enthusiast: “As there’s more interest in Paso wines from the public, that brings capital in, so folks want to invest, and [winemaking] talent follows the money.”
In particular, young winemakers want to work there, because they can pursue their visions outside the constraints of convention.
“In Paso, we don’t care about boundaries or traditions,” says Matt Villard, the owner/winemaker at MCV Wines. “We’re just out to make the best wines we can.”
Whether the varieties are Spanish, French, Italian, or, as with Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, historically Californian, Paso vintners can tinker with blends and styles that would be unfeasible in other regions more bound by tradition and consumer expectations.
The infusion of youthful passion has had a galvanizing effect throughout the appellation.
Jerry Lohr, at J. Lohr, while crediting Paso’s climate and soils, praises “the new energy we have here. We don’t rest on our laurels. We’re always willing to learn.”
It’s that happy willingness to forge forward, to press relentlessly into the future and craft its own identity for the 21st century that makes Paso Robles Wine Enthusiast’s 2013 Wine Region of the Year.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Check out this blog written by Ken Faux:
Through the Grapevine
The CA Central Coast lifestyle -focused on wine, food
ad travel.
It has been several weeks since Micah Utter was gracious enough to spend
some time with me. I should apologize for taking so long to getting this posted
on "Vinewright" but I've been off the grid doing some travel. All I have to say
about that is, if you plan to fly - pack a big lunch for all those delayed and
cancelled flights.
I recently read about a revival of the use of
concrete wine making vessels by some very toney Italian small lot producers.
Well, it turns out they aren't the only makers of excellent wines who are riding
this wave. Pun intended, since Micah is a surfer who also happens to know a lot
about custom shaping of concrete. I heard about him and his Vino
Vessel, Inc. (www.vinovessel.com) operation, located on the south side
of Paso Robles, during the WiVi trade event that was described here a few
articles back.
So, Through
the Grapevine sent its intrepid reporter (moi) to get an exclusive on this
cutting edge idea. Little did I know that several equally edgy and innovative
winemakers have embraced the concept. Small batches of some very nice wines are
sleeping peacefully here on the Central Coast and other growing areas, wrapped
up like Jimmy Hoffa!
Currently, Vino Vessel has designed and produced
forms for eleven various fermenting and storage tanks as an alternative to wood
barrels. While not inexpensive (they require extensive design and engineering
input), the better oak versions of barrels topped $1,000 each a few years back.
Stainless steel storage vats, and certification for fabrication techniques also
makes for a serious outlay of capital. You may know that many smaller producers
actually rent tank space for storage for larger wineries with excess volume,
rather than purchasing those high ticket items. It has been reported that
wineries plan to put a large part of winery improvements into increasing that
aspect of their facilities in 2013. There are even some tank farms that simply
offer a place to keep the juice as a sideline of the wine
industry.
Micah's available containers are sized from 70
gallons up to 1,305, coming in an interesting mix of shapes and concepts. The
company has the ability to design custom enclosures for nearly any idea with
which a winemaker might wish to experiment. But it is hard to imagine a shape or
size that isn't available other than bigger versions for larger producers.
Examples include a pyramid and the "hippo" model, one of two oval styles, which
maximizes the surface area that comes in contact with the wine. Specifically,
that relates to skin contact, the more juice surface that is exposed to the cap
- primarily grape skins that form a layer when forced to the top of a tank by
CO2 during fermentation - the better the extraction of tannin and
color. Ideally, if impractical, a large flat shallow pool would work very
well.
The hippo idea was the first style built and beta
tested by Peachy Canyon and Chronic Cellars in 2007. It required some special
engineering, a special formula for the concrete mix and curing process and,
inclusion of reinforcing mesh. The result led to new design ideas and sales that
have grown to include local wineries such as Linne Calodo, Epoch and Stolpman.
The Vino Vessel allows micro-oxygenation, a neutral
(no extraction) flavor component that helps in the expression of the fruit and
are easy to clean and sanitize. "There is no food in concrete", Micah quotes one
user. Thus, the tanks are not prone to aid unwanted critters making a home in
them. Concrete also has excellent thermal retention, avoids hot spots found in
some upright styles, offers a slow rise in temperatures and needs no temperature
controls such as those on jacketed stainless tanks.
While not in widespread use, use of concrete as a
winemaking option is on the rise and works well for small operations and those
liking to try new concepts and experiments. If you have the opportunity, try a
wine made in a Vino Vessel and see what you think. In Paso Robles one easily
found example is the 2011 Viognier at the Peachy Canyon tasting room at W46 and
Bethel Rd. You may also inquire at Chronic Cellars if they have a current sample
done in a Vino Vessel.
I know you are going to ask, so I might as well speak up. It makes me think of the movie “Back to the Future” where technology is awesome but relationships, family, and good characters prevail. Concrete is kind of like an old friend that you never realized was so cool, that is until they were gone for a while from your life. In no way is it a pure vessel, like stainless, but instead the concrete is like a cast iron skillet. Absorbing the flavors of everything that touches the surface and enhancing the flavors of the wines that will grace its walls. While winemaking became squeaky clean in the 80′s, 90′s and 00′s, we may have lost the essence of life. These tanks are alive, slowly maturing the wine. I will not say that they are without flaws, I myself am not perfect and I do not expect it of the wine I craft. I want the circumstances to tell a story and if wine is like a book, then each story should be different.
