October Surprise
Wine Travel Beyond the Socials
Anyone else wondering where October has gone? After two weeks on the road, and less than two more before I’m in the air again, I’m frantically working through my tasting notes and content (plus my client work). And to keep from inundating you with too much in one week, I’m going to continue my Italy coverage in the coming weeks. In this issue, Livermore is the main course with a side sparkler of Vouvray, and a surprising pairing epiphany. Plus I wade, nervously, into opinionated waters.
In My Glass
NV Sebastien Brunet Vouvray “La Rocherie” Brut
Champagne Day is this Friday, and while I will be indulging, it’s always nice to have more budget friendly options on-hand to follow, or for later in the week. And this is your next must-buy, value sparkler, a brut Chenin Blanc from France’s Loire Valley. I had the opportunity to visit this winery and its musty, dark caves dripping with water from the river that runs overhead last year. After donning headlamps, trekking about the underground labyrinth, and dodging streams and puddles, we found ourselves at stacks of aging sparkling wine bottles where Sebastien disgorged a bottle of one of his sparkling Chenin Blancs.
I loved it and have since ordered Brunet bubbles by the glass from Paris to Livermore, and picked up a bottle to-go at the market this week. Chenin Blanc in Vouvray makes a range of sparkling wine styles from dry to sweet, this one being Brut. It was crisp, fruity, with minerality, and a zippy little perlage. A perfect mid-week palate refresher and energizer. Buried treasure. $26
2023 Darcie Kent Wine Without Borders Albariño
I’m something of a Spanish wine junkie, and loyalist. I admittedly have a hard time being unbiased with Spanish varieties on international soils. They are never going to be the same - nor should they - but to get my attention they have to “wow” me on their own merits. And Darcie Kent’s Albariño has on multiple occasions. Once, it could have been the moment. Twice, a coincidence. But three times, well, I clearly like the wine. Now this won’t be your typical Galician style with that telltale Atlantic marine salinity and orchard fruit, but it does have the variety’s citrus and tropical character with bright aromatics, and a noticeable satiny mouthfeel that leaves traces of minerality and citrus on its long finish. Snag some seafood tins, crusty bread, and call it a night. A charm. $36
Livermore Valley, California is best known for some of its long-time, multi-generational producers, but there’s some serious talent coming up in the wings. And this rosé from Sakura Winery, a new, family-owned, venture producing small lots, illustrates that very story. The surprise hit of the night at the region’s food and wine pairing competition (and winner of the “Judge’s Best Pairing”), this rosé paired with local restaurant Kiseki’s poke bites was unforgettable. The rosé is light and breezy with notes of watermelon, cherries, and stone fruit with a nice dry, zesty finish. It’s the perfect pairing on sushi night, taco Tuesday, with three-cheese pizza bianco, or a comforting Vietnamese vermicelli bowl. Sakura Winery won’t be playing the side stage at the festival for long. This is some main stage talent! NKOTB. $35
2023 Steven Kent Ghielmetti Vineyard Cabernet Franc Elements 4-Pack
I can’t talk about Livermore and not recommend a Cabernet Franc. It’s what drew me to the region and has kept me going back - particularly the more Bordeaux and Loire-driven styles produced by several of the area’s wineries. And top among those producers for me is Steven Kent Winery. If you’re unfamiliar with the region, and most are, consider this your starter pack. On sale through October 31st, this unique multi-pack of Cabernet Franc from the Ghielmetti Vineyard showcases the grape in four unique expressions including one aged in stainless steel, one in concrete, and one in oak. The fourth bottle is a blend of all three into one. My personal favorite was “Rock,” the concrete aged expression, which was the most Loire-adjacent in my opinion, with its earthen aromas. That said, as “Wood” opened, it became a sneaky contender. Get your geek on, or just kick back with some good Cab Franc, with this expressive exploration. The gateway. $220 ($150 through October 31st)
In the Spotlight
Revisit the Livermore Valley AVA issue.
In the Room Where It Happened
TASTE Livermore Valley Wine Experience is a four-day celebration of the Valley’s food and wine culture. The weekend kicks off with the “Taste our Terroir” event, a food and wine celebration where 15 wineries partner with 15 restaurants to create the ultimate pairing. Sommeliers and wine professionals vote on the best pairing, and the 500 people in attendance get to weigh in with their people’s choice too. From there, the weekend continues to celebrate community, showcase wines new and old, invite friends and families behind the scenes into vineyards and cellars, give people the chance to stomp grapes, play with puppies, do yoga, and of course wine and dine. And another one is now in the books.
I joined the weekend’s festivities to host the first ever, Luxury Sommelier Dinner. This ticketed evening was held at Almost Famous Wine Company and featured a multi-course dinner prepared expertly to match each selected wine by the chef and team at the local restaurant, Zephyr. For my part, I led the +100 guests through the pairings while chatting from a table for two on the stage with each respective winemaker. We bantered conversationally (and enthusiastically) about wine, food, Livermore, Cab Franc, Chardonnay, and the culture of this hospitable community. The pairings included a salmon blini with Darcie Kent’s newly released Blanc de Noir; a cream of roasted butternut squash soup with Wente’s Eric’s Unoaked Chardonnay; a prosciutto wrapped wild Alaskan halibut with Pruett Chardonnay; a three-cheese potato gnocchi with duck ragu alongside Steven Kent’s L'Autre Côte; and filet mignon with Occasio Winery’s Dos Mesas Red Blend.
Wine and food pairing is a topic I’ve taught in-depth, and the one thing I always instill in my students is, “personal preference always matters.” If you like something, even if on paper it shouldn’t work, then it’s a good pairing. Wine is meant to be paired with food, and generally is rarely the “problem;” rather, it’s the foods, which we tend to complicate, that can throw in a wrinkle or two. And while the old rules of red wine with red meat and white wines with poultry and white meats can be good guides, they are just that: guides, not rules. A few helpful and basic tips and tricks are taught for food and wine pairing today, but again, they too are guides and there are always exceptions. That said, the goal is simple: to elevate. A good wine and food pairing will enhance both the wine and the food, and sometimes even take it to an epiphany level experience.
My epiphany this week: Pruett Chardonnay with the the prosciutto-wrapped halibut. I’m a fan of several of Bob Pruett’s Chardonnays, particularly his Chablis and Bourgogne styles, but, while his more rich, oaky California-style Chardonnay, served that evening, is well-made, it’s not my personal style. Much to my shock however, that evening, when that rich Chardy was paired with the halibut, I found myself uncharacteristically going back for more. I even took a small extra pour as I finished the dish. This is the very thing I had been teaching for years. It wasn’t just an elevation of good wine and food for me in this case, no, it took a style of wine I don’t typically enjoy, and made it an exceptional complement to the dish that I wanted to keep revisiting. Now, that is the power of a good food and wine pairing! (And seriously, you should try Pruett’s full range of Chardonnays - it’s a fascinating illustration of how Chardonnay is the winemaker’s grape.)
Now, as for my impressions of the Taste weekend overall, well, as someone that traveled alone the entire weekend, I was never lonely. From chats with winemakers to making new local friends, Livermore continues to share its heart and enthusiasm. It represents everything I want wine tasting to be and it reminds me of why I first fell for wine travel as a pastime - the people. The community. The culture.
Don’t write all California regions off as too expensive, pretentious, or with bold, big, or over-extracted wines. You’d be missing out on this gem of a wine destination with its historical legacy, vibrant present offerings, and exciting future ahead! Not to mention some fabulous memories.
In Their Words (with a few of mine)
I first met Darcie Kent, an artist, winemaker, and entrepreneur, at her music and wine venue, Almost Famous Wine Company, last year. It was my first night in Livermore Valley, California and it was one of the most unique wine experiences I’d had stateside. After parking in a relatively industrial area, we walked into a night club like setting with an incredibly acoustic concert space and lounge outfitted with urban chic decor, and where they served a full line-up of Darcie Kent and Almost Famous wines. From the lighting, acoustics, and stage arrangement, this show was top notch. It set the tone of what to expect in this culturally rich and welcoming community.
But, it was the next meeting with Darcie, earlier this year, where we truly connected, bonding over Cabernet Franc, Missouri wines, family, and careers. And so on the heels of another incredible visit to Livermore this weekend, I’d like to introduce you to Darcie Kent of Darcie Kent Vineyards and Almost Famous Wine Company because she embodies the very essence of the wine community I discovered in this California region.
Kristy: What was your original career plan?
Darcie Kent (DK): My family immigrated to St. Joseph, Missouri in 1875, planted their vineyards, and opened the Alpine winery in 1883. Every generation of my family has worked in the wine industry and as artists. My mother was the last to work at the family winery before it was sold in 1962. I have always been an artist and was a hopeful vintner, I just didn’t see how. I went to school for business and began my career in sales and marketing at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati.
Kristy: Did your great grandparents' winery survive prohibition? So many of the Missouri wines saw their vines ripped out.
DK: After prohibition started, my family benefited from their remote location outside of St Joseph, Missouri and continued to operate a speakeasy in the cellar of the home. In the final year of prohibition, my grandfather was arrested and put on probation for a year for running a speakeasy, but then prohibition came to an end and my great grandfather then ran for county Sheriff, which he lost.
Kristy: Was there an ah-ha moment with wine?
DK: Wine was always a part of my core. Whenever we’d visit my grandparents, all I wanted to do was be in the cellar.
Kristy: What was the turning point towards a career in wine?
DK: My husband, David, and I quit our corporate sales and marketing jobs and moved to California to join the wine business. We started at Gallo. I worked as a contractor on art and labels. David was hired to start-up the premium wine business, which he eventually took international. During that time, we were active in a home winemaking club, which is where we met Brenda and Chris Lynch, who were also passionate about starting their own family winery. So in 1996, we purchased our first vineyard in the Livermore Valley and Brenda starting crafting wines from these grapes at a friend’s winery in the Dry Creek Valley.
Our wines consistently improved over the next eight years and when Brenda moved to New Zealand, we moved the winemaking to a local Livermore winery. A young Hungarian winemaker, Julian Halasz, had caught our eye when we heard him lecture about the untapped quality potential of Livermore Valley grapes. Julian shared our passion for food-friendly wines with relatively high acids and low alcohol levels. And he’s been our winemaker since.
But as for our big break, that came in 2008 when the Four Seasons Hotel chain selected our Darcie Kent Chardonnay as their “house” wine and this expanded our brand distribution to most major states and into Canada.
Kristy: Why Livermore?
DK: It actually started as a logistics thing. At the time, David was still with Gallo and traveling a lot, so we needed to be close to the airport. On one particular trip, he got stuck in a snow bank with Eric Wente in front of the US Swedish ambassador’s house after an event and struck up a conversation about Wente developing vineyard estates in Livermore Valley. A couple months later we saw Phil Wente at The Foods and Wine festival in Aspen and agreed to meet out in the Crane Ridge vineyards the following week, after which we bought property.
Kristy: You now have both Darcie Kent and Almost Famous wine labels. When did Almost Famous begin?
DK: We started Almost Famous during Covid when everything needed to move outside. The project began as an outdoor tasting room for both Darcie Kent and Almost Famous Wines at “Bing’s Barn,” which actually used to be owned by Bing Crosby. We used our nearby winery in the Vasco district for storage, and I had the thought, “This would make a great music venue.” So, I had a friend design the space to help bring tourism back post-pandemic. It worked out great! We can host tastings during the day, and invite people back for live music in the evenings.
Kristy: What’s your favorite dish to cook?
DK: Whatever is in my garden! I love harvesting what I have and cooking with it in the way Julian makes the wine. I’m constantly thinking about acids and sugars and how different dishes will pair with wine.
KW: What’s been one of the most surprising pairings you’ve found?
DK: Roasted beets with a Grenache rosé. I don’t typically drink rosé this time of year with beets, but with the slight pickling of the beets, it totally worked.
Kristy: I recently read an article that took issue with wine being referred to as an art. As both an artist and vintner, what is your thought?
DK: Oh god yeah, it’s art! It’s a dance, a choreography of bringing things together and getting them to be partners. It’s an artistry working with single vineyards, different varieties, different barrels, and yeasts. You have to know how to feel and taste. Then there’s the visual artistry of labels and marketing. I actually think it’s one of the purest forms of art that exists. In fact, my daughter Amanda, came up with our tagline, “Art of the Vine” in 2007, which we still use today.
Kristy: That actually brings me to the story that you shared with me a few months ago that brought me to tears. Can you tell us about your great grandfather’s letter?
DK: My great-great-grandfather Fritz had trained in winemaking back in Switzerland before immigrating to the US. As we were working on our family history, we came into many of the letters he wrote to the family back in Switzerland. Unfortunately, these letters were written in a form of Gothic German, and we weren’t able to read them. However, a new intern joined the team, and she happened to know Gothic German! She worked translating my great-great-grandfather’s letters, and there was a letter in which he was talking about the slowing of the phylloxera epidemic in Europe and said, “...despite all of this, the art of the vine is a noble profession.”
Kristy: Art of the vine. The same phrase your daughter used for your winery?
DK: Yes. And that was before those letters were translated. I have always felt supported by my family - they are my angels. They are looking out for me. For us. There’s a reason both have always been at my core.
Kristy: Well, now that you’ve got me crying again, let’s switch things up. What’s your typical Friday night playlist?
DK: It will have Van Morrison’s “Moondance” on it. “Moondance” is like Cabernet Franc on a harvest night. It’s one of my all time favorites. I think about the vineyards when I hear that song. And Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere,” and Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California,” also remind me of the vineyards and can take me right to the aromas and tastes of harvest.
Kristy: What’s a general wine myth you’d like to bust?
DK: That Livermore is hot. It’s actually getting cooler and even dropped a zone on the climate scale. Climate change is alarming, but we’re now sitting in fog longer and our temperatures are now cooler than Napa. It’s definitely made a difference in what we’re planting. You’ll see more Cab Franc, aromatic whites, and earlier ripening clones of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Kristy: If you could choose anyone, who would you like to share one of your wines with?
DK: Well, I’ve already gotten a big share. I was able to meet Michele Obama and have our DeMayo Chardonnay poured at the 100th First Ladies Luncheon in Washington DC. The focus was on women vintners, and I was thrilled that both my daughters, Amanda and Kailyn, could fly out and attend. And here’s another goosebump moment, Michelle Obama played one of her favorite songs and wouldn’t you know it, it was my mom’s favorite song. And it’s pretty obscure. On a side note, I heard one of our harvest interns playing it too!
So I think that’s what I’d want to do - pick a member of my family from every generation dating back to my great-great grandfather Fritz, great-grandparents Rosa and Christian, my grandmother Adelia, and my mom Carol and share a wine with each of them.
Kristy: What are you most excited to be working on right now?
DK: I’m excited that we’re making a big expansion into bubbles. I’ve been making Grüner Veltliner méthode champenoise, but we’re now introducing a blanc de noirs of Pinot Noir, and will be doing more with varieties including Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño, and Malbec.
In My Opinion
Maybe you’ve heard of the month-long campaign #ComeOverOctober as the industry tries to offer an alternative to the #SoberOctober campaign and change the narrative around wine and the growing anti-alcohol movement in general. If not, the concept is this, #ComeOverOctober is an international campaign during the month of October encouraging wine drinkers to invite friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family to “come over” to a home, a restaurant, or wherever people gather to share wine and friendship.
The campaign has gained some traction in the wine industry and across the wine socials, which is certainly a good thing for the industry. But, at the risk of alienating myself, I’m going to speak honestly here because I think the conversation must continue. I have used the hashtag this month because it is well-intentioned, not too far off the previously trending #TryJanuary or #YouCanSipWithUs campaigns, which both encouraged visits to restaurants and wine shops in their slowest month of the year, and a broad inclusivity in both wine and wine media, but I’m not sure that it resonated with my audience, or its intended audience, or even me.
Additionally, I don’t know that it changed the narrative - it’s asking wine drinkers to do what they already do. It’s suggesting inviting people out to wineries and asking people to share wine with friends in their homes. I also saw suggestions for wineries on how to participate, but many of the tactics are the same marketing avenues done each and every month, only without the hashtag. So my question is this, if the current marketing techniques aren’t solving the problem, how does this shift anything? What change does this drive?
How does it address the ongoing problem, that the wine industry doesn’t know how to reach younger and newer consumers? I’m not sure what the right answer is here, but I think the message needs to be bigger, broader, more authentic, and organic. We need something that will resonate beyond the wine lovers and enthusiasts, and target the more occasional wine drinker, or the coming of age audience that has no experience with the beverage - neither of which are likely following the legions of social media accounts embracing the campaign. And as it’s an obvious response to #SoberOctober, I also think we need to be cautious not to alienate those that might be attempting to take a temporary break from wine in October (or January) for a variety of reasons, health typically among them. In that regard, we need broader actions to combat the messaging and misinformation around the narrative that all alcohol, in any amount, is bad for you.
That said, the campaign and its organizers did take action. And we need action. Furthermore, if the campaign generates discussion and gets people “showing” versus “telling” about the many social, emotional, and cultural benefits around the beverage we love so much, then that will be a good start. But that’s just it, we need to show - not tell. We need to create connections, conversations, develop cultural “norms.” We need to take this message to a personal level. Passion begets energy and we need to move the conversations and actions beyond our wine bubble. And we need to have them focused more broadly than on October and January. We need to figure out ways to address the real problems: the big money anti-alcohol movement, the mass market competition of other beverages, misinformation about wine, the challenges of getting wines to consumers, and most certainly the exclusivity and elitism the category can sometimes convey.
I don’t personally have the answers or the resources to solve the problems, but I will continue to share more meaningful wine moments both past and present, celebrate the lifestyle of wine, the culture of food and wine, and fervently share passion, energy, and stories. I do applaud the campaign and those behind it. And I hope this fosters continued discussions and questions around developing further thoughts and ideas. #ComeOverOctober can be a great conversation starter, but we need to keep the conversation going.
I’m curious, what are your thoughts about this month’s campaign? Were you aware of it? Did you participate in it? Did it resonate?
I haven't heard of the campaign at all. That said, we are always having people over and opening bottles of wine to share! I can't wait to get our shipment from Italy and share some of those wines!
I can understand wanting to take a break from alcohol, I have done that myself when I do a cleanse. Sometimes it's for a week, sometimes it's for a month. It has been a while however since I've done that. Since October is about over, we will have to do a Come Over November :-)