Like
Walker Bay, though it is not that simple and there are dozens of variable
climate influences running through the region, making pockets particularly
suitable to one variety over another. Thus, Dry Creek toward the North suits
Zinfandel, Alexander Valley further East suits Cabernet Sauvignon and Russian
River below the two is the motherland of Pinot Noir. Like wineries around the Hemel-en-Aarde
Ridge and Valley, there is also some pretty fine Sauvignon Blanc (rapidly
becoming a major player in Sonoma) and patches of Riesling and Shiraz, except
in Sonoma it is never Shiraz, always Syrah. And Zinfandel, of course, not the
extracted beast many imagine, but as pale and perfumed as Pinot Noir and often
with small amounts of Grenache, Mourvêdre, Carignan or Cabernet added.
There
are, however, some major differences between Sonoma and Walker Bay in regard to
their wines, and their drinkers.
Surprisingly,
perhaps, Sonoma consumers like alcohol in their wine. A wine with lowish alcohol,
that is anything under 14% alc., is looked upon with suspicion and thought to
be probably unripe. Most Pinot Noirs here are around 14.6% and there are many
at 15% and as for Zinfandel, at Martinelli Winery the lowest I was given was at
14.9%, the next was 16.3% and after that 16.9% and that was the sublime, 50
case production 'Jackass Hill' where the 120 year old vines produce a wine of
silky tobacco, leather and liquid plums and I didn't even consider the alcohol
would be more than average. I also loved their Lolita Syrah, velvet,
blackberries and spice (16.8%). Winery visitors are more organized in Sonoma,
apparently, using car pool lanes, wine tour buses and designated drivers as
routine as there is zero tolerance for drink driving.
Secondly,
whereas Walker Bay Pinot Noir is consistently good to great, the film which
decapitated Merlot (Napa winery Clos du Val says their Merlot sales fell 65%
after the film and never recovered) and exalted Pinot Noir, 'Sideways', had a
disastrous effect on Pinot Noir in Sonoma. Far from propelling Pinot to even
greater heights, the film's success saw hundreds planting Pinot in totally
wrong places and now there is a lot of very average Pinot selling at inflated
prices.
Thirdly,
wines offered for tasting at cellar doors are rarely available elsewhere.
Wineries do not offer the same wines at the winery that you could go and buy at
the local supermarket. Partly this is because of small production making
distribution impossible, but mostly this is a marketing ploy.
Wineries see real advantages in offering unique
cuvées to visitors, creating a 'special' experience, forging a relationship
with the customer and cutting out the middle man. Many wineries will ship wines
free, which brings me to a fourth difference.
In
Sonoma, wine clubs are crucial. Cellar door visitors are encouraged to join
their 'club' and receive wines regularly that will never be commercially
available. Not unknown in SA, but in Sonoma it is taken to a whole new level.
St Francis Winery, for example, offers members of its Connoisseurs Club, who
purchase 24 bottles a year at an average of some $25 (around R7200 p. a.) food
and wine pairing days, reserve tastings with friends, limited release wines,
entry to winery events, days with winemakers, blending days and other exclusive
opportunities. Some members travel the country to attend. Its 94 point Robert
Parker Petit Sirah (sic) went first to members.
Across the U.S., it seems, drinkers are heading
in the other direction than South African wine consumers. We are loving dry
table wines and even our rosés are deliciously dry. In California, there is a liking toward
touches of sweetness in commercial whites, rosés and even reds, ripeness of course, but I
suspect that for entry level wines, an RS of around 12 grams/L is not achieved
without some degree of manipulation. Several Sonoma Rosés had some 15g/RS and over the hills in Napa,
Sutter Home have 25g/RS in their entry level Riesling, 40g in their Chenin and
90g in their Pinot Grigio.
Now
for the similarities. Sonoma can't sell Riesling. I only found one on my
travels and though it was stylish, like their Gewürztraminer it was lighter and more
abrupt than an SA version.
Also,
Sonoma is home to a cornucopia of varietals. Not only everything found in
Bordeaux, the Rhone and Burgundy, but Durif, Tannat, Carignan, Pinot Blanc, Rousanne,
Petit Syrah and more. Wineries in Dry Creek often use more than 20 varieties,
one has 28. Like SA, acute terroir
distinctions can occur in very small areas. Temperatures can be 4C different
within 15 km and harvest in one pocket can be 5 weeks earlier than in another
just 30km away. Growers on the Hemel Ridge would identify with that.
Then
there is the influence of the ocean. Normally, going away from the Equator
would mean cooler temperatures, much as moving inland would bring warmer
temperatures. But that is not guaranteed in Sonoma or Walker Bay. More
important is the flow of ocean wind and valley topography. In Sonoma the ocean
fog and finger valleys determine ripening and varietal. As you go North in
Sonoma, away from the Equator it gets warmer and being further South in parts
of Walker Bay does not mean it gets cooler.
Another similarity. Less oak influence,
especially in Chardonnay, no unoaked on offer, but little MLF, lots of inert
oak, and cold fermentation producing fresh, balanced, restrained wines and
though they are aiming for Chablis, but perhaps missing the minerality, they are a far cry for the monsters we
remember of old. Despite the fondness
for alcohol mentioned earlier, top wines are nicely balanced at 13 – 14%
alcohol, with subdued oak and elegant fruit; even the reds, making Sonoma and
Walker Bay closer than we may think.