Skip to main content

California Wine: Send in the Clones

Support Provided By
wine_fire_pinot_600_400

You know it's gone past drinking to deep thinking when a winemaker on a panel says, "It's actually a cultivar, not a clone," and you don't hear a single snore. Of course, this serious moment came after an introduction by wild wit Peter Cargasacchi to the Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance Wine and Fire Symposium's Pinot Noir Panel on Clone 115M that began, "Now that Area 51 has been declassified, we can tell you a little bit about Clone 115," and ended, "If I told you any more I'd have to kill you."

UFOs were a just one of the many out there metaphors that came up during this fascinating chat about Santa Barbara's most famous varietal and one of its major clones (since grapes tend to be grafted to rootstock and don't get to reproduce sexually, the poor things). Kris Curran from D'Alfonso Curran Wines called it "the workhorse of pinot cultivars," and Bill Wathen of Foxen Winery said, "115 is a really important tool, like having all your surfboards in the garage and you always fall back on your favorite -- 115 is a favorite."

Adam Lee of Siduri, happy to be included since his winery is based in Sonoma although he makes pinot from grapes throughout California and Oregon, took things even further, pointing out how 115 is, according to the Urban Dictionary, "A ghetto south side hood in Edmonton, Canada. Only two small gangs roll through 115." He mostly did this to annoy rap-hating seminar moderator Josh Raynolds from Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, but continued, "It was a weird gang of people trying this sh** -- an interesting exciting time. 115 has lost a bit of its luster, we moved to higher numbers...now it's retro." Raynolds, not missing a beat, jumped in, "It's the Run DMC of pinots."

The samples the seven-person panel brought for us to taste were all fascinating, particularly because all were from the barrel, and most would be blended with other pinot clones. "These wines are absolute babies right now," Brandon Sparks-Gillis of Dragonette Cellars said, but that didn't stop them from showing like very precocious youth, if a bit more rough and tannic than the pinots from Sta. Rita Hills we tend to know and love (Curran, for instance, ages hers for four years before selling them). Sparks-Gillis said of his 2012 Cargasacchi Vineyard pinot "it's a magical combination of interesting richness and aromatic complexity, the holy grail of power without weight."

Since every sample was of 115, vineyard location got even easier to taste in the glass. Norm Yost of Flying Goat Cellars stressed, "Rio Vista Vineyard is the most warm in Sta. Rita Hills, tucked in a corner so it doesn't get much wind and it ripens sooner." He pointed out how this sample was therefore spicier than the rest we'd tasted (he was right, of course), and it would be a component for their Dijon Clone blend.

And while 115 might no longer have the flash of other clones, Lee from Siduri said, "We always taste blind for blends, and every barrel that made the 2012 Clos Pepe Vineyard pinot was 115; that's a testament to how 115 is still vital."

Support Provided By
Read More
A black and white photo of an adult dressed as the easter bunny with a giant costumed head, holding a little girl on their left who gives it a kiss on the cheek and, with his right arm, holding a little boy who brings his hands to his eyes as though wiping away tears.

Behold the Bunnies and Bonnets of L.A.'s Past Easter Celebrations

The onset of the spring season heralds the arrival of fragrant flowers in bloom — and all the critters that enjoy them, including the Easter bunny and families who anticipate his arrival with egg hunts, parades and questionable fashion choices.
A black and white image of an elephant holding a broom with its trunk. A man is seen near the elephant, walking towards the animal.

Lions and Tigers and Cameras! How the Movies Gave Los Angeles a Zoo

The early days of the movies in Los Angeles inadvertently allowed visitors to experience the largest collection of animals in the western United States. When animals weren't appearing in a movie, they were rented out to other film companies, performed for studio visitors, or in the case of filmmaker William Selig's collection — an opportunity to create one of Los Angeles' first zoos.
A vertical, black and white portrait of a blonde woman wearing a sparkly four-leaf clover costume as she holds her arms out and extends a leg as though in a curtsy.

Irish for a Day: L.A.'s History of 'Going Green' on St. Patrick's Day

Whether it was a parade, dance, tea party, home celebration or just enjoying a good ol' wee dram of whisky, here's a photo essay of how Los Angeles donned its green apparel to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and embrace the luck o' the Irish over the years.