Down in the Cellar

By Justin Persons
Special to the Turnagain Times

Well folks, it’s been a while. I hope that you have been adventurous and broadened your palates for wine! Have you toured the world via wine lately? Argentine Malbecs? Spanish whites like Albarino? New Zealand Pinot Noirs? I could go on and on. Rather than talking about particular grapes, I decided to discuss something that revealed itself to me on a recent trip to California wine country—the varying contrasts of winemakers/winery owners.
Upon arriving into the Sonoma Valley, which is closer to the coast than Napa, I was greeted by my good friend Hans Kruger. Hans is a wine connoisseur and has most likely forgotten more about wine than I even know. He’s also 75 years old and can out “wine taste” me any day of the week. The ambitious itinerary was all planned by Hans, so my girlfriend and I hopped into his old Mercedes and off we went.
First stop, Dumol winery, the makers of world class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A tour of the recently completed, state of the art, $30million facility was a marvel of modern day winemaking . Everything is automated and runs effortlessly. The owner, Kerry, was as excited as a kid in a candy store as he gave us the grand tour. You could tell how proud he was of his new facility as he showed us every detail. No detail left to chance and it showed through in each of the wines. Don’t worry, we made sure to check each one.
Next up was Wesmar, the origins of a wine I’ve enjoyed for several years but never had the pleasure of meeting the winemakers. Their Pinot Noirs are amazing, and I’ve always envisioned them to have a facility more like Dumol’s. Nothing could be further from the truth. The husband and wife duo rent a 50ft.x 30ft garage, nestled in an industrial park, and put forth immense energy, love and care into the art of winemaking. Every bottle is lovingly touched nine times, which is a rarity in this modern era—from personally handling the fruit, corking each bottle one at a time, all the way to hand labeling. Though the polar opposite of the Dumol facility, one striking similarity was the passionate attention to detail both had for their craft.
The next day we headed up Spring Mountain, which acts as a natural border dividing the counties of Sonoma and Napa. The mountain grown fruit is much more concentrated than the wines from the valley floors of Napa and Sonoma. This is due to a combination of elevation, soil quality, and irrigation practices. Here on Spring Mountain the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc varieties are grown. Near the peak, up a beautiful winding road, we visited the heavily wooded Keenan Winery. The winery was started by Robert Keenan forty years ago and his son Michael took over ten years ago, drastically elevating the quality and vision of the winery. Michael is involved in every aspect of the process and drives his 94’ diesel pick-up along those mossy, tree lined roads year round. There’s a comfortable farmland quality on the Keenan grounds.
All of the buildings are as they were forty years ago, covered in vines, moss and lichen, giving the place an enchanted feel. Solar-power panels surround the man-made rain water lake used for irrigation. The wines are so unbelievably concentrated, that most of their wines have averaged 94+ points from Robert Parker over the last five years. To receive high marks like these is no small accomplishment (I was so impressed with the Chardonnay that we now pour it by the glass).
Just down the road is the Juslyn winery (the owner’s daughter is named Justine and his wife Carolyn, hence the name Juslyn). We pulled into the driveway and I could swear we were at Bill Gates’ place. The Ferrari out front was an eye-brow raiser. We were greeted by the owner, Perry, and his tiny dog Vuitton, as in the designer Louis Vuitton. Perry made his fortune in the Silicone Valley, not in wine, but has moved into the industry with flourish. As we toured the mansion and walked by the pool over looking Napa, I could swear we were at a villa in the Mediterranean. One could speculate that the owner was a hands off type guy, but would quickly be proven otherwise. Perry is out with his vines everyday, covers them himself at the hint of frost, and immerses himself in the day to day operation of his vineyard. Perry was a great host and just as passionate about wine as Keenan, Dumol and the couple at Wesmar. Vuitton didn’t care for wine but did his part by growling at me and never took his eyes off me.
It was staring out at the expansive view at Juslyn where it dawned on me; all of these winemakers/owners desire to make amazing wine. That’s it. Ultimately, It’s not about prestige or affluence, it doesn’t matter if you drive a Ferrari or a 94’ diesel pick up. It’s not even about the competition between winemakers. All of these people spoke about the value to the consumer and to them the location, soil, elevation of the vines, the weather and which type of oak barrels to use were their primary concerns in life. I consider them all artist’s that use the same colors on varying canvases, each producing a masterpiece in its own right. My respect for these wines grew tremendously because I can put a face and an attitude to what’s inside the bottle. So, check these wines out if you can and I recommend visiting any winery in your travels. Every bottle of wine is the end product of the passion and energy of dedicated people. Of modest or of greater means, the common denominator is the passion and dedication to the art form. Cheers.

Justin Persons is co-owner of the Double Musky Inn restaurant in Girdwood.