It would be impossible to separate the meteoric rise of Monterey County viticulture from the evolution of Ventana Vineyards as an emerging superstar. So I won’t even try. The two go hand in hand.
Wine enthusiasts with long memories know that Monterey once owned a hard-won reputation for foul-smelling, thin, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon. Everyone in the California wine industry wanted to emulate the success of the Napa Valley, and that meant Cabernet Sauvignon. Never mind that much of the California coast was far too cool to adequately ripen Cabernet in most vintages.
So it was in Monterey County, where Cabernet was widely planted, resulting in some of the nastiest, green, vegetal red wines ever produced in California. Until recently, Monterey County wineries have struggled to overcome the perception that their region was better suited for asparagus, artichokes and broccoli.
That was until the Garys, Pisoni and Franscioni, started growing some of the finest Pinot Noir grapes (pinot loves the cool weather) this side of the Cote d’Or. Given that this happened at roughly the same time interest in pinot noir grew white hot, it brought attention and unusual acclaim to a region badly in need of an image remake.
Never mind that one of California’s single greatest Chardonnay (another grape that thrives on a cool breeze) vineyards, Sleepy Hollow, had anchored the suddenly glamorous Santa Lucia Highlands for a quarter-century. Or that Monterey seemed to be the best place west of the Mississippi to grow Riesling. Before the Garys came along, Monterey was best known for vegetal Cabernet.
Ventana Vineyards has been through it all, and winemaker Reggie Hammond, a 12-year veteran at Ventana, correctly notes that it seems weird that after 20-plus years Ventana has become an “overnight” success. And so it has. Ventana has been the darling of the wine competition circuit this year, taking Best of Show awards at four prestigious wine competitions (with three different wines).
If there is a precedent for such a feat, no one has come forward to claim it. First it was the 2007 Ventana Riesling ($18) that was all the rage. It was voted best white wine at both the San Francisco Chronicle and Monterey wine competitions earlier this year. More recently, Ventana’s 2008 Pinot Gris ($18) was voted best white wine at the West Coast wine competition in Santa Rosa; and the 2006 Rubystone ($18), a Grenache-based Rhone-style blend, earned the honor as best red wine at the Riverside International wine competition.
I spoke with Hammond recently and, while he was certainly excited, he was philosophical, too. It’s not like he couldn’t make great wine one day, but now he can.
“We’ve won our share of medals over the years,” he noted. “We may be the most medaled winery in California. But nothing like this. I can’t explain it.”
Indeed, Ventana’s 2006 Riesling also won the honor of best white wine at last year’s Monterey wine competition, and the Gewurztraminer once won nine gold medals in a single year.
More amazing, perhaps, than the ringing endorsements from a diverse group of judges around the competition circuit is the fact that Ventana hasn’t gone Hollywood and raised its prices. The majority of its wines can still be had for less than $20 a bottle, and the new label design conveys a restrained modesty that’s in keeping with the style of the wines: Superb but not flashy.
And it’s comforting to know that greatness in a wine bottle is still affordable, if you only know where to look.
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