Changes At Morgan; Harvest Coming In Hot, But Not Heavy

September 11, 2024 – We have some news on the winemaker front. Sam Smith, longtime winemaker at Morgan, has departed after eight years to concentrate on his own brand, Samuel L. Smith. He’s also busy tending to farming at Thomasen’s Split Rail Vineyard in Corralitos, which is now strictly Syrah. 

Living in Santa Cruz and making the trek to Soledad for work was getting a little old. Smith is happy to be making Syrah from the Thomasen Vineyard, while John Benedetti continues to take all the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from a separate part of the Split Rail Vineyard. Smith tells us he’s also getting fruit from Spear, Michaud, Double L, Fogstone, Pelio, Coastview, Lester, and maybe one or two other vineyards for this harvest. 

Meanwhile, at Morgan, proprietor and once again winemaker Dan Lee says that assistant winemaker Lesley Amezcua is doing a wonderful job. He also recently added enologist Megan Conatser to the team. She was with Hahn prior to the sale of that brand to Gallo. Lee says his now mostly female winemaking team seems to be perfect for the times. He expects to start picking this week, but to not be fully busy until the second week of September. 

In other winemaker musical chairs news, Neely Wines has appointed Sarah Green as its new winemaker of record. She was previously with FEL Wines—a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir brand named for Napa winery owner Cliff Lede’s mother, Florence Elizabeth Lede. 

Lede owns Cliff Lede Winery, where former Hahn President & CEO Tony Baldini, went in 2021. He’s recently moved on to Trefethen Winery. 

Shalini Sekhar, who had been with Neely for nearly 10 years, stays on as Consulting Winemaker for the Portola Valley destination, which serves up an amazing set of food options when you visit for tasting. Sekhar has moved her personal brand, Ottovino, along with her other clients (including Waits-Mast), to a custom crush facility in Santa Rosa. Her former assistant winemaker at Neely, Virginia Orozco, has relocated to the UK with her husband. And yes, there is a wine scene in England. 

More Harvest News 

At their custom crush facility in Salinas (they parted ways with the Morgan Hill facility earlier this year), Ian Brand and Ryan Kobza are bringing in Albariño from Kristy Vineyard in Monterey this week. The crop load overall looks lighter than last year, due to wind at set. 

“Some of our old vine Cab vineyards are off by 40%,” says Brand. “And you can’t find it just anywhere.” He’ll be well off his target of 3,400 or 3,500 cases at just 2,000—a tough position in the wholesale market. 

Brand says that two-thirds of his reds are from vines that are over 50 years old, and both Besson and Ventana Grenache look pretty light, especially Besson. 

The two estimate their overall production at about 450 tons for this harvest, which includes their respective brands, as well as those of their custom crush clients. 

“When I first started making Albariño 7 years ago, it was just us,” says Brand. “Now look at all the wineries making it!” He now takes the entire block of Kristy Albariño for his La Marea bottling.  

Kobza says they’re also bringing in 114 and Pommard Pinot Noir for Birichino from Chalone this week. Overall, he says, they’re cutting back on Rhones for rosé (Brand says the bloom is off the rosé), and are concentrating on the basics: Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Brand says the Bates Ranch Cab Sauv is “ferociously good” and he’s stoked about the Bates Cab Franc, under the I. Brand label. He’s also doubling production on the Cab Sauv, saying, “They are classic Bates: very wine-nerd friendly. We have been through the permutations of the wine world. Napa is so dominant on the CS scene, but the Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley have some killer old Cab vineyards, and we’re committed to keeping them in the ground.”

Brand adds that in San Benito County, DeRose Cab Franc is extraordinary, and is just finishing veraison. “In some of these warmer years, you have green berries on the same clusters with those that are at 17/18 brix.” He notes that DeRose, which has been dry-farmed for 20 years, is converting to organic farming, and are in their 5 year. “It took a while to get the vines off the fertilizer and bring soil strength up,” says Brand. “This crop looks good: it’s a nice set for DeRose CF.” 

Kobza thinks picking at Bates is 2 to 3 weeks out, with Cab Franc first. However, “Given the heat, that will change the dynamic on everything.” He expects to pick the red field blend at Wirz this Saturday, from the top of the hillside. “This is always the first pick from Pat’s (Wirz) vineyard,” says Kobza. “The top is the driest area of the vineyard. I’m usually both the first and last pick at Wirz: Mourtaou always comes off last.”

Kobza has some new sparkling wines in the market, including a Riesling from Redwing Vineyard near Watsonville, which used to be made by Left Bend. He’s also got a sparkling cuvee of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from a tiny little vineyard on Laureles Grade, one ridge closer to the ocean from Albatross. 

“I did it all in house, all hand-riddled,” says Kobza. “It’s something I wanted to do for a long time and I hope to continue. We have a rosé of Cab Franc sparkling that I really want to get bottled. We also did a Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc for sparkling. Very small lots – 50 cases or less.” He just needs to find the time to get to it. Meanwhile, you can find Kobza’s excellent wines at Staff of Life in Santa Cruz and Watsonville, as well as Vertigo in San Juan Bautista.  

Brand says they’ve brought in some Semillon for Birichino, as well as Verdelho from Pearce Ranch, Melon de Bourgogne from Chalone and Sauvignon Gris and Pinot Gris from Eden Rift. The emphasis on whites is no accident, even though he’s being offered lots of Pinot Noir for cheap this year. “Our competency is working with what we have,” says Brand. “We have become an extraordinary white wine house.  Across the board they are killing it and providing great values. Salinas Valley is awesome for whites.” 

Speaking of whites, Marty Mathis tells us he finished picking for his white program for M. Mathis Winegrower by harvesting Godello from the Guichard Vineyard in northern Saratoga.  “The Godello variety comes from Valdeorras Galicia Spain,” says Mathis.  “A climate with temperatures very matched to Saratoga, minus the summer thunderstorm rains that they get and we never do. This is my most premium luxury white bottling.  Aiming to be comparable to white Burgundy or top-level California Chardonnay.”   

On Aug. 28, he harvested a somewhat smaller than usual crop of Albariño from the pergolas surrounding the Kathryn Kennedy winery on Pierce Road. 

“Albariño has become the #1 alternative white for California, but I doubt anybody is growing it on pergola in full shade like I am,” says Mathis. “As is done in Rias Baixas, it is critical to keep sun off the berries otherwise the wine will get astringent bitterness from the skins and then loses its vibrant flavors and fresh texture.” 

Perhaps Marty’s most exciting news is that he got his first grapes from a new project near the Lexington Reservoir, by the Cal Fire station above Los Gatos. The Sauvignon Blanc vines are only four years old, so it’s a sneak peak of what they can deliver, but he’s really excited about a new approach to the grape, one that is inspired by the Loire.  He intends to call it Imperial Sauvignon, to distinguish it from the already prolific SB bottling of Kathryn Kennedy you find on so many wine lists.  

When I visited Big Basin Vineyards over Labor Day weekend, assistant winemaker David Johnson was barreling down Chardonnay from Coastview. They had only one fermenter inside the winery, a very small amount of Swan clone Pinot Noir from Ascona. He said it’s been a nice mellow start to harvest, but things will get into full swing this week, as they will pick Old Corral Pinot Noir at the estate vineyard, as well as Pinot Noir and Grenache for rosé from Rodnick.farm in Chalone. The estate Viognier, Grenache and Roussanne are all looking mighty tempting, and we noticed the birds starting to take serious interest. 

With winemaker Blake Yarger sidelined due to injury, the team is excited to have Kenzie Flood as their Harvest 2024 Intern. Kenzie is a Cal Poly graduate, has harvest experience and is an are native living in Santa Cruz. She’s pictured here with David Johnson, BBV Cellar Assistant at the winery on Memory Lane in Boulder Creek. 

Jim Cargill of House Family in Saratoga says many of the vineyards he sources from will hit ripeness at once. “We are looking at a very heavy start to harvest. No warm up, just a full sprint! Yields look very good, maybe slightly less than last year.” He brought in Pinot Noir (Clones 115 and 777) from a vineyard in the Saratoga Hills this morning. From the looks of it, he’s pretty stoked.