September 5, 2023 – It was darn chilly and breezy as we sat in the beautiful courtyard of the Bernardus tasting room in Carmel Valley Village on the last day of August, toasting the accomplishments of longtime winemaker Dean DeKorth—who had just retired after 18 years as winemaker at the Carmel Valley bastion of elegant wines.
Officially, he will be consulting with Bernardus through this year’s harvest, assisting newly appointed winemaker Jim McCabe, as he navigates this weirdly prolonged season.
But some things won’t change. “I’ll probably get the honors of doing this years’ Thanksgiving punchdowns, as per usual!” noted De Korth. “I’ll be around. I’m not going anywhere!”
In between bites of tasty gourmet pizza prepared by gracious Bernardus staff member Rourke Smith, who enjoys participating in cooking contests, we traded notes on the Bernardus wines we were enjoying and swapped stories. The only thing missing was a campfire or wool blankets.
Grower Michael Griva noted that although the season is definitely running late, he’s got a great looking crop and has none of the mildew issues that are plaguing other coastal vineyards in Monterey and Santa Cruz.
This lead to a discussion of late harvest wines, which require botrytis, and how difficult it is to farm for that, as it goes against all farming instincts.
“When Dean first came to Bernardus, I found out how much he liked late harvest dessert wines, and suggested we try making one with my Sauvignon Blanc,” Griva told us. “It turned out really great and I kept a few unlabeled 350ml bottles in the fridge. Ben (Pons) came over for our annual harvest lunch the next year, and my wife made her signature apple pie, and he says, ‘A fine dessert wine would be good right now!’ So, I looked at Dean, and he nodded, and I pulled out one of our late harvest bottles and poured it for Ben. He took one sip and turned to Dean and said, ‘We should make this!!’”
Dean says he still has bruises on his shins from being kicked under the table by those in on the caper. The late harvest Bernardus SB is only made in those years when conditions are right: could this year be one of them?
And by the way, the Bernardus Griva Sauvignon Blanc has such a reputation that locals ask for it by saying, “I’ll have a glass of Griva!” Which led to a funny story about the first Bernardus SB that DeKorth made.
Wine critic Steve Heimoff, who notoriously does not like SB, described it as cat pee, which nearly caused a riot when Pons read the review. DeKorth thought he’d be fired, but then came a Wall Street Journal article by critics Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, who raved about the wine, rating it Delicious!
Baker says when he came into the office that Monday morning, the fax machine had exhausted every last inch of its paper roll printing orders from the East Coast. “I put in another roll, and it just kept spitting out orders!” Talk about vindication.
A wine that won’t be made by Bernardus this year is a Pinot Noir rosé from the SLH: too bad, as the 2021 version is really good, sporting aromas of seared grapefruit skin, white flowers and fresh lime, and pulsing with fresh strawberry, raspberry and kiwi on the palate. Grab it while you can, as it’s an excellent food wine, and it’s only 12.6% to boot. The delightful 2022 Provence rosé that Bernardus sourced from La Coste will continue to be the pink drink on offer, while supplies last. Made from Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Cinsault, it’s available in party-starting 1.5 and 3L formats.
McCabe has been at Bernardus for over a dozen years, and has a good grasp on all the many vineyards they source. He had a big hand in the 2021 Ingrid’s Pinot Noir, which exhibits bright aromas of raspberry perfume and impresses with fresh and brisk cranberry, along with dark chocolate and a touch of black licorice.
“This is the wine we like to point out as our hyper local offering,” noted sales and marketing director Robert Baker. “Since most people drive right past the Ingrid’s Vineyard (it’s in front of the Bernardus Lodge), it’s a good orientation.”
The Ingrid Vineyard was originally planted to 6 acres Chardonnay and 1 acre of Pinot Noir in 1999. But that changed in 2006.
Vineyard Manager Matt Shea reminded Griva that he had a lot to do with those changes. The two recalled how Bernardus decided to convert some of the Chardonnay planted there to Pinot Noir, and Griva provided the plant material from his vineyard in Arroyo Seco. Shea said that the graft success rate was about 97%, which is pretty high, but as the vines grew and bore fruit, suddenly, there were parts of the vineyard that appeared to be struggling and very shy on yields.
Griva remembers he got a call from Shea about it and happened to be out in Carmel Valley at Wills Fargo restaurant for his daughter’ 8th grade graduation dinner. It was getting really late, but while he was there, he figured he should check out the vineyard. While walking through the vines with a flashlight, he came nose to nose with a very large deer. Culprit caught red-antlered! From there, it was a matter of reinforcing the fences, whereafter the yields magically improved.
Ingrid’s is now 3.5 acres each of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It tends to ripen quite a bit later than the Arroyo Seco and SLH Pinot Noir vineyards in the Bernardus portfolio.
So, what will be the first grapes in to the Bernardus winery in Cachagua?
Griva expects his first truck load of Sauvignon Blanc for Bernardus to be harvested the week of September 25th, a full 3 weeks later than the typical start of the season. The Sauvignon Musquée clone will follow.
“We would normally pick Sauvignon Blanc for Bernardus right after Labor Day,” says Griva. “In 23 years, we’ve had maybe 3 or 4 years where we picked prior to the end of August. But this year, the Brix are about 16—17. Still, it’s like a racehorse, and once it approaches ripeness, SB just heads for the finish line.”
Shea commented that he’s been watering out at the 36-acre Marinus Vineyard in Cachagua, because of the recent heat wave, and expects those grapes to be pretty much on target to ripen around their usual time, in late November. By the way, a magnum of 2017 Marinus Cabernet Sauvignon can now be had for $62.50, which is 50% off. That’s a prime rib feast waiting to happen.
The first of the Santa Lucia Highlands grapes to come in will likely be Pinot Noir from Rosella’s Vineyard, in the outer rows nearest River Road. McCabe told us, “We have four rows there that are always an early pick.” Then it will be the rest of Rosella’s, Sierra Mar and Soberanes Pinot Noir, all from the SLH, likely during the first two weeks of October.
It’s going to be a long harvest unless we get a brutal heat wave. Each harvest is one to remember, and this 19th one for DeKorth at Bernardus is likely to be no exception.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
