Gamay Noir Revivalist: A Chat with Mark Chesebro

May 6, 2022 – It started out as a query on Gamay Noir, a varietal whose name I am hearing a lot lately. Without doubt, this grape—a darling of vintners decades ago—is making a resurgence in California. It’s fun to say and evokes thoughts of a bright and fresh fruity style of wine, popularized as Beaujolais Nouveau. Gamay Noir, as you might guess, is related to Pinot Noir, being one of its many children that resulted from the crossing of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc. Grapes are nothing if not prolific party animals. 

Winegrower Mark Chesebro has about 3.25 acres of Gamay Noir at Cedar Lane Vineyard in Arroyo Seco, planted 6 years ago at the behest of a client. This is called contract planting, and he’d frankly like to see a lot more of that, where a winemaker pays a grower to plant a specific varietal and then commits to buying the fruit for at least three years. 

“About 7 or 8 years ago, I asked my clients what varieties they’d like to see me plant more of, and one, Kenny Likitprakong of Hobo Wines, said he wanted Gamay Noir,” says Chesebro.

Likitprakong, already a long time buyer who also gets Pinot Noir and Syrah from Chesebro, was looking for an alternative fresh red that would do well in Arroyo Seco. “I was definitely on a big Beaujolais kick at the time, so was very excited about Gamay Noir. I like grapes that can make serious, but not heavy, red wines and that can be alternatives to Pinot Noir. Gamay fits the bill,” he adds.

He started by making a rosé, which he felt would go easier on the vines. He typically picks about 19 Brix. The vines initially struggled a bit, but now seem to have found their footing. “We have a good following for that rosé because it is delicious and the combination of the site and the variety are well suited for making rosé.  We did make a few barrels of red wine, too, last year. Just included them in a blend with Valdiguié and Gewürztraminer that we bottled yesterday.” Hobo Wines also makes Gewürztraminer from Rancho Llegado in Monterey County under his Banyan label. At $14, it’s killer good with Thai food.

When Likitprakong doesn’t take all of the Gamay Noir, Chesebro ripens the remainder up and makes it for his wine club members. It’s big, dark and semi-tannic stuff. He makes it just like he does Pinot Noir, in open top fermenters, never in the carbonic fashion popularized by Beaujolais Nouveau. You will never see through this wine, either. It’s black as Nordic midnight.   

Chesebro, who got his start in the Monterey wine scene working for Don Blackburn at Bernardus in 1994, struck out on his own in 2005, and until recently was a partner in Mission Ranch Vineyard. He is now a consultant there, dealing with the many clients he’s acquired over the years. That suits him fine. He’s plenty busy and prefers to work with clients who want to take at least 2 or 3 tons of a particular varietal at a time, rather than a single ton or less, which is what the smaller winemakers tend to do. 

“People have been pestering to buy from me,” says Chesebro. “But, I am trying to have fewer customers. It’s easier to deal with a few larger buyers.”

The logistics of managing multiple buyers at harvest time are nerve-wracking. 

“And they need to be ok with machine-harvesting,” he says. “You can save at least $100 per ton and as much as $300 per ton, depending on quantity and variety.” 

“Labor costs have gone up 20% in the last three years, and with higher minimum wages and a worsening labor shortage, machine harvesting is the most efficient. Clients are accepting it. They get fruit delivered in the ½ ton bins they are used to, at 8am, and it’s cold and ready to go,” he explains.

He uses Monterey Pacific for the harvesting work. “Machine harvesting requires so much less in labor,” he notes. “You just need three people to run the equipment: one to drive the machine, and two to drive the tractors with the gondolas. As one gondola fills up, the other comes in to replace it. The whole thing is pretty cool.”

Cedar Lane Vineyard is a legendary candy store for grapes in Arroyo Seco. Everything grown here is excellent: if you’ve never had a Cedar Lane Pinot Noir, you’re missing out on a pure Pinot delight. The mix of clones, with Swan, Pommard and Dijon, makes a red riot of earthy, red fruited savory delight. He now owns the vineyard, which has 53 acres of vines planted. It’s a mix of 6 popular whites and 5 different reds. 

What’s the most popular white? “Sauvignon Blanc, by far. I am all sold out this year already. The Musquée clone we grow here in Arroyo Seco produces such a unique wine and it has become very popular.”  He has 15 acres of it, much of which goes to Hahn under a long-term contract.  

Another popular white he grows is Vermentino, which he’s about to graft onto an underperforming acre block of Viognier next week. He’s got about 2 acres of Albarino, which he has no trouble selling. He’d plant more, if someone were serious about a long-term contract,

What’s the one red every wants? Well, Pinot Noir tops the list. “It’s the number one varietal in Monterey County by far, and demand is very, very strong this year.” But the one request he keeps hearing is Syrah. “The only thing interesting I can say is that there is more demand for Syrah than we have planted. It’s ironic, because it used to be overplanted, and then it was grafted or yanked out, due to falling popularity. Now there is a big demand for cool climate Syrah. I have 5 acres at Cedar Lane, and could probably sell twice that, if I had it. Small and large buyers are asking for it. Right now, I sell almost all of it to Paul Clifton from Hahn. They have a contract for it and would take more. Paul is so fun to work with! We go way back to when I was cellar master at Bernardus for his first harvest there in 1997.”

What are his views on climate change? “Anecdotally, most of Monterey, at least the Arroyo Seco are where I am working, is not getting warmer overall. What I do see is that we are consistently getting longer heat wave blasts in September. It used to be once every 4 or 5 years, and now it’s 3 out of 4 years. And the heat waves are lasting longer. A day or two we can deal with, but a 3-or 4-day run just hammers us.”

The biggest problem is with Pinot Noir. “A September heat wave will take slightly underripe pinot to overripe in 3 days!” He says the dark color and thinness of the varietal’s skin really causes the berries to absorb the heat and shrivel up. “At that point in the season, none of the other grapes are really close to being ripe,” he says. “The riper the grapes, the more they are susceptible to shrivel, and red grapes with black skins get really hot!” Plus, Pinot Noir grapes are small, and have less juice. 

It’s a recipe for disaster. 

No wonder he wants to plant Syrah. It can cruise along through the extended heat waves of September and October. And the results can be spectacular. The 2018 Hahn Syrah is a testament to the flavors that build up slowly over all those months. 

And back to Gamay Noir. It has a big advantage over Pinot Noir in that its clusters are quite large, as are its berries. It also sets a huge crop, sometimes three clusters per shoot, which means it can take longer to ripen. Diversification is a good thing. 

From a recent seminar on Cool Climate Syrah that featured Paul Clifton of Hahn Family Wines, Anthony Beckman of Baletto Vineyards in the Russian River Vineyards and Adam Louder of Mount Langi Ghiran in Australia, came this insight from Clifton. It succinctly supports Chesebro’s observations.We’re starting to see more and more heat spikes during September/October, which for Syrah I’m not too worried about, it’s a resilient grape in terms of heat spikes. I’m running around freaking out about Pinot Noir and put Syrah on the backburner and that’s maybe why I love it so much. It’s not something you have to worry about so much, so that’s why it’s such a relief to make and so fun to make, because it’s ready to go by the time we are done with Pinot Noir. It’s a pleasure to work with,” – Paul Clifton, Hahn Family Wines.