New Releases from David Baird’s Common Thread 

September 15, 2023 – In a way, this story is a continuation of the Reef Dog Deli parklet fiasco in Capitola. (BTW, the last day to enjoy chef Anthony Kresge’s epic sandwiches at Reef Dog will be Sept 24.) David Baird, winemaker for Folktale, and for Common Thread, his personal brand dedicated to his son Colin, born with Down syndrome, tasted me on his 2021 lineup last year while seated at the parklet in front of Reef Dog while having lunch. It was bustling and everyone was in a good mood on such a fair weather sunshiny day. Little did we know what the winter would bring, and how bad a beating the Capitola waterfront would take. 

In mid-August, at the height of the summer invasion of tourists, mostly ill-prepared for the actual weather of northern California, as opposed to the hot fun in the sun climate of their dreams, Baird and I set up another meeting. 

We thought we’d repeat the previous year’s modus operandi. Alas, the Reef Dog parklet was gone and the town was swimming with shivering selfie-taking out of towners. After a failed attempt to occupy some of the vastly empty indoor space at Margaritaville, I suggested we just sit outdoors on the nice park benches the town has installed by the bridge. I brought along the new Gen II GoVino glasses that are heftier and dishwasher safe, and a couple of spit cups. And thus, we conducted, in the middle of the madding crowd, a most pleasant and efficient tasting, aided greatly by the general nonchalance of the masses and a large pot of succulents. 

Not a soul commented on our open-air activity.  A curious dog came closest to asking what we were doing, but didn’t ask to join, so we carried on, as several members of the local constabulary drove by, looking for double parkers, of which there were many. 

With the sound of jackhammers, seagulls, impatient horn honkers and nail guns in the background, we tasted the latest lineup. 

No wonder they are impressing so many somms and buyers. 

We began with a skin-contact 2022 Chenin Blanc from Massa Vineyard (formerly Heller Estate, now managed by Ian Brand) that was left on its skins for 2 days to pull out the skin phenolics before being pressed and barrel fermented. He had planned to bottle it with no SO2, but added a small amount. An expressive style of Chenin this comes across as richer, drawing texture from the apple and peach skin flavors and some creaminess from the inherent mango.  Fans of skin contact wines will appreciate the depth this achieves.

Next was the 2022 Pinot Gris from Regan Vineyard in Corralitos, done with 2 weeks (not a typo!!) of skin contact, rendering a color that looks more like a full bodied rose. Its charming aromas of strawberry lemonade and orange peel cannot adequately prepare you for the shockingly intense flavors of pomegranate and lemonade, along with cranberry orange relish that are a bolstered by the grippy skin tannins. This is a wine that looks and smells like a rose, but drinks like a red. Definitely could go into the chillable reds category. He’s thinking to cut back on the skin contact for 2023. 

I was pretty bowled over by the 2022 Common Thread Three Strands, which really plays up the label theme. A blend of two reds, Pinot Meunier (15%) from Riverbench Vineyard in Santa Maria, and Pinot Noir (57%, clone 667 and Swan) from Lawson Vineyard on San Jose-Soquel Road, along with Pinot Gris (28%) from Regan, this is a knockout. At 12.8% alcohol, this is a summer wine that will pair well with olive oil and lemon or orange zest poached salmon, tuna tartare, or a salad of feta cheese, fennel, arugula, butter lettuce and golden beets, topped with kumquats and toasted pecans.  The raspberry and orange peel notes, along with a touch of grapefruit, are fun and refreshing. Baird is planning to get Pinot Noir from Pelio Vineyard this year. 

The 2022 Pinot Meunier from the sandy Riverbench Vineyard in Santa Maria, is a bit of an experiment that ended up combining some of the Pinot Noir stems from the Lawson Vineyard fermentation. That’s because the PM fruit was picked a bit shy of stem lignification, making it a tad too green. So he dried some of the PN stems and left them in the fermentor with the Pinot Meunier fruit on top of them for three weeks. It turned out quite amazing. The nose shows excellent complexity, with baking spice and nutmeg from the stems, and the palate exhibits great juiciness with cranberry, raspberry and candied apple. Done in neutral French oak, this shows roundness on the palate with the kind of precision that Baird’s attentive winemaking yields. I love this wine. 

The 2022 Common Thread Tesona Vineyard Syrah hails from a relatively new vineyard (6 years old) in the Cupertino Hills above Ridge, managed by the Muhly brothers of Coastal Range. Baird picked the grapes from this southeast facing site, that gets great morning sun, on September 20. He picked it lean to preserve the black olive character he likes in cooler climate Syrah, and did 100% whole cluster on the lot for 16 days before pressing into two neutral barrels. Aromatically, this is mesmerizing, with herbs de Provence, perfume, violet and coriander. The flavors are no less precise and thrilling, with a that freshness of fragrance, coriander and white pepper carrying over to the palate, where they are met with fresh fig, licorice and cured meat. This is an excellent Syrah, showing incredible power. 

He picks a different charity to work with each vintage, and while he will continue to support the Northern California Branch of the Special Olympics, who received 100% of his donation for FY 2022, this year’s beneficiaries will include Autism Speaks, Best Buddies and the National Down Syndrome Society. 

You can order the wines direct from his website (commonthreadwines.com) or visit Deer Park Wines, which carries all five wines. He expects Soif to pick them up when they move, and you can also enjoy the Chenin Blanc, Pinot Gris and Syrah at Brad Briske’s HOME restaurant in Soquel.