Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/701904
july 2016 / the tasting panel / 81 "I was sixteen years old driving around in the vineyards with my Uncle Phil, and he said, 'Chardonnay offers the broadest palette upon which to paint.' At the time, this seemed so corny to me, but sure enough, I eventually came to know and embrace what it really means." The relaxed and simultaneously intense Karl D. Wente, Fifth Generation Winemaker and Senior Vice-President of Winemaking at Wente Family Estates, recounted this memory to The Tasting Panel before rattling off an immensely detailed four-part breakdown of Chardonnay winemaking at Wente Vineyards, speaking in anticipation of National Chardonnay Day this past May. Cut to a beautiful day in Livermore, California, at Wente Vineyards about a week later, on May 26. We were toast- ing National Chardonnay Day with the vivacious Wente Vineyards Small Lot 2013 Brut in the warmth of the sun after a delicious four-table pairing promenade in the cool, cavernous barrel room, each table reflective of one of Wente Family Estates' styles of Chardonnay. Carolyn Wente, Fourth Generation Winegrower and CEO of Wente Family Estates, raised her glass as the crowd of loyal Wente Club members and special guests cheerfully followed suit. In California, Wente Vineyards is virtually ground zero for Chardonnay, so what better way to honor the grape than by tasting through the winery's diverse Chardonnay portfolio? One can argue that without the Wente family, Chardonnay would not be the behemoth it is today as the number-one- selling varietal in the United States. Wente Vineyards was established in 1883—making it the oldest continuously- operated family-owned winery in the U.S.—and second- generation Herman and Ernest Wente released the country's first varietally-labeled Chardonnay in 1936. But they could not have done so without first establishing the legendary Wente clone in a process that took roughly 40 years. A sentimental Carolyn Wente elaborates: "It's an amaz- ing story that I've grown up knowing . . . My grandfather's professor at U.C. Davis brought over cuttings from France that my grandfather planted just across the road in a small vineyard. He then took the best cuttings from the best vines—those that were healthiest, offered the best fruit, that ripened evenly, etc.—and cultivated those vines over time. As a kid growing up, I would watch him continue to collect and expand by walking through the vineyard, tasting grapes and tying little bows on the vines he liked best. Even today, my brother Phil—the farmer in the family—walks the "heritage block" with my nephew Karl, and they too continue to expand. There are Wente clones planted in 80% of the other vineyards around California that still have the genetic material from the original plantings here." This feat is one of the main reasons the Wentes have been deemed "California's First Family of Chardonnay." There are other reasons, too, and surely one of them is their thoughtful, small-lot approach to winemaking. According to Karl Wente, there are four major facets to making Chardonnay, and it's the decisions made at each of these stages that enable the Wentes to offer a range of four different varietal Chardonnay styles, as well as a traditional method sparkling Brut. The decisions include: ON NATIONAL CHARDONNAY DAY AT WENTE VINEYARDS, WE DISCOVER THE FOUR FACETS OF WINEMAKING AND FIVE DISTINCTIVE WENTE CHARDONNAYS Five wonderfully different ways to celebrate National Chardonnay Day, from left to right: Wente Vineyards Small Lot 2013 Brut, Wente Vineyards Small Lot 2015 Eric's Chardonnay, Wente Vineyards 2014 The Nth Degree Chardonnay, Wente Vineyards 2015 Estate Grown Morning Fog Chardonnay, and the Wente Vineyards 2014 Single Vineyard Riva Ranch Chardonnay. by Jessie Birschbach / photos by Susanna Frohman