Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/72473
DEPARTMENT HEADER Grenache is one of the wines that people truly get." —winemaker Joel Gott The Art of Discovery At the insistence of his Southern California distributor, Phinney made his fi rst trek to the Roussillon in 2008 and was amazed by what he found there: largely undiscovered vineyards full of old-vine Grenache. "I bought 30 acres on my fi rst trip," says the winemaker. He was almost afraid to let anyone else in on the secret: "I told everyone to keep it quiet," he confesses. The vintner was so enthusiastic about Maury that he built a winery from scratch, with the blessing of the "forward-thinking" local govern- ment administration. 50 / the tasting panel / july 2012 One person Phinney did trust was Joel Gott, a kindred spirit with a knack for seeking out grapes no one else had found. "I love the experimentation, I love fi nding stuff," says Gott, "and I love being able to deliver great, inexpensive Grenache." Gott was already making a Garnacha from Spain's Calatayud region under his label The Show, as well as a California Grenache, Alakai, sourced from Monterey County and Knights Valley in Sonoma (see sidebar). Gott was as impressed as Phinney with the terroir and viticultural potential of the Roussillon. "You see mountain vineyards here in California, but the difference in the Roussillon is that these are dry, rocky canyons that look like they're made for billygoats—the vines are growing out of the rock." The duo of winemakers immediately planned a wine from the region. They partnered with Trinchero Family Estates for marketing and sales. Gott had been working with TFE on his own labels and, as Phinney notes, "Trinchero didn't have anything like this in their book. It was a symbiotic fi t." The winemakers agreed on a name, and Shatter was born.