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THE MESSAGE Touring California with Winemaker Jesse Katz T Young's Market Gene Downes and Kathy Gaudet, Lancaster winemaker Jesse Katz, and Young's Market's power couple [and newlyweds] Danielle and Tim Moore. ouring California, Lancaster winemaker Jesse Katz made a stop in Santa Barbara County at Holdren's, Clay Holdren's third restaurant. Holdren, who owns and operates two successful steakhouses in Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara, turned his large operation in Goleta, CA into a casual gastro-pub-grill concept, featuring a daily Happy Hour. Teaming with his Young's Market representatives and local on- and off-premise buyers, Holdren's was the prime location for a trade-only dinner, featuring Roth and Lancaster wines. See Ben Weinberg's full story on page 116. KARL'S KORNER 2012 Harvest Update from Wente Vineyards' Fifth Generation Winemaker, Karl Wente T he most exciting time of the year is here—harvest! The 2012 season is going extremely well so far, and the Livermore Valley has seen nice, cool temperatures allow- ing the fruit to develop and ripen on track. Here at Wente Family Estates we've harvested half of our Louis Mel Sauvignon Blanc and half of Murrieta's Well White Meritage. The Pinot Grigio for entwine and our new brand, Double Decker, have also arrived. C M Y CM MY Shrinking Space H ow do you prevent a 19,000 square foot hotel restaurant from feeling like a mausoleum? If you are Marina Kitchen, the chicly modern eatery lodged in the bay-hugging San Diego Marriott Marquis and Marina, you create a wine list designed to appease the traveler loyal to the hotel's brand as well as locals, includ- ing those that frequent the libation indulgence magnets in the neigh- boring Gaslamp District. At its core, the list fea- tures a chunk of easily recognizable labels that the faithful customer can fi nd at every Marriott. However, Beverage Manager Joseph Orr and Restaurant Manager Michael Miller have been given the freedom by the Karl Wente examines a Zinfandel block during harvest 2012. Restaurant Manager Michael Miller and Beverage Manager Joseph Orr have created a wine list to appeal to the Marriott's brand-loyal customers and local residents. hotel to augment that familiar base with their own hand-picked selections. They have responded to this charge by constructing an affordable list of global labels, ranging from well-known estates such as Tablas Creek to boutique producers like Zotovich Family Cellars. —Rich Manning 22 / the tasting panel / october 2012 Handling the harvest of over 3,000 acres of estate-grown vineyards and keeping track of the 31 different varieties we grow defi nitely keeps me on my toes. Strategizing when and how to pick the grapes is like a three- dimensional puzzle. We need to ensure the proper balance of sugar, acidity and fl avor. For example, we pick our Nth Degree Chardonnay four to fi ve times, each pick resulting in a different style of wine which we blend together to create the layers of fl avors in our fi nal product. This time of year is very hectic and busy, but I only get so many vintages in my career, and I love every moment of it. Cheers to harvest 2012! CY CMY K PHOTO: LEIGH CASTELLI PHOTO: JEREMY BALL