Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/14611
SuSTaINaBIlITY going green at Niner Wine estates I n wineries, “green” is the third favorite color after red and white, and in Paso Robles, winemakers see sustainability as much as part of the future as the next vintage. The state-of-the-art hospitality center at Niner Wine Estates is the newest demonstration of that. Just opened on the West Side of Paso Robles, it’s the first campus-wide LEED-certified winery in California. In addition to the eco-friendly technical specs, the gravity-flow winery boasts a demonstration kitchen and public programs that focus on sustain- ability, such as wine and local food pairings, harvest seminars and estate- grown grapes. “One of the hospitality center’s main goals is to highlight the Central Cindy Douglas of Cal Poly Organic Farm shows off SLO-grown beets. growing region and started a growers group, which they hope will become large enough to be heard in Sacramento—because, says Yves, “We don’t want to depend on foreign oil, right?” While folks like these are steeped in food politics, others produce on a lighter (but no less responsible) note. Stephanie Simonin and her mother run Happy Acres Family Farm, a cer- tified-organic goat farm in Templeton that combines education and enter- tainment. Simonin says an interactive farm was important because “a lot of people have forgotten where food has come from.” Visitors and goats rock out to music at milking time, but the farm gets down to serious busi- ness, shipping cheeses to SLO’s finest restaurants and distributing a line of goat milk skin-care products. And what started with concern about food has shifted over to wine, too. “We’ve seen a trend: When con- sumers care where their food is com- ing from, it leads them to ask about other aspects in their lives—questions like, ‘Is this wine sustainably farmed?’” says Stacie Jacob, Executive Director of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance. “And I definitely think the California wine industry is leading the charge.” 100 / the tasting panel / august 2010 Coast’s edible bounty,” says Director of Hospitality Rick Toyota. There’s no doubt that math teacher-cum-winemaker Amanda Cramer made the right choice when she switched careers: She was recently named Winemaker of the Year at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. Her 2007 Fog Catcher—Niner’s estate wine—won best Bordeaux blend; it contains all five Bordelais varieties (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Cab Franc, 5% Merlot, 1% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot) and has an SRP of $58. “For most wines, I start with a 100% variety and see if it stands by itself, or if it has a little hole that needs filling with another variety. But with Fog Catcher, I start with blending the varieties that we have grown and see where they take me,” she says. Niner Estates winemaker Amanda Cramer puts her Paso Robles wines in a world context. Cramer said her goal is to “put the wines in context of those around the world.” “The trend in Paso is those real big fruit bombs with big alcohol. In a way, I’m bucking that trend and making more international wines in terms of appeal. I don’t want to make wines that you stick a fork into and call it dinner.” —L.B. www.ninerwine.com