Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/306378
may 2014 / the tasting panel / 109 I n mid-March, William Meznarich, Portfolio Manager and Director of On-Premise for Austin-based Virtuoso Selections, explained to the assembled guests, "We've been a European-dominated portfolio for ten years. Last year, we consciously decided to beef up our California presence. Gamble Family Vineyards of Napa Valley became an impor- tant part of that beefing up." Meznarich and Tom Gamble, owner of Gamble Family Vineyards, were seated in the private dining room at Tiny's No. 5, a bright, modern restaurant in an impossibly leafy neighborhood of Houston. They were joined by several associates and buyers from the Houston area as part of what Gamble called his "blitz tour" to help everyone in the wine- buying/selling equation get better acquainted. "We broke into the Texas market about a year ago. We came in with Virtuoso and we're new to the market," Gamble said. "We're still just getting our proverbial toes in the water." Texas is "a lot of water"—but worth wading into, as Gamble indicated. His wines are in about a dozen states right now, with Texas right behind California as his top customer base. "Houston and Dallas are neck-and-neck for our top cities in Texas," he said. Examples of Gamble's portfolio were uncorked and tasted along with an à la carte lunch while Gamble explained that he hoped that a true sense of place came through with each bottle. "I was born and raised in Napa Valley, third generation. My grandfather began farming there in 1916. He farmed just about everything but grapes—tomatoes, grains, hay, pears, and he had a lot of livestock. That was his passion." It's Gamble's passion, too. He typically farms just shy of 200 acres, but today it's more like 110 acres because of a substantial re-plant in progress. "The passion is the love of the land. I really love farming. I've always wanted to make wine, but it was a matter of having time and economics to focus on it. When it became possible and feasible—if not imperative—to have a label instead of just growing grapes, we had to jump in." Gamble's winemaker, Jim Close, possesses a similar philosophy of choosing the right grapes to speak of the true terroir. This is evident with Gamble's 2010 "Family Home" Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, which though still very young, is already demonstrating mature roundness and layers of flavor. So, too, is the 2008 "Paramount," a Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It is really coming into its own with spice from the Cab Franc along with smoothed out tannins. Perhaps the real star of the afternoon was the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc from Yountville, which was 68 percent barrel fermented in neutral French and Hungarian oak. It's definitely Old World elegance: aromatic and creamy with deep varietal expression; neither too citrusy nor grassy. As Gamble explained about the vineyard in which he grew those grapes, sandwiched between the Napa River and Conn Creek, it became very clear how attached he was to the land, and how it came through in his wines. "I really love farming," he repeated. "My father was probably responsible for that. I remember hearing his boots on the ground early every morning. And I went with him whenever I could." www.gamblefamilyvineyards.com The wines presented are all sourced from Napa Valley: Gamble Sauvignon Blanc, Heritage Sites Red, Old Vine Syrah, Paramound Red Wine and Family Home Cabernet Sauvignon. Vanessa Trevino Boyd, Sommelier of 60 Degrees Mastercrafted in Houston, comments on the wines during the tasting. TP0514_102-116.indd 109 4/24/14 11:04 PM