Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/580744
44 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 Winery in Livermore in 1882, and his brother Clarence 'CJ,' who imported vines directly from Bordeaux to their Wetmore Nursery in Livermore Valley." Wetmore, Concannon explained, proved the valley's worth when in 1889 his dry Sauterne-style wine won the Grand Prix at the International Paris Exposition. By then, phyllox - era had already devastated vineyards in Europe and unfortunately in 1890, phylloxera began devastating the vineyards of California too. Looking for a solution to the rapid degeneration of his own vineyards for the winery he founded in 1883, James Concannon, John's great-grandfather, sailed to Bordeaux to purchase some very unique vine cuttings. Having imported his Cabernet from Château Margaux since 1883, Concannon received word that its vines seemed resistant to phylloxera and in 1893—a year touted as a record crop for Château Margaux—James travelled to back Bordeaux to see these vines for himself. He imported cuttings through the Montpellier Nursery in France and planted those vines on his estate in Livermore. The suc - cess and widespread propagation of the Concannon Clones can be tr aced back to James Concannon's decision to plant those Château Margaux cuttings because not only did they survive—they thrived. Fighting Grapevine Virus The vines that grew from those 1893 cuttings would become the center of hopeful attention in the 1960s, when growers were very concerned about the increased threat of virus and disease such as leafroll, Pierce's and fanleaf, which causes chlorosis of the leaves. "All these other vineyards were dying," said John," but ours were alive and well." John explained that his father, Jim, contacted U.C. Davis and Dr. Harold Olmo and Curt Alley came out to look at their vines. They selected various healthy vines propagated from those original 1893 Château Margaux plantings, uprooted and re-planted them in three acres of virgin soil. The vines were carefully monitored and studied and in 1965, Curt Alley took three cuttings from the healthiest looking vine (vine 2, row 34 in the Concannon Cabernet Sauvignon block—the Mother Vine) and brought the cuttings back to U.C. Davis, where they were heat-treated and then planted in the school's Oakville Vineyard. After five to nine more years of observation, all three clones, healthy and virus resistant, would end up named and registered as the Concannon Cabernet Clones 7, 8 and 11 in the California Grapevine Registration & Certification Program. Concannon Clone 7 was released to nurseries in 1970, Clone 8 in 1971, and Clone 11 in 1974. "All three of these clones perform equally," explained John. "There are a lot of clones out there selected for high-quality fruit, or higher yields, or virus resistance, but all three of our clones are like a trifecta—they offer high yields of quality fruit and are virus resistant. And that is why these clones, propagated from those 1893 vines, rather than the hundreds of other Cabernet clones out there, are the most widely planted throughout California and have stood the test of time." Propagation by Judgment In the early 1970s there was an enormous expansion of Cabernet plantings throughout California. To give some perspective on the explosive growth, in 1963 only 1,417 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted in the state. By 1976 that number totaled 27,000 acres, largely attributed to the successful collaboration between Concannon and U.C. Davis. According to John, "the tim - ing could not have been more perfect. In 1976 at the Judgment of Paris, the 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon won. With California's new excitement and confidence for grow- ing Cabernet, the Concannon Clones quickly became an essential asset to the enormous expansion of plantings that ensued from 1976 to the present." By 2007 it was reported that 76,000 acres of Cabernet had been planted. By 2014, that number had climbed to some 88,000 acres of Cabernet vines in California, of which 80% is estimated to be plantings of the Concannon Clones. Rooting a Legacy of His Own With the 50th Anniversary of the Concannon Clones falling on John's watch, he decided to release a new collection of wines, pay- ing homage to the clones, and imprinting his own mark on his fam- ily's legacy. Released exclusively to the on-premise channel in 2015, this new por tfolio includes three wines: Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon, Monterey County Chardonnay and San Francisco Bay Petite Sirah—all intended to celebrate the significant contributions of Concannon's founder and the generations that followed. John takes particular pride in the label design for these wines, which he hopes expresses a "casual elegance." With copper foils and color highlights against a leather-esque backdrop, the sym - metry of the label reflects the family's famed arch. "I wanted to keep the subtleness of the Concannon arch, which was built during Concannon Vineyard Founders' Tier wines are available nationwide to on-premise accounts.