Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/68310
MILESTONE Viticulturalist Rob Sorenson plays a very important role in cultivating the Wente clone at the Wente estate. It's a remarkable tale that began at Wente Vineyards, a prestigious winery founded in 1883 by Carl H. Wente in the Livermore Valley. At the turn of the last century, the two main white grape varieties planted in the region were Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon; so while attending University of California Davis in 1912, second-gen- eration family member Ernest Wente began researching the background of Chardonnay, a unique white grape variety made famous in the Burgundy region of France. After learning about the qualities of the variety, Wente worked with his family and Leon Bonnet of U.C. Davis to import cuttings of Chardonnay from the vine nursery at the University of Montpellier in France. Around the same time, he also sourced budwood from Gier Vineyard in Pleasanton, CA. After decades of experimentation, the two sources formed the basis of what is now called the "Wente" clone of Chardonnay. 1 92 / the tasting panel / june 2012 With fruit from the 1936 vintage, Ernest and his brother Herman Wente went on to release the nation's first bottling with the varietal name Chardonnay printed on the label. In the 1940s and 1950s, the Wente clone was planted by other influential California wineries, including Stony Hill, Louis Martini and Hanzell. At the Martini family's Stanly Lane vineyard in Carneros, Dr. Harold Olmo and A Wente clone reaches the bud break stage at one of the Sangiacomo family's Sonoma vineyards. PHOTO: MIKE PUCCI OF SANGIACOMO VINEYARDS PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER SAWYER