The SOMM Journal

April / May 2017

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{ notebook } Great Value in Rioja Winemaker Clara Canals Sotillo of Campo Viejo was in the U.S. recently to promote the company's Rioja wines. We caught up with Canals at Tres by José Andrés in Los Angeles, where she poured recent releases, including the varietal Campo Viejo Garnacha, which delivers gobs of ripe fruit with keen, food-friendly acidity—a Spanish wine with a New World outlook and an ideal by-the-glass selec - tion. The Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva and Gran Reserva stunned the table with their great bang-to-buck ratio—easily pack- ing the quality of wines twice their price. Campo Viejo is part of the Pernod Ricard Winemakers portfolio. —David Gadd Mapping Napa Valley NAPA VALLEY IS HOME TO an extraordinary array of vineyard sites that give birth to some of the most distinctive wines in the world. Vinous's Napa Valley Maps represent the first time in history that the vineyards of Napa Valley have been mapped owner by owner and parcel by parcel. Antonio Galloni and Alessandro Masnaghetti's maps highlight the uniqueness of Napa Valley's vineyards in painstaking detail, with striking illustrations, 3-D graphics and extensive historical background for each region. The first seven maps in the Collection are Oakville, Pritchard Hill, Rutherford, Stags Leap, Yountville, Howell Mountain and St. Helena. Additional maps will follow later in 2017. In-depth topographical information and 3-D maps bring the vineyards to life in spectacular detail. The maps are printed on both sides on poster-sized paper and are available in either folded or rolled, ready-to-frame versions. Vinous Maps are the result of many years of visiting Napa Valley and observing the land with the goal of better understanding how the characteristics of each site are ultimately reflected in the glass. To order, go to vinous.com/products/vinousmaps. New Winemaker at Fetzer Fetzer Vineyards has hired Sebastian Donoso as winemaker focused on wines crafted from organic and biodynamic grapes. Donoso joins Fetzer Vineyards from Campovida, a family-owned winery in Hopland, California, where he established an acclaimed winemaking program based on small-lot, vineyard-designated wines. Prior to his tenure at Campovida, Donoso was Assistant Winemaker at Saracina, a California Certified Organic winery with 250 acres of organically farmed vines just outside of Hopland. In this newly created position with Fetzer Vineyards, Donoso will support day-to-day wine - making operations while helping shape the long-term vision for the company's organic and biodynamic winemaking program. Donoso graduated from California State University, Fresno with a B.S. in enology and a minor in chemistry. In addition, he has completed coursework towards a Certificate in Biodynamic Agriculture from Biodynamic Agricultural College in the United Kingdom. A native of Chile, Donoso is bilingual in English and Spanish. PHOTO: DAVID GADD Clara Canals Sotillo. Sebastian Donoso. 14 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } APRIL/MAY 2017

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