Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/859549
{ SOMMjournal.com } 111 mavens and the valley's growers and vintners lead a backstage-pass tour of Alexander Valley's exceptional microclimates, geology, topography and elevation. The frosting on the cake is the valley's welcoming, open-hearted hospitality, which begins at the airport arrivals gate and doesn't end until the departure terminal. Along the way, personalities as unique and diverse as the terroir are revealed, but the common thread among them is a shared love for the land and a determination to support each other in the quest to make the best wines possible. "There's competition," says Rob Davis, Jordan Winery's Winemaker of 40 years, "but not contention. We understand that if one person makes a bad wine, we all suffer for it." This year's Academy began with a practical lesson in Alexander Valley's microclimates. Even before the seminar—aptly entitled "Weather and Microclimates"—we experienced the cool Pacific marine air that so influences the wines. As we waited for the bus at the Geyserville Inn on the first morning, the chilly gray fog enshrouded us, but in the 20 minutes it took to travel southward to the hilltop Hawkes Pyramid Vineyard, the fog had been displaced by blue skies. That didn't mean we were warm. Temperatures in Alexander Valley can vary greatly in a brief time or short distance, also by elevation. In our tented outdoor classroom, we shivered in a nippy breeze during the first flight of Cabernets. The breeze is the result of an upwelling of cool air caused by the Coriolis effect—a wind-directional phenomenon pro - duced by earth's rotation. That was a factoid we learned from moderator Stefen Soltysiak, CSE, CS, Wine Educator at Joseph Phelps Vineyards. Joining Soltysiak on the Microclimate panel were Harry Wetzel, Assistant Winemaker at Alexander Valley Vineyards; Erik Entrikin, MS; and Winemaker Jake Hawkes of Hawkes Wines. Indicating some vineyards basking catlike in the warm sun only a few yards away, Hawkes told us ruefully, "Because they're in different microclimates, ripening occurs at varying times. We have to harvest blocks on this hilltop separately, even though they're within just a few feet of each other." Our guides through the microclimates of Alexander Valley. From left to right: Erik Entrikin, MS, 30-year wine and hospitality industry veteran; moderator Stefen Soltysiak, CWE, CS, currently wine educator at Joseph Phelps, formerly Rodney Strong; Harry Wetzler IV, Assistant Winemaker at his family's Alexander Valley Vineyards; Jake Hawkes, Winemaker and "everything man" at Hawkes Wines. An impressive lineup of stellar Alexander Valley Cabernets, all 2013 vintage, curated by moderator Stefen Soltysiak, reflects the stylistic differences made possible by the valley's microclimates. Left to right: Cyrus by Alexander Valley Vineyards; Hawkes Pyramid Vineyard by Hawkes Wines; Warneke Ranch by Sutro Winery; Estate Hillside Block 6 (Big Rock) by Robert Young Estate Winery; Brothers Vineyard by Rodney Strong Vineyards; Five Star General Vineyard by SodaRock Winery.