Tag: Food

Sean Thackrey, who earned a dedicated following for his unconventional wines made at his bare-bones winemaking facility in Marin County, died May 30 following a decade-long battle with cancer. He was 79.

Thackrey’s first career was as an art dealer, specializing in 19th century European photography. He made a home in the small town of Bolinas, where in 1979 he began to make wine, sourcing some of his first Cabernet and Merlot grapes from Stags Leap District grower Nathan Fay. Thackrey instantly took to winemaking as a creative outlet, approaching it from an artistic viewpoint.

Known for crafting brawny and wild blends from old vineyards, particularly from Syrah and other Rhône varieties, Thackrey firmly established himself on the periphery of the wine industry. He rejected conventional winemaking trends, telling Wine Spectator in 2003 that Napa Cabernet and Bordeaux were “just too damn polite for me. Why drink a wine that you wouldn’t like if it were a person?”

Thackrey’s Orion cuvée, a Syrah from St. Helena’s Rossi Vineyard, earned multiple outstanding ratings in Wine Spectator blind tastings. All of his wines were named for constellations, reflecting his fascination with humankind’s affection for patterns.

Despite his affinity for Syrah and other Rhône varieties, Thackrey resisted categorization, and his wines illustrated that individuality, with rugged tannins and powerful flavors. “Please don’t call me a Rhône Ranger,” he said in 1995, “because that’s not what I’m about.”

Thackrey looked to the past for inspiration, with history as his guide. And he loved historic wine texts, and amassed one of the world’s largest personal collections of wine books and manuscripts. The Thackrey Library, as it became known, included scores of centuries-old books, including medieval illuminated manuscripts and a 6th century Egyptian papyrus. He sold the collection for $2 million in April.

His winemaking facility in Bolinas was famous for its seemingly haphazard, tech-free production zone more typical of a country backwater than a famous Northern California winery—“as if it could have been transplanted from Appalachian moonshine country,” Wine Spectator reported in 2003.

Thackrey also enjoyed writing, and his family reports that he would put a great deal of thought into his words before publishing them on his website or on social media. “I’m not exactly self-evident to most people myself,” he posted on Facebook in March 2020, after learning of the death of Michael Broadbent. “No nice little commercially determined package of nice little charms; and my own complexities—and my desires for their expression—are absolutely there in my wines; if they weren’t, they wouldn’t be mine; and those who like them that way, bless their complicated hearts, wouldn’t like them any other way, any more than I would.”

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Defining California’s Sonoma Coast American Viticulture Area (AVA)—and the wines it produces—has long been challenging. The vast region spans 750 miles, with vineyards near the Mendocino County border in the north to the Carneros border in the south, some 20 miles inland from the Pacific coast. But as of now, wines made from the westernmost reaches of the Sonoma Coast, closest to the water, can be labeled under the West Sonoma Coast AVA. Officials with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) announced the approval of the West Sonoma Coast AVA, making it the third sub-AVA within the greater Sonoma Coast, as well as Sonoma County’s 19th appellation.

“It’s long overdue,” Hirsch winemaker and general manager Jasmine Hirsch told Wine Spectator. “People have been talking about true Sonoma Coast for over a decade; there’s already recognition. The TTB approval is just an acknowledgment of what we’ve been talking about.”

The West Sonoma Coast AVA spans 141,000 acres and encompasses approximately 1,000 acres of vines in 50 vineyards, predominantly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, planted on mountainous topography ranging from 400 to 1,800 feet in elevation, in close proximity to the Pacific. The AVA can be broken into three sub-regions from north to south, including remote Annapolis, the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA and the area arounds the towns of Freestone and Occidental. The Russian River Valley and Petaluma Gap AVAs provide borders to the east and south, and the Mendocino County line abuts the north.

When sub-appellations such as the West Sonoma Coast are proposed, evidence must be provided to show meaningful differences from the surrounding area. The broader Sonoma Coast AVA was largely ambiguous before the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA (2012), Petaluma Gap (2018) and now West Sonoma Coast were added. Covering more than 500,000 acres (almost half of the total land area of Sonoma County), the Sonoma Coast AVA, for many, was too broad to help wineries explain their terroirs to consumers.

For the last decade, the West Sonoma Coast Vintners Association (WSCV), a group that includes 28 wineries and vineyards, has been trying to define and convey the unique aspects of the region to media, trade and wine lovers. For years, Ted Lemon, WSCV president and founder winemaker for Littorai, and others have referenced their wines as being from the “True” Sonoma Coast.

“From proximity to ocean to rainfall totals to soils, even from an ecological perspective, we’re talking [about] moving from land of the redwood to land of the oaks. These factors truly define [West Sonoma Coast],” said Lemon.

Wines from the West Sonoma Coast are unmistakably defined by coastal influence. “Our proximity to the ocean and San Andreas fault line is what we all share,” said Hirsch. “It takes me an hour and a half to drive to Ted [Lemon], but I consider him a neighbor. From a physical terroir point of view, we’re all dealing with the same climatic and logistical challenges.”

Daytime temperatures in the West Sonoma Coast are typically 10 degrees cooler than in other parts of the Sonoma Coast. Some vineyards sit above the fog line, while others lie below. Though daytime highs are cooler, nighttime lows are warmer, providing a modest diurnal swing. That allows the grapes to ripen slowly during the day and the night, which can only be achieved in a genuinely cold-climate maritime environment.

Those extreme conditions have an impact on farming. “I write all my 10-year plans based on getting one and a half tons per acre,” said Lemon. In other regions, yields are much higher. “If we get more, we jump for joy!” Farming in the West Sonoma area means grappling with a different blooming cycle from other regions and growing in minimal alluvial soils. “The nature of the weather and soils limits you to smaller yields, which affects color, tannin, and acidity,” added Lemon.

These influences translate to the finished product in a good way. “Growing here gives us a higher probability of making wines with, as I like to call, Old World structure with New World fruit,” said Hirsch. The gradual ripening helps grapes reach physiological maturity at lower sugar levels, with distinct natural acidity. “There is something we’re all seeking in our wines that is so compelling that we’re willing to face extreme challenges and risks of farming here, which speaks to the commitment we have in the region,” she added.

Lemon agrees but believes challenges loom. The association’s initial petition, drafted in 2015, included a boundary that overlapped parts of the Russian River Valley AVA. However, for sub-appellations, overlapping AVAs is not permitted, and that portion along the western fringes of the Russian River Valley had to be removed to obtain approval.

As a result, the borderline runs through the middle of Freestone valley. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but we all voted and agreed this is what we wanted to do,” he explained.

Sub-appellations of larger regions can sometimes struggle for recognition, but Hirsch likens the delineation to Burgundy. “Just as we might talk about Côte du Nuits, that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about the other villages,” she explained. “Hirsch Vineyards is in Fort Ross, but also West Sonoma Coast. We can get micro and zoom in on many levels, but we have more in common with vineyards near Freestone and Occidental than we do in Carneros or Russian River Valley.”

Both Lemon and Hirsch believe that it won’t take much time for the wines with the West Sonoma Coast label to catch on. “When we go out and show wines, it’s going to be immediately impactful, and members are excited to put it on labels and use as soon as they can,” said Hirsch. “This is a start for trade and consumers to understand better what a wine will taste like before cracking a bottle. There’s still a tremendous amount of diversity, but this is a more focused way than just Sonoma Coast.”

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Don’t forget your daily glass of wine if you want to keep a good memory, a new study on alcohol and dementia suggests. While it isn’t breaking news that moderate wine consumption has been linked yet again with a lower risk of developing dementia, a general term used to describe memory loss, researchers at Germany’s University of Giessen and University of Leipzig recently took a look at coffee, tea and wine, and found similar brain benefits for wine and tea.

“Since dementia is a subject whose relevance increases every year and many have had personal experiences with the disease, elucidating valuable dietary means to prevent suffering from it was important to us,” lead author Dr. Sylva Mareike Schaefer told Wine Spectator.

The study, published in Brain Sciences, collected data from 350,000 participants in the U.K. Biobank cohort, a large-scale biomedical database with health information from more than half a million United Kingdom residents, ages 38 to 73. The researchers identified 4,270 dementia cases within the group surveyed.

Participants had answered questionnaires on dietary habits. Red wine, white wine and Champagne consumption were grouped together under “wine”, while beer, spirits and fortified wine were labeled “non-wine”. A portion of wine was defined as 10 grams of alcohol (a standard glass of wine is 14 grams). Wine consumption was grouped into four categories: none, light (less than or equal to 12 grams of alcohol per day), moderate (greater than 12 to 24 grams per day) and heavy (more than 24 grams per day).

Coffee and tea consumption were documented in cups per day. Moderate coffee consumption was defined as between three to four cups per day, while tea was grouped into four categories like wine: none, light (zero to two cups per day), moderate (three to four cups per day) and heavy (more than five cups per day).

The results showed that, among all participants, moderate wine drinkers had a 19 percent lower risk of dementia than non-wine drinkers. One wrinkle—when the data was divided by gender, wine-drinking men showed a 17 percent lower risk, but wine-drinking women did not show a statistically significant difference compared to non-wine drinkers.

“We were indeed surprised that the positive effects of wine consumption were [statistically significant] in men and all participants but not in women,” said Dr. Schaefer. “However, these findings are supported by another research group that also found a reduction of Alzheimer’s dementia after red wine intake, who suggest that women may be more vulnerable to the noxious effect of alcohol.” She adds that women are also more susceptible to dementia due to their higher life expectancy.

There was no statistically significant difference in risk based on levels of coffee consumption, which Dr. Schaefer attributes to the possibility that the positive and negative effects of coffee and caffeine canceled each other out. But tea showed a similar effect to wine—people who drank three to six cups per day had a 31 percent lower risk of dementia. What does tea have that coffee doesn’t? Like wine, it contains high amounts of flavonoids—polyphenolic compounds found in plant-based foods.

Since the study relied on self-reported data, the results are vulnerable to measurement errors and biases, such as people giving answers they believe are more socially acceptable. Dr. Schaefer adds that the UK Biobank database includes a “healthy volunteer” selection bias, which means that people who voluntarily participate in research studies tend to be more health-conscious than non-participants.

But the authors observe that other studies corroborate the connections between alcohol consumption and memory loss. And it all goes back to what’s in the glass. “The potential neuroprotective effect of wine might be caused by natural ingredients of wine not present in non-wine beverages, such as the phenolic substance resveratrol found in the epidermis of red grapes,” the authors wrote.

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Sotheby’s offered an unprecedented sale of wines from the cellar of Domaine Clarence Dillon’s CEO, Prince Robert de Luxembourg, on May 21, and the response was impressive. Some 4,200 bottles of collectible wines—all 818 lots on offer—were sold during the nine-hour auction, most for above estimate, for a total of more than $6.23 million. And it was all for charity.

The sale was to raise money for the PolG Foundation, which was launched by Prince Robert and his wife, Princess Julie, to raise money for research to help those suffering from mitochondrial diseases. The couple established the organization last year, five years after their son Frederik was first diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease. For the sale, Prince Robert opened up his personal cellars, which includes wines from his family’s estates, including Château Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, among others, as well as other top wines he has collected over the years.

“On behalf of all of the mitochondrial disease community, my family and the PolG Foundation, I want to thank all of the bidders for providing us with a glass that is not only half full but now brimming over with hope and opportunity,” said Prince Robert, in a statement. “I have an empty cellar, but a very full heart.”

The biggest sale price was paid for a lot donated not by Prince Robert, but by some of his friends. Haut-Brion is a member of Primum Familiae Vini, a group of family-owned wineries including names like Antinori, Sassicaia, Mouton-Rothschild, Château de Beaucastel and Symington. A beautiful case filled with 12 wines from the members, along with a “passport” to visit each of their estates, sold for $237,500, well above the high estimate of $150,000.

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A custom console designed by Prince Robert and Linley of London—which contained a vertical of Haut-Brion vintages selected to celebrate the first eight decades of the Dillon family’s ownership of Château Haut-Brion—sold for $112,500. A jeroboam of Haut-Brion 1926 sold for $87,500.

“The phenomenal result of this exceptional sale is recognition of the reputation and incomparable provenance of the genuinely rare wines that were donated, combined with the importance of the medical research being undertaken by the PolG Foundation,” said Jamie Ritchie, worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s Wine & Spirits. “We are thrilled to have been able to support the new foundation by raising funds for such a great cause.”

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Update: May 24, 12 p.m. This story will be continuously updated as more wineries release their futures allocations. Check back for the latest.

In a time of war and deep economic anxiety, Bordeaux’s futures campaign has begun, with the first top wineries releasing futures allocations this week. Early indicators suggest price increases will be minimal, with some producers even reducing prices from last year. The big question is whether all the top names will show similar restraint.

Château Pavie, Cheval-Blanc and Léoville Las Cases collectively kickstarted the campaign, releasing their first tranche of 2021 futures the week of May 16. Cheval-Blanc raised prices slightly, Pavie trimmed prices slightly and Las Cases dropped them by more than 14 percent compared to the 2020 futures on release. What’s more, the dollar is the strongest it’s been against the euro in several years, giving Americans a discount.

But the 2021 futures offer twin challenges for sales teams. The vintage was not easy: Heavy April frosts drastically reduced yields, and a rainy summer left many vintners fighting fungal diseases for much of the growing season. Some winemakers had to chaptalize in the cellars. Many are calling it a traditional vintage, more elegant than powerful. And they are quick to point out that methods in the vineyard and the cellar have drastically improved in the past 50 years—outstanding wines can be made even in challenging years.

Then there’s the economic outlook as the campaign starts. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a surge of COVID-19 cases in China have exacerbated the challenges faced by an economy already struggling with inflation and the after-effects of the pandemic. With the S&P 500 officially entering bear market territory this week, many who typically invest in Bordeaux futures aren’t feeling flush with cash.

“In a growing season that was clearly the most difficult since 2013, there is simply no reason for consumers to chase the 2021s simply because their prices are in line with 2020s,” advises Wine Spectator senior editor and lead Bordeaux taster James Molesworth. “Instead, go after more 2020s. Or better yet, stock up on 2016 Left Bank reds and 2015 Right Bank reds. Those are the still-young vintages to be socking away.” (Wine Spectator has not yet reviewed the 2021 barrel samples.)

May 24: Full Speed Ahead

New releases have continued to come quickly this week, as two well-known wineries, one on the Right Bank and one on the Left, released prices on May 23. Two more top names followed the next day.

Château Angélus released its allocation on May 23, pricing them at at €265 per bottle ex-négociant, up 1.9 percent on their 2020 futures’ opening price. The St.-Emilion estate has been aggressive with pricing in recent years, and this suggests thier not changing their approach. The wine is available at leading U.S. retailers for about $340 per bottle, a 10 percent drop on the 2020 futures, thanks to the strong dollar. There are numerous vintages of Angélus from recent top vintages already on store shelves.

Always value-conscious, Château Léoville Barton’s owners have released its 2021 futures at €55.80 per bottle ex-négociant, down 7 percent on the 2020’s opening price. Top retailers are offering it for $77 per bottle, or $924 per case, a 15 percent drop on the 2020 futures.

This morning, Château Palmer released its 2021 futures at €240 per bottle ex-négociant, identical to 2020. Reflecting the smaller vintage and a growing strategy of holding on to more wine for future sale, the winery released 30 percent less futures than last year. Château Pontet Canet also released its first tranche on May 24, at €74.40 per bottle ex-négociant, unchanged from the 2020’s release price. 

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May 20: Three Big Names Kickoff

Château Pavie’s owners released their first allocation of 2021 futures on May 18, pricing them at €234 per bottle, ex-négociant, down 2.5 percent on the 2020’s opening price. Thanks to the favorable exchange rate, leading American retailers are offering it for $302 per bottle, or $3,624 per case, a 13 percent drop on 2020s on release. However, the 97-point 2019 vintage is currently available at top retailers for $360.

Cheval-Blanc released its 2021 futures the day after Pavie, raising prices by 2.6 percent on the 2020’s opening price, at €390 per bottle, ex-négociant. The futures are available at U.S. retailers for $513 per bottle, or $6,156 per case. That’s 7 percent less than the 2020s on release. But the 97-point 2019 vintage is currently available at top retailers for $500.

The Left Bank debuted its first heavy hitter this morning, as Château Léoville Las Cases released its 2021 futures at €169 per bottle, ex-négociant, down 14.6 percent on the 2020’s opening price.

2021 Futures Prices

These estates represent a selection of leading wineries. Retail prices are an average of trusted retailers we follow. Prices for the 2021s are listed alongside the current prevailing retail price for Bordeaux’s recent benchmark vintages, so you can measure where the wines are vis-à-vis those currently on retail shelves. You’ll find more updates and analyses below the chart.

Data compiled by Cassia Schifter

NYR means a wine has not yet been submitted for review. $NA means a wine has not been released or is not sold in sufficient quantities by U.S. retailers yet to determine an average price.

From car mechanic and professional photographer to vintner, Jack Cakebread found success no matter where the road took him. Moving to Napa Valley in the 1970s, he launched Cakebread Cellars, and over the next five decades built it into an internationally recognized family-owned winery. Cakebread died April 29 at age 92.

Throughout his career, Cakebread produced a range of wines from Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel to Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. But it was Chardonnay that sealed his legacy. At a time when the grape was gaining a following in California, he and his winery helped pioneer a rich, fruit-centered style that is still the basis for many modern Chardonnays.

Cakebread was born in California in 1929. His father had started a car repair company in Oakland a few years earlier, and he spent much of his early life in the shop. In 1939, the family purchased a ranch in Contra Costa County where Cakebread got his first taste of farming, learning how to grow almonds, walnuts and stone fruits.

By 1948 he had become a partner in his father’s garage. But it was his side business as a freelance photographer that would ultimately lead him to wine.

During the 1950s and ’60s, Cakebread studied under the influential American photographer Ansel Adams. Then in 1972, he traveled to Napa for a photography assignment while working on The Treasury of American Wines, by Nathan Chroman. While there he decided to visit his close friends, the Sturdivants, for lunch.

The Sturdivant family owned a 22-acre ranch in Rutherford with a vineyard. Over a bowl of soup, Cakebread offhandedly mentioned that he would buy their land if they ever decided to sell it. They called that afternoon accepting his offer.

Jack used an advance from the book for a down payment on the land. He and his wife, Dolores, ripped out the existing vineyard and planted Sauvignon Blanc. While waiting for the vines to mature, he purchased grapes from Trefethen Vineyards and made four barrels of Chardonnay, selling the wine to a store in Napa.

In the beginning, the Cakebreads continued to run the garage, working on the winery during the evenings and weekends. They relied on friends and family, particularly their three sons, to produce the wines. Dolores would cook meals in Oakland and bring them with her to serve to customers who offered to help around the winery.

That connection to food led to the creation of a food and wine program designed specifically to highlight the bounty of American cuisine. Launched in 1987, the American Harvest Workshop brought hundreds of local chefs and food purveyors to Napa for seminars, pairings and dinners.

The 1980s were a time of expansion for the family. They purchased a 12-acre ranch adjacent to their property and Cakebread started promoting the wines abroad. Their son Bruce joined the winery directly out of college, taking over as winemaker. Son Dennis later took over the sales and marketing side of the business.

When the vine pest phylloxera hit Napa Valley in the 1990s, the family had to replant many of their vines. Ever the optimist, Jack saw the crisis as a chance to start fresh. He spent thousands on multispectral imaging, a mapping technology used by NASA, to take photos of his vineyards. He also invested in moisture-reading probes to analyze the soils.

Around the same time, the winery started looking to Carneros as a cooler site for its Chardonnay, and added Pinot Noir to the lineup. It also expanded its vineyards, buying properties in Anderson Valley, Carneros and Napa. The winery now owns 13 vineyards representing nearly 560 acres.

In addition to marketing abroad, Cakebread actively promoted Napa and its wines at home. He was president of the Napa Valley Vintners association in 1990. He was also a member of the board of directors for the Wine Market Council and served as president of the Winegrowers of Napa County.

In 2002 Cakebread handed responsibility of the day-to-day operations to his son Bruce, who became president and chief operating officer. Jack remained CEO of the winery until 2015, ensuring that the winery and his legacy would live on well after he was gone.

Dolores Cakebread passed away in 2020. Jack is survived by sons Steve, Dennis and Bruce, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Natasha Hall was processing catastrophe insurance claims when she learned about the Roots Fund. In search of a new path, she reached out to the nonprofit organization, which is dedicated to helping minorities enter the wine industry, and now she works as an Atlanta-based wine writer. Hall was one of many Roots Fund scholars who attended last night’s charity auction gala at the Chelsea Piers Lighthouse in New York, to help raise money for the organization’s initiatives. A thrilling night of food, wine and bids raised more than $200,000.

“The Roots Fund was instrumental in helping me find a pathway to the industry by providing support, mentorship and opportunity,” Hall told Wine Spectator. Roots provided Hall with educational scholarships, a sponsored wine trip to Paso Robles and a writing mentor named Vanessa Vin, who is also a fellow Roots Fund scholar. “Each of us are really engaged in paying [opportunity] forward.”

The auction event was held in partnership with Wine Spectator and Zachys. In 2020, the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation donated $100,000 to the fund to provide scholarships within the group’s Rooted in Education and Stay Rooted in Education programs; the former focuses on wine certification courses, while the latter provides college tuition support for winemakers and others in the wine business.

Following a reception, the April 27 gala dinner and auction kicked off with a musical performance by Grammy-nominated R&B singer and songwriter Kenyon Dixon. Jermaine Stone, owner of Cru Luv Wine and host of the Wine & Hip Hop podcast, Roots Fund co-founder Ikimi Dubose-Woodson and auction veteran Fritz Hatton played the role of auctioneers, building excitement for the night’s 11 auction lots.

“Getting into the wine industry can be daunting,” Stone said. “We need to raise funding for more scholarships to get Roots Fund where they need to be.”

The wines being poured throughout the event were provided by collectors, Zachys and Grant Reynolds, co-founder of online retailer Parcelle Wine, and served by sommeliers from around the country who have benefited from the Roots Fund initiatives. Bottles included Giacomo Conterno Barolo Monfortino Riserva, Domaine Leroy Les Beaux Monts, Château Haut-Brion, Gaja Langhe Conteisa, Jay Z’s Armand de Brignac Champagne and West Coast producers such as Dominus Estate, Harlan Estate, Heitz and Chosen Family.

While pouring a magnum of 1995 Côte-Rôtie, Darwin Acosta spoke about how Dubose-Woodson and Roots Fund co-founder Carlton McCoy, a Master Sommelier and managing partner of Napa’s Lawrence Wine Estates, reached out to Acosta in 2020 and offered a wine production job in Napa Valley. The move from New York? Covered.

“I would not have moved on my own because it was too expensive,” Acosta said. “Ikimi and Carlton covered my moving expenses and gave me my first jobs in the wine industry with Dalla Valle, Heitz and Burgess Cellars.” Acosta is now hoping to be one of the 10 scholars to join the Roots Fund South Africa trip this summer.

The live auction included wine and experiential lots. The highest-selling lot was a 10-person Lobos Tequila dinner with LeBron James’ business partner Maverick Carter, actor Diego Osorio and McCoy (sold twice at $20,000). One couple scored a trip to St.-Tropez, where they’ll visit Donae Burston‘s La Fête Rosé and Chateau St.-Maur. Burston added a private helicopter tour as well, which attracted a final bid of $23,000. A four-person dinner at Wine Spectator Grand Award winner the French Laundry sold for $20,000, and a lot of nine bottles of super Tuscan 2016 Ornellaia sold for $14,000.

When Dubose-Woodson and McCoy started the Roots Fund with sommelier Tahiirah Habibi in 2020, they just wanted to find enough money to offer one scholarship. Now, they have 122 active scholarships for minorities interested in the wine business, with more in the works. “Access is a given, but support is what we provide,” Dubose-Woodson said. “We give the tools people need to not only get the role, but sustain the role, and that creates long-term success.”

Another 102 auction lots are still open for bidding online.

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Oregon winemakers and grapegrowers are assessing the damage after a severe late frost struck Willamette Valley in recent days. The week of April 10 saw record-low temperatures—down to 26° F in some areas—just as the vineyards were starting budbreak. Frost isn’t uncommon in Oregon, but it typically strikes earlier in the season when vines are still dormant. “We have never seen such cold temperatures so late in the season,” vintner Josh Bergström told Wine Spectator.

Roco winemaker Rollin Soles echoed that sentiment. “I’ve not seen springtime frost damage on our hillside vines before, and I’ve never seen snow in the Coast Range in mid-April,” he said.

The impact of frost varies from region to region and even vineyard to vineyard, depending on elevation and other factors. “It is my understanding that the Eola-Amity Hills vineyards appear to have fared better than areas such as Chehalem Mountains and Yamhill-Carlton,” said Lavinea winemaker Isabelle Meunier.

The extent of damage won’t be clear until daytime temperatures in the valley rise to a consistent 70° F for several days, which would restart vine growth and reveal which buds keep growing and which have been damaged. Temperatures this week aren’t expected to rise above 60° F.

“Young vines had developed an inch or two of growth, while the mature vines were just beginning to break bud,” said winemaker Ken Wright. “The exposed green tissue of the young vines was significantly damaged in all our sites.” Chardonnay vines were generally further along in development than Pinot Noir, and could see significant loss of crop. “After slicing through hundreds of buds at all locations [to check for damage], my gut feel is that the primary bud damage is extensive, and that there is some damage to the secondary buds as well,” Wright said.

Complicating the assessment is the structure of the buds themselves. Each actually has three distinct buds: primary, secondary and tertiary. The primary bud flowers and produces the main crop, but if it’s damaged, the smaller secondary bud will develop, but it generates fewer flowers and a considerably smaller crop.

“At first, I thought only our Chardonnay was hurt, as it was leafed out, while Pinot was still fairly tight in the bud,” said winemaker Tony Soter after examining his Mineral Springs Ranch vineyard. “But it seems a little more clear that most Pinot primaries are damaged yet secondary buds show more life. We worked through a frost event at Beacon Hill vineyard back in early 2000s, and it took a lot of creativity, improvisation and ad-libbing.”

This is just the latest setback for Willamette Valley, which experienced smoke taint in 2020 from extensive wildfires in the region.

California Impact

To the south, California’s Central Valley and eastern foothills experienced their worst frost in recent years, inflicting widespread damage and taking vintners by surprise. “We were experiencing 90° F temperatures three days before. So it was very strange weather,” said Stuart Spencer, executive director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission.

After a storm front blew through in the early morning hours of April 12, the dew point dropped and temperatures plummeted. Some areas endured freezing temperatures for five hours. Spencer said he believed Clarksburg, southwest of Sacramento, had significant losses, but in Lodi, the degree of damage varies by location. “The eastern rolling hills were hit bad. Some vineyards are near 100 percent loss, with vines fried back to the cordon. Other areas were intermediately damaged, and others weren’t affected at all,” he said.

In Amador County in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Bill Easton, owner and winemaker for Easton and Domaine de la Terre Rouge, reported similar outcomes. “We had some damage. I think around the 25 to 30 percent range, maybe less,” he explained, noting that damage also varied by grape variety. The early-budding grapes—Viognier, Barbera and Sauvignon Blanc—were the hardest hit. Easton’s viticultural practices may have helped. “We prune late to delay budbreak. Early pruners got burned,” he said.

At nearby Terra d’Oro, viticulturist Melissa Bordi said they had minimal damage at the vineyards adjacent to the winery and tasting room. But other vineyards, including one behind the winery and others east of the winery, saw more significant damage, ranging from 40 to 60 percent of buds. “Our most hard-hit location is our Shenandoah Vineyard on the north end of the Shenandoah Valley,” she said. “Planted to both Zinfandel and Barbera, we are seeing losses of 60 percent.”

UC Davis’ viticulture department will offer an online seminar May 3 covering identification and mitigation of frost damage in vineyards and is providing additional resources to affected vintners.

Spencer expects yields for Lodi to be drastically down, which could be a significant blow. Lodi is a vital part of California’s wine industry, with 110,000 vineyard acres accounting for 20 percent of all wine made in the state.

“We are so sad to have this extensive amount of damage for the 2022 vintage,” said Bordi, “but we’re optimistic that the remaining shoots will be able to provide us with the quality expected from our wines.”

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When it comes to alcohol and health, does it matter what you drink? A new study has found a link between moderate red wine consumption and decreased levels of visceral fat, the tricky-to-lose “bad fat” that builds up with age and increases risk of heart disease and stroke. The study also found that while white wine consumption had no impact on bad fat, it did increase bone mineral density, a key marker of health in older adults. People who drank beer or spirits had increased levels of visceral fat.

The study, published in February in the journal Obesity Science and Practice, was led by Brittany Larsen, a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience at Iowa State University, and overseen by Dr. Auriel Willette. The team analyzed lifestyle and body composition data from 1,869 participants in the U.K. Biobank Study, a biomedical database built by collecting detailed health information from over 500,000 U.K. residents.

While many studies about the health effects of drinking focus on the quantity of alcohol consumed, but not the type, this study analyzed the distinct impacts of four different beverage classes: beer and cider, white and sparkling wine, red wine and spirits. “To best assess how alcohol may influence body composition, one must consider the patterns of usage for different types of alcohol rather than simply gauging alcohol consumption as a whole,” the authors wrote.

There are two competing hypotheses about how alcohol affects body composition, they continue. In some studies, alcohol has been shown “to promote fat retention by reducing lipid oxidation.” In other words, not only is alcohol a source of extra calories (the so-called “empty calorie” hypothesis), but it actually slows the rate at which the body burns fat. Another hypothesis is that alcohol can “hinder caloric absorption and increase energy expenditure when consumed concomitantly with meals, which may, in turn, encourage weight loss.”

The Iowa State scientists argue that focusing on the type of alcohol consumed could clarify alcohol’s apparently contradictory risks and benefits. Their research indicates that while spirits and beer may well be empty calories, wine is anything but, and even “appears to help curb appetite,” Larsen told Wine Spectator. As the study succinctly puts it, “greater beer and spirit consumptions have been correlated with higher waist-to-hip ratio. Conversely, wine has largely shown null or inverse associations with waist-to-hip ratio.”

Larsen and Willette say wine’s polyphenols are likely responsible for its health benefits. Resveratrol, a well-known polyphenol found in red wine, “may reduce inflammation and discourage fat storage.” They attribute white wine’s bone-building effect to protocatechuic acid, a lesser-known polyphenol which “aids in the reduction of bone loss.” White wine contains nearly twice as much protocatechuic acid as red wine, which could explain why red wine did not show similar bone-strengthening activity.

Likewise, red wine contains much more resveratrol than white wine, which may be why white wine had no effect on visceral fat. Polyphenols hold rich possibilities for future study, Larsen said. “It is absolutely possible that there are polyphenols that have yet to be discovered that could have instead been responsible for explaining this association between white wine consumption and greater bone mineral density.”

The authors are transparent about the study’s limitations. The subjects were all white residents of the U.K. between 40 and 80 years old. It’s unclear how the study’s findings apply to other demographics—though Larsen believes that “the results would [likely] be similarly applicable to older individuals of other races.” Alcohol consumption and lifestyle data were self-reported, and while the study controlled for factors such as sex, diet, exercise and tobacco use, other factors besides alcohol consumption could have contributed to the observed health outcomes.

What should wine drinkers and healthcare professionals take away from the study? When it comes to health, “not all alcohol is created equally,” said Larsen. It’s good to be specific when talking to patients and evaluating one’s own drinking habits. “Older adults frequently hear that drinking alcohol is beneficial for their hearts,” Larsen said, but “wine may actually be the [only] alcoholic beverage to potentially offer benefits.”

Instead of basing guidelines on a standard number of drinks per week, it could help to break down alcohol consumption by type. In particular, moderate consumption of both red and white wine, with limited intake of beer and spirits, may offer maximum potential health upsides while minimizing risks.

“Consuming a mix of both types of wines in moderation [is] more likely to offer a greater range of benefits than drinking one type of wine consistently, as each type of wine does appear to offer unique health benefits to body composition in older adults,” said Larsen. The authors caution, however, that current non-drinkers should not start drinking alcohol solely for the potential health benefits.

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Franco Allegrini, one of Northern Italy’s most influential winemakers, died April 23 at his home in the Valpolicella hills west of Verona, after a years-long battle with cancer. He was 65.

Allegrini is remembered by friends and colleagues as a man who embodied a range of the best traits associated with Italy and the wine world. He helped revolutionize the making of modern Amarone.

“Franco was not only a genius, but he was a man of heart—a good man, a generous man, an honest man and a family man,” said his best friend, Roberto Anselmi, a well-known winemaker in Soave.

Even as his family’s Allegrini brand grew into one of Italy’s greatest wine success stories, Franco Allegrini remained a hands-on winemaker and experimenter, while his sister, Marilisa, managed the company as CEO and Allegrini’s global face. “He never looked for profits,” Anselmi said. “Profits arrived, but what he searched for was quality.”

Franco, Marilisa and their elder brother, Walter, took the helm of a modest family estate in 1983 with the death of their father, Giovanni. Franco’s role initially focused on the cellar, but with the untimely death of Walter in 2003, he also took over running of the estate agriculture.

Over the next four decades, the Allegrinis would grow their company to include two estates in Tuscany as well as a Veneto-based négociant label. During research for a Wine Spectator cover profile in 2017, I was struck by Franco’s obsessions with organic agriculture, vineyard health and hygiene in every part of the winemaking process, including the drying of grapes to make Amarone.

“Franco was a leader—he was a sort of pioneer in Valpolicella,” said Sabrina Tedeschi of Tedeschi. “And he shared his ideas with the whole territory.”

Local winemakers like Tedeschi say Franco led the way by showcasing local hillside vineyards and in particular the estate’s flagship single-vineyard La Poja, made entirely from Corvina. “Franco was a revolutionary for quality. He did his part at a time when Valpolicella was not famous like today,” said Fausto Maculan, the Veneto producer in Breganze between Verona and Venice.

His most visible contribution to the Amarone landscape was his work building Terre di Fumane, a 54,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art drying facility and research center that opened in 1997 with the aim of honing the appassimento process by monitoring and controlling molds, temperature and airflow.

“One thing he understood was how to produce Amarone that was drinkable, full of fruit and pleasure and not excessive, oxidated, Port-[like] or jammy,” Maculan said.

Allegrini was a man who expressed his feelings and opinions spontaneously—quick to laugh and sometimes cry—yet was also a man of almost shy humility, who seemed to dislike giving speeches or listening to long-winded or pompous ones. As a wine lover, he also liked to try great wines from almost anywhere but saw it as unseemly for a winemaker to order his own bottles in a restaurant.

Franco is survived by his wife, Marilena, and three sons: Francesco, who works in Allegrini’s sales and marketing sectors, and Matteo and Giovanni, who both work with the company’s viticulture and winemaking operations.

“Franco always said, ‘When I die, I want my friends to have a crazy party,” said Anselmi. “But I don’t want to have a party. I am full of tears.”