[wine] Drama in Amador Cty. (fwd)

----- Forwarded message from Bruce Adomeit <badomeit(a)startribune.com> ----- Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 15:45:25 -0500 From: Bruce Adomeit <badomeit(a)startribune.com> To: ondcuff(a)aol.com, Sms55113(a)aol.com, jellings(a)me.umn.edu, Subject: Responses to Amador article in S.F. Chronicle If you read the email from me about Amador wine shenanigans, you'll be interested in these letters, which the S.F. Chronicle published today. /bruce Vintners, readers respond to "Drama in Amador" - Thursday, August 25, 2005 Editor -- W. Blake Gray's article on Aug. 11, "Drama in Amador," is great fiction, up there with nukes in Iraq. Mr. Gray, so desperate for a story, dug up 10-year-old events. He then allowed himself to be duped. Mr. Gray never bothered to go visit the Grandpere Vineyard at Renwood Winery, nor did he care to see the evidence that proves his story was the fantasy of the Harveys, to whom he refers as "Terri" and "Scott." He used bush-league techniques such as not using my first name, not mentioning my teenage children or my wife, Rene, the namesake of the winery. He tried to discredit me by quoting someone who has no firsthand knowledge of the facts, nor lived in Amador County when they occurred. The truth is simple: Scott and Terri Harvey created Grandpere Vineyard in 1994 across the street from their own vineyard. The new vineyard was sold to Renwood in 1995. The Original Grandpere Vineyard owned by Ms. Harvey has phylloxera, whether she admits it or not, along with much of Amador County. Her vineyard is a mix of new Barbera, new Zin and old vines. Her quality was not to Renwood's standards, and we want to buy 100 percent old-vine Zinfandel, so we did not renew her contract in 2001. Renwood wanted to be the peacemaker, so we did buy Ms. Harvey's and Mr. Binz's winery stock in 2002, so they could keep their vineyard. Mr. Gray did not tell the whole story when he said we prevailed in court. Mr. Harvey sued Renwood twice -- once in Amador County, then in Napa County -- and lost both times. He settled his federal trademark case after the BATF ruled that Renwood has the rights to Grandpere and Grandpere Vineyard. The hidden costs were the lost bonuses for employees who made great wine at Renwood during this waste of time and money. Instead of promoting Amador County and the great wines the county produces, when the press comes calling, some people want to talk about adultery. At Renwood, we make wine, create good jobs and promote the great grapes grown in our county. Mr. Gray did the readers a further disservice by attempting to compare three different vintages of wines, made up of different grapes. Some of the wines tasted contained various quantities of the original Grandpere vineyard grapes. Renwood's 2002 Grandpere Zinfandel is big, bold and spicy, full of rich aromas of blackberries with subtle hints of cocoa. Renwood produces Grandpere from 100 percent original cuttings, on head-pruned vines. Future generations will be able to enjoy Zinfandel from California's oldest known vines. We invite you to see for yourself and taste the difference. ROBERT I. SMERLING Founder & CEO Renwood Winery Plymouth Editor -- I read with great interest your article. I've been involved in the Amador County wine community for more than 25 years -- as a retailer during the 1980s, communications director at Montevina Winery during the 1990s and, currently, adviser to the Amador Vintners' Association and several Amador County wineries. There's much I could say about Robert Smerling's various allegations, but two things, in particular, deserve a response. First, Smerling did not put Amador County on the wine map. That distinction belongs to North Coast wineries like Sutter Home Winery, Ridge Vineyards, Mayacamas Vineyards and Carneros Creek Winery, which during the late 1960s began producing spectacular Zinfandels from Amador's pre- Prohibition vines. Those wines attracted a new generation of vintners to the region -- Cary Gott at Montevina, Leon Sobon at Shenandoah Vineyards/Sobon Wine, Buck Cobb at Karly Wines and Ben Zeitman at Amador Foothill Winery -- who further cemented Amador's reputation as a source of high-quality Zinfandel and other wines. Second, never in my hundreds of visits to Amador have I heard or seen anything that could remotely be construed as anti-Semitism. (I'm Jewish.) I believe the region's Jewish vintners -- including Zeitman, who has been at Amador Foothill for 25 years -- would say the same. It's unfortunate that Robert Smerling failed to acknowledge the contributions of the wine pioneers who preceded him and made accusations that risk tarnishing the reputation of a wonderful region to which he ostensibly is committed. STAN HOCK Kensington Editor -- "Drama In Amador" is a clear example of irresponsible journalism.This drama that you refer to took place nearly a decade ago. Great scoop! Amador County is producing a bevy of new and exciting wines from both long-established wine families and bold, invigorating newcomers alike, and this tabloid-style reporting does a tremendous disservice to your readers, the reputation of your Wine section, the Amador region in particular and the wine industry in general. I certainly hope that this sort of writing is more an aberration for an otherwise well-edited section, and I look forward to reading more fact-based reporting rather than the wild and self-serving claims from, at best, questionable sources. THOMAS A. QUINN Folsom Editor -- Congratulations for a well-researched and informative article. It is true that we are a very tight-knit community, and I have found it to be a very trusting, generous and welcoming one. In my 29 years of living here and making wine, I have lived, worked, collaborated with and known the many Jewish families who are winemakers, winery owners, vineyard owners and neighbors in our community. I can assure you that they are all loved and respected. I know that scandal and controversy sells, but how about balancing the story with one about a couple, now married 47 years, who raised their six children while starting a winery, and now are passing that very thriving business on to those children? LEON SOBON Founder Sobon Family Wines Editor -- Very interesting story, but as a huge, huge fan of C.G. di Arie (I think it's the best Zinfandel on the planet), I don't know if I should curse you -- I would hate to see my supply lines dry up. But thanks for an entertaining read -- seems like microclimates can affect more than just the grapes. I learned a lot about an area (and a vineyard) that I've been a fan of for a very long time. ANDREW CONWAY Folsom Editor -- I bought grapes from Scott Harvey's former Grandpere vineyard for home winemaking from 1985 through 1995. He used to charge us $400 for a half-ton of fruit and never changed his prices. He seemed to enjoy teaching about winemaking and sampling our product. I would bring him a couple of cigars and we would have a great time. When he was unable to sell us any more Grandpere, we bought grapes from different vineyards from him, the last being from Bowman Vineyard behind Vino Noceto and Domaine de la Terre Rouge. There are those in Amador who would like to Napa-ize the Shenandoah Valley and those who would like to preserve its heritage and keep it similar to what they have. Due to the pressure of real estate and the growing population, the area may become developed in the near future. An example would be how Cadenasso Winery in Fairfield finally gave way to development. Wooden Valley Winery has to be feeling that pressure also, as I was in Suisun Valley a couple of weeks ago and could see the houses edging closer. Thanks for the article; it was insightful and painfully honest. CARL BURKE Sacramento ----- End forwarded message ----- -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *