Wente Vineyards: 125 years of good wine; now with great concerts and world-class golf.

I had the chance to have lunch a few weeks back with winemaker Karl Wente of Wente Vineyards. The fifth generation winemaker was visiting Baltimore area wine shops and restaurants that carry the Wente label. Through the help of his local contact Paula Lucas, he had time to sit with me for an hour over pizza and a few bottles of his wine. So we met up at Brick Oven Pizza (Fells Point) and with Paula, and his distributor), we had great pizza, talked about Wente Vineyards, and tasted some of the Wente wines.

Wente Vineyards first took root in 1883 when Carl Wente, a German immigrant, decided to plant some grape vines in the Livermore Valley. Today, Wente Vineyards consists of “3,000 acres of estate vineyards in the Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay, and Arroyo Seco, Monterey appellations, two premier Central Coast winegrowing regions.” Since then there is a long history of good to great wines that showcase the potential for good wine in the Livermore Valley. While the Wente Estate has changed quite a bit since the beginning, one constant is bloodline behind the winemaker.

At 6′7″ tall, Karl Wente (a Standford basketball alumnus) has been making wines for the past six years. Karl seems like your normal everyday guy in his early 30’s. He enjoys music, sports, food, wine and most importantly, friends. When asked what was in his cellar, he said mostly California wines but some French and other miscellaneous bottles. As you’d expect, he keeps a few Wente wines around as well! But his philosophy is more of a consumer- not a collector. I guess when you make high quality juice that is approachable when young your guests and visitors are more than happy to be drinking that over something they can find on any store shelf. (Image: Below is the golf course at Wente)

Karl was very passionate about the science of the vineyard. He is quite knowledgeable in the biology of the vine and the chemistry of the winery (which as a scientist I appreciated very much). Wente Vineyards, located in the Livermore Valley AVA, is fully sustainable. I’ll write more about this in a future post- for now, just know that I’m all but convinced that sustainable vineyards are actually better for the environment than organic. There is less impact on the earth and, chemicals aside, there are less emissions.

Something you might not expect from a vineyard rooted in 125 years of tradition and with a 5th generation winemaker is the “other activities” going on at the estate. Wente is home to a large concert area (which is fitting as Karl is a musician). Up on the line-up in 2008 is Crosby, Stills and Nash as well as Chicago and a number of other great shows. The concert area is stunning- I couldnt’ imagine a better venue for a sunset show.

As an avid golfer, Karl (and the thousands of visitors to their estate) enojys the 18 hole, Greg Norman designed golf course that is located on the property. The concerts and golf course are just two reasons that Wente Vineyards would make a great vacation spot. Another is their award winning restaurant and beautiful tasting room. The only thing missing are on-premise accommodations- but no worries, Karl assures me there are plenty of options within a short drive (be sure to call a cab after hours of golf and wine, though!).

Most importantly though for any vineyard is the answer to “how are the wines?”

I’ve posted the tasting notes on the wines below. Overall, I was impressed with the 5 wines we had. The 2005 Sauvignon Blanc had outstanding acidity and a myriad of interesting aroma’s and flavors. It’s a wine that I would love to have around when sucking down some shellfish or grilled seafood. The other four wines were all from the “Nth Degree” series of wines. From how Karl explained it, these are small, premier lots of the vineyard that are hand picked and very well cared for. The name comes from the philosophy these wines aim to fulfill: taking it to the “Nth Degree.” This means making sure every aspect of the wine is “taken to the next level.”

Our tasting included all “Nth Degree” wines from the 2004 vintage. Across the board I found the wines to be good to very good, as they show great character of their winemaker. The wines were not overly oaky and all shared good balance and structure. Due to their relative low production and the care that goes into these wines, they are in a $40-$55 price range. In my opinion, two of these wines are definitely worth trying in their price range (Chardonnay, Syrah), whereas the Merlot is good but maybe a pass at the price and Cabernet, which was also good, but may not be everyones cup of tea (or glass of wine!).

The Syrah was my favorite- it just had some interesting spice and vegetal notes that I look for in Old World Syrah. I think this is a great effort that shows the potential of the “Nth degree” wines.

With 125 years of tradition, a 5th generation winemaker, and a beautiful, event-filled estate, Wente Vineyards is high on my list of places to visit when I’m in California. I’d recommend checking out Wente’s wines and keeping an eye on the “Nth Degree” wines over the next few years. With the outstanding vineyards, young, innovative winemaker, and 125 years of tradition, it’s fair to say you can expect great things in the future of the Wente label.

Tasting Notes (non-blind with food):

2005 Wente Vineyards Murrieta’s Well Sauvignon Blanc: Aroma’s of cotton candy, apple, citrus. On the palate were flavors of apple, grapefruit, minerals, melon and cotton candy. The acidity in this wine was very interesting- it wasn’t razor sharp, but it kept giving long through the finish. This would be a nice wine with a variety of shellfish. My rating: 87 pts

2004 Wente Vineyards The Nth Degree Chardonnay: Light straw color with complex aromas and flavors. Apple, pear and hay notes stand out, well balanced and good structure. My rating: 90 pts

2004 The Nth Degree Syrah: Not overly extracted, yet good concentration. Sweet aroma’s of black fruits and spice. Ripe with very good acidity and green flavors on the finish. If you prefer big, cough-medicine-esque Shiraz, this isn’t for you. If you like Old World Syrah, you may really enjoy this one. My rating: 90 pts

2004 Wente Vineyards The Nth Degree Merlot: Plum, loads of dark fruit, leather. This wine has some serious structure and tannins, all balanced out with nice acidity. Earth notes show up for a few seconds followed by a long finish. My rating: 87 pts

2004 Wente Vineyards Cabernet The Nth Degree: Deep plum color nose of dried herbs dark blueberry. Notes of vanilla, but subtle. Overall good structure with moderate tannins, medium finish. My rating: 86pts