BLOGSCHU

We Made the List! Just Not that List.

 

 

Hi- It's Jeff. ‘Tis the season for, among other things, ‘best of’ lists from wine publications. So far there have been three floating around our office- the Wine Spectator, the Wine Enthusiast and the San Francisco Chronicle. They all are similar in that they list their top wines of the year, ranked in some way that accounts for score, price point and availability. We did not make it on any of these lists. We didn’t submit wines to two out of three of them (SF Chron and Spectator), so that is our excuse with them. We did submit Cab and Gewurtztraminer to the Enthusiast and scored 91 and 90 points respectively, and were totally thrilled regardless of not making their list. Given the historically restrained style of our wine, that favors structure and balance over ripeness and brawn, we have been hesitant to submit wines for mass judgings. Big, bold, high-alcohol wines can dominate the palate, and in a mass tasting where judges taste many California wines at a time, the nuances of more structured wines can get lost. The endorsement of our friends and customers has been enough. Keith and Anne however have been making wines in recent vintages that represent a slight but clear evolution in our style. The structure is still there, but there is also undeniable intensity with freshness and rich mouth-feel. The change is enough for us to try submitting our wines to mass tastings. We started conservatively with the Enthusiast in 2011 and based on that success will expand the effort next year.

We did make one ‘best of list’ in 2011, that of Sub Pop Records staff picks of top 10 wines of 2011. It is a dream come true. Okay, that is a stretch, because I had no clue they would list wine as a category. But I can say unequivocally that had anyone given me the option in 1992, as I was starting out in the family business, thrilled by the nature of wine, our family’s legacy, the approachability of our wine community, and put off by what I saw as the general elitism of the wine establishment, I would have put a shout-out by Sub Pop way higher on my aspirational list than any wine publication. Based in Seattle, Sub Pop was the record company for many of the bands that framed my universe at the time, not to mention provided the soundtrack to long work days in the cellar. Most famous among them was Nirvana, but there was also Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Jesus and Mary Chain, 5Style and many more. On my very first visit to Seattle, 1995ish, I went straight to their retail store and bought 10 discs, 9 from Sub Pop artists I'd never heard of, trusting they knew what they were doing. Things have changed a bit since. Sub Pop still releases great music, though their greatest successes are with less loud bands like Fleet Foxes and Iron and Wine, and while we still make great wine, it is in the context of a wine establishment that I am generally proud to be a part of. But it is clear that things haven’t changed that much. When I heard that at the bottom of their compilation of staff best-of music picks for 2011 (see it here), there was a wine list that Gundlach Bundschu was on, I jumped up and down like it was 1992. Glad I didn’t pull out my back.

 

 

 

Post Thanksgiving Thanks

Settling back in after a wonderful few days deep in the forest.

A few years ago, we began a tradition of heading off to a remote ranch in northern California to celebrate Thanksgiving with my wife's family. Liz's parents are avid naturalists and met the conservationist owner of the ranch years ago. The property has been in his family for over 70 years, and consists of 3,000 acres of grasslands and redwood groves, and even has its own lake. It basically operates as a preserve. The few residences are clustered together, leaving the vast majority of the ranch wild - as in no agricultural or grazing activites, and very limited motor vehicle access. Lots of wildlife, including birds, deer, mountain lion and bear. The owner favors renting the houses onsite out to other naturalists. Lucky for us, the Nagels qualify.

The house we stay in is rustic. Though it is 60+ years old, it only got electrity around ten years ago. It is heated by a wood stove, and the ample cooking stove is propane-fueled. The kitchen/dining/living area is conducive to preparing and consuming big meals, which is pretty much all we do, between hikes, games, piano playing, and, for the adults, wine drinking. My brother-in-law works for the Wagner family (Caymus, Belle Glos, etc.) and has his own great Pinot and Chardonnay brand called Chronicle. I suppose in the wine department it is an embarassment of riches. This year was all California. Sparkling wine, Pinot, Cabernet and Merlot, and of course Gewurztraminer!

Each year I try to break away for a lengthy hike to explore the property. This time I went south and didn't turn around until 2.5 hours into the walk when I hit the property line. It was along a river, many (as in ouch) feet in elevation below my starting point.

I took a few photos, which you can see below.

Foggy Morning Start

 

Side Slope Oak. Wish my hair looked like that.

 

Who says we don't get fall colors in California?

 

Greeting party upon my return. Daughter Eva on left and cousins Lauren and Drew.

It was a rare and much-appreciated break from the 'connectivity' of cell phones, tv and the internet. Funny how much more connected you can feel when you disconnect for a while.

When I plugged back in, I found my email box full of awesome responses to my pre-Thanksgiving post, and just had to share a few of them with you. What great people GB wine drinkers are!!

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Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 6:26 PM

Hi Jeff:

We've never met, but your winery was the first stop my wife and I made on our 1988 honeymoon. We've been WOMers for probably 20 years and always open a bottle of your wine on Thanksgiving.

Cheers to you, your family and your wine!

BP

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Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 7:21 PM

Such a fabulous note you sent. To celebrate I purchased two GWTZ to take for my Gobble day dinner with family. You and your family have a great Thanksgiving.

Rosie *_*

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Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 7:26 PM

Jeff,

Can you assure me that no Gewurtztraminer was harmed in the making of these videos?

Lee

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Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 7:44 PM
And to you and your family as well. Great videos!

Still re-living the magical moments form our daughter's wedding at Gun-Bun on 10/1/11. Truly memorable. Thanks!

All the best,

Peter & Pam

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Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 8:05 PM
Jeff, Jim and the whole Bundschu (Gundlach) clan,

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!!

Your "Cajun" cousin,

J. Gundlach

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Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 4:27 AM

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Jeff. Thank you for the warm greeting. We, too, will be raising a glass of Gundlach Bundschu wine as we celebrate our blessings with you!

Kindest regards,
Lisa Scott

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Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 1:10 PM
To: Info
Subject: RE: Happy Turkey Day, and Thank You - Autoforwarded

Jeff,

I loved the videos and guess what I am drinking with my turkey? GBundschu Gewurztraminer. I did not even have to cross the road, just walk to the cellar.
Cheers,

Wanda

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Hi Jeff,
I loved the videos and plan to show them on Thanksgiving Day to whomever ends up at our turkey day table. Honey Badger...move over. I also have two bottles of your Gewurztraminer for dinner. Being that I am the cheapest person when it comes to buying wine, you should be impressed! My best to you and all the Bundschus...
Susan

Happy Turkey Day, and Thank You

At Gundlach Bundschu, we began celebrating Thanksgiving back in August, when I first put on the turkey suit. Since then, we've released three short videos starring the most voracious creature on youtube since the honey badger - a wild turkey with an insatiable thirst for gewurztraminer. If you know anything about us, you know we aren't afraid to look silly to promote seriously good wine, and I hope you'll find these videos entertaining. All three are now live at www.gunbun.com/turkeylove, or click on the images below.

Now that Thanksgiving is just a few days away, it is time to celebrate in earnest. I truly love this holiday - there's nothing better than gathering the family and close friends for a long, delicious meal and taking the time to reflect on and appreciate the things we are most thankful for.

And when I look around my table and toast my family with a glass of Gundlach Bundschu wine, I am deeply grateful and moved to imagine that some of you are doing the same. And so I raise my glass to each of you as well, and thank you for supporting our wines and our family's business. Best wishes to each of you for a healthy, happy and delicious Thanksgiving holiday.

Cheers,
Jeff Bundschu

EPISODE ONE: ON THE HUNT

 EPISODE TWO: ALWAYS A SMASH

EPISODE THREE: REFRESHINGLY DRY

Jumping In

Hi -It’s Jeff.

It is the dawn of Thanksgiving week and we are knee deep in the midst of budgets and strategic planning in the office and putting red wines to bed in the cellar.   Was told in one meeting point blank that I need to get out more, as in my voice.. To give Lisa and the team and you all some love.  And to talk about wine, instead of music, turkeys, kids sports, etc.   So here I am.  This past week I managed to taste wines from the following wineries: Chappellet, Sonoma Cutrer, Orin Swift/Franciscan, Anaba, Hall, Black Stallion, Sojourn, Billecart Salmon, Selene, Rochioli, and of course at least 7 from Gundlach Bundschu.  Not a bad week.  The standouts, as I reflect back, were the Champagne and the Anaba Chardonnay.  The former is not surprising but the latter is. Anaba is a relatively new neighbor in Sonoma and their Sonoma Coast Chard was delectable.   I also listened to a ton of Friendly Fires and recommend you do too!!!  Couldn’t help but mention that!

PS Lisa's Music Monday's ROCK!!

 

MMM

So with Lisa in Las Vegas watching Celine Dionne (psych!), it fell to me to do new music Monday. Sorry I am a little late.

I took my daughter Gracie to a Young Money show at Oracle arena this past weekend. Young Money is a partnership between the hip hop artist Lil Wayne and Universal records. The sold out show featured a slew of hip hop and related acts. At 4 hours of music and at least 10 named performers, there is a lot to talk about. We were really there to see Young Money’s most rapidly ascending performer, Nicki Minaj. She rocked, as did Lil Wayne and especially Rick Ross, but I’m only going to talk about a guy that was a little farther down the list- Mix Master Mike. MMM became important to me for two different reasons in the mid 1990’s. First, as the resident DJ for the Beastie Boys, I saw him, alone on stage with nothing more than a few turntables and a few copy’s of Rush’s Tom Sawyer, silence, stun, and ultimately explode 20,000 rabid hip hop fans. And second, he is from Sacramento. That’s right, one of the best hip-hop DJ’s in the world is from Nor Cal!

This time he was on stage collaborating with the drummer Travis Barker. Their 45 minute set, DJ and Drummer, delivered to me what was one of the top 10 performances of any kind I have seen live. Since MMM was already on that list from his performance at the BBs show in the 90’s, I have to shout him out. If you EVER have a chance to see Mix Master Mike, run don’t walk. He is a magician with sampled and dj music. This week, welcome to the world of Mix Master Mike.

First a video of MMM in his own domaine. See what he does with two records.



Then a video of him supporting Travis Barker. What we saw had less rapping and more sounds, but this gives you some idea. All non-drum sounds are my man MMM.

Happy 2011

I know that the traditional time for new year resolution-stating is before the tree comes down and the lights come off the house, and that the best of lists are already in the tank and most of you have moved on Grammy, Oscar and Super Bowl hype. But after a restful holiday, we on Rhinefarm are all feeling ready to take the world by storm in 2011, and I am jumping into the fray with a list of rules I want to live by in 2011:

1) Aim for the Satisfying. The way we all spend much of our days and nights is predetermined by our responsibilities in life. That said, in and out of the course of our to-do’s there is opportunity to drive our own road, write our own script. The opportunities come can come in our response to work-day details or free time follies. Rule one is to take the time to understand what really satisfies and go to it.

2) Talk to Friends. Take any opportunity to pick up the phone or go for coffee with good friends. Make the time for some real conversation. Facebook etc. is a great tool, it seems, to connect with a broad network of current and previous acquaintances. But nothing delivers like true, deep communication with people who know us best. Those people are relatively rare and add so much to our lives, if we take the time.

3) Make it Rock. This is a perennial mantra. It technically is a direct quote from my then-five-year-old daughter to my good friend and fellow music lover after being told she could hear only one more song from the communal ipod before going to bed. Both of us have taken to applying her directive to everything we do in life.

4) Focus on the Freshness. In the course of a vintage, we spend hours and hours at the blending table moulding individual lots of wine into finished masterpieces. Freshness is a constant target-not only is it fresh now, but how will it be in the future? My aim is to take that approach in all things; there is always a fresh way to see and approach things!

5) Go Outside. Another perennial rule. And by outside I don’t only mean outdoors, though that is big. I also mean go outside the boundary, comfort zone, neighborhood, bad habits, good habits, established patterns, predictability, among other things. WAY easier said than done, for sure, but critical to me.

6) Love and Appreciate Your Family. ‘nuf said.

7) Spread the GB Love. Whenever, wherever possible. Let me review some ways and places I plan to do that in 2011- Ra Ra Riot show, Member Happy Hour in Palo Alto, Taste of Vail, South by Southwest, Nantucket Wine Festival, Austin Wine Club Revel, Atlanta High Museum Auction, Huichica Festival, Pinzgauer tours, our new event Bungalow, Paris, Lima, New Jersey, New York City, Chicago, and many mornings at the Fremont Diner.

Best to you all in 2011, hope your paths cross with ours often before this year is through.

Jeff

WE (STILL) HAVE A MAGIC MACHINE!!!!!!!!!!!

In case you missed the post a while back that notifying the world that we have a magic machine I will state it again: WE HAVE A MAGIC MACHINE!!!  Look what it can do to our block LP10east, some of the best of the best of our cabernet:

BEFORE

 

AFTER

 

Makes a cloudy day downright Sunny........

New Meets Old Meets Very Cool

There is always a buzz around a winery when new equipment is put to use.  People from all departments come to kick the tires, look at the shiny new stainless steel and watch the winemaking team scramble to master a new process. Once in a while though, a winery employs a piece of equipment that is so new or unique that it attracts winemakers and onlookers from other wineries. 

Over the years we are often in that group of onlookers who travel to other wineries or vineyards to check out new technology.  We generally like it that way, preferring to invest in equipment that is at least somewhat tried and true.  That changed the other morning when we fired up the Delta Vistalis optical sorting line, the first of its kind in use in  Sonoma County, and only the third in the US.  The machine, owned and rented to us by Walsh Vineyard Management, electronically sorts good berries from bad berries.  

Good berries are perfectly ripened and fully juiced, and will impart the best flavors during fermentation.  Bad berries can be under- or over- ripe and do the opposite.  Both kinds of berries end up on the same bunch, so sorting berries is a very nice luxury only employed when in the pursuit of the best quality.  I say luxury because this is a process that usually takes up to 8 (additional to the existing harvest crew) people standing on a purposely slow transfer belt pulling out berries based on sight.   It is a slow, labor intensive, and hence very expensive proposition.   

The optical sorting technology makes the process not only more efficient, but significantly more effective. The system actually takes digital images of acceptable berries, transfers that information to the computer as the winemaker's definitions of ideal size, color and shape, and then filters (actually blows) out everything else, with only one person operating at the controls.  The details of the process can be found in this article in the local paper. 

Indeed, word has spread and we have winemakers from all around coming up to GB.  We never would/could have done this without Walsh. They had the vision to bring this technology to Napa and Sonoma and make it available to their clients.  Of course it doesn’t hurt that my cousin Towle is driving the process.  Also cool is that the first fruit to be used on this newest of new technology was from our oldest block on the ranch.

 

I like the sun-rise view looking west at the Petaluma Gap as much as the equipment, hence the dimness.  The fruit starts on the left hand side of the picture, is transferred up to the de-stemmer (in the middle) and then moves onto a shaker table that moves it through the optical eye.

 

The optical eye, pre fruit.  The white nubbed thingie is the conveyer table and the tube of light is the eye that scans and ultimately separates it.

 

 
Winemaker Keith Emerson (left) discussing specific scanning parameters with the team from Bucher Vaslin, creators of the Vistalys system. The company's head of R&D (center) flew in from Bordeaux night before for this first-ever use of the 2010 software.  This is just after the machine is up and they are picking individual berries to scan into to the onboard computer.

 

Dad, aka El Capitan, aka Jim Bundschu, watching from a location safe from spontaneous combustion. 

 

 Finished product.  That may look like a mass of sticky mush to you, but in the eyes of the right winemaker (ours!) it is pure beauty.

September Ruminiscences

Friday is tasting/blending/wine planning day here in the cellar and last Friday we reviewed the soon-to-be-released 2008 Cabernet Franc (Dec 1st). What a killer reminder of how well that varietal grows here. Soooo good. And, unfortunately, sooooo limited.

Went to a speakeasy in down town Los Angeles last week. Front of the house is a French Dip specialty diner, called Cole's, with as many variations on that theme as I have ever seen. In the back of the diner is an unmarked door. Walk through that door and enter a cave with a candle-lit (read dark) room with booths and blue lights and a menu full of delectable high-end cocktails. Only bad thing to say about the whole deal is that Cole’s, the diner, was the lack of wine list. The bartender couldn’t keep a straight face when I asked him for one. He said he had two wines and asked me what color I wanted.

Harvest 2010 started with a wimper last Thursday. 13.5 tons of Gewurztraminer picked and destemmed into our press. Some time right after this handsome photo was taken, the motor of the press blew and a mad scramble to replace it began. Harvest- The smell of it!!!! And yes, those are my girls having a pre-class pop to get the day started…

 

Also last week, had a delectable afternoon at Marche Moderne  in Costa Mesa.   I pinch myself when the stars align in our industry and the best rated restaurant in a region (highest Zagat rating in the OC) is staffed by truly nice people.  That is the case with this gem, where the GM and wine director Alyssa McDiarmid is friendly and approachable and full of praise for her employers, a husband and wife chef team that are clearly good inside the kitchen, and, apparently, outside as well.

Side note on that little visit. The restaurant is in the ‘penthouse’ of the South Coast Plaza, a mall of apparently staggering proportions, in terms of luxury and quality.  That impression was solidified when I went into the men’s boutique across from Alyssa’s.  All hand-made Italian clothes, I browsed the store, and pulled down the only item that interested me- a lush beige pullover sweater with an upright three-button collar, with a fur lining.   Beautiful and cool looking.  Turned out the outside of the sweater was silk and the fur lining was mink.  Price: $6800.  Put that thing down and rushed out of that store as fast as possible, berating myself for daring even looking outside our local Barney’s outlet.

You've seen the photos from the harvest shindig we just did, featuring Wonderbread 5, which will surely be covered in another post in greater detail.  All I can say is that it rocked.  Our wine club is truly full of characters and I appreciate each and every one of them.  Mix that group with the public that came up for the concert portion of the evening and the night went bam!!  I refer you to the pictures as evidence.  All I wish is that we had gotten one of the 65+/- year old clean shaven and nattily attired guy walking around in painfully plain site offering his big white cigar to every woman he saw.  Once we all recovered from our triple takes, we showed him an ash tray and told him how to use it.

Finally-Did a dawn patrol in Pacifica on the way to SFO recently and saw this sign after I got out of the water.  Happy to report I still have all ten toes!

 

Time to get Political: No on HR 5034

There is a bill currently meandering its way into relevancy in the U.S. House of Representatives that, if passed, would be devastating to independent wineries and would seriously compromise consumer choice.

Simply put, it must be stopped. Unfortunately, there is nothing simple about understanding the specifics. To that end, this essay is as clear as anything I have read on the issue, and its Byzantine legal components, and it inspired me to add my voice to its opposition.

One of my earliest lessons once I started working on the business side of the winery was that complicated, outdated regulations of wine sales often legalize unfair advantages and restrict market access. The repeal of prohibition led to a series of laws giving states the right to govern alcohol sales as they saw fit, which in turn led to different regulations in every state, ranging from open markets to strictly controlled ones.

Most states adopted a 'three-tier system,' requiring the use of a distributor, who buys the wine from the supplier and in turn sells it to the retailer or restaurateur, who then sells it directly to the consumer. In addition, many states have anti-competitive franchise laws that make it virtually impossible for a winery to change distributors.

In recent years, consolidation has turned what was once a nation of hundreds if not thousands of small to midsize distributors into a nation of basically 5-10 mega companies. At the same time, the number of wineries and wines produced in the US has exploded. Smaller independent producers looking to stand out in huge distributor portfolios dominated by large, multinational wine and/or liquor companies face a tough challenge getting access to the market.

Motivated by these and other factors, wineries and their constituencies (read: consumers) have been able to chip away at the states’ legal right to control alcohol sales by challenging the constitutionality of the prohibition-era laws.

Recent court decisions have ruled that states cannot create laws that protect local monopolies from out-of-state competition. As a result, many state regulations have been changed, enabling wineries to join the modern digital age and interact both topically and economically with their customers across state lines.

The purpose of HR 5034 is to reverse this trend by strengthening states’ authority to enable the passage of protectionist laws. There are some big beer distributors backing HR 5034, and the bill has been described as ‘the hail mary pass’ the distribution tier is throwing to once and for all cement their protected status as gate keepers for independent wineries and brewers.

The reality is that distributors play a critical role in our business, and in most cases truly are partners to our success. In the best scenarios, wineries and distributors work together to build each other’s businesses.

California has the most open market, in which wineries can forego the distribution tier altogether and sell direct to accounts and consumers alike. Nonetheless, most wineries utilize distributors because they need and are willing to pay for the services they provide.

Wineries that build relationships with their consumers and accounts strengthen their brand and their business, which undeniably strengthens their distributor partners as well.

The bottom line is that the best distributors are strong with or without political protection. What it boils down to for me is a level playing field where good performance begets good performance. HR 5034 is a serious threat to fair competition and consumer choice. Please join me and add your voice at http://www.stophr5034.org.

Jeff