Mountaintop vineyards yield complex, full-bodied reds.
by Daniel Duane
Legend has it that Georges de Latour, founding father of Napa Valley wine, once said that there are three sure ways to lose a lot of money: “slow horses, fast women, and hillside vineyards.” Funny enough, some of today’s finest winemakers are gambling not just on hillsides but on actual mountains, planting grapes everywhere from the Nepalese Himalayas to the Argentine Andes, where some of the world’s highest commercial vineyards thrive at nearly 10,000 feet above sea level.The results are promising
Any good vintner will tell you that wine is made in the vineyard. Dave Guffy, winemaker behind the sensational Mount Veeder cabernet sauvignons from the Hess Collection, a Napa Valley company known as a global leader in high-altitude winemaking, says that steep slopes, rocky conditions, and thin soils stress a vine into working for a living. “You end up with smaller berries,” Guffy says, “and that’s what it’s all about, giving a wine greater concentration of flavor.
Other mountain factors include increased ultraviolet radiation (which also boosts flavor) and a 1 percent drop in air temperature for every 330 feet in elevation gained (making for a longer, slower growing season, bringing out more complexity in the taste). “Where mountain wines have a commonality,” says Guffy, “is in the structure, the tannic backbone many of us enjoy.” So if you like your juice the way you like your peaks — big, complex, and demanding, filling you with a lust for life — look for these examples from upslope.
Three to Try
Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon 2004: From high on Spring Mountain, overlooking Napa Valley, this California wine has a berry-briar complexity and a dark-chocolate finish. $45
Colomé Estate Malbec 2006: Farmed at as high as 9,849 feet above sea level, this is a classic Argentine wine, with cherry, white pepper, oak, and saddle leather. $25
Philip Shaw No. 89 Shiraz-Viognier 2005: Smooth and elegant, yet rock solid with tannic backbone, this is a wine to pair with grilled flat-iron steak or a serious serving of braised short ribs. $45
This article originally appeared in the December 2008 issue of Men’s Journal.
Print this article
Leave a Reply