A relatively new San Benito County vineyard nabbed a gold medal
in the Bordeaux Blends category with its 2003 Claret last week at
the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
Hollister – A relatively new San Benito County vineyard nabbed a gold medal in the Bordeaux Blends category with its 2003 Claret last week at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
The best in class gold medal award came as a surprise to everyone at the Donati Family Vineyard in Paicines, said Lee Stipp, the vineyard’s director of sales and marketing.
“When I saw the results posted I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, I just about lost it,” he said. “This broadens our reach and our appeal beyond serious wine people and locals and it proves that you don’t have to pay Napa prices to get quality wine.”
The Donati Claret was chosen by a panel of 55 professional wine judges – who tasted more than 3,300 wines in dozens of categories and price ranges – last week in San Francisco.
The Donati Family Vineyard is a newcomer to the county’s wine industry. It was established in Paicines in 1998 by Matt and Ron Donati, a father and son duo. The Claret, however, was a team effort, Stipp said. The Donati’s sat down with Stipp and winemaker Dan Kleck to select the perfect blend.
The $18 per bottle Claret, a 59 percent Merlot and 41 percent Cabernet Sauvignon blend, was the result of good grapes and a trial and error method of mixing, Stipp said. “It’s really a matter of tasting. We all sit down, taste the components and start playing mad chemist,” he said. “It’s literally putting them together and trying it, but once you hit the sweet spot, you know it.”
Although the Claret beat out dozens of other competitors in the Bordeaux Blends category and pleased the palate of some of the wine industry’s top judges, that doesn’t mean it’s only for snobs, Stipp said.
“This wine is so friendly – it attacks your palate with a lot of dark fruit flavors,” he said. “But it doesn’t require a sommelier’s license to understand.”
The Donati Family Vineyard Claret isn’t just famous in San Francisco, it’s also a popular local favorite, said Ridgemark Food and Wine Ambassador Dorothy McNett.
The vineyard is fairly small, producing slightly less than 6,000 cases of wine each year, which are sold in retail stores throughout the state and nationwide via the Internet.
“It’s one of our favorites,” she said. “(The Claret) is complex in its flavor, but easy to enjoy – an excellent wine.”
McNett, who has been sipping glasses of local grapes for decades, wasn’t surprised that a gold medal winner came from San Benito County. McNett said several local vineyards had been praised by the Chronicle’s judges in past years, and every time a local vintner makes good it helps the entire local wine industry.
“It is a big deal,” she said. “Just to have people recognize that there is a place called San Benito County and that it is making great wine helps get the word out.”
The 2003 Claret is also popular at the Inn at Tres Pinos, said bartender Mitch Bakich.
“It’s our house wine,” he said. “It has hints of chocolate and good spice from the oak, it’s just a great blend.”
Although the 2003 Claret was already selling briskly before getting a nod from the Chronicle, Stipp said the accolade will likely deplete the vineyard’s stock within the next month. Donati produced about 700 cases of the Claret and only 325 cases are left, he said. Since the vineyard is relatively new and the 2003 vintage was the first the company put out on the market, the Claret’s award-winning act might be hard to follow, Stipp said. However, Stipp and others have high hopes for the vineyard’s next Claret.
“We took a test drive of the 2004 last month and we’re still working on that right now,” he said. “But I think the 2004 is very consistent – if anything, I think there’s more spice. It’s tasting great, all that fruit of the 2003 is still in there.”
The 2003 Claret is available at several local restaurants, including the Inn at Tres Pinos and Ridgemark Golf and Country Club and online at www.donatifamilyvineyard.com.
Brett Rowland covers agriculture and public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or br******@fr***********.com.
