As part of the Viticulture Seminar for A7, Chris Hammell (Vineyard Manager for Bien Nacido Vineyards) interviews Adam Tolmach (The Ojai Vineyard).
I have to admit that I’m one of the lucky ones that has had enduring success pursuing my dreams and aesthetic with wine.
A Viticultural Perspective
We can manipulate wine style in the vineyard but how much should we do so?
What struck me was that the hillside vineyards (steep hills!) are an extraordinary amount of work to maintain. These hillside sites make the best wines, but no matter the price of the wine, it clearly is an economically risky proposition.
The idea of lightness is something that has us wondering about what can be achieved in winemaking. This article does a great job of descibing the unique attributes of lightness!
“Riesling and its beautifully balanced linear wines have always been associated with the cool climates of Germany.”
Decanter – Ojai Top Syrah- August 2015 An insightful article on Ojai Vineyard Syrah.
Our vines are pruned in a completely different way from the rest of the sauvignon blanc planted at McGinley.
My relation to wine is visceral as in France it is part of everyday life from an early age.
What’s more amazing is that this generous crop produced wines of wonderful quality—the sugar, acidity and the maturity of the fruit were excellent and what we now have in the barrel tastes great.
In the vineyards we went from gently nudging the growers to insisting that they make radical reductions of yields and adhere to vineyard practices that might seem crazy to some–but the aim has been to do everything and anything that might improve quality.
In recent years it’s become quite fashionable for savvy consumers to make a point of seeking out “all natural” products – and who can blame them? Although artificial flavors and ingredients typically have no stand-alone appeal, for many of us the answer boils down to a simple question of economics: items designated as “all natural” are oftentimes much more expensive than their artificially enhanced counterparts.
After years of research on how to update The Ojai Vineyard’s web site we finally completed this seemingly complex task. It is mainly due to the help of Leo Basica who guided us through the process and designed this great transformation. Our goal for this site is to be both a window into the intricacies of our craft and identity as much as a forum for those who have been interested in our wines. We look forward to communicate through those pages and broadcast the many events that fuel the inextinguishable passion we have for all things wine related.
Adam has always been gardening and so has his younger brother Jonathan. Since 2012 Jonathan decided to move back to the area, after 30 plus years at Filoli south of San Francisco and settled on the winery’s land with his wife Lucy. In no time they had created an incredible garden with a dizzying array of plants. Heirloom varieties of berries, tomatoes, greens, beans, corn, flowers, peaches. The bounty is spread amongst family members, employees and eventually with our club members and customers attending special events.
This forum will be the opportunity to take you on journey in the vineyard, during the various seasons, to help point the crucial work happening and how it relates to the wine you taste.
The next two wines are an excellent illustration of issues that concern us here at The Ojai Vineyard.
