After I
visited Lancaster Estate I headed down the road to Field Stone Winery,
the home of old vine Petite Sirah. The Field Stone Winery and vineyard estate
is located just 7 miles from Healdsburg and 14 miles from Calistoga on Highway
128, which links northern Sonoma County to the Napa Valley.
The
site of Field Stone Winery was originally founded by Wallace Johnson who was a graduate
from Cal Tech and a mechanical engineer who manufactured many of his own inventions.
He also served as the Mayor of Berkeley, California. During his term of service
he utilized the “cut and cover” technique to build the Bart system in the city
of Berkeley.
In the 1960’s
Wallace purchased the site which at the time was just an old back roads farm with
an old white farmhouse in the middle of an overgrown 10 acre Petite Sirah
vineyard adjacent to a dilapidated redwood barn. After purchasing the property Wallace’s
first goal was to revive its vineyard. In 1964 and 1965 Wallace hand-harvested
and sold the Petite Sirah grapes to Lee Stewart, the vineyard consultant and
vintner of the original Souverain Winery on the Howell Mountain slopes of Napa
Valley (now Burgess Cellars). Both Stewart and Wallace were pleased with the
results, which motivated him to further develop the vineyard property beyond
the remnant of the Prohibition restricted 10 acres.
Wallace
then the restored the old redwood barn and century-old farmhouse which was the
home and farm office of the first Italian family that planted the vineyard and
barn in 1894. During the vineyard planting Wallace hired a carpenter to raise
the historical “Ghost Winery” barn.
Wallace
also designed and built the winery which is a unique stone structure that is embedded
into the hillside. The technical concept of the winery is an old one and you’ll
see it in many like in older historic pre-Prohibition California wineries.
Rather than using extreme stress to press grapes, the winery is designed to
utilize gravity flow to gently press (not “crush”) the grapes. Once the grapes
are harvested they can be taken immediately to the winery to be pressed via
their own weight utilizing the force of gravity and then drained into a cold,
underground stainless steel fermenter. In contrast, when
modern high-end winemaking equipment (including pumps) are used, while they do
a very good job of treating the grape berries gently, winemakers still need to
carefully monitor the process to ensure that the berries are being broken open
without crushing the seeds and that only an acceptable level of MOG (Matter
Other than Grapes) is making it through to the fermentation tanks. Another
advantage of the design is that being a stone facility imbedded into the
hillside and mostly underground it is like a wine cave. Therefore winery has a
naturally cool environment so it does not require energy an extraneous amount
of energy to keep the wine at desired temperatures.
When Wallace
suddenly died from a stroke in 1979 at 66 years old, the winery then became the
property of the Reverend Dr. John Staten, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife
Katrina Staten - the daughter of Wallace Johnson. The Rev. Dr. John Staten
received his B.A. in history and philosophy from Stanford University in 1960,
and then attended Princeton Theology Seminary to study ancient biblical
languages and literature. Following the receipt of his master’s degree from
Princeton, he entered the University of Chicago in 1964 to study for his Ph.D
in Theology. His book entitled Conscience and the Reality of God,
was published by Mouton de Gruyter in Berlin. Upon inheriting the winery, John
then added “winemaker” to his list of titles, becoming one of the few
theologian-vintners in the wine business.
After
tasting and being pleased with the 1977-80 vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon and
Petite Sirah with these Bordeaux and Rhône varietals, John then planted a
new Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard using budwood from three renowned Napa
plantings (BV1, the source for Beaulieu Vineyard’s George de Latour Private
Reserve Cabernet, the May Family Vineyard, the source of Joe Heitz’s acclaimed
“Martha’s Vineyard” Cabernet, and the Old Niebaum vineyard block, the source of
the early Niebaum estate Cabernets). This 41 year old vineyard and its heritage
clones are the source for the winery’s award-winning Staten Family Reserve
Cabernet Sauvignon.Subsequently, in the 1990’s three Merlot clones were planted
in the red rocky soil alongside the Petite Sirah vineyard. In addition Syrah
and Viognier were planted at the recommendation of André Tchelistcheff.
The Merlot vineyard was then named, in his honor, the “Tchelistcheff Vineyard.”
In the late 1990’s, John and his son Ben Staten, who serves as the winery’s
vineyard manager, added Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello di Montalcino clone),
to their estate vineyard.
The
tasting room has an extensive portfolio and while visiting I sampled the
following wines:
My
first wine was the 2010 Vineyard Select Gewürztraminer – Russian River -
Floodgate Vineyard. The wine is very floral on the nose and dry on the palate,
very soft and creamy but with refreshing acidity and a medium length finish.
This wine sells for $19 a bottle.
My
second white wine was the 2010 Vineyard Select Sauvignon Blanc – Alexander
Valley – Redwood Ranch. Somewhat muted on the nose, on the palate it has notes
of lemon-lime and a hint of herbs. Otherwise it is somewhat “blah” and boring,
lacking any refreshing qualities that one should expect from this varietal. This
is surprising considering that their neighbors (Lancaster and White Oak) both
produce phenomenal Sauvignon Blancs. This wine sells for $20 a bottle.
The
third white wine sample was the 2010 “Staten Family Family Reserve” Viognier –
Alexander Valley – Estate Bottled. I am a BIG fan of Viognier, but not of this
one. It has mild floral aromas on the nose but on the palate it only has some
mild stone fruit and it lacks vibrancy. It
also seemed to be served a bit too warm which may have been contributing factor
to its less than stellar appeal. This wine sells for $25 a bottle.
The
fourth white wine pour was 2009 Vineyard Select Chardonnay – Russian River –
Hopkins River Ranch. On the nose I picked up BUTTER, butterscotch, caramel, and
dried peaches. On the palate it is well balanced, not overly oaked and has
notes of hazelnut on the finish. A definite improvement over the previous wines
but at $25 a bottle there are many like it in the $10-$15 range.
My next
pour was the 2011 Vineyard Select Rosé of Petite Sirah – Alexander Valley
– Heritage Rock. This wine is made from their 118+ year old vines. This wine is
bright pink and on the nose it has aromas of cranberries, watermelon and a hint
of spice. On the palate it tastes of dark black fruits as well as pomegranate
and it has good acidity and a lengthy finish. I have a collection of Rosés
made from Grenache, Syrah, Zinfandel, Cab/Merlot and Pinot Noir. This was my
first made from Petite Sirah and I took one home to add to my collection for $20.
As I
said, Field Stone has a very long profile of wines so keep in mind that I am
spitting into a cup and drinking water along the way…
My
first red wine was the 2009 Sangiovese – Alexander Valley. On the nose I picked
up dark cherries, dust, cinnamon stick and dried plums. On the palate the nose
is carried through. However, Sangiovese is normally a very acidic wine yet this
one seemed rather flat. This wine sells for $25 a bottle.
My
second red wine sample was the 2008 Vineyard Select Merlot – Alexander Valley –
Andre’s Block. This wine displays dark cherries, baker’s chocolate, toasted oak
and pie crust on the nose. On the palate is full bodied with supple tannins but
like several other of their wines, it lacks vibrancy and freshness and is kind
of just “there.” This wine sells for $25 a bottle.
The
third red wine pour was the 2010 Vineyard Select Syrah – Alexander Valley – Marion’s
Block. This wine is really dark and inky displaying blackberries, cherries,
plums, dried fruits and herbs. On the palate it is really dry and has tannins
that will make your teeth stick to your gums which should mellow out in a year
or two. A remarkable improvement over the previous wine, it sells for $25 a
bottle.
My
fourth red wine sample was the 2008 Vineyard Select Cabernet Sauvignon –
Alexander Valley – Wally’s Block. This is a big earthy, dusty wine with black
fruits (currant, blackberry) and dark chocolate on the nose and palate. On the
palate it is surprisingly soft with a medium length finish, so it may be at the
“drink me now” stage and not intended for ageing. This wine sells $30 a bottle.
The
fifth red wine pour was the 2008 “Staten Family Family Reserve” Cabernet
Sauvignon – Alexander Valley – Estate Bottled. Similar in fruit character to
the previous cab with additional notes of black licorice and oak. On the palate
it has really good tannin structure and acidity. In fact the tannins have a lot
of grip so this wine should age well. This wine sells for $40 a bottle.
My
sixth red wine sample was the 2008 “Staten Family Family Reserve” Petite Sirah
– Alexander Valley – Estate Bottled. The grapes from this wine come from their
118+ year old vines. This wine is dark, inky and stains the glass when swirled.
On the nose it has intense blackberries, plums, dark cherries and black
licorice. On the palate it has refined tannins that have a bit of grip on the
gums and really good acidity. I’d say this is their best wine in the line-up
and is fairly priced at $35 a bottle.
My
final sample in the line-up was the 2008 “Staten Family Family Reserve” Petite
Sirah Vintage Port– Alexander Valley – Estate Bottled. This wine is also made from their 118+ year
old vines. This wine displays blackberries, dark chocolate and has surprisingly
good acid and tannin structure. It is deliciously SWEET but not syrupy and has
a lot of heat on the finish. An enjoyable Port-like wine but a bit steep at $50
a bottle.
To
visit or for more information:
Field
Stone Winery
10075 Highway 128
Healdsburg, CA 95448
Phone: 1-707-433-7266; 1-800-54-GRAPE
(1-800-544-7273)
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