Wellington Vineyards: Keeping It In The FamilyIn the 80s John Wellington was living in Hawaii; his son Peter had assumed he planned to retire in the island paradise. John, however, remained intensely active as he approached retirement age, biking, swimming, and generally refusing to just sit back and relax. He wanted to return to his native California and its wider spaces, and he wanted to be nearer to his son, who was making his way as a winemaker. John asked Peter to start looking around for some property - a place to live, but also somewhere where grapevines grew well, so they could start making their own wine. Peter came across some land in Sonoma that was stuck in escrow; when the deal fell through, he and his father were there to grab the plot. They began recuperating the older vines on the property, planting new vines, and building a winery. In 1989, the winery was ready for their first crush (harvest) of 18 tons of grapes. Now, after two decades of work, they've expanded dramatically, crushing 150 tons of grapes last year. The vineyards are well chosen, giving Peter top-notch raw materials to work with. They are generally cooler, which allows the grapes to ripen slowly, with good balance and acidity. Wellington relies on sustainable agricultural practices, eager to avoid squandering nature's gifts. Because the vineyards have a healthy population of spiders and other predator insects, they have never needed to resort to insecticides to protect their grapes. Peter once noticed some leaf hoppers in the vineyards, and was concerned there might be enough of them to harm the vines. As he looked around to determine the extent of the problem, he accidentally brushed a leaf and saw a hopper jump off it.directly into the web of a spider. The spiders clearly had the leaf hoppers under control. John and Peter are also fortunate in never having to work too hard at selling their wines; each year they sell almost half of their wine at the winery tasting room. That means they've been able to concentrate on their winemaking instead of fighting for a place on the national market, so we're happy - and lucky - to be able to bring you two of their wines, a Sauvignon Blanc and a Merlot. Peter likes Sauvignon Blanc in particular for its food-friendly character: "When I dine out I order a Sauvignon Blanc 9 times out of 10." Peter blends the Sauvignon with small amounts of Sémillon and Muscadelle, its traditional partners in Bordeaux; less traditionally, the 2003 includes a touch of Viognier, which helps soften the wine and heighten its aromatics. Harvesting later also brought out more of Sauvignon's fruit aromas. Peter has similar praise for Merlot, which he says can be "a damn good wine - a less tannic, softer alternative to Cabernet Sauvignon." He feels their 2002 may be one of the best Merlots they've produced; it was a difficult vintage for other reds, but Merlot ripened very evenly. A tiny touch (2%) of Cabernet Sauvignon helped out by giving the wine more structure to support its rich fruit flavors, complementing Merlot's acidity and food-friendly character. Peter says that 98% of the wine he drinks is with a meal; a wine should be "pleasurable on its own, but pairing it with food its raison d'etre." For Peter that means, "not too much oak, and decent acid levels." Despite their growth, Wellington remains a father and son operation, with Peter and assistant winemaker Lynda Hanson handling the winemaking. Their biggest challenge also hasn't changed: "Walking the tightrope between letting the individual character of the grapes come through and creating a wine with impeccable balance." Err on one side, and you get a very individual, but overbearing wine; err in the other direction and you get a wine that's balanced, but boring." A challenge for Peter, Lynda, and John, but a pleasure for us. |
