Why This Walla Walla Winemaker Won't Put The Grape On The Label

Ever pick up a wine bottle and had no idea what was inside? Vickens Estate did that on purpose. Varietals are a lens to the sight to get it to express something along that line. Well it's part of why I didn't varietally label the wines. It's such an American thing that we focus on what is the varietal. You know we order a Chardonnay or a Cabernet or a Merlot rather than what is the place. And using varietals as a lens to best express your sight. So when I planted this I didn't just plant varieties that I thought were you know trendy or of general high quality. It was what's the best grapes I can plant on this particular panel that will produce the highest quality wine. Just like a you know a painter would use different color paints. You're not thinking about oh I love blue so I'm going to just use blue. It's what is the the end outcome the end blend that I want and using the varietals like that. You know after a few trips to Bordeaux and to Piedmont I love this idea of the estate the winery and the wine are just a continuum. You know it's just it's from these four borders. The grape doesn't define the wine. The place does. That's the difference between a varietal wine and an estate wine. Why does one Cabernet taste different than another just half a mile apart? It's the land, the weather, the soil, the elevation, the slope, the angle to the sun. The grape variety reacts to that like your plants in your garden. And that reaction, that expression you find back in the wine. Higher elevation, thinner air, stronger winds, extreme fluctuations in temperatures that all result into a smaller berry, a smaller grape, thicker skins that gives you more concentrated savory fruit. And the high temperature fluctuation between day and night preserves the freshness in the grape and the wine. Freshness because of the acidity that's preserved. Well draining sandy silt soils called luss over fractured basalt leaves this layer of calcium carbonate that is known to leave a more minerally chalky finish in the wine. And all that is the unique expression of the place, of that vineyard, at that site. So when you see in a bottle of wine single vineyard or a state vineyard, the grape doesn't change, the place does. And the place is the wine. I love when the wines, and let's taste them. Yeah. I love when people are literally looking at the vineyard and looking at the view and drinking the wines because that's when you sort of get it. I know every wine trip that I've made, and Piedmont in particular, is that's the Figgins estate on your left by the way and the Philly on the right. Yeah. Particularly in like Piedmont or Burgundy, when you're tasting the wines and they're, you're literally looking, okay see how the aspect changes mid-slope or the soil changes and you can, and it actually shows in the glass. The label doesn't tell you the grape, it tells you the place. And now you know why that matters. Figgins estate wines are available at SpokenWines.com.