Beginnings
Greetings and welcome to the Old Vine Grenache Project. For those of you who know me you might be wondering, “grenache“????, what happened to pinot noir? Never fear, I am still happily married to PN but must admit to having a torrid affair with that sleeper grape, grenache. How did this happen?
For the past six years I have owned and operated a fine wine distribution company in Portland, Oregon. It was a departure from my usual “producer” status and frankly a bit of a misstep for a dirt-loving gal like me (distribution was not my cup of tea!). There are however always silver linings and I not only learned a completely different part of the “wine biz” but fell in love with a grape that has been around for years often in a primary role but with secondary or no billing. Well, that is about to change!
Today’s project is a blend of old and new. The seed of this started with a wonderful two-plus-month adventure to southern France and northern Spain this past spring 2010, in search of property with a small old vine grenache vineyard, une petite maison, and some additional farmable land. I realized reasonably soon that this search was not a small endeavor and to find the perfect farm I needed more time and much more exploration.
To that end I have chosen to resurrect my wine label (the old part), KEEGAN CELLARS. From 1994 through 2003 I made pinot noir and chardonnay from Sonoma County’s famed Russian River Valley. The entire project was magical from beginning to end. I closed down Keegan Cellars (I thought it was the very end, but here we are rising from the ashes) when I moved to Oregon and started the distribution company. Well….I should state clearly that I chose to close it down as I simply could not produce the quality of wine that I had for those many years as I no longer had the time to do so. So, rather than make half-assed wine I sold everything off and put that part of my professional life behind me.
OK, simple question: why would you close down a “magical” portion of your life for something not quite right? Yes, you guessed it, love. Alas, love is still with us and the distribution company is history, and I am back just where I want to be, ready to embark on a completely new and untested adventure.
To satisfy my craving for knowledge and research I am mainlining grenache into my system one vineyard site at a time. Over time the goal is to produce a handful (no limits on this) of single vineyard, 100% grenache bottlings (this could be tricky….grenache is used to bedding down with several other varieties) reflecting the many varied soil types found in southern France (again, not limited to France, but what a GREAT place to start!).
I have started a blog for this trip for several reasons….first of course it is fun and a great way to stay in touch with family and friends, and it may be the only way that I will keep a journal for more than the first three or four days of this new life! Please join me.
In vino veritas.
