Just last Wednesday evening, Borra Vineyards winemaker, Markus Niggli, had the honor of being invited to co-host an installment of “Lodi Live” produced by the Lodi Winegrape Commission and their PR agency, Charles Communications Association on brandlive.
The Commission has now put on several of these successful private “taste-alongs” streaming from the Visitor Center to selected groups of wine writers and bloggers from across the country. Each writer receives in advance a set of the wines to be tasted, along with notes and other information.
As the tasting proceeds, the Twitterverse is filled with #LodiLive hashtags and @Lodi_Wine handles, significantly boosting interest in Lodi. And within days, bottle shots and wine reviews pop onto the radar of new consumers and other wine writers and geeks.
So it was quite a privilege for Markus to be seen in the presence of high-profile Camron King, Executive Director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission tasting through “unique and delicious white wines” including the 2012 Acquiesce Winery & Vineyards “Belle Blanc” (SRP $24), 2011 St. Jorge Winery Verdelho Seco (SRP $18), 2012 Watts Winery “Upstream” Chardonnay (SRP $15), and Borra’s own 2012 “Intuition” Field Blend White (SRP $22).
Here’s a particularly passionate portion of their tasting of the Borra Intuition from the 51-minute mark of the hour-plus live stream, which can be reviewed above or at http://cca.yourbrandlive.com/c/lodisummerwhites/:
Camron King:
I love this. This is such a fun and a different blend in so many ways. I mean you get the fruit and you get the ripeness and some of that almost citrus, but then that Kerner has a minerality to it that you get kind of midpalete – mid- to back-palate – that I absolutely love that’s different from a lot of wines.
Markus Niggli:
Kerner is for me the body. The Kerner is for me the minerality, is for me the structure. I have the Gewürztraminer which adds the spice. And then the Riesling which adds the floral aspect pushing out here. The oaks are giving all the layers.
Camron:
That’s beautiful. Now tell me about the oak. Because we’ve gone from unoaked… You’re not heavy on the oak at all, but it provides some structure.
Markus:
Well, I’m above normal on oak. I have once-filled barrels, 50% French, 50% American. So I have a fairly decent amount but I don’t keep it on too long. So it’s nine months and it will be bottled. I can go a little bit less on oak. But I think oak has a very very crucial part in the wine. It’s different. So that’s what I want to bring out. It’s different. I don’t want to copy-paste anybody. And I know no one else is doing this kind of wine here. I think it’s fun and that’s what we’re here for.
Camron:
It’s fun and it’s different. I absolutely think this is different and it’s different than what anybody else that I’ve tasted is doing. In fact, I took this wine to a conference with me just two weeks or so ago that had a number of master sommeliers and wine educators from throughout the country and even some international folks. And I tasted this on them blind. I said, “Tell me what this is. You know it’s from Lodi. You know what we’re known for (because of the level of understanding that these folks have). Taste it and tell me what you think.” And each and every time they were stumped on it. And I think it’s because who would think German varietals in Lodi, California? And then, who would think of the blend. And Kerner? I mean, I don’t think it even enters the thought process. So, again, this harkens back to what I was saying earlier. We can grow a world of wine here in our little region. I mean German, French, Iberian, Spanish… We have Pinotage growing here. We can grow anything. And it’s so much fun to be able to show that to people.”
Markus:
It’s the story needs to be told. And that’s really winemaking is fun. It’s great. Everybody thinks I have a great job. But on the B-side, it’s really tell everybody who gives this a try, if you don’t know what Kerner is – if you haven’t heard of it – why would you choose it? Why would you pick it and try it out? And as soon as you touch the bottle and you try the wine, I think you get a grip of it. But our job really to get this out that there is all these unusual not-Chardonnay/Merlot/Cab varietals. They’re fun. They’re exciting, and it makes a very good dinner conversation if you have it in the bag and nobody knows what it is. Believe me, that’s what’s going on.
Camron:
And nobody knew what it was. And that was fun.
Markus:
I put a hundred bucks on it.
Camron:
And I stood there and it made me smile every time. So thank you. It was really fun for me to stump the master sommeliers.
A bit later…
Camron:
When folks like yourself give me fantastic varietals to go out there and to share with the world and to dispel the generalizations that have been out there for so long about Lodi, it makes it fun and exciting and easy for me, because the misconceptions about what Lodi is and what Lodi has been are all exactly that: they’re misconceptions. And it just means that we have the opportunity to share things with people to show them what we can do, and what the quality is that’s coming out of Lodi. And that we make wines for everybody to be proud of on their dinner table, with family and friends to share every night of the week. Again, I think this is a beautiful fun wine, and you have it priced at $22, I mean that is a fantastic price for such a unique and fun and beautiful wine.
Markus:
I made 200 cases of it – fairly limited – but my goal, again, is to be out of it by as soon as it cools down. And I will. It’s my job and I will be out.
Camron:
Well, I better hurry and get over and get some. I better pick up all these, actually. That is one of the tough parts about working with all of these fantastic wineries, we have to make the sacrifice sometimes to make sure we know what’s going on in Lodi and try some beautiful, beautiful wines.
SELECTED TWEETS DURING THE LIVE STREAM AND THEREAFTER
From D Vine Wine Time @dvinewinetime, Castle Rock, CO:
Borra Vineyards Intuition field blend white is terrific! Meyer lemons; fruit & hints of Butterscotch – Amazing!
From Dezel Quillen @myvinespot:
Borra Intuition 2012 Field Blend White: Kerner based blend that moderately complex and very intriguing. Rich yet racy.
From Brian Freedman @WineUpdate, Philadelphia, PA:
BorraVineyards Intuition: Kumquat, lime, white peach, flowers, honey, coconut. Exotic and bracing. Riveting. Great evolution of the Borra Intuition as the chill of the fridge diminishes.
From Jenna Francisco @thismyhappiness, Sacramento, CA:
I love that the winemaker took an unconventional approach to making this wine. I love innovators :)
From Cliff Brown @cliffordbrown3, Pewaukee, WI:
I would NEVER guess the Intuition was from Lodi. The Borra Intuition is the most distinct and unusual wine I’ve had in a long time. The Borra is a steal at $22.
From Martin Redmond @martinredmond, Union City, CA:
Borra is charming, dry and fresh with appealing orchard fruit, white flower, spiced honey vanilla character. I’d pair Intuition with Seafood Gumbo!
From Meg Houston Maker @megmaker, NH:
I’d go with shrimp on this Borra blend. Something in a butter sauce would also work.
From Sherrie Perkovich @sperkovich, SF, CA:
Love the Borra Intuition. Smells like Kiwi, Kerner is showing nicely. Good finish.
BLOG POSTS AFTER THE LIVE STREAM
Review of Borra’s Intuition
@MyVineSpot on Tumblr by Dezel Quillen
Lodi Summer Whites w/ Watts Winery, Acquiesce Winery, Borra Vineyards, St. Jorge Winery
My Vine Spot by Dezel Quillen
Borra Vineyards Intuition 2012
Wine Harlots
Cheers!
Leave a Reply