In the 1970’s my mom and dad partnered with four other couples to open Fine Wines of Stockton, a small independent retailer of fine wine. At this point, we were just grape growers, and had no ambitions of opening a winery, but my dad was incessantly curious and wanted to learn more. Keep in mind, fine wine culture in the US was in its infancy, spirits were usually the drink of choice, and a significant portion of California wine was sweet and fortified. The partners would gather regularly to taste wines and decide what to carry in the shop. They explored the fine wine regions of Europe – Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rioja, Italy, German Rieslings, and Portuguese Ports. My sister and I were often dragged along to these tastings getting exposed to world of wine from a very young age.
My dad fell in love Portugal’s Port wines, and always curious, wondered why they were so much more complex than the California versions. At the time, most California port-styled wines were made from Zinfandel, Petite Sirah or Cabernet Sauvignon. They were usually made from just one variety, were often fairly sweet, lacked acidity, and tasted very one-dimensional and syrupy. He concluded that Portugal’s unique set of indigenous varieties played a big part. Additionally, their wines were rarely one variety and often contained multiple varieties from field blends where the grapes were all inter-mixed in the field.
It’s also important to understand that Portugal has around 250 unique varieties that have been identified for fine wine production. And some believe there could be as many as 500. Portugal’s geographic isolation and long history of local viticulture meant varieties evolved in place rather than being replaced by “international” grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay. Unlike France or Spain, Portugal never underwent large-scale “rationalization” (replanting to just a handful of “noble” grapes), so hundreds of heirloom cultivars survived. Many of these survive in old mixed-vine vineyards (“vinhas velhas”), where 20–50+ different grapes may be interplanted in a single parcel.
Portugal’s viticultural genetic diversity makes the wines very distinct. More recently, they have drawn international attention as vintners across the globe look to Portugal’s heat-loving varieties to address climate change. Touriga Nacional is now being experimented with in Bordeaux and Napa…45 years after my dad planted these grapes at Spencer Ranch in Amador County.
The Douro Valley is one of the most dramatic and historic wine regions on earth — a landscape carved by the Douro River in northern Portugal, stretching from the Spanish border westward toward Porto. It is both a UNESCO World Heritage Site (since 2001) and the world’s oldest demarcated wine region (established in 1756). The Douro River cuts through steep, rugged mountains, creating a series of deep valleys and gorges. Vineyards are planted along slopes so steep that terraces had to be carved into schist rock over centuries.
The Douro Valley in northern Portugal, home to delicious Port wines, is one of the most distinctive winegrowing regions in the world, both for its dramatic landscape and for its hot, continental climate moderated by the Douro River. The summers along the Douro River can be brutally hot and dry, yet the vines survive and produce delicious wines. For most of its history, the Douro, and Portugal have been mostly recognized internationally for their Port wines. But over the past 30 years, Portuguese vintners have been experimenting with dry table wines, and have had a lot of success, and have begun to draw international attention to the quality of the wines.
My dad believed strongly in matching grape varieties to the right vineyard site. Portugal’s Douro Valley grapes, for example, had adapted over centuries to a hot climate with dry summers and large swings between day and night temperatures – conditions very similar to those at our ranch in Amador County. He believed, as I do today, that the most compelling wines come from varieties best suited to their environment, where they can ripen naturally, hold their acidity, and express vibrant, delicious flavors.
In 1980 my dad contacted UC Davis to see what varieties from the Douro Valley of Portugal they had available. He ended up planting five varieties – Bastardo, Souzão, Touriga, Alvarelhao and Tinta Cao. In 1981 our first crop was sold to JW Morris, a now defunct winery in Emeryville whose winemaker also had an interest in Port wines. Unfortunately, they never paid for the grapes, filed bankruptcy, and we had to confiscate the young Port wine. That event was the beginning of St. Amant Winery, but that’s another story for another day.
1982 was a challenging year, extensive rain at harvest resulted in a significant crop loss, and compromised wines, but we pushed forward. 1983 was a solid year, 1984 was not a memorable year, but in 1985, 1986, and 1987 we made a series of beautiful Vintage Ports. This put us on the map! In 1988 we made our first dry table wine from Portuguese varieties that my dad called Tres Cachos (more on that later). He was decades ahead of the market but found a loyal following.
In the 1990s our vineyard was hit by phylloxera, a root-feeding insect that eventually kills vines. Our original vineyard had been planted on its own roots, rather than grafted onto American rootstock like most vineyards today, leaving it especially vulnerable. While this was a major setback, and it meant three years without grapes, it also created an opportunity. We were able to apply everything we had learned about Portuguese varieties and expand on the foundation we had already built.
Today, we farm seven heirloom grape varieties from the Iberian Peninsula – Bastardo, Souzão, Tinta Cão, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and Verdelho. These grapes have found a natural home at our ranch, thriving in our soils and climate to produce distinctive, delicious wines. They aren’t the easiest to sell, since most people have never heard of them, but they make sense for us: they grow well, they’re resilient in a changing climate, and, above all, they honor my dad’s spirit. He never followed the easy path, he followed his own, and that’s the legacy we carry on today.
Here’s to many more vintages.
