This is on the Edible Monterey Bay blog: here. Or read it below.
WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS:
THE CAVES AT HOLMAN RANCH
The Caves at Holman Ranch
are completely underground, carved into the hillside, to take advantage of the
natural cooling and humidity. The 3000-square-foot area maintains a constant
temperature, fluctuating only a degree or two from 58˚F to 60 ˚F, and houses
four 750-gallon tanks, four 1200-gallon tanks, four open top tanks that can
house two tons each, and one hundred François Frères oak barrels. All of the
winery operations—from destemming and pressing to fermenting and aging—take
place within the cool environment of the caves, while bottling is done directly
outside using a mobile bottling line.
On the day that I
visited, Guest Services Manager Nick Elliott greeted me, swung open the heavy
wooden doors to the underground workspace, and invited me inside. We strolled
towards a barrel topped with an army of wine goblets and a variety of Holman
Ranch wines, including their estate Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay,
Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé of Pinot Noir. It was the unreleased Chardonnay that
intrigued me the most.
Over a picnic lunch just
outside the caves, Nick poured both the 2010 Chardonnay and the
not-yet-released 2012 Virgin Chardonnay. I chuckled when I finally saw the
label. I had heard him mention ‘virgin’ when we talked about the wine, but I
didn’t realize that that was its actual name – on the bottle.
While the 2010 is
cold-fermented for three months in new François Frères oak barrels, the 2012
has never seen any wood. Nick and I discussed how the oak contributes to the
character of the wine. Aging wine in oak barrels produces a smoother, fuller,
and sweeter wine. Used judiciously, like Holman’s three months stint, the wine
grows complex without getting too buttery and heavy.
New oak barrels
impart flavor to the wine. With each use, the wine extracts progressively less
and less oak flavor. After a few seasons of use—Holman Ranch considers their
barrels ‘new’ for three rounds—the barrel is largely depleted of its oaky
flavor. The barrels are still used after that; but they are simply labeled as
‘neutral’ barrels.
Though Holman Ranch’s
2010 Chardonnay is only oaked for three months, it still has that supple, round
feel, woodsy smell, and toasty character that is fairly common in Chardonnay
wines.
The 2012 Virgin Chard is
altogether a different creature. The first word that came to mind after
inhaling the bouquet was ‘grassy.’ The aroma reminded me of a freshly mown
field—not golden straw or hay but lush, verdant grass. There is the faintest
green tint to the wine as well. Even the foil capsule covering over the cork is
a unique, almost iridescent shade of green. The wine was bright and crisp and
after a few minutes in the glass it grew almost tropical. What a fun summer
wine!
And the 2012 Virgin
Chardonnay is only one of the up-and-coming wines to emerge from Holman Ranch.
Nick, knowing my fondness for Pinot Noir, shared that they will have ten Pinots
with a 2012 vintage. Ten. That is not a typo. While most are small
production—with only about 50 cases bottled of each—Holman is debuting one
larger production wine that will bear the name of the third Lowder daughter,
Kelly.
Kelly’s
Press is a pressed, versus free-run, wine which means that it’s made using the
leftover must, the unfermented grape juice and contains the seeds, stems, and
skins. It will join the 2010 Hunter’s Cuvée, a bold Pinot Noir with intense jam
notes; the 2011 Heather’s Hill that makes me think of rose petals and
peppercorns; the 2010 Estate-Grown Pinot that is aged for 12 months in French
oak, resulting in an earthy wine with hints of tobacco; and six clonal
varieties, including Clone 667, Clone 777, Clone 828, Pommard 4, Swan, and
Calera.
Holman Ranch Vineyards
consists of 19 acres that lie between 950 and 1150 feet in elevation. The
topography of the surrounding area allows for morning fog that rapidly moves
out as the air warms while sedimentary soils and Carmel stone play a major role
in providing excellent soil drainage. The vines are planted 15 degrees off due
north which allows for all-day sunlight on the fruit zone and good protection
from winds. Holman Ranch’s inland valley is an ideal microclimate for the
production of Pinot Noir grapes.
Currently in the process
of attaining sustainable and organic certification, they do not use any
chemical herbicides or pesticides on their fruit. Holman Ranch’s wines are
refined and crafted to deliver the true varietal of the grape from harvest to
table. And if purity and passion are key ingredients in the wine-making
process, Holman Ranch truly excels in that arena.
You can take a
trip to the Holman Ranch Tasting Room in the Carmel Valley Village to taste
their wines. And if you ask really nicely, they might even let you into The
Caves to see where all the magic happens. Or you can attend a special dinner in
July at the vineyard that will showcase their wines.
Holman Ranch Vineyard and Edible
Monterey Bay host a Farm (and Vineyard) to Table Pop-Up Supper Club on
Sunday, July 28th to benefit the Food Bank for Monterey County. Click
here to buy tickets.
Holman Ranch
Tasting Room
19 E. Carmel Valley Rd.,
Suite C
Carmel Valley, CA 93924
(831) 659-2640
wines@holmanranch.com
Summer Hours
Mon–Thu – 11am–6pm
Fri–Sun – 12pm–7pm
Private Tasting – Call
for information
Nick Elliott, Guest Services Manager at Holman Ranch, met us at the Holman Vineyards’ tasting room in the Carmel Valley village and four of us loaded up into his vehicle. On the way Nick gave us a history of Holman Ranch and talked to us about the vineyards that are planted on 19 of the 400 acres that make up the Ranch. We wound through the property, up a dirt road, and headed to the lower vineyard of Pinot Noir grapes that were planted in 2007 and sits at approximately 1100 feet elevation.
As we sipped the wine, we walked through the olive grove which Holman harvests to produce its extra-virgin olive oil. We paused and Nick pointed out the different kinds of olives. The Italian trees on the right were taller and the leaves had a dusty sage hue to them while the French olive trees on the left were stouter with brighter green leaves. Holman hand‐harvests and cold presses the olives, bottling the oil onsite and offering them for sale at the tasting room and through the company’s website.
To me, Pinot Noir means ‘love’; it’s definitely my wine of choice and Holman Vineyard’s 2010 ranks high on my list. Aged in French oak for a year, it’s a full‐bodied red with robust cherry on the nose and a slight earthy layer of tobacco. It’s luscious.
Maloney founded his company in 2008 and has formed strong ties with local chefs, loading up his bounty each week and driving to provide numerous spots with hand- harvested oysters. He described his typical Thursday morning: at 7am, harvesting begins; by 9am, he’s loaded up, and until 3pm, he’s delivering to restaurants such as Lokal, in Carmel Valley, and Schooners Coastal Kitchen and Bar, on Cannery Row. The schedule is arduous, but it ensures that the oysters make it from bay to plate in less than twelve hours. And if there are any oysters that aren’t sold and served, Maloney retrieves them the following week, returning them to the bay where they are allowed to grow for at least another month before he re- harvests them.
The farm lies on 134 acres that Maloney has leased long-term from California’s Department of Fish and Game. In the shadow of Morro Rock, a unique volcanic formation that was once an island and now stands sentry at the mouth of Morro Bay, smaller rocks have eroded from the behemoth, forming jetties and creating an estuary in which Maloney’s crop thrives.
Because my knowledge about brandy bordered on nil, I was lucky to get a quick distillation education while tasting the three brandies they were pouring. Brandy, in case you are as unfamiliar with it as I was, is a distilled wine and short for “brandywine.”
Michaud Vineyards is the only winery I’ve ever seen bring a mason jar full of soil to a tasting. Yes, soil. Dirt. Maybe it’s because I am a perpetual inhabitant of testosterone land—with a husband and two small boys in the house—but that jar of dirt drew me to their tasting table a few years ago, the first time I ever encountered their wines. Intrigued, I remember that I placed my wine glass on the table and was instructed, “Swirl that. Take a whiff of the dirt. Then taste the wine.”
