Wine: Silver Oak rises again; Opus One in Japanese comic

Cabernet sauvignon specialist Silver Oak Cellars has reopened its Oakville facility after a year and a half of reconstruction. A February 2006 fire destroyed several buildings and 15 years of library vintages and gave the Duncan family a chance to lift the winery a few feet above potential flooding, which last inundated Silver Oak a couple of months before the fire.

“Though the fire was devastating, it presented us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said President David Duncan.

General contractor Cello & Maudru of Napa had the new winery ready for grapes on Sept. 1, and the rest of it was operational by the end of that month. The new winery includes reclaimed redwood and a century-old limestone block from Kansas, solar power and extensive “daylighting” via skylights.

In late 2006 the Duncans acquired the Roshambo winery in Sonoma County to produce the 2007 vintage during construction. Silver Oak continues to make about 30,000 cases annually of its Napa Valley cab. A Silver Oak winery in Geyserville makes 70,000 cases of Alexander Valley cab, and the Twomey Cellars pinot noir brand makes more than 10,000 cases a year.

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For the next several months, another high-value vintner in Oakville, Opus One, will be building a 14,000-square-foot steel-and-concrete shop for farming the exclusive Oakville winery’s 150 acres of vineyards.

Started in the late 1970s as a venture between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Opus One had shared vineyard operations facilities with the Mondavi winery. However, after Constellation Brands’ acquisition of Robert Mondavi Corp. in 2005, Opus One has been striving to be more independent, according to Opus One spokesman Roger Asleson.

Meanwhile, the brand was among about a dozen top wines mentioned so far in a Japanese serial comic, or “manga,” that has been propelling wine sales in that country and elsewhere in Asia.

The winery’s 2000 vintage was noted in volume 1 of “Kami no Shizuku” (“Drops of the Gods”). About a half-million Japanese weekly read the quest of manga character Shizuku Kanzaki to travel the world to find 12 superb wines before his adopted brother inherits their late father’s collection of rare wines. Wine terms, concepts and experiential descriptions have been introducing Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Singapore to fine wine, prompting shortages and price increases for wines mentioned.

Asia’s in-demand movie star, Bae Yong Joon of Korea, has agreed to star in a silver-screen adaptation.

Opus One has not noted an increase in sales in Japan since the mention because the country is one of the winery’s three strongest markets outside of the U.S., according to Mr. Asleson. About a quarter of the winery’s production is exported.

Japan has been a strong market for Opus One for eight years, and the Korean market has been growing for two years as restaurateurs and distributors have come to understand wine, according to Mr. Asleson.

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“Virtual vintners,” or holders of type 17/20 wine wholesaler-retailer state licenses, recently found legislative success in being able to pour samples for con-sumers at nonprofit events. Now, microdistillers, which produce up to thousands of cases rather than millions annually, are looking to “rationalize” state laws on alcoholic beverage tasting. They can pour samples for distillery visitors, but they’re barred from making sales. Conversely, wineries that also make brandy can sell the latter from their tasting rooms but can’t offer samples.

“We want to change that to be like breweries and wineries for tasting and selling where it is produced,” said Lara Karakasevic, director of marketing for Charbay Distilling, which makes 15,000 cases annually of flavored corn and rye vodkas in St. Helena.

Sweetwater Distillers in Petaluma sends visitors to a nearby liquor store after pouring samples of vodka, grappa and eau-de-vie. To get closer connections between tasting and sales, the owners have been working with Ukiah-based Craft Distillers, which markets spirits by several Bay Area microdistilleries and set up an off-premise box-within-a-box sales venue next to St. George Spirits in Alameda.

The Washington-based Distilled Spirits Council and the Hayward-based American Distilling Institute are interested in unraveling the tasting tangle. Opening up tasting has been high on the agenda for the council, with 43 states allowing varying degrees of tastings at bars, restaurants and stores, according to Senior Vice President Frank Coleman.

In addition to an off-premise tasting bill that could be crafted next year, the council has been trying to convince state and federal representatives to forego new excise taxes on spirits as governments look for new revenue. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, recently toured Charbay to hear about the impact of the current tax rate, $13.50 per 100-proof gallon.

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Dry Creek Vineyard has taken a bold step into the instant-interaction realm of cyberspace by incorporating a rating system similar to those found on online shopping sites, including those of wine e-tailers, on the winery’s Web site.

Bill Smart, spokesman for the winery, said third-party filtering software is used to help instill confidence that the vintner is not unjustly screening low rankings and negative comments.

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Wine People

The Lake County Wineries Association has elected Kaj (pronounced “kye”) Ahlmann, co-owner of Six Sigma Ranch, Vineyards & Winery as president of the year-old organization, which now has 24 members. Mr. Ahlmann, 58, acquired the 4,300-acre ranch near Lower Lake in 2000 and now is building an eight-room hospitality center on the property.

He learned the six sigma organizational system, originally developed for manufacturing, in the reinsurance world. From the “voice of the customer” focus of that system, he wants to focus the wineries association more toward consumer demand, which he said is for more upscale accommodations and dining in the county. Accommodations such as his and some under construction at other wineries around the lake are more of what the county needs to raise its profile back to the county’s pre-Prohibition wine heyday, according to Mr. Ahlmann.

The association plans to work more closely with the county Board of Supervisors to help them understand the hospitality needs of the local wine business and more closely with the Lake County Winegrape Commission, with which the association has helped put on several annual tourism events.

Merryvale Vineyards promoted wine-maker Sean Foster to senior winemaker. He replaces Larry Cherubino, who was in that position for three years. Mr. Foster came to the St. Helena winery in 1992 as a winemaking intern.

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Jeff Quackenbush at 707-521-4256, jquackenbush@busjrnl.com or fax 707-521-5292.