Turnbull–Friends of the Earth
If there’s one thing fine winemakers understand, it’s the relationship between humans, the grapes, and the land. After all, fine wine starts with the fruit, and if you don’t respect where and how it’s grown, you might as well seek alternative employment.
This respect for the land, the soil, the entire ecological structure, runs throughout the winemaking world, and is well exemplified by Peter Heitz and the rest of the crew at Turnbull. (Yes, Peter will be pouring at the Grand Tasting).
Some of the Turnbull estate vineyards
First of all, Peter has himself several great slices of land, some right in the middle of Oakville, which is right in the middle of Napa Valley, and others a bit up the road in Calistoga. All Turnbull wines are produced from their 200 acres of estate fruit. And everything is about as ecological and sustainable as you can get.
In caring for the soil and the earth in general, farmers and winemakers can be forgiven if they don’t pay as much attention to what’s going on above their vineyards, and to the sides. Turnbull takes the panoramic view.
More Turnbull grapes
In addition to composting all the pomace (the grape skins and seeds left after fermentation) and putting it back on the ground, they don’t fence off their vineyards, so that native wildlife can move freely around the valley. This is a great idea, except for the coyotes, who, characteristically, are not quite with the program.
Coyotes don’t care much for grapes, but they do like to refresh themselves by munching on the drip irrigation lines that run along the bottom of the vine trellises. Turnbull solves this problem by building watering stations and hand filling them so that coyotes and other native wildlife are encouraged to be fruitful and multiply.
The people who do the work
And in these days of raging healthcare debate, Turnbull gives their vineyard crew permanent employment, providing full medical coverage for them and their families.
They do a lot more, but we’d be here all day. On to the wines.
Turnbull farms five ranches in Oakville and Calistoga and takes utmost advantage of the unique characteristics provided by the fruit grown on each of them. They’re into a bunch of varietals, too, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as a few exotics such as Malbec, Barbera, Petite Sirah, Petite Verdot, and Viognier.
Turnbull photo art gallery
The trick, according to Peter Heitz, is to capture the nuances of flavor, acidity, tannin, and aroma that each of the sites provides, and not “overpower them with heavy-handed winemaking techniques.” You can find out how well he succeeds by joining us at the Grand Tasting and Auction in February.
“Above all,” he says, “it’s the land.”
And all those who inhabit it, large and small.