First Crush: A Somm’s First Harvest
Blue skies, weathered and wine-stained barrels, ripening vines- there’s nothing sweeter than the sight (and smell) of an impending wine harvest. A good old-fashioned, down-and-dirty-fingers-in-the-vines-harvest is something every budding somm should experience. It’s important to get out of the cellar and into the vineyard- Wine Appreciation 101. I worked my first harvest in Virginia at Paradise Springs vineyard. Well, sort of. The harvest took all of a grueling hour, not exactly the grapes of wrath, but this East Coast vineyard is young and hopeful, boasting a small but bountiful little plot of vines. There were enough of us working the harvest that within the hour, we had clipped that Cab Franc flat off the vines. I didn’t stick around for the full harvest experience including the crushing, the pressing, the fermenting, the barreling, etc., so it don’t know if I can really count it as a true harvest experience. Yes, I took a knee and clipped those delicate grapes to my beaming heart’s content, but truly working a harvest is much more than a few hours in the dirt.
Enter retired showgirl turned superstar sommelier and my pal (from our dancing days together), Sabra Lewis. A somm at the wino-darling restaurant, The NoMad, Sabra clipped California grapes this past fall with the in-crowd and her adventures were so dreamy, (at least on her Instagram account), I had to ask if she would share her first crush with us. She said yes.
But first- a bit about Sabra:
Sabra, I love that you worked your first harvest with Abe Schoener and Rajat Parr- the rockiest rockstar winemakers right now in California. The whole experience seems so incredible. What was it like physically working the harvest?
It was challenging, really a lot of manual labor that my body wasn’t used to.
How did you choose the winemakers that you worked with?
I worked with Abe Schoener at Scholium Project and Rajat Parr and Sashi Moorman at Sandhi Wines and Domaine de la Cote. Abe uses more natural methods of production and runs a very small crew who are all very involved in all aspects of winemaking from choosing the vineyards to the actual winemaking in and around Napa Valley. I wanted to learn some of his winemaking philosophies and also pick his brain about making unconventional wines in such a famous wine region. He really knows and understands the landscape there and is a true trailblazer for experimentation in a very homogenized landscape.
I wanted to work with Raj and Sashi down in Santa Rita Hills and learn from their Burgundian winemaking techniques. They have a bigger production but still run a fairly hand-off approach really modeled after Burgundy. They are also trailblazing the idea of “balance” in their wines and started a movement in California called IPOB, along with Jasmine Hirsch favoring modest alcohol and oak levels.
Yes! Exactly what us winos are always wanting more of- lower alcohol and less imparted oak make for prettier and tastier wines. Ok, give me your top 5 reasons everyone should work a harvest at some point in their life.
1. Working a harvest gives you a huge appreciation for each bottle of wine you open. There is so so much hard work and investment before there are any monetary returns, if ever.
2. You really get to understand the winemakers passion and artistry through what they do. Often times there is a great sense of family history and cultural significance as well, especially in the old world.
3. When you work a harvest, you start to understand agriculture and why terroir matters. Most of us city folk have little experience with that!
4. You really get a sense of how many variables there are that translate to both minor and major differences in the final bottle.
5. You get a head-to-toe understanding of the life of a bottle. For example, being able to see fermentation in action and taste the wine from beginning to end: tasting the berry on the vine to tasting the juice during mid-fermentation to malo to finished wine in barrel to bottled wine at various stages of development. It’s eye-opening and you really get a sense of a wine’s “life” that way.
Sold. What’s a typical day like during harvest -when do you wake up, and what exactly do you do?
EARLY! If you are helping to pick, then it’s best to pick before sunrise when the grapes are cooler. If you are pressing or making wine, it gets really hot out, so you are more productive in the early hours. During harvest, most winemakers barely sleep. There is just so much to do and coordinate between picking decisions and the logistics of receiving grapes and starting to press- a lot of pieces in the puzzle. When there is down time it’s all about cleaning the crush pad and work space. Wineries have to be immaculate!
What do you all drink after work?
BEER! There is nothing more refreshing than a crisp beer after a long day in the vineyard or a long day on the crush pad. Although, harvest is also about sharing and Raj makes a point to open up extraordinary bottles to share with his team so that they know what to aspire to. There were many many iconic bottles of wine opened up while I was there from Champagne to the great whites and reds of Burgundy and the Rhone, Italian, German and Austrian Rieslings… you name it!
Sounds like a dream. What is your hands-down favorite part about working the harvest?
The camaraderie of working physically hard with a team. As an intern, you are the low man on the totem pole, but it’s still fun to watch and learn what people are doing and see the decision making process. I loved going out into the vineyards and walking through the vines. Vineyards are such beautiful and peaceful places. They are so organized and wild at the same time. It’s a wonderful juxtaposition that I find a lot of harmony in. As much as I adore NYC, it’s important to physically get yourself in a vineyard for a few hours to gain some perspective.
It’s sort of like that dressing room camaraderie backstage on Broadway right? Well, except for the lights and the makeup and the costumes and well… maybe it’s not quite like that, but I do love that camaraderie thing. But back to the vino- from the labor of your harvest, what is the bottle you’re most excited to taste?
2013 Domaine de la Cote, La Cote. Also, the “Troken” project which is a dry Riesling modeled after Johannes Leitz from the Rheingau.
I can quench the acid now and just hoping I can get my hands on some of this stuff to taste the fruits of your labor. Would you do a Cali. harvest again?
I would love to.
What wine region or winemaker is on your wish list to harvest in the world?
It would be cool to work in Burgundy and Piedmont.
Ok- any musts (dining or otherwise) for Napa or the Santa Barbara region right now? Where do we need to go?
If you are ever near Santa Barbara, you MUST go to Mattei’s Tavern. One of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had!
Ah yes, in lovely Los Olivos- love that town, it always makes me think about that iconic Sideways scene just outside the Los Olivos Cafe with Paul Giammati announcing that he’s not going to drink “any f*$#ing Merlot” (that line really did do a number on Merlot sales). Anyway, I have not been to Mattei’s- it is now officially on the list.
Thank you Sabra for sharing, I can’t wait to follow along with your continuing adventures in vino, you are on a roll.
Thanks for the interview. Cheers!
Pick up one of the 2013 bottles Sabra helped to harvest, and taste the fruits of her labor:
Sandhi La Cote Pinot Noir 2013, $90: California’s Prince of Pinot, Rajat Parr’s photo is what you find when you look up rockstar sommelier turned winemaker. Parr knows how to let the wine tell its own tale. This Pinot sings the song of the Santa Rita Hills (my personal favorite wine region and if-I-could-live-anywhere-in-the-world spot). These hills were made for Pinot. Paul Giamatti’s Sideways character agrees. The La Cote is a great bottle to invest in and daydeam about until that special occasion calls for you to pop its cork. Also makes for a killer and molto impressive gift.
Scholium Project Dulcissima Camilla Farina Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2013, $29: Abe Schoener’s wines are not for everybody. He is a former classics Professor who gets off on really pushing the envelope with his juice. Experimentation is his game, and in turn, he’s a culty wine nerd’s hero. Not your momma’s Sauvignon Blanc, this one is ever changing depending on when it’s opened, but expect some serious funk, a little residual sugar and killer acid.
*Bonus: Sabra’s pals were simultaneously hard at work helping another cult California winemaker, Steve Matthiason last fall. Here’s a ripe pick from their harvest:
Matthiason Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, $60: a shining star example of a near perfect Cali Cab. This is the stuff that made Napa famous. Structured and lean, yet packed with fruit, this is the epitome of a classic Napa Cab- these guys got the balance of fruit to tannin just right- like Goldilocks sipping from Baby Bear’s bowl.
Follow along with rising somm star, Sabra Lewis here and here.
P.S.: If you want to explore the Santa Rita Hills, Solvang, Lompoc and Los Olivos, this is my favorite vacation rental company. I am eyeing this house for my best group of gals to reunion at someday soon- right in the heart of wine country. The 7 of us stayed here a few years ago and it was truly something to write home about. The built-in backyard trampoline amounted to lots of ready-made memories. For this type of property, if you have a large group, the prices are pretty great.
Cin Cin.
Photos: Sabra Lewis
Related posts:
