HOW CLARKSBURG CHENIN MUST TELL A ‘DIFFERENT’ STORY
By Alan Goldfarb
July 5, 2022
“Clarksburg (which I like a lot) is the undoubted ground zero (AVA) for Chenin Blanc in California, if not the U.S. if not North America. It has been that way for some time but nobody pays attention (other than a group of winemakers and wineries).”
That was former colleague and longtime Suisun grower Roger King -- who could have added, as it pertains to who pays attention to such “disparate” varietals such as Chenin -- the media.
As a longtime member of that media – and now as a constituent in the public relations sphere – I pay attention to such offbeat, if you will, things such as Counoise, Valdiquié or Pinot Meunier. That’s because journalists and this winery flack are always on the lookout for something different, something new, and something no one else has discovered or written about. As I consider taking on a winery client, I look for those that perhaps produce those and other such wines as Sagrantino or Verdelho or Mencia. And if they make these wines, I hope that they’re representative of the grape, and stand the test of quality; and/or, at the very least, that they are somewhat eccentric.
Because then, if some of my client’s or their wines display any idiosyncrasies, I know I can intrigue the media to pay heed to them. I know I can deliver something different, something they might be able to sink their teeth into, and even take a bite.
But first, if any producer deems to play in the arena of ABC&C (Anything But Chardonnay & Cabernet), they must make an interesting, compelling wine; one that can stand up to the scrutiny that is sure to follow.
Which brings us back to Chenin, as example. Chenin Blanc is not one of those “disparate” varietals but nevertheless, it hasn’t generated much buzz in the States. That’s because the varietal has invariably been compared to those produced in the Loire Valley. It’s the way things go here, in what is still a relatively young wine country. It’s what Cabernet went through in the late 1960s and 70s – before something so monumental and serendipitous occurred as the Paris Tasting. That moment forever dispelled the notion that California Cabs can’t be compared to Bordeaux.
Or take Pinot Noir. How long did it take for that varietal to gain a foothold among the country’s aficionados and the media? Not until Pinots from the Carneros, Anderson Valley and Oregon began producing wines that were rooted in their various terrior, and displayed enough backbone to stand up to criticism, did Pinot flourish here.
And that should be the lesson for the good folks in Clarksburg who, as Roger King points out, is the region of Chenin in America. And is the go-to AVA for producers who want to make a better-than-good and decent wine.
Good and decent though, just won’t cut it if Clarksburg’s Chenins are ever to be taken seriously and catch the fickle attention of the consumer. Right now is the right time for Clarksburg to strike. Because as younger drinkers become older drinkers, who seek other kinds of wine, they just may want to turn their eyes toward the Sacramento Delta for that kind of “different” wine.
I know that growers and producers in the region are working hard trying to make Chenin that will meet those criteria. As with any world-class wine, the grapes must be of the highest quality and methods in the cellar have to be pristine and focused. Slapping a $30 or $40 price tag on the wine is not going to make it in the long run. It must to be in the bottle first, and it’s got to be real.
I look forward to the day that Chenin Blanc from Clarksburg catches lightning in the bottle, and knocks the socks off the media and then the consumer. Then come to me to proudly tell those different stories.