Mattebella Vineyard

My two friends and I had the pleasure of getting an insightful tour of Mattebella vineyard by John Roselli.

Tasting glasses with the "Mattebella Vineyard" logo

Tasting glasses with the “Mattebella Vineyard” logo

The outdoor tasting area

Mattebella is a small vineyard that practicesorganic and sustainable agriculture to maintain their vines. In 1996 – 1997 the layout of this vineyard was strategically created to produce the best possible quality of grapes. The first step to cultivating the perfect grapes for the creation of “elegant and stylish wines that would pair well with food” was creating the perfect soil conditions. All 15 acres of Mattebella’s vineyard was dug up in order to create the perfect balance of slate, gravel, sand, and clay 10 feet under the vineyard. The slate was added to the soil to help the ground retain heat, while the gravel was introduced to the soil combination to create a system of drainage, while minimizing the levels of acidity in the grapes. Similarly to gravel, sand is utilized for its drainage, clay on the other hand is used to offset the drainage characteristic of gravel and sand and to retain water. (Wikipedia 5/6/2016)

One of the houses on the vineyard property where some of the people who maintain the vineyard live

One of the houses on the vineyard property where some of the people who maintain the vineyard live

The next step to creating an ideal vineyard is creating the right position of the vines. At Mattebella vineyard their vines are planted using the European Style. This means that the vines are planted 3 feet by 6 feet away from each other. This helps to create a competitions ion between the roots of the vines for water. Also while creating the vineyard all American root stocks were grafted with the vines. In an attempt to maintain the work done about 20 years ago on this cultivated field, the vines are constantly being maintained throughout the year.

Vines that have been pruned

The budding grapes from vines that have been pruned

Pruning is usually done in February so that the vines are ready when August comes around and the grapes begin to veraison (Wikipedia 8/29/15). That is around the same time that support wires are reinforced to help vines grow up right. Rose bushes are planted in front of every few rows of vines because roses are more susceptible to anything that could potentially harm the vines. This helps the vineyard manager know what is going on with the vines without having to walk through every row.

A row of vines with a Rose bush in front.

A row of vines with a Rose bush in front.

There are 6 clones of Chardonnay grown at Mattebella vineyard, along with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, which is the vineyards star grape variety. The drop fruit method for is used for all of Mattebella’s 49 rows of vines so that the waist high vines can concentrate all of its energy on injecting the most flavor into the few clusters that are still connected to the vines. More clusters of Chardonnay are left on the vine then for the Merlot. The vines are hand harvested by groups of 8 to 12 people using small containers called lugs that are designed to hold and maximum of 35 pounds of grapes without creating pressure on the grapes that could cause them to break.

A group wine tasting area with bocce courts

A group wine tasting area with bocce courts

During our tour we mainly spoke about the Vinification and Viticulture of the vineyard. Due to the size of the vineyard, the wines were not made onsite. Mattebella vineyard has a contract with a nearby vineyard that allows them to rent some of their tanks and barrels to produce their wines and Roses

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vineyard_soil_types

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veraison

Mattebella Vineyard Chardonnay (PT.5)

The only wine white wine from Mattebella that did not seem to be filtered was their 2012 Femiglia Chardonnay. There seemed to be a little evidence of sediment in the glass.

Bottom Row 2nd from the Left 2012 Famiglia Chardonnay

Bottom Row 2nd from the Left 2012 Famiglia Chardonnay

Like most of their wines the 2012 Femiglia Chardonnay was aged in oak for half of its aging process so you could smell the oak when you nose the wine and taste it on the palate. Unlike the other wines the 2012 Famiglia Chardonnay had an aroma of honeysuckle. The tannin’s were light. There was an unexpected taste of apples on my plate that was not foreseen from me nosing the wine. I would pare this wine with a dish that contained sweet potatoes.

Mattebella Vineyard Chardonnay (PT.4)

One of the wines that I found to be interesting was 2012 Reserve Chardonnay from Mattebella. It had a totally different aroma from the 2013 Reserve Chardonnay.

Bottom Row 3rd from the Left 2012 Reserve Chardonnay

Bottom Row 3rd from the Left 2012 Reserve Chardonnay

The 2012 Reserve Chardonnay had a greenish straw color. Similarly to the 2013 Reserve there was no rim variation. What I enjoyed about the 2012 Reserve Chardonnay was the smell of the vanilla and warm oak. The aroma of the wine was more appealing to me than the actual taste to me. Unlike the 2013 Reserve Chardonnay, the 2012 Reserve Chardonnay was only aged in oak half of its aging process, the first half was spent in a steel container. I would pare this wine with a black bean burger.

Mattebella Vineyard Rosé (PT.2)

The second Rosé, 2014 Sparkling Rosé was a bit more enjoyable then the first.

Right 2014 Sparkling Rosé

Right 2014 Sparkling Rosé

It was also fruit foreword however it was sparking which helped to mask the dryness of the wine. It tasted a bit sweeter than the 2014 Rosé which I enjoyed.  This wine was a dull raspberry color and showed a medium evidence of gas. Although it had a raspberry color the Rosé was still transparent. On the palate you could taste strawberries and it was also present in the smell of the Rosé as well. I would pair this Rosé with a pasta dish with vegetables.

Mattebella Vineyard Rosé (PT.1)

I expected to enjoy Mattebella’s Rosés more then I actually did. Although both wines were fruit foreword they were not sweet as I would have expected.

Left 2014 Rosé

Left 2014 Rosé

The 2014 Rosé had an obvious cranberry presence with a hint of oak. I enjoyed the face that there was low acidity however the wine was too dry for my liking. The Rosé was a light golden straw color and had no rim variation or evidence of gas. I would pair this Rosé with a light pastry like a chiffon pie. Something that is both sweet and light.

Mattebella Vineyard Chardonnay (PT.3)

My least favorite of the wines that I tasted at Mattebella Vineyard was their 2013 Reserve Chardonnay.

Top Row 3rd from the Left 2013 Reserve Chardonnay

Top Row 3rd from the Left 2013 Reserve Chardonnay

This wine was aged completely in oak and you could both taste and smell the it. The oak gave the wine a light honey color. Along with the oak there was also a light floral sent on the nose which did not present itself on the palate. Although the Reserve was fruit foreword and had a clean taste the oak seemed to over power everything to me. This wine did not taste balanced. If I had to pare this with something I would pare it with a dessert that is very sweet, like a triple chocolate cake with a raspberry sorbet. I think that the sweetness of the chocolate and sorbet will balance out the flavor of the oak.

Mattebella Vineyard Chardonnay (PT.2)

The second of the Chardonnays that I tried was their 2013 Famiglia Chardonnay.

Bottom Row 1st from the Left 2013 Famiglia Chardonnay

Bottom Row 1st from the Left 2013 Famiglia Chardonnay

It was clean on the nose and palate and fruit foreword with a hint of oak due to the fact that it was partially aged in oak barrels.The wine had low acidity and medium tannin’s. I enjoyed this wine, but not as much as I did the 2013 Steel Chardonnay due to the fact that the Famiglia had higher levels of tannin’s. That was to to be expected because half of the wines aging process was done in oak. I would assume that this wine would pare perfectly with a piece of pork chop on a bed of arugula.

Mattebella Vineyard Chardonnay (PT.1)

At Mattebella Vineyard I had the pleasure of tasting some of the wines that they have to offer.

Top Row 1st from the Left 2013 Steel Chardonnay

Top Row 1st from the Left 2013 Steel Chardonnay

My personal favorite of the Chardonnays was the 2013 Steel Chardonnay. It had no oak flavor to interrupt the clean taste of citrus and pear  because it is aged only in steel. On the palate the citrus did not stand out but the taste of pears was slightly present. The wine has medium- low tannin’s and low acidity. It was very light and would have paired perfectly with a fruit salad that contains mostly berries and melons and very little or no citrus fruits.

 

 

Chile’s Camartina

The third wine I enjoyed this semester was from the Colchagua Valley in Chile. This 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon was produced by Camartina was dirty on the palate with a strong oak flavor and very low levels of sweetness. The appearance of the wine was plum colored with a dull low intensity. I chose to enjoy this wine with a piece of cake from Magnolia bakery. The thick sweet icing helped cut through the wines tannin perfectly.

The Myth from Columbia Valley

The second wine that I tried this semester was a 2014 Riesling from the Columbia Valley in Washington that was produced by Myth. It was a clean, medium intensity wine with a bright and light straw color. On the nose you could smell pears, oranges and cantaloupe; however on the palate I only tasted pears and orange. This low intensity, full body wine would pair perfectly with an arugula salad with walnuts, blue cheese and Craisins dressed with a spicy buffalo ranch dressing. This wine was light and perfect for a summer picnic.