Yorkville
Cellars: Wine with Perspective
Yorkville
Cellars is tucked away along the winding turns of California route
128. Out in the open air, it's just as easy to escape into the
countryside as it is into a glass of their wine. In Mendocino
County, there isn't the bustle, with lines of cars backing-up
for miles or winery after winery stacked up right on top of each
other. Life has a more realistic pace here, one that grants the
time to slow down and appreciate little things. It means admiring
how mother-nature can cure the ills of grapevines more effectively
than chemicals or realizing that following in French footsteps
when it comes to wine is a wise philosophy. These adages, which
go by the wayside in the rush of activity at many wineries, are
much more alive in Yorkville.
Edward Wallo and his wife
Deborah spent many years traveling in France before they started
Yorkville Cellars. They took note of how the French approached
making wine and their focus on blending rather than single varietal
bottles. These ways of thinking helped shape the Wallo's approach
to bringing their own wine into the world. Back in the late 80's,
when Californian wine consisted almost exclusively of Cabernet
and Chardonnay, the Wallos made the unusual choice to plant Bordeaux
varietals. The plan was to model themselves after the French and
make two wines - one red blend and one white blend. However, when
considered against the prospect of needing to sustain the winery,
Edward and Deborah finally decided to produce each varietal on
its own. It is a good thing they did, too, because the results
have been many great bottles of wine along with the distinction
of being the only winery on earth which grows all eight of the
original Bordeaux varietals.
A major reason for Yorkville's
great wine has been their commitment to organic farming. As Edward
points out, grapes were grown without chemicals for thousands
of years; it is only recently that herbicides have become available.
At Yorkville, they prefer to stick with the old-fashion methods.
It means more hard work, like mowing, hoeing, and pulling a lot
of weeds, but the Wallos wouldn't have it any other way. Plus,
they get help each spring from Parsley and his fellow two-foot-tall
Southdown Babydoll Sheep. They'll spend part of the season roaming
the vineyards, snacking on unwanted weeds and even a few of the
vines' spring shoots, but it's a small price to pay for keeping
the grapes free from chemicals. Yorkville Cellars has been certified
organic for over 25 years, and Edward Wallo wishes more wineries
would opt for certification. Many point to the extra cost of doing
so, but since certification is under $1,000 dollars, it seems
the convenience of using chemicals to kill unwanted weeds is more
realistic explanation for wineries' farming methods than the issue
of money.
Yorkville's
commitment to respecting mother-nature is quite refreshing to
see, and the fact than they are still able to make some great
wines should call into question why more wineries don't commit
to organic methods of farming. Perhaps the rush of customers or
the hectic days make the notion of becoming organic seem far more
daunting than it is. Of course, the Napa Valley can't offer the
same pace of life as Mendocino County, but should that really
be a reason not to work towards becoming organic? Maybe the Wallo's
are simply forward thinkers. The choices they made in the 80's
of which grapes to plant and the types of wine they wanted to
produce are certainly examples of being ahead of the times. Let's
just hope that the rest of the world of wine can catch up with
their perspective. It's a brighter future if they do.
Yorkville
Cellars is tucked away along the winding turns of California route
128. Out in the open air, it's just as easy to escape into the
countryside as it is into a glass of their wine. In Mendocino
County, there isn't the bustle, with lines of cars backing-up
for miles or winery after winery stack-up right on top of each
other. Life has a more realistic pace here, one that grants the
time to slow down and appreciate little things. It means admiring
how mother-nature can cure the ills of grapevines more effectively
than chemicals or realizing that following in French footsteps
when it comes to wine is a wise philosophy. These adages, which
go by the wayside in the rush of activity at many wineries, are
much more alive in Yorkville.
Edward
Wallo and his wife Deborah spent many years traveling in France
before they started Yorkville Cellars. They took note of how the
French approached making wine and their focus on blending rather
than single varietal bottles. These ways of thinking helped shape
the Wallo's own approach to bringing their own wine into the world.
Back in the late 80's, when Californian wine consisted almost
exclusively of Cabernet and Chardonnay, the Wallos made the unusual
choice to plant Bordeaux varietals. The plan was to model themselves
after the French and make two wines - one red blend and one white
blend. However, when considered against the prospect of needing
to sustain the winery, Edward and Deborah finally decided to produce
each varietal on its own. It is a good thing they did, too, because
the results have been many great bottles of wine along with the
distinction of being the only winery on earth which grows all
eight of the original Bordeaux varietals.
A
major reason for Yorkville's great wine has been their commitment
to organic farming. As Edward points out, grapes were grown without
chemicals for thousands of years; it is only recently that herbicides
have become available. At Yorkville, they prefer to stick with
the old-fashion methods. It means more hard work, like mowing,
hoeing, and pulling a lot of weeds, but the Wallos wouldn't have
it any other way. Plus, they get help each spring from Parsley
and his fellow two-foot-tall Southdown Babydoll Sheep. They'll
spend part of the season roaming the vineyards, snacking on unwanted
weeds and even a few of the vines' spring shoots, but it's a small
price to pay for keeping the grapes free from chemicals. Yorkville
Cellars has been certified organic for over 25 years, and Edward
Wallo wishes more wineries would opt for certification. Many point
to the extra cost of doing so, but since certification is under
$1,000 dollars, it seems the convenience of using chemicals to
kill unwanted weeds is more realistic explanation for wineries'
farming methods than the issue of money.
Yorkville's
commitment to respecting mother-nature is quite refreshing to
see, and the fact than they are still able to make some great
wines should call into question why more wineries don't commit
to organic methods of farming. Perhaps the rush of customers or
the hectic days make the notion of becoming organic seem far more
daunting than it is. Of course, the Napa Valley can't offer the
same pace of life as Mendocino County, but should that really
be a reason not to work towards becoming organic? Maybe the Wallos
are simply forward thinkers. The choices they made in the 80's
of which grapes to plant and the types of wine they wanted to
produce are certainly examples of being ahead of the times. Let's
just hope that the rest of the world of wine can catch up with
their perspective. It's a brighter future if they do.
Yorkville
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