Perlis Picks: Historic Vineyard Society Year in Review

The Historic Vineyard Society is an organization that is very near and dear to my heart. Dedicated to preserving California’s old vines, the HVS Board members, led by Mike Dildine, have not only spearheaded the efforts to save these important properties but their wineries are responsible for producing some of California’s most exciting wines: Mike Officer [Carlisle], Bob Biale [Biale], Tegan Passalacqua [Turley and Sandlands], David Gates [Ridge] and Morgan Twain-Peterson [Bedrock]. Also on the project team is Joel Peterson [Ravenswood and Once and Future Wine].

I recently received the HVS year-in-review email and wanted to share it with Eve’s Wine 101 readers…

Happy New Year, Friends!

It’s hard to believe, but another year has come and gone, and as we reflect on the last twelve months, we’d like to update you on the latest HVS happenings and give a preview of what’s to come for the Historic Vineyard Society in 2017.

The year in review

• In February, HVS board members conducted a tasting at the annual ZAP festival; this year, the premise was California Great Growths, showcasing exceptional old vine vineyards and wines made from them. Attendees very much enjoyed the discussion and a tasting of delicious wines from historic vineyards, and we look forward to participating at ZAP again in the future.
• With the goal of educating the next generation of winemakers about historic vineyards, HVS Board Members conducted two educational tastings and presentations in 2016: the first, at UC Davis in March; the second, at Cal Poly in May. Both events were well attended by students eager to help carry the torch of preserving historic vineyards, and we plan to continue these tastings in the future, both in California and beyond.
• May marked the 6th annual Vineyard Tour & Dinner, celebrating the historic vineyards and wines of the Russian River Valley. A record attendance of about 150 guests enjoyed an informative vineyard tour of Limerick Lane Vineyard, Carlisle Vineyard, Papera Ranch and Belloni Vineyard, led by the inimitable Jake Bilbro and HVS Board Members. Despite the inclement weather, a fabulous time was had by all.
• In conjunction with the May Vineyard Tour and Dinner, HVS was excited to announce the release of the 2013 vintage HVS wine, a blend made by multiple HVS wineries from the old vines of Bedrock Vineyard. This is a project we hope to continue in years to come, with a different historic vineyard featured each year. Guests at the 2017 Vineyard Tour and Dinner will once again have the opportunity to purchase the HVS wine, this time from the 2014 vintage, a blend from Pagani Ranch.
• HVS conducted a pop-up tasting at Cadet Beer & Wine Bar in Napa in November, with HVS board members pouring a variety of wines to showcase historic vineyards ranging from Napa (Hayne Vineyard and Aldo’s Vineyard) to Lodi (Bechtoldt Vineyard), the Russian River (Two Acres) and Sonoma (Bedrock Vineyard, Alta Vista Vineyard and Pagani Ranch).

What’s new in 2017

• Save the date: the 7th annual Vineyard Tour & Dinner is scheduled to take place on June 10th, 2017 at Pagani Ranch in Sonoma Valley; as Morgan describes it, one of the most historically and qualitatively gilded vineyards in the Golden State. Stay tuned for further details on what is sure to be another memorable HVS event.
• We are excited to announce that HVS was selected by Philadelphia-based freelance videographer Meredith Nutting for a video series on “Heritage Seeds,” with episodes on wheat, apples and grapes. The project will be pitched to the National Geographic Channel, the Smithsonian Channel and PBS, and we will most certainly keep you posted as the project develops in 2017.
• We plan to schedule another tasting this year at Cadet Beer & Wine Bar in Napa, set up as a guided, classroom-style tasting to allow guests to hear from HVS board members about these historic vineyards and the wines grown therein.
• Foundation Plant Services has invited HVS to send in clone selections from historic vines to be tested and treated/removed of any virus, then propagated. This has kept the HVS board members busy into harvest, as they’ve begun flagging vines to take cuttings this spring and sent into the FPS — this has the potential to allow public access to HVS selections and even create a special HVS clonal selection in years to come.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Historic Vineyard Society, we thank you for your support over the last six years. We invite you to visit the HVS website, where we are continuing to uncover new historic vineyards across California. We welcome your contributions in support of California’s historic vines, which can be made on the website.

We look forward to a wonderful year ahead.

Cheers,

HVS Board Members:

Signed by Mike Officer, Bob Biale, Tegan Passalacqua, David Gates, Morgan Twain-Peterson and Mike Dildine. 

Michael Perlis has been pursuing his passion for wine for more than 25 years. He has had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show him the way, as well as a wonderful wife who encourages him and shares his interest. After a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as he possibly could, he had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Now, as Contributing Editor for Eve’s Wine 101, he does his best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers. Michael is also Vice President of Eve Bushman Consulting (fka Eve’s Wine 101 Consulting) http://evebushmanconsulting.com/ and President of MCP Financial. Michael can be contacted at michaelthezinfan@aol.com or michael@evebushmanconsulting.com.