Wine

Autumn Revels

Celebrate the Harvest in Seasonal Style

    There are many reasons to celebrate in the wine business, and two of the best are the beginning of harvest and the end of harvest. The French in Beaujolais, in the southeast of France, north of Lyon, have a particularly fun time at harvest’s end: In late October, they immediately bottle that year’s Beaujolais Nouveau and release it for sale on a specific day in November. And on that day, the Beaujolais wineries throw huge parties and drink the wine right from the tank. Beaujolais Nouveau is a very fruit-driven red wine made from the Gamay grape, and at these fall parties, its consumption is accompanied by great food and much music and fanfare.
    On a tour of the region with a bunch of California winemakers a few years ago, our bus stopped at one of these affairs at 10 p.m. and left around 3 a.m. the next morning (only because we had to drive to a 7 o’clock wine tasting at the enology school in Montpelier). However, the fun doesn’t stop at the French wineries. They send whole barrels of Beaujolais Nouveau around the world—along with many bottles to be released and tasted on the same day—which generates lively parties on many continents. If you’re on your toes, you can search one out locally, or consult your local wine merchant and create your own harvest-party, Beaujolais-tasting event.
    The famous San Francisco restaurateur, Pat Kuleto, who is also making some world-class wines from his huge mountaintop estate in the eastern hills of Napa Valley, throws a heck of a beginning-of-the-harvest party. He has a wonderful outdoor kitchen, boasting three wood-fired pizza ovens and two roasting pits, with patios set into the hillside. A bevy of chefs grill up lamb, beef and pork to perfection; roasted corn and fresh tomato-and-basil salads abound. Kuleto puts all his best wines out for tasting, and even tastes some single-barrel wines destined to sell for $120 a bottle. Along with this, you’ve got popcorn and cotton candy for the kids and great live music. You have to be a member of his wine club (www.kuletoestate.com) to get an invitation, but members come from all over the country just for this fantastic event.
    Not to be outdone, we at Rosenblum Cellars hold our annual end-of-the-harvest party at Holbrook Mitchell’s mountainside vineyard in the southern Napa Valley. As it typically falls on the last weekend in October, we are usually still harvesting grapes, but this event provides a great break in the action for all the cellar crew, our growers, employees and investors. It’s a gigantic potluck picnic, with each person bringing a bottle of wine and a dish to share. We supply a large selection of wines from the cellar along with barbecued Hog Island oysters with Roger’s minuet sauce, marinated butterflied legs of lamb, Klamath River tri tip and the occasional roasted wild boar. The afternoon is highlighted by Max the Brittany spaniel trying to swim across the pond and catch the ducks. As he hits the bank, they fly over his head and swim the other way. This goes on for hours to the frustration of Max and the delight of the partiers, who quickly learn that ducks are smarter than dogs.
    You don’t need to be a vintner, restaurateur or professional winemaker to throw your own harvest party. You can organize one around anything you have to harvest, such as tomatoes or zucchini from your garden, or olives from a friend’s tree. If you’re hardy and ambitious enough, the late fall is a great time to dig for horseneck clams at Tomales Bay or catch Dungeness crab in your own traps off the north coast. Maybe you’ve even bought some grapes and tried your hand at making your own wine. The autumn season provides endless possibilities and inspirations for harvest celebrations.
    When it comes to wine for your harvest party, I’d suggest starting things off with a little sparkling wine from the Anderson Valley. Of course, you’ll want to try the new release of a Beaujolais Nouveau from a small producer. Then you need a robust Syrah or Zinfandel to pair with your meal, and finally, to top it all off before the party winds down, a full-bodied vintage Port from a fine maker such as Sandeman.
    Let the harvest festivity begin!