In 2001 snow levels came down lower than they had in over 10 years. Here I am standing in the Old Zin’s deepest “wet” spot! Often, I am asked “What mountain is that in the photo on the label?” & “Snow in wine country?” That is Mount Saint Helena in our northeastern view March 1990. I do have older photos & video of snow in the vineyard and while it dose not happen every year, we can have 15 or more days with snowcapped North Coast mountaintops. When the vines are sleeping they can tolerate far more extreme cold & wet conditions…
<The
2000 Trousseau Gris label has a new
shape & a bright GOLD
foil on top to
match
our collection of T G medals
!
View from the Trousseau Gris February 2001.
Notice the Mendocino hills to the north!
While winter snow in wine country can be a beautiful sight, April 2001 brought us the most severe spring freezes since the mid 1970’s!
l
While
I delayed most of our Old Zinfandel block by pruning it late,
the Trousseau Gris already had most of it’s
vulnerable, tender, young shoots out!
For
over 2 weeks in April I went out a few times each night to monitor temperatures,
and on 3 consecutive nights –2 for 9 hrs- I ran
the sprinkler system which covered most of the Trousseau Gris. (Above water
turns to ice, & insulates like an igloo.) This was only the third season the
system was used since installed in 1980 & probably the only time it was truly
needed! A neighbor, about 1000 feet west over all, lost at least 60% of his
Chardonnay & Sauvignon Blanc on those nights. Our TG had minimal damage but the
few “ early” vines our Old Zin block, that were out; ranged from some minor leaf burn
to 90% loss of primary fruiting shoots!
To keep busy in the daylight hours, because it was drying out fast & early, a number farming chorus needed to be done at the same time starting with tilling in all the cover crop in the dry farmed Old Zinfandel block… (We, as of May 5th are still @ only ~70% of normal rain fall.)
While these leaves are somewhat fried, the pre-bloom grape clusters at (top/growing ends of shoots) here
appear to not be burnt. (The Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard 4-2001)
This Old Zinfandel Vine is
primary crop!
l the pri All primary
growing positions
were burnt off
this vine!
Al
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Enlarged back label
(“VINE MASTER”: PETER FANUCCHI P.O. BOX 290 FULTON CA.95439 FAX 707 544-6106)
FanucchiVineyards.com
HARVEST DATE: September 25, 2000
@22.6 Brix
& gently “Whole Cluster” Pressed to only 135 gallons (46.3 cases) per ton!
FERMENTATION: SLOW & COLD
31 DAYS
90 % Steinberger Yeast & 10%QA23 Yeast some in small French Oak
Finished & ‘aged’ in the new custom built in 2000 Fanucchi Vineyards Stainless Steel Trousseau Gris Tank
BOTTLING: February 2, 2001
TA: 5.70 Alc: 13.45 RS: 0.30% (DRY)
TROUSSEAU GRIS (Tr00-so Gree) was originally traced back to the Alsace –Lorraine in Northern France, near the German border. It has historically been miss-named and, particularly confused with Riesling. It is neither in the Riesling nor the Pinot Gris families (No longer legal on wine; some did use the names Chace’ Gris & Grey Riesling). Its lineage is from another rare Alsatian grape: TROUSSEAU (red), from northern France – so, it makes sense that this grape thrives in the cool coastal “appellation” of Russian River Valley! Historically this grape has been used for port, & blended into methode champenoise, and even strengthening the nose for many white & red wines!
I helped my father plant this, now Sonoma County’s only block, in 1981, and raised it to maturity after he passed away. Since, with fine wine, the best possible flavors are determined before the grapes are removed from the vine, and since those flavors are a product of the whole environment in which they were grown; I am still the hands-on winegrower for my wines. …This means my job is to encourage the environment our vines grow in to be as healthy & balanced as possible!
The result of a cool Russian River Valley growing season is a mature grape fully balanced by its crisp natural acids! To capture the essence of this delicate fruit that I labored for decades to preserve, after harvest & gentle handling, the most critical “process” is COLD FERMENTATION! (By protecting everything the volatile heat, not only do we preserve the fruit, but retain more of it’s natural effervescence-CO2-which naturally keeps the wine a little fresher & can show more bubbles then than most white wines.) To thrive, this grape must be grown in coolest wine regions
TASTING
NOTES: The
Crisp, Clean, Flowery bouquet, FRESH PEACHES,
honeysuckle, pear, melon & delicate spices and tropical fruit flavors make it a
delightful compliment to a wide array of foods!
Compare its “Nose” to Viognier or Marsanne, with a gentler spice than
a dry Gewürztraminer and far, far more fruit than the best Pinot Gris could hope
for!
Every Trousseau Gris vintage has garnered acclaim. In 1999 competitions the 1998 kept the tradition alive by earning enough medal points to be listed in the TOP 2 wines in the “other whites” category! (WINE WINNERS 2000) AMONG THE GOLDS ARE: 94 POINTS & BEST OF CLASS OF REGION –California State Fair (Our previous “Best” TG Compliment was December 1998’s Wine & Spirit’s 92 Point rating in the TOP 100 WINES OF THE YEAR) The December 1999 issue of Wine & Spirits has it rated as 90! They call it:“…consistently Excellent.” (3rd Dec. W &S has our TG @ 90+)
*the most recent GOLD: @ the 2001 Dallas Morning Wine Competition!
Fanucchi Vineyards
“BEST OF CLASS” Twice this Spring
“GOLD” 4 times this Spring, so far…
1997 Fanucchi Vineyards, Old Vine Zinfandel,
Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard, Russian River Valley
After winning “BEST OF CLASS” Los Angeles County Fair, Dorothy J. Gaiter & John Brecher, June 1, 2001, listed it in the Wall Street Journal, with 13 particularly “special” wines the discovered at the judging, of “about 3000 wines”, & said “Most of these would be very hard, if not impossible, to find on retail shelves.” (page W15) …But it can be found!!!
**Some is still in available to select markets in North America, Europe, & Japan!**
Early Competition medals are starting to fill up my P.O. Box as is now so usual this time of year that it gets hard to keep track of all of them but so far I do recall at least one SILVER, but GOLD in LA County, GOLD in Orange County, GOLD International Eastern, BEST OF CLASS in San Diego.
1998 Fanucchi Vineyards, Old vine Zinfandel,
Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard, Russian River Valley
With Trousseau Gris it is hard to synchronize it with the “competition year which starts in January” as it can take a while to show it’s Best. The 1999, which was bottled late in 2000 & did collect 10 medals in 2000, but received a GOLD at The 2001 Dallas Morning News National Wine Competition. The 1999 missed out on competition points because ½ the medals were in different years But the 2000 Trousseau Gris has consistently collected a pile of SILVER medals in it’s youth and if it is “awake enough” in the later competitions could be better than the 1998 that was the second most awarded other white wine according to “Wine Winners” (Based on history & points so far, it also looks like the 1998 Old Vine Zinfandel should make it into at least the top 10 this year!)
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Fanucchi Vineyards Back Ground Trousseau Gris Back Ground 2001 Trousseau Gris 2001 Trousseau Gris Wins 4 Star Gold! 2000 Trousseau Gris 2000 Trousseau Gris #1 Most Awarded Other White! 1998 Old Vine Zinfandel 1998 Old Vine Zinfandel Wins 12 GOLD+/GOLD & 98 Points! 1997 Old Vine Zinfandel 1997 Old Vine Zinfandel Quotes & Medals August 2002 Home