Feature Article
  Sign In
Subscribe to our newsletter
Bookmark and Share  
print this article    

Feature Article

Darrell Corti speaks

Darrell Corti is not exactly laying down the law, but he continues to passionately convey the problems he sees in California wines.

California (State Appellation)

Give 'em Hell, Darrell

Darrell Corti, the outspoken Sacramento wine merchant, speaks to an audience of California winegrape growers on some of the problems - and opportunities - of the California wine industry.

by Alan Goldfarb
February 5, 2008



DropCap O 36 n January 29, a standing-room-only crowd gathered in a spacious ballroom in a downtown Sacramento, Calif. hotel. The annual meeting of the California Association of Winegrape Growers was convening, but assuredly a preponderance of the audience was there to hear what Darrell Corti had to say.

Corti is the capital city wine merchant who has garnered a nationwide reputation for his outspoken and direct views about the domestic wine industry. Last March, he hurled a bag of overripe grapes, when he instructed his employees that Corti Brothers market was no longer going to sell wine whose alcohol percentages were more than 14.5. [See APPELLATION AMERICA’s story.]

The sack landed with a splat as Corti dug in his heels and railed at the California wine industry for making overwrought, unbalanced and high-alcoholic wines that he contended could not be consumed with food.

Thus, the industry folks - mostly grape growers -who gathered that late January evening, were expecting more of same from Corti. He didn’t disappoint in his 20-minute talk.

But this time, Corti’s remarks - a litany of ills that have beset the industry, with a heavy emphasis on the lack of research support for UC Davis (“California’s wine alma mater,” as he called it) - were fairly tempered.

He did take another pass at hurling invective at high-alcohol wines, especially Zinfandel. “As mutations sometimes do, the Zinfandel one just kept changing, getting bigger and bigger,” he declared. “Some fashionable wines have become undrinkable. They are almost spreadable. Twenty-six, twenty-seven degrees Brix or higher is the new twenty-four degrees Brix. Alcohol and extract have become the bywords, not drinkability.

“‘Certainly the wine has high alcohol, but the wine is in balance’ is now the winespeak. Humbug I say. I would like to see someone quaff a 15.5 percent or 16.2 percent Zinfandel. Yet these are persistently produced.”

Corti at his store
We Sell No Hot Wine: Darrell Corti at his Sacramento wine store.
And he took a jab at California winemaking in general when he said, “What happened to the magic that went into a wine, honestly made, that reflected a good site; (something) inexpensive, that aged into something wonderful?

“It seems that the craft of winemaking, a craft raised to the level of art, has been compromised to the level of painting by numbers.”

Then this from the man who has been selling wine for 34 years: “Does California have a wine making tradition? We would like to think we do. Is it necessary that we do or don’t? … Perhaps our tradition has become modified to where there is recourse to methods, equipment, and perceived notions so that in California, we make whatever we want wherever. …

“What was traditional California wine? For those of us who are of a certain age, we know the names and the styles of wines. Do we make them now like they were traditionally? I don’t think so.

“In some respects this is better; in others it makes our wines more like every other wine. The so-called ‘international style’ began here, in California. Have we lost our way? What I find annoying in today’s wine business is that it generally does not have a sense of history. We look at the business just as numbers, boxes, turn-over and the like. … It lacks an appreciation for history …”

It also lacks appreciation, he believes for wine and winegrape studies at UC Davis. He pointed out that the U.S. lags behind in wine and grape research as compared to Australia (where $25 million was spent last year compared to only $2 million for American wine research).

He said that the oenology department at Davis “is being marginalized. It seems that we pay less and less attention to it when we should be paying more. … After all, if it were not for the University, a lot of you would not be here tonight. …Viticulture and enology programs need support and there seems to be little attempt to offer this support on the part of the industry.”

But all was not gloomy. When talking about the various grape varieties that are now being utilized, Corti said he thinks that’s a good thing. “I think the future holds interesting possibilities,” he said. “Unknown or unheard of varieties from almost unheard of places have become the norm in California …

“With our better understanding of grape growing, possibly Greek varieties like Assyrtiko, Moschofilero, Malagousia - white varieties adapted to very warm climates that retain high acidity - will become important for us in California. Red varietals from Italy, historically tried and found wanting in California, are now again being planted and produced to good effect: Aglianico, Teroldego, Marzemino, Nero d’Avola, Montelpulciano. … There are doubtless others.

darrel corti 275.jpg “California used to be experimental and innovative, world leading. Why? Not because we wanted to be, but because we could be. California had none of the constraints of the European model: certain varieties only in certain places. The free spirit style seems not to have disappeared in California wine growing and making.”

It’s been almost a year since Darrell Corti had the good sense and audacity to put the kibosh on high-alcohol wines in his Sacramento store. He shook up the industry.

Some have heeded his warnings, while others continue in their quest to satisfy a new kind of American consumer, who can’t seem to get enough - at any price - of the high-frequency stuff.

Corti says he has a pile of responses in his office to his line-in-the-soil stand. None of them negative. His wine sales have not been hurt, he insists. Just as UC Davis might command more respect, so too does Darrell Corti.
Photos by Ken Freeze

READER FEEDBACK: To post your comments on this story, click here

Print this article  |  Email this article  |  More about California  |  More from Alan Goldfarb

Featured Wines

WineSmith 2005 Cabernet Franc
buy wine 750ml $20.00



Roudon-Smith Winery NV Claret This Syrah/Zinfandel/Merlot blend provides a nice balance between dark fruits, oak, and tannin structure.
buy wine 750ml $15.00

Advertisement




Reader Feedback

Reader Comments... [26]

[1]
Arthur Przebinda , Founder
redwinebuzz.com, California
I feel myself to be firmly in Darrell Corti's corner. While I agree that the Australian's have made great strides in wine production research, I feel that research has been mainly focused on making forward, more easily approachable wines. I am not sure that makes those wines as well structured, food friendly, or, more importantly, as age worthy as we would like.


[2]
bill numberski
los angeles, CA
It's funny when dinosaurs talk.


[3]
Mike
SAC
Corti may have some valid points on a couple of topics but overall he’s arrogant and thinks his way IS the way. Some things come and go with time, Darrell NEEDS to be one of them. Your time has passed Mr. Corti, now please step aside.


[4]
Patricia Latimer , Principal
Patricia Latimer Associates, SF, CA & CLE, OH
For as long as I have known Darrell -- some 30 plus years -- he has always spoken with a voice of authority on the wines of the world, and with a rare brilliance and inexplicable passion for getting the facts of any wine story right! I encourage Darrell to keep on speaking out and challenging the California wine industry to rise up with a bolder vision, sharper ideas, and better wines for the next generation to appreciate. Thank you Darrell Corti!


[5]
Don Defoe , Wine drinker
Springfield, IL
Keep it up Darrell! It's simply amazing how many California-produced wines spoil a fine meal because of their high alcohol content and verbosity. It's too bad we have to go to other states or continents, night after night, to find a quaffable red wine to go with our meal!


[6]
JS
Sacramento, CA
Spot on Darrell - and congratulations on your recent award!


[7]
Bob Dempel , owner
Dempel Farming, Santa Rosa/Hopland/Lake County, CA
Thank goodness someone reported on Darrell's talk. I personally spoke to him after his talk. Specifically I addressed him about his comments on FPS. I am taking your article to UCD tomorrow.


[8]
Brian Loring , Winemaker
Loring Wine Company, Lompoc, CA
Why stop with wine? Why not tell me how to comb my hair... what music to listen to... what food to eat. Personally, I'm tired of anyone telling someone else that what they like is "wrong". What Darrell chooses to drink is his own business. What he chooses to sell is his own business. But telling wineries to change what they do to fit his taste is taking it too far. There are TONS of wine made in the style Darrell advocates. Why is he threatened that another style exists as well? Isn't there room for more than just his vision of what wine should be? As far as I'm concerned, choice is a good thing.


[9]
Barry Kinman , Owner/winemaker
Bear Cave Cellars, Paso Robles, CA
As to Mr. Corti's use of his bully pulpit to create a negative where none exists I say, "Baloney." To talk about brix and alcohol and to draw a line and say "no beyond this number" is to place limits which neither the consumer, the winemaker nor the terroir of certain regions of the Golden State recognize as proper or beneficial. Here in Paso we make great wine all day long with fruit which tastes better at 27 brix. There is no heat on the pallet or nose, just natural ripeness. Maybe 27 brix is unnatural in Carneros or Anderson Valley but here in Paso you would be a fool to pick Cabernet or Syrah at 23.5 to 24 with green seeds and a bell pepper bouquet. Mr. Corti has the right to sell any wine he chooses and if he wishes to limit his selection that is his business. When Mr. Corti tries to say, "I know what is best for California wine," his ego exceeds his expertise. Perhaps he was on the panel that fell for 2 Buck Chuck at the State Fair. The market, the winemaker and the region in question best determine how a wine should be made and when grapes should be picked. Stay away from Paso Mr. Corti, you just don't have the chops to enjoy big bold reds, exhibiting ripe fruit but remaining smooth and soft as a baby's bum. Besides, your absence just leaves more room for all the Californians who love Paso reds.


[10]
Dave Pechan , Owner
Miramont Estate Winery, Linden, CA
A great man with a true grasp of the loss to California created by the corporatization of the wine industry. While the giants continue to buy and create new labels to market the same old wines, small estate wineries are denied access to the distribution system by the entrenched power elite. We need a lot more Darrell Corti's to turn around the homogenization of the wine industry.

To post your comments on this story,
click here

Most Popular