The other Mondavi Winery

Wines & Vines, Jan, 2000 by Larry Walker

It isn't easy being Napa's "other Mondavi" winery. Peter Mondavi and his family have lived for years in the shadow of Robert Mondavi and his enormous accomplishments and contributions to the California wine industry. It must have taken a psychological toll to know that at Charles Krug, they were the original Mondavi family winery in Napa.

"There was a time we were regarded as a leader in Napa Valley," Peter Mondavi, Jr. said, during a recent interview at the winery. "We want to get back to that leadership role."

A list of innovations and accomplishments at the winery is rather impressive and one wonders how the consumer wine press has so often overlooked Charles Krug. Here are a few:

* 1937, Peter Mondavi, Sr. was one of the first in California to use cold fermentation for white wines; * 1949, the first winery newsletter, Bottles and Bins, was published; * 1951, the first bladder press was installed; * 1953, sterile filtration was introduced at Charles Krug; * 1954, using the techniques of cold fermentation and sterile filtration, Chenin blanc, a fresh, fruity American style varietal wine was introduced; * 1969, Krug was one of the first to purchase vineyard land in the Carneros region; * 1973, Krug was one of the first to use machine harvesters to pick grapes at lower temperatures; * 1981, Krug was one of the first to develop proprietary computer programs to monitor and control winemaking processes. It doesn't end there, but you get the idea. Peter Mondavi and his family have not exactly been coasting along for the last 50-plus years. And during that time, they have made some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon to come out of Napa, beginning with the first Vintage Selection Cabernet Sauvignon in 1944.

Vineyard Plans

"We are putting a great deal of money and energy into our vineyards," Peter Jr. said. "We own 803 acres of vines in Napa and all of our Napa wines will soon be 100% estate. We have vineyards from St. Helena down into Carneros."

Krug now makes 55,000 cases of Napa wines and expects to reach 250,000 cases in ten years. All will be estate wines, according to Peter Jr.

Krug is also doing major replanting. "Not because we have to," Peter Jr. said. "The vineyards were mostly planted on Sr. George rootstock in the 1960s and '70s. We are replanting to get the right variety in the right place. And we are taking full advantage of new clones and rootstock." In 1999, the winery replanted 126 acres of vines.

The Krug Napa Valley vineyards include:

* The Charles Krug Ranch of 143 acres surrounds the winery. It is the warmest vineyard. The soil is deep, gravelly clay loam. Merlot, Sangiovese and Sauvignon blanc are the main plantings; * Lincoln Ranch, a 101-acre vineyard near Oakville, is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc and Petite Verdot. The soil is sandy and rocky with slightly cooler temperatures than the home ranch; * Voltz Ranch, a 91-acre site south of Oakville, is on a rocky alluvial fan, planted with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese; * Slinsen Ranch is a 59-acre planting slightly south of Voltz Ranch. It is best known for producing the Cabernet Sauvignon that often goes into the Vintage Selection. Soils are rocky and shallow; * Fracchia and Page Ranch vineyards are adjacent sites totaling 240 acres on the flood plain of the Napa River; east of Highway 29. The vineyards are planted to Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The Krug experimental vineyard is on this site; * Willow Lake is a 174-acre vineyard in Carneros. I t is a slightly warmer site than many Carneros vineyards, but the soils are shallow. It is planted to Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Merlot. The Krug Reserve Merlot is from this vineyard.

Barrel Program

The winery side hasn't been neglected. In 1994, a new barrel program was put in place. "At the time, our ration was 20% French; now 60% of our barrels are French oak. We have really focused on the top wines in the past few years. For example, in 1995, our Family Reserve series represented only 2% of sales. They are now 13% of sales."

When winemaker Jac Cole joined the winery in 1997, he was made responsible for all of the Napa Valley wines and led the move for greater investment in the winery. "We are doing more with small fermenters. We now have eight 15-ton fermenters." The new stainless steel tanks, made by Mueller, have a floating top so they can handle even smaller lots.

"We are getting open top fermenters for the Pinot noir and Sangiovese and adding a rotary press," Cole said. "That kind of small lot winemaking is labor intensive, but the family is backing it up. All of our Napa fruit is hand-harvested and hand-selected. It's like working in a small winery," he added.

Cole's background includes stints at S. Anderson Vineyards, Stags' Leap Winery and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. He was graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in biology. After graduation he became a home winemaker and enjoyed it so much that he returned to school at Fresno State and took a degree in enology.