I sum that up as pre-prohibition farming and love that consumers are waking up to this… we are lucky in the wine business that we have the ability to farm beyond organic and anyone who does not embrace that should strive for that. It shows in the nature, the farm, the wild life and ultimately in the wine.
Carlo: Apart from Napa and Sonoma I love Burgundy but I enjoy wines from all over the world and really enjoy visiting other wine growing regions. What other winemaker s have you influenced you the most and why? Carlo: My grandfather and father are by far my biggest inspirations and biggest influences in wine.
They have taught me to respect nature through farming in unison with nature rather than against nature. For my father this is a cross between organic, bio-dynamic and a permaculture… bio-diversity is incredibly important to great wine… Almost all of Continuum is pure, untouched nature as are the four vineyards Dante and I farm with RAEN.
My father taught me that great wine is all about the site more than anything… They taught us too look at the trees, flowers, plants and soils when looking at a vineyards because they tell us so much about the wine potential.
He taught me to clean, clean and then clean again so the cellar and our influence would be minimized on the wine… as a result the site would be the driving force behind what we enjoy in the bottle. The lessons and why they are my greatest influencers goes on and on but these are a few of the reasons. What personality trait s do you feel most winemakers have in common? Carlo: The winemakers I spend time with I look at like artists and they all inspire me in one way or another.
I think the traits that all winemakers have is a sense of responsibility to nature and a goal to produce a wine that will reflect the site and enhance ones life with a great meal. Most of the winemakers I know are very healthy and tend to eat locally and always grab the organic produce, fruits, meats and cheeses when given the option no mater the cost difference.
What is your favorite beer? Carlo: I like a fresh, crisp and bright beer… normally leads me towards Pilsner. Carlo: I love Pinot Noir from the west Sonoma Coast when picked a bit earlier and I normally prefer the wines with more whole cluster than not… that all depends on the farming, site, clones, and vintage but I feel that whole cluster brightens the fragrance and adds so much body and depth to a wine.
I love Napa Valley Cabernet from the mountain vineyards with less new oak. Sleek and appetising, Quite long — in fact it opens out on the finish. Not Burgundy, but so what? Light note of cinnamon together with green, leafy fruit. More substantial and lower acidity than the Good grip, Pretty sophisticated. Fairly ripe and pretty with some fine tannins. An orange-zest note and some real interest. Pretty aggressive tannins at the moment. Light ferny nose with medium charge of tannin.
Quite savoury and appetising. Very fresh and counter to the California stereotype. Skip to main navigation. Resize Back to all articles Share. Free for all. A chip off the Mondavi block Free for all. A shorter version of this article is published by the Financial Times.
Drink But creating the ultimate pinot nagged at Carlo and Dante. Chilling wine in dry ice before lunch. After Continuum was up and running, Carlo and Dante decided to set off on their own.
To be certain, Raen is entirely their undertaking. Turned out to be the best thing, as we were forced to make our own relationships and friendships. Chiara Mondavi, their artist sister who works at Continuum and is helping Carlo the day we meet, sighs while talking about the loss of the rights to the family name in the Constellation deal.
But then smiles. Now, both with Continuum [which focuses on a single wine from a single estate] and with what Carlo and Dante are doing, we are able to go back and focus.
And do everything a little bit slower. At a manageable level, and with family. On the bottle it points down, as a declaration. Carlo says he has a year plan — apt, considering is the centennial of his great-grandfather Cesare Mondavi coming to California to source grapes. We are having to work to get there. They want to taste the wine. He further notes that Carlo and Dante have engendered goodwill in the wine community.
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