I was surprised to learn in the last few years that six of the California producers whose soulful wines speak most clearly to me all worked in the same winery in Sebastopol, Calif.
They operate separately but communally, and though they share a certain aesthetic outlook, preferring fresh acidity over high alcohol, for example, their wines are distinctive, individual expressions.
Here’s a brief look at them:
Pax Mahle Wines Pax Mahle, the owner of the winery, is the most experienced producer of the group and is something of a mentor to the others. He is best known for gorgeous, expressively aromatic syrahs, but also makes, in smaller quantities, lovely gamays, chenin blancs and oddities like mission from Lodi and freisa from Chalone.
Jolie-Laide Jolie-Laide is a French phrase that, roughly translated, means finding beauty in the imperfect and unconventional. “It’s a name that people don’t know how to pronounce, and grapes that people may not know, made in many different styles, so I’ve totally failed at marketing,” said Scott Schultz, the proprietor. He focuses mostly on lesser-known French grapes, including melon, trousseau and poulsard, and his wines are almost always energetic, fresh and subtle.
Martha Stoumen Wines Martha Stoumen says low alcohol is not a defining feature in her wines, yet they are always balanced, fresh and joyous. My favorites include her Post Flirtation, a lively blend of zinfandel and carignan; a bright, floral and deep nero d’Avola; and a savory, crunchy carignan from the Ricetti Vineyard in Mendocino.
Jaimee Motley Wines Jaimee Motley is best known for her mondeuses — juicy, floral, savory wines made with a red grape that originated in the Savoie region of France. She also makes an excellent mondeuse rosé from Calaveras County and a terrific violet- and cedar-scented cabernet sauvignon from the Peter Michael Ray Vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
RAEN Carlo and Dante Mondavi, sons of Timothy Mondavi of Continuum and grandsons of Robert Mondavi, departed from family tradition to focus on pinot noir from the Sonoma Coast. Their wines are lively, pure, subtle and transparent. The Royal St. Robert cuvée is an excellent introduction to their style. It was named after their grandfather, who, as Carlo Mondavi said, “was neither royal nor a saint.”
Monte Rio Cellars California has long lacked consistently good, honest, inexpensive wines for under $20. Patrick Cappiello, a former sommelier in New York, has taken on the challenge of producing them. He seeks out organically grown varieties that were once common in California but have fallen out of fashion, like colombard, rubired and mission. The wines are lively, clear, thirst-quenchers that are easy to enjoy.
