Amador
County viticulture survived prohibition by providing grapes to
home-winemakers. During the Volstead Act
it was permissible for a male head of household to make up to 200 gallons of
wine for his family’s use. Zinfandel,
the predominant grape grown in the county, was popular locally because it made
a hearty red wine. But Zinfandel, due to
its relatively thin skins, did not ship well and was susceptible to breakdown
on long journeys. The solution to the
shipment dilemma was found in another grape variety; Alicante Bouschet. Alicante is famous for its thick skins and
pulpy texture. Here in the cellar when
we crush Alicante, mixing the bins feels like working with cement. My shoulders shudder just thinking about
it. Alicante is also resistant to rot
and it was Alicante that successfully made the trek to Chicago, Philadelphia,
and markets on the east coast during prohibition.
Alicante
Bouschet’s assets are not limited to its thick skins, pulpy texture and
resistance to rot. Alicante is an unusual grape variety in that its juice and
flesh are red. Usually, red wines
develop their color by extracting the pigments from the skins of the grapes
during fermentation. When it comes to
making a red wine, Alicante Bouschet has a head-start because its juice is
already red. This type of grape is
called a teinturier. The resulting deep
color of the wine produced from Alicante Bouschet make it a useful blending
grape as it contributes depth and vigor to the color of lesser wines. It was also a popular wine among unscrupulous
wine merchants because it hid dilution well; the addition of water to the wine
was difficult to detect since the wine was so deeply pigmented.
The source of our
Alicante Bouschet is the small five-acre Dutchman Vineyard in San Joaquin County
just north of the town of Ripon. Here
Sam and Carla Travaille carefully tend to their small vineyard, and deliver us exceptional
fruit.
