As you can imagine, I visit A LOT of Napa and Sonoma wineries in California’s wine country and I get to go places most folks do not. I have met the friendliest hospitality directors . . .the most generous tasting room managers . . . and this past weekend, the most informative winemaker. Let me tell you about my day at Repris.

It started with a glass of Champagne. Not, no California sparkling wine, Champagne. Repris imports their Blanc de Blanc from France, from a very famous Grand Cru vineyard called Le Mesnil. The very same vineyard where Krug and Salon source their fruit. It was creamy and yeasty and rich. And a brilliant way to start the day.

Then we entered the caves for what would prove to be a marathon tasting. The caves at Repris are massive — 18,000 square feet — and Erich Bradley, Repris’ co-owner and winemaker, has projects scattered throughout. He took us along with his trusty canine companion, Jordan, to the deepest corner of the caves where the components of a new Pinot Noir brand he’s developing were resting in barrel. We tasted one vineyard, then another, then a third. Each was delicious on its own. Then we blended all three in our glass to approximate the wine Erich has in mind. Stunning. If ever there were a demonstration of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, this was it.

But Pinot is not what Repris is about. Pinot is what Erich is about. (In addition to Repris, he is also the winemaker at Sojourn Cellars, where his Pinots regularly pull down top scores. I took my UT sorority besties there last January.) The reason that matters — so he told us — was that he makes every wine as if it were Pinot. That is, he handles the grapes gently, sorts the berries by hand at harvest, punches them down by hand during fermentation, and uses oak sparingly for aging. The result, he said, would be evident in the glass. With that introduction, off we went to taste the Bordeaux and Rhone varietal that Repris specializes in.

To be honest, I can’t even remember all the wines we tasted. Repris’ vineyards sprawl across the flanks of Moon Mountain, which is really steep and really rugged. There are different blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and Merlot scattered about, each one with its own particular combination of rootstock and clone and exposure. Erich was thieving wine from so many different barrels I lost track which was which. Then he pulled us over to a different bore of the cave where he keeps his Rhone barrels. This is the part that was about to get over the top.

In addition to Cabernet and Cabernet blends, Repris also makes small quantities of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre as well as a blend of all three. Erich is especially fond of the Grenache and is doing everything he can to tease out its best qualities. One way to do that is to include a small percentage of the stems during fermentation. The trick is knowing just how much to use. First we tasted from a barrel that had no stems, then one with 10% “whole cluster,” then another with 20%, and finally a fourth with 30%. Each one was dramatically different from the other. (I liked the 20% one best.) Who knew adding the stems — the part most wineries throw out — could make such a difference?!

Okay, that was a super-geeky way to taste wine but it wasn’t just theater. You really could taste the difference. I felt like I really learned something new. And that’s what made the experience so cool. You could never replicate it in a restaurant or in your home or anywhere.

After two hours, we emerged from the caves and sat down for lunch. Sunshine, more wine, plenty laughs. There was chocolate cake, too, but no takers. It was time to haul ass up the mountain in the winery’s 4×4. When we got to the top, to a vineyard called Feather at about 1,800 feet, you could see forever. The winery was just a dot way down below. And in the distance, San Francisco. There were hawks riding thermals and snakes in the tall grass, the latter I thankfully did not see.

We returned to the winery to say our goodbyes. I know I will be back; I can’t wait to take my friends and clients here. There is no place like it.
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