Another Variable in the Winemaking Process: Climate Change

BERKELEY, Calif. — If anyone doubts the jarring effect that climate change has already had on the California wine industry, ample evidence was on display in late March at Donkey & Goat’s outdoor tasting area in this neighborhood of motorcycle repair shops and urban wineries.

At picnic tables in front of a graffitied cinder block wall, visitors sampled Donkey & Goat’s newly released natural wines, a group that even the producer’s most ardent fans would not recognize.

Instead of the usual bottles highlighting the hyperspecific terroir characteristics of single vineyards in Northern California, stretching from Mendocino and Sonoma east to El Dorado and the Sierra Foothills, the 2021 Donkey & Goat wines available to taste were either labeled with the generic “California”appellation, or came from vineyards not included in its usual lineup.

Wine lovers who treasure bottles that have a strong sense of place will look for appellations that are specific to the area or vineyard. That has always been Donkey & Goat’s strong suit. Any of its wines could have been labeled in the past. “California”Made from inexpensive grapes, it was affordable and came with a modest price tag.

However, this year some of the most expensive grapes will be going into those vineyards. “California” wines. In an effort to compensate for the losses caused by the 2021 fires in Northern California, crops from several appellations were merged.

The catastrophic fires of the last few growing seasons on the West Coast have turned what was once the relatively routine, joyful-if-adrenaline-fueled annual ritual of harvest and winemaking into a period of fear and anxiety. Growers and winemakers must now think about whether or not the fires will return.

A vineyard and its producer are devastated by fire damage. Wineries owned by billionaires and large corporations have the resources necessary to withstand reduced harvests, or even a few years without any wine. But small businesses like Donkey & Goat now face existential threats each year and wonder if they will be able to make enough wine to cover costs.

West Coast wineries are constantly innovating to make wine from grapes that might not have been destined to be made for a particular type of wine.

Tracey Rogers Brandt, the general manager and winemaker for Donkey & Goat, is hoping that the unusual wines she was compelled to make in 2021 will not be demeaned because they are different or unexpected. She hopes that the wines she calls her “hers” will become a part of her everyday life. “climate-driven creative wines”These inventive responses to catastrophes will be valued and recognized.

Every year Isabel’s Cuvée, a single-vineyard rosé made from grenache gris grown on the Gibson Ranch in the McDowell Valley of Mendocino County, is a core wine for Donkey & Goat.

Ms. Rogers Brandt had plenty of grapes in 2021 to produce the usual amount of Isabel’s. But the Caldor Fire ravaged vineyards in El Dorado, where Donkey & Goat obtains nearly 55 percent of the grapes for its annual production of red wines.

Donkey & Goat was able to salvage roughly 40 percent of its red grapes, mostly syrah, grenache and mourvèdre. However, red grape skins must be discarded when smoke and ashes settle on them. These grape skins provide color and structure to wine. Red wine cannot be produced without subjecting the wine to the sorts of technological manipulations Donkey & Goat abhors.

In such cases, many wineries would use the grapes to make a simple rosé. Ms. Rogers Brandt could have made an innocuous rosé to sell alongside Isabel’s Cuvée. She said that this would have been unsatisfying esthetically and would have cost her more money.

She decided instead to combine the rosé made from these grapes with the rosé destined for Isabel’s Cuvée. She felt that the wine still needed something. She added pinot gris from 2020, which is made in the ramato method, where the juice and skins are macerated together. This adds texture and color. Federal regulations allow up to 15% of a blend to be made from wines other than the one listed.

The result, labeled Gris Gris, is delightful — lively, tangy, refreshing and bone dry, with flavors of fruits and herbs. It is made from grapes from McDowell Valley Anderson Valley, El Dorado and El Dorado. Ms. Rogers Brandt is selling the wine for $32 a bottle, roughly equivalent to Isabel’s Cuvée despite the appellation.

“I can’t survive if I have climate impact and have to designate wines ‘California’ and sell them for a song,”She spoke. “People say, ‘It’s not a vineyard-designate, it should be cheaper.’ No, I should charge more because my expenses are so much higher.”

Donkey & Goat, like many small wineries without vineyards of their own, must develop partnerships with growers to assure a steady supply of fruit. Ms. Rogers Brandt, a producer who primarily works with biodynamic and organic vineyards, finds this doubly important.

This requires the building of long-lasting, sympathetic relationships. Ms. Rogers Brandt recalled some good advice she got from an early mentor, Éric Texier, the excellent Rhône producer: “Spend time and money finding the right growers. It’s like finding partners for life.”

In difficult years, it can be difficult to buy grapes for better or worse. In 2008, her first year affected by fires, the grapes from Mendocino’s vineyards were tainted. Despite the fact that she bought them, she had to undergo reverse osmosis to remove the taint. They were sold under a different name.

“The 2008 vintage nearly killed us,”She spoke. “But we were able to maintain relationships with growers.”

Many winemakers faced with fires in 2020 and 2021 and had to bail on growers or buy only a small portion of their allotment. It’s a difficult situation for all concerned, but Ms. Rogers Brandt said it was crucial to support growers.

“You can’t just buy grapes in the good years,”She spoke. “That’s not going to work for growers. To preserve vineyards and farming, you have to keep it going.”

Wines like Gris Gris allowed her the freedom to continue harvesting, even if the results were not as she expected.

“It allowed me to pick grapes that would have gone unused or wouldn’t have been picked,”She spoke. “We can do fun things, but we have to re-evaluate the value.”

Ms. Rogers Brandt was in a slightly different position with the 2020 fires. She picked grapes she thought would be good. She discovered that the grapes had been affected by smoke only after they were made into wine. She did her best, even though she was heartbroken by the results.

“I was so devastated,”She spoke. “I didn’t know I was going to have the problems I had. It was just reactive — there was no creativity in doing something that was different but delicious.”

She promised not to be caught again. She began to taste natural wines in the early 2021 and was inspired to create Plan B Wines if she was ever again confronted by fires.

“I wanted to look forward to the promise of the new vintage and the satisfaction in the creation of new wines,”She spoke. “It may not be what I expected to do, but I wanted to have that freedom to play and to feel satisfied at the end rather than to feel so disappointed.”

Her other improvised 2021s, all with the California appellation, include Cannonball, an unusual blend of carignan and grüner veltliner with dollops of chardonnay, grenache blanc and vermentino from Mendocino, Monterey and El Dorado, bright, fruity and savory, all knit together with a thread of tannin, for $36; a light and pleasing pétillant naturel made of Monterey grüner veltliner and Anderson Valley chardonnay for $40; and Skinny Dip, for $36, which requires a bit of explanation.

After she made the Isabel’s Cuvée, which went into her Gris Gris, Ms. Rogers Brandt took the pomace — the residue of pulp, skins, stems and seeds left from the winemaking process — and put it into a clay vat. She then filled it with a rosé of grenache noir from El Dorado and let them sit together for 12 days. The result was a dark rosé that was delicious, bright and lively.

“It was so good I’m going to do it again,”She spoke. “During harvest I thought I was going to lose my business. I didn’t know if I could pay my people. And I love these wines.”

Not that Donkey & Goat only made blends across appellations. It did make single vineyard reds using grapes Ms. Rogers Brandt had grown over the years. This included a bright pinot minier from the Russian River Valley as well as a delicious, spicy wine made from cabernet pfeffer, a virtually unknown variety, which was grown at Siletto Family Vinyards in San Benito County.

She said that the 2021 experience has given her the confidence to take on whatever challenges climate change may bring.

“Look, this isn’t going anywhere,”She spoke. “We all have an existential crisis. We have to figure out a way to create and find joy in making wine.”