In the Middle of the Night, Thinking of Wine
I was awoken in the middle of the night last night by a vision of the life I live — one that is beholden to the fates of Nature
Menu
Lineage: Life and Love and Six Generations in California Wine
by Steven Kent Mirassou
Hardcover – June 2021
Steven Kent Mirassou received his BA in American Literature from the George Washington University and his MA in Literature from NYU. He was born in the Salinas Valley and grew up in San Jose and Los Gatos before going east to college. Lineage: Life and Love and Six Generations in California Wine is his first book.
Mirassou started his wine career in sales but found his true passion after moving into the production side of the business in 1996. Steven has made the highest rated wines from the Livermore Valley, is a founder of the Mount Diablo Highlands Wine Quality Alliance, and the President of the Livermore Valley Wine Growers Association.
Steven has four adult children, April Coffey, Aidan Mirassou, Katherine Mirassou, and Sara Mirassou. He lives in Livermore, CA with his wife, Beth Murray Mirassou, and their two dogs
Fun with Old Wine #1
I’ve written extensively over the years about how one of the most magical characteristics (out of the innumerably extraordinary things) of wine is its desire and ability to evolve constantly. Every sip, every moment of added air, elicits new and profound aromas and flavors from the glass.
Going back to older wines that I have made is a little scary sometimes. How did the wine hold up? What winemaking mistakes did I make? What character flaws in the winemaker does that old bottle now reveal? Despite the angst, revisiting past wines is the best way to learn, to re-open the window on my life in the past, and the way that Time changes all things.
On the second day of Barrel Tasting Weekend in the Livermore Valley, I opened a 2002 Sangiovese made from our Home Ranch and called Sequoia. Sangiovese is native to Tuscany and is the primary grape of Chianti, and THE grape of Brunello. Our acre of Sangiovese was planted on our site in 1996 and has been offered as a 100% varietal wine. It is still used in a blend with Cabernet Sauvignon (Vincere).
As you can see from the photos, (these were taken in the Sangiovese block of our vineyard, and the buds that will produce the fruit of the 2022 vintage are breaking), the wine is a little bricky in color, underscoring the effects of oxidation from age. In the middle photo, the broken cork (another victim of Time!) is clearly visible in the bottle. In the mouth, the wine is still vibrant and shows significant tannin, even after 20 years!
The major aromatic component of the wine is sweet American oak, though the green and black olive notes of tapenade play a role as well. American oak was predominant in most of our non-Bordeaux varietal wines until 2009 when we moved exclusively to French oak. The dominance of wood is a vestige of a winemaking style that was big on youthful inexperience – my current tastes are much more new-barrel-phobic, eschewing the greater tannin for the concomitant hegemony of fruit.
Though this particular bottle may be on the downside of its life, it is an interesting wine. And that is one of the obligations of all wine…have a story to tell.
Latest Posts:
In a new post on Wine Saves Lives!, Steven Kent Mirassou and Beth Murray of The Steven Kent Winery talk about the new release of The Premier, Steven Kent’s best
Dosage Trial: Putting Finishing Touches on New Sparkling Wine
Yesterday, Em and I had the opportunity to evaluate a dosage trial done on our new méthode champenoise Pinot Noir from the Santa Cruz Mountains. A dosage trial consists of adding different levels