Standing Up For Big Flavor Wines
The ‘90s shift to riper darker richer style is a whipping boy for most wine scribes. I’m here to defend it.
Welcome back. The days in Napa are gorgeous this time of year. Rain showers alternate with warm sunny days, making for green hills, wild mustard and irrepressible weeds! And fava beans, of course. My favas have risen and will be tall as me in no time. Viva la spring!
You’re invited to my super wine tasting this Friday:
Eat Drink Cook Wine Tasting Showcase
This Friday, February 27, 6 to 8 PM
At The Food Mill Kitchen, Napa
Visit and taste with owners/winemakers of five local, micro-wineries. They are:
Richard Brockmeyer - Brockmeyer Family (Albariño, Sparkling Wine and Syrah)
Michaela Rodeno - Villa Ragazzi (Oakville Estate Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon)
Kira Ballotta - Olivia Brion and Cantadora Winery (White Blend, Red Blend, Tempranillo)
David Huang - David Clinton Winery (Zinfandels from Dry Creek Valley)
Ellen & Gary Luchtel - Fortunati Winery (Napa Estate Syrah two ways! Rosé and red)
$20/person - $10 each for EDC members and guests.
The Food Mill is bringing out some very tasty snacks!
The community came out for “Share That Bottle Night,” a celebration of wine co-hosted by Outer Space Wines and Eat Drink Cook. Wine of the night? Hard to say, but 1995 Dalla Valle “Maya” Napa Valley was voted #1 by attendees. Plenty of others were enjoyed like Freemark Abbey Cabernet Bosché 2001, Larkmead “Firebelle” 2003 and Chapoutier Ermitage “Le Pavillon” 1997. Keep an eye out for the next Share That Bottle party.
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If I’ve read it once I’ve read it a thousand times.
The California wines made today are sweet, simple and taste the same. The character of the grape and the place are gone.
The criticism continues on, ending with usually the same conclusion: The California wine industry has sold out. Craftsmanship and integrity has been sacrificed in exchange for higher ratings and easier sales. It went to the dark side and never came back.
Not true, I say. And in the fashion of doubling down, I also say California wine, and Napa Valley wine in particular, benefits from its transformation to a riper, richer style.
Here’s Where I’m Coming From
You should know my story before I continue making my case. I came to Napa Valley in 1992 and quickly immersed myself into the wine business - mostly retail, some fine dining somm work too. The early/mid ‘90s saw the first wave of Napa cult wines. Araujo, Bryant Family, Harlan, Screaming Eagle. A few came before, like Shafer “Hillside” Cabernet. These wines boasted a richness and appeal at a young age that began to redefine great Napa Cabernet and other red wines (the Turley Zinfandels of the ‘90s come to mind). The critic Robert Parker had a preference for certain wine styles, what I call “Big Flavor” wines, at the right time to become a massive influence on wine sales. He got flak for changing the way wine was made, which was true indirectly because he told the wine industry what wine consumers wanted. Many wanted to shoot the messenger.
In 2002 I went into business for myself and opened up a wine shop and wine bar in Napa. Big Flavor wines were off to the races by then with labels like Orin Swift, Pride Mountain and Bond skyrocketing in popularity. And they were affordable too, by the way. I had access to these wines, the customers for them, and a keen sense for a quality Big Flavor wine. Sometimes I’d taste a wine and before its “Parker Score” was published and confidently buy it in anticipation of a good review. I was usually right, but if not then all the better because I could get more of it, and my Big Flavor wine customers loved them. My business had a good run.
It’s A Matter of Taste
My dad, a Latin teacher at one time, liked to tell us kids, “de gustibus non est disputandum,” which means “concerning taste there is no argument.” Outside of a scholastic wine tasting class perhaps, you can’t tell someone what tastes good and what doesn’t, but you can keep track of what people do like. I’ve been doing that most of my professional life.
A couple walk into the wine bar, I pour them two wines, let’s say they’re Napa Cabs for the sake of the story. Same quality – equally representative of their respective style. One tastes of tart red fruits, tobacco, tea and mushrooms and grips the gums with tannins at the end: a provocative wine typical of the wines made in the 1970s and ‘80s. The other has the Big Flavor. Blackberries, cocoa, dark spices. Tannins are soft or if firm are complemented by a long, rich finish. That couple, visiting Napa Valley, spending money, never read a wine review in their lives, will prefer the Big Flavor wine 9 out of 10 times.
Turning people into customers by making wines they want to drink is a sell-out if the winemaker compromises her craft in the process, but in the upper echelon of Napa Valley wine that’s not the case.
Transparency Versus Richness
I tasted a lot of Napa’s best wines last week at Premiere Napa Valley, the annual wine trade event and auction of unique, limited-edition wines. Without a doubt richness takes precedence over transparency, a term used for a wine made to showcase the land from which it grows, and usually means alcohol under 14% and minimal oak influence. The winemaking craft is no less with the rich style. In fact, with the training and international perspective of today’s winemaker, I’d say the craft today is greater than it has ever been, and the definition of transparency has changed. The winemakers I tasted with during Premiere think so.
“The Cabernets I make from different vineyards taste very different from each other,” Helen Keplinger, one of California’s best winemakers, told me. Her Keplinger wines are rich and powerful, and they DO taste different from each other. Now, I would not put her or any other Big Flavor wines up to the AVA style test – Oakville tastes like Oakville, Stags Leap like Stags Leap, etc. I’ve always noticed the distinctiveness of a vineyard more than a region, whether it’s here or anywhere else in the world. The taste of a vineyard, or the consistent personality of a blend (check out the Keplinger “Lithic” as a shining example of this). Is this where the evolution of California wine is heading?
Today’s winemakers are vineyard nerds and non-interventionists
Kelly Peterson’s first vintage at Switchback Ridge Vineyard and Winery was 1999. Robert Parker loved the wines and gave them high scores. The special spot in Calistoga’s Dutch Henry Canyon and the Big Flavor winemaking by Bob Foley was a winning combination. Those early wines were dark, opulent and textural. The demand for the wines was incredible, and today Peterson still sells out before the next vintage is ready for release. You could say Switchback Ridge is a poster child for the Big Flavor wine craze. Fair enough, but 25 years later the craftsmanship of the wine, and the dedication to quality, is still as good as it gets.
The Switchback Ridge winemaker now is Thomas Rivers Brown, one of Napa’s best. As the years have gone by, Brown has become more vineyard-focused and moved to a lighter touch in his winemaking. His wines are rich, no doubt, but he’s making wines from vineyards that want to make ‘em that way. In nerdy wine-speak Brown is more winegrower than winemaker. “There is no intentional style we’re trying to achieve,” Peterson told me. “If anything there is more minimalism than in the past. Thomas picks the wines a little fresher and brighter than what we’ve done in the past.” I tasted the 2023 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah with Peterson. It’s a mouthful of rich, wonderful joy that, to me, celebrates Napa’s special place in the winemaking world.
The Winery Vibe at Premiere Napa Valley 2026
I covered Premiere Napa Valley last year, and was a too hung up on “the state of the wine industry” and its well-documented headwinds. How much are the auction lots selling for? How does it compare to five years ago? What does it mean for Napa Valley wine? It was tiring.
Indeed, wine sales are tough and will get tougher. Instead of lamenting, the Premiere 2026 vibe is that Napa Valley wineries are more interested in taking action. You could say a year ago the wine downturn was more mysterious, and what you don’t know is scary. Now the path forward for this group is clearer, so the path forward while not easy is taking shape. So what do you say we enjoy some great Napa Valley wine and have a fine time selling it?
You made it: the end of this week’s Eat Drink Cook: a life-journal from a Napa Valley dad, wine expert and enthusiastic cook. I write stories about food, wine & cooking. Sometimes I sprinkle in bits about being a dad and just a guy enjoying these crazy times the best I can. Read me for food & wine tips, recipes, and stuff I come across that you may find interesting too. Join the club.
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