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In the range of red wine varieties, cabernet franc has long been an insider’s wine. A grape that typically produces fragrant and savoury red wines that critics disparage as being leafy, herbaceous or worse, cabernet francs rarely enjoyed the global success of ripe and rewarding styles made from cabernet sauvignon, shiraz or malbec.

It wasn’t easy being a greener-style red wine in an era where rich and robust red wines from California, Australia and other regions blessed with sunny and dry growing sessions were all the rage. A taste for cabernet made without any so-called salad-bar elements – leafy greens, bell pepper or herbal notes – became the global standard. (Nevermind that most wines from Bordeaux, the region that originally called the tune for reds produced largely with cabernet and merlot, failed to keep time, except from atypically warm vintages and producers looking to please North American markets.)

Canadian wineries and their supporters have embraced cabernet franc as a variety that makes a lot of sense for our growing conditions. An early-ripening variety, it can be counted on to produce decent and dependable, and increasingly exciting and individual, red wines every year. Outside of some stalwart producers in South Africa, Argentina and Italy, cabernet franc was seldom promoted as a serious red wine. If a vineyard could ripen cabernet sauvignon, it made sense to plant a grape variety that was known and loved by many as opposed to cabernet franc. If it couldn’t, more fashionable varieties usually went into the ground.

But tastes and times are changing. A recent article by Natasha Hughes, a Master of Wine who works as a journalist, educator and wine judge, advises readers of Club Oenologique: Where to find the best cabernet franc wines outside of France. The thoughtful piece explains how cabernet franc has long been overshadowed by its offspring, cabernet sauvignon, which is a cross between cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc that has become the world’s most widely planted grape. It also shares some top results from the recent International Wine Challenge, a wine competition staged in London, with two Canadian cabernet francs singled out amongst the award winners.

Strewn Winery Cabernet Franc 2017 from Niagara-on-the-Lake and C.C. Jentsch Cellars Small Lot Cabernet Franc 2016 are praised by Hughes, while the report on the cabernet franc category on the International Wine and Spirit Competition’s website also acknowledges strong support for the Megalomaniac Reserve Cabernet Franc 2017 from Vineland, Ont., and Tinhorn Creek Oldfield Reserve Cabernet Franc 2016 from the Golden Mile Bench region of the Okanagan, alongside highly rated bottles from Argentina, Chile and Italy.

While much of the interest in cabernet franc, notably 100-per-cent examples from Canadian producers as well as those from villages in the Loire region of France – where the grape has long been established – can be attributed to intensive research and development to produce supple and smooth red wines that are more in line with consumer expectations.

But there’s also been a marked shift in the fashion and taste of the global wine market. Lighter, brighter and fresher red wines no longer need to apologize. Many sommeliers and consumers prefer them. They can offer refreshment as well as flavour; fragrance and finesse in a fuller bodied format. If you’re unfamiliar with the grape and its wine style or want an enjoyable red with a meal in the coming weeks, check out a cabernet franc from a Canadian vineyard and see what’s starting to make waves around the world.

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Some canny entrepreneurs have been increasingly switched-on to the concept of renovating a Bordeaux property with a view to selling it as a ‘hobby’ vineyard estate, as previously reported by Decanter.com.

Michael Baynes, executive partner and co-manager of Vineyards-Bordeaux, which is affiliated to the real estate division of Christie’s, said some buyers wanted a high-spec residence but were also keen to produce a small amount of high quality wine using ‘the latest technology’.

Others might be content to sign-up with a local cooperative and take a more hands-off approach to the winemaking, he said.

Here are a few examples of hobby vineyard properties listed for sale.

Hobby vineyard near to St-Emilion, listed at €2.4m

A full restored house with several bedrooms looks out onto 1.67ha of vines at this hobby vineyard estate that is described as lying near to St-Emilion in the listing by Vineyards-Bordeaux.

There’s also an indoor pool and separate guest accommodation. If you can tear yourself away from the views and the garden, then a 150-metre-square winery was constructed in 2008 and houses temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats.

There’s also space to store 20 barrels of wine, the listing says. Wine made here is largely sold in French restaurants and shops at present, but around 15% is expected to the US, with some also going to China and also other European countries.

Vines are between 40 and 80 years old and the vineyard is planted to 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, the listing says.

Luxury Médoc Château close to Margaux, listed at €2.3m

A postcard-worthy Château with one hectare of vines that lies ‘in a peaceful village not far from Margaux’, according to the listing by Vineyards-Bordeaux, affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate.

The vines are described as ‘in good condition’ and are classified under the Moulis-en-Médoc appellation. There is also a small winery on-site, including two stainless steel vats, temperature control, a small press and 11 barrels.

As for the main château building, it was constructed in the 18th century and has eight bedrooms and a bar area.

Stone house and vineyard in Fronsac area, Right Bank

This picturesque property in a small hamlet on the Right Bank includes around 2.3 hectares of vineyards, planted to red wine varieties, according to the listing by Quatuor Vignobles.

Described as ‘ideal for new winegrowers’, the seven-bedroom stone house itself dates to the 18th and 19th centuries, but was also extended around 20 years ago.

According to a joint-listing of the property on the Vinea Transaction network, it was priced at €1.35m, excluding fees.

Grand Château near to St-Emilion and Bergerac, listed at €3.18m

If your winemaking dream included a more grandiose abode, then this stunning-looking estate lying in AOC Bergerac might fit the bill.

The listing by Vineyards-Bordeaux describes it as ‘in many ways the the perfect hobby vineyard’, offering a winemaking project at a property that is also reasonably close to the picturesque village of St-Emilion ‘but with limited responsibilities for operation and wine distribution’.

The main château building has six bedrooms, surrounding by gardens and trees, while the on-site winery was built two years ago with small, temperature-controlled vats and a cellar capable of storing 100 barrels.

All the necessary wine equipment comes with the property, the listing states, and annual production is currently around 10,000 bottles per year.

More about the market

Baynes said that renovated (or ‘turnkey’) hobby vineyard estates generally sold for between €2m and €4m.

How often do these kinds of properties come onto the market? ‘I would say that we get four new listings per year of this type and at any given time we have six to seven for sale depending on the rate of sales and the quality of the estates being sold,’ said Baynes.

Véronique Laveix-Mazières, of Quatuor Vignobles, told Decanter.com, ‘Small wine estates with a few hectares of vines and a pretty residence are highly prized by buyers wishing to try the activity of winegrowing purely for pleasure. [It’s] the dream of living in the countryside while making quality wine.’

She said these kinds of properties ‘are not that easy to find’, but the team was always on the lookout.

Baynes said there were lots of vineyard properties requiring renovation work, but he also warned about the extra risk of spiralling costs for anyone taking this route.

More property articles you might like: 

Rural Sardinia vineyard estate for sale

Property buyers eyeing Tuscan wine country

In 30 years, the Sta. Rita Hills hasn’t let Greg Brewer down.

“I’ve been reflecting a lot on my relationship with this place,” the Brewer-Clifton winemaker said. “I’m very loyal to this place. I’m very provincial in that way. I’ll always work here. I’ve only worked here.”

He describes his relationship with the Santa Barbara County region as akin to working with someone for three decades. It’s an intimate relationship, and as a result, Brewer said, he’s been able to be kind of naked and exposed in how Brewer-Clifton grows and makes wine, doing as little as possible during the process so the wines can reflect the Sta. Rita Hills.

“It’s really about not inserting oneself,” he said. “It’s being as gentle as we can, and ultimately, I guess, allowing things to be what they’re going to be.”

The process at Brewer-Clifton is disciplined, trusting of the systems that are in place. Brewer doesn’t modify or tweak the wine as it’s developing; his crew doesn’t disturb the wine or add anything to it. The end result is going to be the result, Brewer said.

Recently picked as Wine Enthusiast‘s 2020 Winemaker of the Year, Brewer and his efforts to showcase the region haven’t gone unnoticed.

“Greg is one of the most talented and dynamic winemakers in California today with his distinctive style of coastal-influenced pinot noirs and chardonnays that rank among some of our magazine’s most highly rated bottlings. More importantly, he’s been a champion of Santa Barbara wines and helped build the prestige and excitement for the Sta. Rita Hills wine-growing region,” Wine Enthusiast Publisher Adam Strum said, according to Wine Industry Network Advisor.

The 8-mile stretch of land that runs between Buellton and Lompoc was the second designated American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Santa Barbara County. This area is mostly dedicated to chardonnays and pinot noirs, and its proximity to the Pacific Ocean influences the vines with fog-filled mornings and evenings.

Brewer describes it as a land of juxtaposition, a rugged coastline that gives way to hills and dales. It’s all about the ocean—both contemplative and savage in the same instant.

“We’re in this kind of gentle climate that’s predictable, and at the same time, it’s cold and desolate and stark,” he said. “There’s tension in [the wines]. There’s that oceanic kind of drive and force within them.”

When Brewer was 21 years old, he started working at the Santa Barbara Winery tasting room as a way to make extra money while he was in grad school for French literature and also teaching French at UC Santa Barbara. That was in 1991. By the end of 1992, he was the assistant winemaker, leaving grad school and his desire to teach French behind. Bruce McGuire, who’s been the winemaker at Santa Barbara Winery for four decades, showed Brewer the ways of wine in a budding industry.

Back then, Brewer said, there were only four or five wineries in the region. Now there are thousands of acres of vines planted and hundreds of wineries with corporate, mom-and-pop, and foreign investors. Then, of course, Sideways came out and really put Santa Barbara County on the wine map.

“It’s been really beautiful to see it play out,” he said.

Brewer started Brewer-Clifton in 1996, meeting up with Ron Melville in 1997 to help build Melville Winery, where Brewer made wine for 18 years. Around that same time, Sta. Rita Hills winemakers came together to push for AVA recognition. In discussing what the appellation could be, Brewer said, several folks pushed for specialization: chardonnays and pinot noirs.

California’s growing regions are diverse, and Santa Barbara County has so many micro-climates, producing so many different wine varieties, Brewer said they wanted to be sure they stood out.

“Specialty is valued and should be,” he said. “In 20 years, we’ve done a lot. Plantings have probably gone up 1,000 percent.”

Wine lists all around the world include a section on the Sta. Rita Hills. About 2,700 acres of chardonnay, pinot noir, and 18 other varieties now grow in the appellation, which boasts 51 wineries, according to the Santa Barbara Vintners.

Seven days a week, Brewer does the same thing in that AVA. Describing himself as similar to an old stereotyped sushi chef in Tokyo, he repeats the same process day in and day out, producing wines that can be themselves.

Jackson Family Wines purchased Brewer-Clifton in 2017, and Brewer stayed on as the winemaker. He said the Jackson family has been rooted in Santa Barbara County for many years and encouraged him to continue doing what he was doing—allowing him the space and financial leeway to go further than he could comfortably go in the past.

“The past 3 1/2 years have really been the best of my entire career,” he said. “I’ve never been more here, and there’s a long, cool future ahead.”

Receiving the Winemaker of the Year award, he said, is similar to what the Jackson family alignment means to him. With both he can continue to spread the word about the Sta. Rita Hills and its unique family of grape growers and winemakers—his neighbors who he both learns from and teaches.

While Brewer-Clifton aims to be as hands-off as possible, Brewer said, he of course makes decisions that impact the outcome. For instance: Brewer-Clifton trims its leaf canopy so there’s a lot of airflow around the fruit. They choose the right time to harvest and pick their grapes at night. He uses a commercial yeast strain and ages the wine in 15- to 25-year-old barrels. But, Brewer said, it’s all very elementary. Brewer-Clifton isn’t about flexibility; it’s efficient, rhythmic, and ritualistic.

The process is preventative, said his wife, Sonja Magdaveski, who makes wines for Casa Dumetz in Los Alamos. Nothing is arbitrary and everything is preparation. She said that Brewer knows what his goals are and he knows that he wants to be as light and quiet as possible in order to allow the grapes to do the talking.

He trusts the Sta. Rita Hills to deliver. He’s inspired by what they can do, and he knows what he needs to do to enable the grapes to do the right thing.

“It’s really about being so prepared and so aware and so in tune that you can be quiet and disciplined and not rush into making arbitrary decisions,” Magdaveski said. “You walk into that winery any day of the year and it looks exactly as it did yesterday and last year and many years from now. … And to fight the need to not go with every twist of the market, which is so volatile.”

Magdaveski said Brewer’s process yields wines that have a similar character, an energy to them that’s consistent and connected—the energy of the Sta. Rita Hills, the energy of Brewer himself. It’s not so much the flavor profiles that are distinct as it is the intention and texture of the wines.

“There’s a density of character in the wines that Greg makes that are like no other,” she said. “It’s totally impossible to express, and once you’ve had it, and you’ve had many, it’s a very specific characteristic.” Δ

Editor Camillia Lanham is ready for some pinot noir with character. Send tasting notes to clanham@newtimesslo.com.