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Vini di Solo Nostro: Serpente, Dolcetto Rosato e Raga.
Winemaker Ted Seghesio from Solo Nostro Wines is our guest today on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. Ted used to work for the winery that bears his family name. In what he refers to now as his “previous post,” he made Zinfandel for 40 years. He still makes it under the new label, among many other varietals. Solo Nostro is Italian for “ours alone.”
Ted started as as winemaker in 1979 when the Seghesio family had been making wine already for many decades. The winery used open top concrete fermenters and redwood storage tanks. They had 400 acres of vineyards including French Colombard, Chenin Blanc, Carignane and Zinfandel. He remembers the advent of White Zin in the 1980s that saved a lot of Zinfandel vineyards.
Ted and his wife honeymooned in the Rhone region when they got married in 2015. When they created Solo Nostro in 2019, they chose to feature Rhone varietals, Grenache Blanc and Syrah, as well as a Rhone white blend. In addition to that, also make Dolcetto. They plan to expand their portfolio to other Mediterranean grapes. The Dolcetto is from their estate, and they get others from other local growers.
Viognier and Dolcetto Rosato
They planted Viognier because it was harder to find locally and they wanted it. Viognier can be tricky from year to year, the crop sizes are not as consistent as other varieties. So that is a risk for a winery or a grower. Now they taste a Viognier that Dan says has the flower basket aroma typical of Viognier. It should smell like flowers.
They picked at 3am, and went straight to the press at 50 degrees F, then straight to the concrete amphora. After 2 months fermentation, they left it on the lees until 6 months then bottled it. It has flavors of ripe peaches and apricots and floral flavors that put Viognier “in a different class.” Dan says to put this in oak barrels would be a misdemeanor. Dan estimates its alcohol is around 13.8. It’s 13.9. This would not be for aging. In France they do not age this wine. The floral aromatics are there to be enjoyed now. It should be served below 65 degrees.
Solo Nostro Wines are available at Bacchus’ Landing, which has various events. The owners are the former owners of the lucrative Low-Rider Magazine so they also hold an annual car show too. Dan says the place is “just stunning.”
Next is a Syrah, which is another variety that Ted did not work with in his previous post. It has thick skins. In 2022 it was 116 degrees on Labor Day. Fortunately they had picked the day before. It came out with blueberry essence with a trace of pepper. Dan says it needs two years to get to its ideal place.
The Consumer Is In the Driver’s Seat
With the downturn in sales in the wine industry right now, consumers have opportunities to try wines at prices they wouldn’t find. Some wines that already have an extra year of aging are now reaching the market which is good for buyers. Slow sales mean the wines for sale may be longer aged. One reason why California wines have become so popular is that they deliver fruit. On the east coast where they grew up with European wine, they are missing the California fruit flavors.
Daedalus asks if there is something about the California palette. Are we spoiled? Well, we are just different. Ted says they have done comparative tastings forever, France, Italy, California, lots of them. “Our fruit always stood out.”
The Pivot
Daedalus asks Ted how he made the pivot in his career. He quit Seghesio in 2018 and his wife Dana was studying in the Sonoma State University Executive Business program. They were going to start a winery but the wildfires wiped them out. They were going to call it Atto Due, Act Two. He rode Seattle to Portland and passing back into California, they found themselves before a breathtaking scene with nobody else around. Dana remarked, Solo Nostro which in Italian means “Ours Alone.” They only make 500 cases per year so far. He even makes a little Pinot Noir. They will also make Sangiovese. He will get some grapes from a vineyard that started with vines that his grandfather planted in 1910. Nobody else has century-old Sangiovese vineyard in California.