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Sipping scene

Fewer vines, but greater wines

By TOM VALEO
Published December 28, 2005

When Koerner Rombauer opened his vineyard in Napa Valley in 1982, he never intended to make huge amounts of high-profit wine. As though taking a lesson from his great-aunt Irma Rombauer, author of The Joy of Cooking, he focused on making everything delicious through craftsmanship and devotion to detail.

In his vineyards he planted half as many vines per acre as most wine makers, and each season he lavishes attention on the grapes.

"I get three or four tons of grapes per acre," Rombauer said during a recent tasting he conducted at the new location of the Wine Warehouse, 5571 Fourth St. N in St. Petersburg. "Other vineyards in the area get 10 tons per acre. When you grow fewer grapes, they're less likely to rot or get bugs, and the grapes produce a wine that's soft and easy to drink."

That's not an idle boast. In February 2004, Florida's Sandestin Wine Festival awarded Rombauer's 2002 chardonnay the highest overall score, 95 points, and named it Best of Show. The same month Winefest 2004 in Hilton Head, S.C., named his chardonnay Best of Show for the third time in four years.

Rombauer doesn't produce a lot of wine - barely 60,000 cases a year - and it's more expensive than many others. His zinfandel, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay sell for $25 to $38 a bottle, and his outstanding Rombauer Cabernet Diamond Select is usually in the $60 to $70 range, if you can find it. (Rombauer makes only 1,000 cases of it each year.)

As he helped pour for customers at the wine tasting, Rombauer clearly took extra pride in the Diamond Select, but would not accept the credit for its complexity and subtle flavors.

"It's the grapes," he insisted.

-- Tom Valeo is a freelance writer based in St. Petersburg.

[Last modified December 27, 2005, 17:16:03]