by Vic Harradine — winecurrent.com

James Ewart is an Aussie who, after graduating from Adelaide Uni with a Grad Diploma in Viticulture eventually made his way to Monterey, California following his passion for vines and wines. Passionate and personable, he’s at his public best when joining you in tasting his wines and warms up quickly answering questions. He gets real focused when asked about the management of the vines. The winery is Delicato Family Vineyards, but they’re also known by their brands, especially Gnarly Head, Loredona and Irony which have all had releases through Vintages and General List, or are upcoming Vintages releases. Many of those wines are reviewed in this May 24, 2008 newsletter; it’s a very impressive portfolio.

The winery owns much of the fruit it utilizes with the balance coming from long-term contract growers. Family-owned and run, they have six winemakers in two winery sites with James at their Monterey location. For James, managing the fruit starts with managing the amount of light it receives. The following is his mantra, “Wine is sunlight, held together by water” said first by Louis Pasteur.

Trellising is a huge issue and 95% of the vines at Delicato’s San Bernabe vineyard in Monterey, have been replanted, with the majority being trellised on the Smart-Dyson system developed by grape grower John Dyson and the ubiquitous Australian, Dr. Richard Smart, who first drew international attention with his canopy management techniques in New Zealand. In effect, it opens up the canopy allowing a properly managed amount of sunlight for each bunch of grapes and facilitates harvesting. The Delicato vineyards also practice and hold certificates for sustainable agriculture.

The results of these combined efforts produce top quality fruit from all their California locations. The Gnarly Head 2006 Chardonnay and Gnarly Head 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon have just been released in General List. The Chardonnay sources fruit from Lodi, Monterrey and Mendocino with all three contributing important aspects to the finished wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon is primarily from Lodi with some from Monterey and a splash from Napa Valley.

The Gnarlier Head 2005 ‘Old Vines’ Zinfandel (45-year-old vines) was sourced from Dry Creek Valley fruit, arguably the top California AVA for Zinfandel. James had a hand in this and his wine making philosophy shines through. “I believed we could make a rich and robust wine with lots of ripe fruit and texture without being overly jammy, without sacrificing structure, balance or character. It’s possible to produce a big wine with elements of finesse and elegance, and do you know what, we did.” No one at the tasting disagreed with James.