Business & Tech
Nalle Winery: Early Harvest, Good Taste
Nalle Winery gets most of their grapes in before the rains.
Note: This article was updated on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011 to correct several typographical and content errors.
While last week's rain caused angst for many Healdsburg grape growers, Nalle Winery’s winemaker Andrew Nalle had the quiet satisfaction of knowing the bulk of his crop was already in the fermentation bins.
“We got everything in,” said the young winemaker. “It’s a good feeling.”
Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.
Athough they still have a second crop to pick in a few weeks, the small winery uses mostly zinfandel vines that ripen first.
Roots
Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.
The roots of the Nalle family are sown deep in the Dry Creek Valley. As early as the 1890s, Andrew Nalle’s maternal great-great grandfather was a sheep farmer in the upper valley that is now under Lake Sonoma.
The home farm, where the Nalles live and the winery thrives, was bought in 1927 by Lee Nalle’s grandparents, Fred and Ruby Henderlong.
Doug and Lee Nalle, Andrew Nalle’s father and mother -- along with Andrew Nalle of course -- keep the family spirit alive. Andrew Nalle and Doug Nalle are the winemakers and Lee Nalle does much of the office work.
An employee, Stephanie Callimanis, is learning every aspect of the work.
Family also includes the winery dog, Lyla, and cat, Shorty, both adopted from the Healdsburg Animal Shelter. The sense of family and inclusiveness is strong.
The Senses
For Andrew Nalle, wine is not only about savoring good taste. He engages all his senses when he creates the Nalle wines.
Nalle invokes the alchemy of turning sunlight, terroir and grapes into fine wines. Using all his senses, Nalle caresses the berries and listens to the cap on the fermentation bin, as he turns it to keep it moist and to release carbon dioxide. He deeply breathes in the aroma of fermentation and he looks carefully at the berries and skins.
Nalle Winery makes three varietals, zinfandel from Dry Creek and pinot noir and chardonnay from Hopkins Ranch in Russian River Valley.
They also have a strong business association with Paul Bernier and get some of their zinfandel crop from him. Both the Nalle family and Bernier dry farm their grapes.
“My crop is more than 50 percent in,” said Bernier on Saturday. “I expect to be finished by midweek.
“The crop is good,” Bernier said with a satisfied smile. “There isn’t the rot I expected.”
The Wine
Andrew Nalle talks about Nalle Winery wines.
“Dad’s recipe is for structure and for longevity,” Andrew said, “It’s the traditional way of making wine.
“It’s about pH and acid making the wine stable but tasting it along the way for flavor,” he continued.
“We’re making the smallest amount of wine we’ve ever make,” Nalle went on. “We’ll bottle about 1,000 to 1,300 cases a year.
“We get limited amounts from older vineyards.”
Nalle shows off the old vineyard in front of the winery.
“These vines were planted 84 years ago, in 1927,” he said. “I’ll probably make a rosé out of it.
“The next 24-48 hours will determine the viability of the second crop,” Nalle said. “It’ll be nice to get a breeze.
“This area is about 1.4 acres,” he continued. “We’ll probably get about two tons of grapes from it.”
Good Living
When asked if the family makes a good living from their small operation, Nalle smiles.
“I enjoy creating and making the wine,” he said. “And to be doing it for family…,” his voice trailed off.
“I’ve been around winemaking since I was little,” Nalle continued. “It’s part instinctual, part experience. It’s alchemy.
“We do things on a different scale,” Nalle said. “Yes, it’s a good living.”
The Nalles ferment in half-on picking bins in order to hand turn the grapes to give the yeast oxygen and to get the flavor and to “keep the flavor going,” as Nalle puts it.
Primary fermentation lasts a week or two.
“We don’t over-extract,” Nalle said. “We go for a 13.5-14% alcohol—moderate, with no bitter finish.
“It’s restrained and balanced,” he goes on. “We don’t go for the biggest bang.
Grandpa’s Garden
Nalle and Callimanis point out “Grandpa’s (Fred Henderlong's) garden” where the Nalle family continues the tradition of growing vegetables in the area around the fruit trees “grandpa” planted.
While the garden is starting to look fall-raggedy, tomatoes are still flowering. Artichokes have started to flower, providing points of color in the garden.
The orchard contains apples, pears, prunes, plums, cherry and fig trees and Nalle plans to put in a pomegranate. Evidence of a bumper apple crop is obvious. Nalle offers an apple, as he picks one and bites into its juicy ripeness.
Rosemary and Clay
Again, the conversation turns back to family and traditional growing methods.
“We don’t use cover crops,” said Andrew. “We use what is naturally there, like mustard, and till it in and roll the fields to keep in moisture.
“The soil is deep clay,” Nalle continues. “The clay holds water for dry farming.”
He points out the rosemary-covered winery roof.
“It attracts bees and butterflies and promotes biodiversity,” he said. “That’s all part of it.
"It keeps the winery cool naturally," Nalle said.
Callimanis talks about learning the business. She is in charge of the Squirrel Club, Nalle Winery’s wine club, but she’s also learning how to make wine in a hands-on manner.
“I really like it,” Callimanis said. “Making wine is really fun and fascinating science-wise.
“We started the wine club just this year,” she answers the question. “We have about one hundred members already.”
Family, Food and Flavor
“It’s all about people and food,” said Nalle, who admits to enjoying cooking as well. “You use wine because it tastes good.
“You’re making it for the flavor," he said, "to serve with food for your family.”
