The Grapevine: Wente’s small-lot wines are bolstering its reputation for quality

By Laurie Daniel

Change has been a recent theme at the venerable Wente Vineyards in the Livermore Valley. Winemaking is now in the hands of a member of the fifth generation of Wentes to work in the family business. And the winery is gaining notice for its relatively new “small lot” and Nth Degree wines.

But this spring, the family is also looking back, as it celebrates the 125th anniversary of the winery founded by C. H. Wente in 1883. Today Wente Vineyards, formerly known as Wente Bros., is the oldest continuously operating family-owned winery in the United States.

Wente and Krug

C. H. Wente, a German immigrant, worked with fellow German Charles Krug in the Napa Valley before moving to the Livermore Valley, where he bought 47 acres, planted a vineyard and established a winery. Under his sons, Ernest and Herman, the winery stayed afloat during Prohibition by making sacramental wines, and Wente Bros. gained a reputation for its white wines.

Over the years, the family expanded its holdings. In the early 1960s, the Wentes developed one of the earliest commercial vineyards in Monterey County, in what was to become the Arroyo Seco appellation, an area that’s cooler than Livermore and thus allows them to produce a broader range of wines. They also delved into related businesses, establishing a winery restaurant (just the third one in California) and hugely popular concert series in 1986.

The restaurant and an 18-hole golf course at Wente Vineyards, designed by Greg Norman, are major tourist draws, and tourist traffic has been important to the recent renaissance in Livermore wine country, where the number of small wineries is on the upswing.

Chardonnay roots

Along the way, the Wentes also made an important contribution to California viticulture. The majority of the chardonnay planted in the state —much of it known as the “Wente clone”—can be traced to the family’s early plantings in Livermore.

However, the wines, while reliable, got scant notice from critics. That’s changing under current winemaker Karl Wente, 30. I tasted many of the new wines during a recent visit and found a lot to like.

When the younger Wente returned to the family business after earning two master’s degrees from UC Davis and stints at Peter Michael Winery in Sonoma County and Brown Bros. in Australia, he “really wanted to get his hands dirty, dig a little deeper,” says his aunt Carolyn, vice chair of the winery. She and her brothers, Eric and Phil, thought it was important to fund the so-called small-lot winery and give Karl the tools to “push the quality envelope.”

Quality builds success

He appears to be succeeding. The top tier of Wente wines, called Nth Degree and available almost exclusively to the winery’s wine club members, show a lot of polish and complexity. They sell for $40 to $60.

Among the small lot wines, available from the winery, I particularly admired the 2006 Arroyo Seco Pinot Blanc ($25), which is lean and bright, with flavors of citrus, white peach and honey; the 2006 Arroyo Seco Viognier ($22), another racy white with white peach and floral notes; and the 2005 Arroyo Seco Merlot ($35), which offers black cherry and black currant fruit accented by savory notes of pepper and olive.

In the more widely available estate series, highlights included the 2005 Charles Wetmore Cabernet Sauvignon ($25), with its plump black cherry fruit, attractive spice and firm structure; the 2005 Sandstone Merlot ($15), a mélange of sweet cherry and savory notes of olive and tea; and the 2005 Smith Bench Zinfandel ($20), a wine with plenty of ripe berry but some nice restraint.

The wine industry has seen a wave of consolidation and takeovers in the past decade. A recent industry report found that 51 percent of family-owned wineries in California, Oregon and Washington anticipate an ownership change by 2017. In the case of the Wentes, it’s unclear how many of the fifth generation will get involved in the family business. Karl and his sister, Christine, work at the winery, but their four younger cousins are still in school.

Still, as the winery celebrates its 125th anniversary, the family is optimistic.

“We have shown that you can be a family-owned and operated winery and survive this industry,” Carolyn Wente says. “I think we’re all very proud of that.”

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Wente Vineyards: www.wentevineyards.com