1985-08 August 1985 Newsletter

The story of milk, salmon and Hollywood unfolds at Durney vine¬yards. Bill Durney's grandfather founded the Carnation Company and is credited with starting the Alaska salmon industry. Bill is chairman of the Carnation Seafood Co. Dorothy, his wife, is a screen¬writer with a pen name of Dorothy Kingsley. She has credits for such hits as "Pal Joey, Kiss Me Kate, Don't Go Near The Water, and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers."

In 1954, the Durneys purchased 1200 acres of land in hills of the Santa Lucia Range. They called it Rancho del Sueno. It is in a rug-gedly beautiful part of Monterey County. It was only in 1967 that they planted wine grapes, selling the harvest every year to other wineries. Prizewinning wines start¬ed coming forth from these buyers of the grapes!

What would you do if you saw this happen? You're right… you would build your own winery and cash in on the glory! That is exactly what they did in 1977.

Two unique things are possibly responsible for the quality of the grapes that grow in the Durney vineyards. "It's the water..." (as goes the beer commercial) say some. The vineyards are irrigated natu¬rally by underground springs. Also, the climate is different at this 1200 foot elevation of Monterey county. It has a microclimate that apparently is responsible for the lack of the usual grassy, vegetal flavor of most other Monterey County wines. The area was consid-ered different enough to be named as a separate wine grape appella¬tion of "Carmel Valley".

Winemaker at the Durney Estate is Dan Lee. His assistant is David L. Sharp. Braulio Padilla is the vineyardist. The Durneys daughter, Christine (Durney) Armanasco is in charge of public relations, and her husband David is general manager.

Between the natural phenomena and the team contributions, they have achieved top category classi¬fication on many wine critics lists. This Cabernet Sauvignon is an example of their superb wines.

Wines made from the cabernet grape in California have earned themselves a distinction worldwide. They are accepted for what they are and not as an imitation of their parent Bordeaux clarets. The California cabernets are usually bold, intense, tannic, with varie¬tal character of nose and taste bordering on green olives and bell peppers. Monterey county cabernets additionally often have a herba¬ceous, vegetal aroma, which I per-sonally object to when it is in any concentration.

Our wine is deep purplish red in color. It has an intense fruity aroma of peppery cabernet, with just the slightest hint of Monterey grassiness. The bouquet is clean and bold. The taste immediately shows a big varietal flavor. Very good extractive. It is laced with tannin. Full bodied, luscious, with a cabernet character that is vigo¬rous in the mouth. A hint of bit¬terness at the finish, telling you to serve it with food. Serve at room temperature with red meat dishes, steaks and roasts. My favorite is after the meal with aged hard Monterey Jack cheese and fresh crusty French bread, not sourdough.

Cellaring Notes: Will age well for up to 10 years. Worth the invest¬ment of money and time.