I Enlisted in Wine Boot Camp

Our intrepid writer reports for duty in the santa cruz mountains

“Ten-hut! Time to listen up,” barked “Major” Barbara Drady to 20 recruits gathered in a downtown Saratoga parking lot. The would-be drill instructor, a petite blond dynamo, grows grapes and makes wine at Sonoma Coast Vineyards, and spends her spare time as a wine writer and educator.

This late summer day she was inducting us into Wine Boot Camp, a one-day intensive course in wine appreciation, held amid the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Drady runs similar camps every summer in the Napa Valley and in Sonoma County.

Members of our group ranged from carpenters to computer programmers, wine newcomers to longtime enthusiasts. Before we moved out for our first maneuver, Drady insisted that we raise our right hands and take the pledge—that we would enjoy the fruits of the vine for the rest of our lives.

Next came a jostling ride up graveled switchbacks to Cinnabar Vineyards & Winery. Nestled in the mountains and surrounded by steeply sloping vineyards, Cinnabar is drop-dead gorgeous. But there was no time for gawking, as Drady turned us over to “Major General”—aka winemaker—George Troquato.

Troquato, short, fit, and beaming with pride over the birth of his new son, explained the distressing impact of this record-cool year on his grapes. He then marched us into the vineyards, where we studied the results of his decision to prune half the clusters in hopes of getting the rest to ripen. We harvested random bunches, and crushed them into juice to test for sugar content.

Troquato pulled out a red instrument that looked like a small microscope with a slanted end. This was a refractometer, used to measure the sugar level, or brix, in juice. As we passed it around, he said, “Don’t say anything!” But by the time it had gone halfway around, he was too excited. “Did you see 23.5?” he asked. We nodded. “Oh great!” It was getting close to his goal of 25 brix. Maybe his Cabernet grapes were going to make it to full ripeness before the rains.

Next we filed indoors for an aromatic workshop led by Drady. Twenty-one little cups and two wine glasses were set before each of us. The cups were filled with pieces of apple, melon, chocolate, and other foods whose flavors and aromas are frequently found in wine. Our duty was to find these flavors and aromas in eight different wines.

As we smelled and tasted, we grew increasingly confident and able to identify the wines. Soon we were calling out aromas and guessing at varietals. It didn’t matter if we were right. This was just for fun, after all, and we were drinking wine: a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, a Sonoma County Pinot Noir, and a Cinnabar Cabernet Sauvignon, among others.

In the afternoon, we headed off for Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards, a 110-year-old winery that produces only 3,000 cases a year, mostly Cabernets. The presence of horses was immediately apparent, visibly, audibly, and aromatically. Drady handed us over to “Brigadier General” (associate winemaker) Bill Cooper. Cooper, a descendant of the first family to plant grapes on the property, quizzed us on wine-making as he described the workings of crushers, hoses, storage tanks, and the vineyards.

With all this information bubbling through our brains, Drady and Cooper ordered us to the blending tables, where we made our own personal blends using five different Cooper-Garrod wines: three Cabernet Sauvignons, a Merlot, and a Cabernet Franc.

By now many of us were champing at the bit. It was getting late, and some of us had signed up for “the cavalry charge,” a trail ride on Garrod Farms Riding Stables’ horses. Finally, we mounted up and took off along the eastern slope of the mountains; San Jose glittered in the distance like a tiny jewel in the afternoon sunlight. By the time we staggered back, legs bowed like cartoon cowboys’, our fellow recruits were nibbling hors d’oeuvres, socializing like old friends, and, of course, drinking more wine.

“Boot Camp people are the kind who take the raft rides, not the bus,” said Drady. “And they always bond.” She should know. She runs four camps every year for the general public and approximately 30 for corporate groups. Starting this month, individuals and corporations can reserve spots in next year’s camps.

No one wanted to say good-bye after a dinner of crab puffs, barbecued shrimp, an herb-encrusted beef filet (stuffed portobello mushrooms were provided for the vegetarians), and chocolate truffle cake. Dinner was long, drawn out, and delicious. But at last it was time to head back to Saratoga. We left with plenty of keepsakes—our personally bottled blends, our “I survived Boot Camp” T-shirts, and certificates proclaiming us Winemakers First Class.

And I have my own memento—two red splashes on a once-pristine straw Stetson that happened to be sitting on a table near someone who poured a little too generously. Do I plan to clean them off? Not on your life.

More information about Wine Boot Camp is available at www.winebootcamp.com . For information about Cinnabar Vineyards & Winery, go to www.cinna barwine.com ; for Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards, go to www.cgv.com.

In and Aorund Saratoga

Other wineries to visit: Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyard produces Italian wine varietals as well as Pinots in a gorgeous setting (www.fogartywinery.com ).
Don’t miss the delicious 2001 and 2002 Estate Pinot Noir at David Bruce Winery (www.davidbruce winery.com ). The Pinots at Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards are a lighter style, but equally fine (www.savannah chanelle.com ).

Where to eat: Head for Sent Sovi, a cozy French restaurant with deeply recessed windows, burnished copper wainscoting, and a dining room that seats no more than 35 guests.

Chef Josiah Slone presents a French-California menu that’s in tune with the seasons and executed with precision and flair. A creamy duck pâté on brioche toast with microgreens and balsamic vinegar provides two bites of perfectly balanced flavors.

The chef flavors his gazpacho with paprika and serves it in a martini glass. Foie gras with figs, grapes, and pecans is buttery and sublime, particularly with a glass of Sauternes. An almost-too-rich preparation of a diver scallop heaped with lobster chunks in a lobster cream sauce brings the palate close to overload. Fortunately, a mango sorbet with balsamic vinegar arrives just in time to clear it for marinated hanger steak on a bed of cheddar cheese mashed potatoes.

In addition to the chef’s tasting menu, à la carte and prix fixe menus are available, and the offerings on all the menus change seasonally. The restaurant features many Santa Cruz Mountain wines, including Cinnabar and Cooper-Garrod.

Sent Sovi, 14583 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, (408) 876-3110, www.sentsovi.com .