Resistance is fertile

Nevertheless, Sinskey fell into organic and eventually biodynamic farming for precisely the same reasons the Austrian farmers who went to Steiner for help did. His soil was dying.

One day in 1990, Sinskey and Jeff Virnig, his longtime winemaker and vineyard manager, realized that their root stock was no longer resistant to the plant pest phylloxera. After years of heavy disking and applications of Roundup, a widely used Monsanto herbicide, “the land was so hard we couldn’t even get a shovel in the ground,” he recalls.

“So we got a pick, and that’s when we noticed the absence of earthworms and that mineral activity was essentially dead.”

As Virnig and Sinskey’s research evolved, they discovered that many of their favorite European wineries, such as Leroy in Burgundy and Domaine Deiss in Alsace, were not only organic but biodynamic. “I started to understand that farmers can control their own destiny,” Sinskey continues. “With biodynamics, the emphasis is on getting back in tune with the rhythms of nature. All of that spoke to me.”

So did the words of Nicolas Joly. The owner of Coulée de Serrant in the Loire Valley, Joly is arguably the world’s leading advocate for biodynamic viticulture, and gives regular seminars on the subject. Riffing on Joly’s phrase that biodynamics is spawning a “Renaissance of Terroir,” Sinskey laughingly refers to his ever-growing biodynamic wine community as “The New Terroirists.” He says, “Look, this is not a road to salvation. Following these rituals is something we do, but we do it with a laugh. I can’t say that burying a dung-filled horn makes any difference to my wine, but it does bring my team together to focus on our land.”

Sinskey has been practicing organic viticulture since 1990, began incorporating biodynamics methods in 1991, and in 2007 earned Demeter certification for one of his vineyards—the remaining are pending. The U.S. government does not regulate biodynamic agriculture. Instead, the Brussels-based Demeter International and its worldwide affiliates oversee the certification process. Founded in 1928, Demeter’s guidelines (see Demeter.net) strictly parallel Steiner’s teachings and require that the entire farm must follow holistic farming practices, that ruminants be present in arable areas (which accounts for the sheep grazing among Sinskey’s vines), and yes, at least a yearly application of horn manure.

Sinskey’s vineyards in the Carneros region of Napa as well as those at his Silverado Trail winery are now thriving. And his belief that allowing the vineyard to guide the winemaking process—“rather than using technology to obliterate terroir, resulting in homogenized wines”—is yielding some of the region’s most distinctive, complex, and food-friendly wines. Which is fitting, because the enjoyment of food and wine together is what brought Sinskey to this place in life. As he tells it, “I originally wanted to be a chef, but my family intervened. But after deciding against cooking school I did something even stupider: I went to art school.”

Today, Sinskey gets to indulge both passions. His wife Maria runs the winery’s kitchen (she also wrote the book, The Vineyard Kitchen), and they collaborate on food pairing suggestions, as well as recipes to go with each wine, for their marketing brochures.

Unlike the high-alcohol, “hedonistic fruit bombs” touted by the likes of Robert Parker, Sinskey Vineyard wines are made first and foremost to be enjoyed at the table—not to win ribbons or high scores. But of course, they get plenty of these as well. Like Sinskey himself, they convey an earthy elegance, with a strong sense of place, complex aromatics, and an excellent balance of fruit with the structure to harmonize with a wide range of foods, many of which come from Sinskey’s own properties. Rudolf Steiner would have approved.

Tasting Notes

Rob Sinskey invited me to join him on his winery’s patio, where a table had been set up with stemware for tasting along with a platter of charcuterie, cheeses, and the last figs of the season.

2005 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Los Carneros, Napa Valley ($16)

Made from two small lots of Pinot Noir that yielded just 462 cases, this has a pale salmon color; its aromas suggest rose petal, orange blossom, and green almond, with a fleeting metallic tinge. Flavors are soft, lovely, and slightly ashy, with subtle fruit and enough zing to keep it well structured for food. (Available only at the winery.)

2006 Abraxas, Vin de Terroir, Scintilla Sonoma ($29)

Inspired by the wines of Aalsace—and particularly those of Domaine Marcel Ddeiss, where the terroir is considered to be more important than the grape varietal—Sinskey’s team planted the Scintilla Sonoma Vineyard with a combination of Pinot Blanc (for “delicate aromas of apples and almonds”), Riesling (for “hints of white nectarine and flowers”), Pinot Gris (for “backbone in the form of texture and refreshing citrus”), and Gewurztraminer (for “the perfume of its unmistakable exotic spice”). The blend varies from vintage to vintage depending on the weather, and the 2006 displays a beautiful harmony in the glass. Eeach grape’s character is present in the wine’s floral, spice, mixed fruit, and minerally aromatics; flavors are lively and crisp, yet round, and with an attractive, lingering finish.

2004 Pinot Noir, Vandal Vineyard, Los Carneros, Napa ($52)

“Jeff says we spend our money for subtlety,” Sinskey said, “and Pinot taught us to have a lighter touch.” The grapes are grown on a hillside vineyard in northern Carneros, and the 2004 exhibits excellent varietal qualities of plum and cherry, with earthy touches of herbs, black olive, and oak, yet it’s very fresh tasting. “There are certain biodynamic wines Ii don’t like,” Sinskey told me, “because they’re not as clean as they should be. They’re a little too ‘natural.’”

2004 Cabernet Franc, Los Carneros, Napa ($38)

Also from the Vandal Vineyard, this Cabernet Franc is not in the jammy, oaky, in-your-face style. Iit’s got an intense ruby color, excellent ripe berry and herbal aromas, with dashes of fennel, vanilla, and spice, and juicy, bright fruit flavors structured by fine acidity and friendly tannins.

2005 Pinot Gris Late, Los Carneros, Napa ($24 for 375 ml)

Another Alsatian inspiration, this late-harvest Pinot Gris is crafted by allowing the grapes an unusually long hang time to develop their sugars before whole-cluster pressing the bunches to ferment in stainless steel. Its bright, golden-brassy color leads to heady bouquets of honeysuckle, orange peel, and Moorish spices, followed by rich flavors reminiscent of dried apricots, with a refreshing finish balanced by a bright acidity.

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