(NYT) Dining: In Deepest Mendocino, Rebuilding a Life in Wine

[AKR]

Dining: In Deepest Mendocino, Rebuilding a Life in Wine
2021-09-30 16:27:47.318 GMT

By Eric Asimov

(New York Times) -- BOONVILLE, Calif. — This little town in the Anderson
Valley of Mendocino County seems isolated enough. It’s a 40-minute drive west
of the nearest major highway, mostly on the winding, two-lane Route 128, and
it’s barely on the grid. But Wells Guthrie was looking for something even more
secluded.

Not that Mr. Guthrie, who had won acclaim at Copain Wines for his delicate,
nuanced pinot noirs and savory, saline syrahs, is a hermit or misanthropic.
He’s friendly and genial. But his recent experiences in the wine business, he
said, had been unpleasant and had left him somewhat shellshocked.

So, when it came time for him in 2018 to start his new label, DuPuis Wines, he
not only came to Boonville — he has been exploring the terroirs of the
Anderson Valley for years — but found a place on a hillside, four miles up
from the town on a narrow, twisting road, with a turn onto an even more
serpentine dirt road leading to an unmarked driveway.

This is where Mr. Guthrie, 51, is putting down new roots, starting fresh in a
business that, even for the most prepared and determined small producer, can
offer numerous pitfalls and obstacles.

He and his wife, Kate, and their blended family of five children now live in
an old red barn here, right over the winery and within view of their estate
vineyard, seven acres on a 40-acre hillside parcel with an olive grove and a
redwood forest.

“To be here day to day is like a dream,” he said when I visited him in July.
“To be intimately engaged at every moment, it’s rewarding and gratifying. I
realize how little engaged I was before, even though I thought I was.”

The vineyard, which he is farming organically, is small enough that he, Ms.
Guthrie and a single employee, Cesar Maldonado, whom Mr. Guthrie called his
right arm, can handle all the work.

“My wife drives the tractor, and I did all the pruning,” he said. “At least,
it’s all mine. I get to touch every vine, and I’m not beholden to anybody
else, even if I have to fix the toilets or an irrigation pump.”

These small chores and pleasures are important to Mr. Guthrie, given the
upheaval that has governed his years in the wine business, turmoil
unnoticeable to consumers who have simply been enjoying his wines.

By the time he founded Copain in 1999 with a partner, he had already been
around. His first jobs were in France, working for Michel Chapoutier in the
Northern Rhône Valley. That was followed by formative years in Burgundy at
Domaine Dujac and Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier, two Côte de Nuits
superstars who were to prove profoundly influential to Mr. Guthrie, both
stylistically and in how they approached their craft.

Both are family domains, run by people dedicated to farming and making wine,
humble even as their wines became among the most coveted in the world.

There, Mr. Guthrie also earned the nickname Puis, meaning, he said, “well” or
“wells” in French slang, hence the new venture, DuPuis Wines, or “of Wells.”

Back in California, he was reintroduced to the American wine business, working
stints at Turley Wine Cellars and Martinelli before founding Copain. His first
pinot noirs at Copain were squarely in the California stylistic mainstream of
the period, rich, plush and alcoholic, and they did well critically.

The problem was, Mr. Guthrie himself did not enjoy his wines. They lacked the
transparency he had come to prize in Burgundy, and the grapes were so ripe at
fermentation that he had to add tartaric acid to balance them and water to
reduce the alcohol content, both compromises that went against his ethos of
minimalist winemaking.

In 2006, Mr. Guthrie took the rare step in the wine business of changing his
methods and style, even though his wines were popular with consumers. He
reoriented his approach, aiming for freshness and delicacy rather than power
and impact. In so doing, he joined a vanguard of California producers who were
making the case for balanced, expressive wines that belonged at the table.

“It got to the point where I didn’t want the wine to be fatter than the food,”
he told me in 2009. “Wine should make you think of what you want to eat.”

Even with the unexpected turn, Copain’s business seemed successful. Copain had
been building a handsome winery outside of Healdsburg, Calif., and had planted
a vineyard there, though after Mr. Guthrie changed course he decided the
vineyard was in too warm a spot for the restrained wines he wanted to make. He
sold the fruit rather than use it himself.

He and his partner, Kevin McQuown, a software developer, also opened a
custom-crush facility not far away in Santa Rosa, where clients could use the
equipment and space to make their own wines.

The future appeared bright, but for Copain the 2008 financial meltdown and
subsequent recession was a catastrophe. The winery was already 40 percent over
budget, and, after the meltdown, the market for his wines suddenly dried up.

“When the bubble burst, it was like the perfect storm,” said Mr. Guthrie,
adding that in “markets like New York City, where we sold the wine, nobody was
buying, restaurants were closing. We got overextended and it became
untenable.”

In an effort to achieve some sort of financial stability, Mr. Guthrie said,
they sold the custom-crush business in 2009. Mr. McQuown also departed, and
Mr. Guthrie was in the position of having simultaneously to make more wine to
pay his bills, and to invest more in the company to expand.

When he wasn’t visiting the vineyards from which Copain was buying fruit,
stretching from the Central Coast to the Anderson Valley, he was visiting
markets around the country, trying to sell wine. It was a never-ending game of
catch-up.

Copain hung on — the wines were excellent, but it was a struggle for Mr.
Guthrie. Finally, in 2016, he sold Copain to Jackson Family Wines, a
multinational wine powerhouse. Under the terms of the sale, he would work for
Jackson for two years running Copain.

Corporate life was a frustrating, unhappy experience for Mr. Guthrie. For a
man who values independence, he was now answering to bosses who were both
trying to increase production and limit spending. At the conclusion of his
contract in 2018, Mr. Guthrie left.

“I had some dark days after I sold the brand,” he said. “Where’s the happy
ending?”

It wouldn’t take long to find one. As he tells it, the Boonville estate, with
its vineyard planted in 2002 and barn that could be converted into a winery,
practically fell into his lap. For Mr. Guthrie, who over time had become drawn
more and more to the Anderson Valley, it was perfect. He and his family moved
in and, on the fly, made the first vintage in 2018.

What had soured Mr. Guthrie over the previous decade were all the tasks
associated with the business side of the wine industry, never the wine itself.
He no longer wanted to have to justify farming or winemaking decisions to
others.

He had, for example, determined in the last few years that he had been
bottling the Copain wines too soon, leaving them too tightly wound when
consumers popped the corks. Longer aging before bottling would improve them,
he thought, even if sales would be delayed. But he said his bosses refused to
consider the request.

Now, he would decide for himself. What’s more, he would stay small,
concentrating on his vineyard and a few others nearby rather than traveling
the state. He would focus on the wine rather than on marketing and sales.

“I didn’t want to be on the treadmill again, spending money traveling to sell
enough wine,” he said. “I didn’t want to have a tasting room on Route 128 or
to be beholden to all that.”

Instead of the 15,000 to 18,000 cases he was making annually at Copain, Mr.
Guthrie will make 1,500 to 1,600 of the 2020 vintage, most of which is still
in barrels, and up to 3,000 in the future.

It hasn’t been simple. The Covid-19 pandemic arrived just as he was going to
build his winery. Unable to hire workers, he largely did it himself, filling
the 800-square-foot space with used equipment, including tanks and an old
forklift he bought on eBay.

Nonetheless, he says, it’s been entirely satisfying.

“Living above the winery, I’m intimately engaged at every moment,” he said. “A
redwood barn among the redwoods — it’s very California, nothing fancy, but
it’s pretty idyllic.”

Yet it’s not without insecurities. The forest, which has not been cleared of
brush and tinder in years, poses a significant fire threat. He’s put in fire
lanes around the vineyard to protect it and applied for grants to help manage
the adjacent forest. He couldn’t get fire insurance this year. Luckily, he was
able to harvest the grapes without incident.

His wines continue to be terrific — nuanced and full of character. I
particularly liked his floral 2019 estate pinot noir, a gorgeous 2018 Baker
Ranch and an earthy, high-toned 2019 Le Benedict pinot noir, named after his
dear friend Ned Benedict, a much-loved fixture of the New York wine trade who
died in an accident in Spain in 2019.

Without the distractions he faced at Copain, Mr. Guthrie is considering
several projects. He wants to replace some of his pinot noir vines with
chardonnay — why not? — but also with aligoté, poulsard, trousseau and gamay,
grapes that have ardent fans but not much in the way of a mainstream
following.

The bean counters would no doubt be disturbed. But Mr. Guthrie does not have
to worry about them anymore.

“All in all, I’m thrilled to have landed here,” he said. “Sometimes I pinch
myself.”

[Claret]

I used to sell Handley and Londer. Both fine PN from Anderson Valley.

[JCNorthway]

Nice story. Glad he is able to do what he wants. We need more of that.

[jal]

So I wrote this in the NYTimes comments sections:

Nice story but I am a bit confused, is Mr, Guthrie buying grapes to make wines as well as grow his own? It seems that the Baker Syrah is made of sourced grapes and that seems to contradict the story of a winemaker who is intimately engaged and touches every vine.


Sorry but I need an answer before buying if they're selling us on the idea of a hands on vine to bottle wine and winery. Either Asimov didn't do his homework when he tasted the Baker Syrah or he forgot to mention the grapes are sourced or I missed something.

Sorry about the rant....

[DavidG]

The label should indicate which wines are "Estate" and which are made with purchased fruit. Does making wine from purchased fruit dilute the hands-on aspect of the Estate wine(s)? I guess the proof is in the bottle.

[Chateau Vin]

So I wrote this in the NYTimes comments sections:

Nice story but I am a bit confused, is Mr, Guthrie buying grapes to make wines as well as grow his own? It seems that the Baker Syrah is made of sourced grapes and that seems to contradict the story of a winemaker who is intimately engaged and touches every vine.


Sorry but I need an answer before buying if they're selling us on the idea of a hands on vine to bottle wine and winery. Either Asimov didn't do his homework when he tasted the Baker Syrah or he forgot to mention the grapes are sourced or I missed something.

Sorry about the rant....

I agree, jal...

I find Asimov’s writings a bit shallow and lack depth although some are worthy reading. Most of his writings are tailored for a bit of entertainment and lifestyle reading...

Here is the link to Dupuis wines...

https://www.dupuiswines.com/dupuis-2020-wines

It seems that other than his ‘estate pinot’, everything else is sourced...other than his estate pinot which is hands on from starting to finish, all the rest of the wines including ‘baker ranch’ and ‘benedict’ are hands on in viniculture only. The fruit is sourced from different farmers in the area. Asimov doesn’t make it clear in his article, but Dupuis website, to its credit, mentions the names of the farmers too...

[jal]

Of course the proof is in the bottle, but we are not only told that Mr Gutrhrie is a great winemaker, we are told he's a great hands-on vines to bottles winemaker.
Look, I have heard nothing but good things about Wells Guthrie and I'm sure his integrity is beyond reproach, the fact that, as Chateau Vin says, he names the farmer in his website should be proof of that. I am just disappointed in the sloppy reporting of Asimov and I don't think it's the first time either, I know Mark (Musigny 151) will jump to his defense but this is my opinion and I stand by it.

[DavidG]

Oh, I see. Yeah, I get your gripe about the reporting. I misunderstood and thought you were criticizing Guthrie. I think it’s ok to call him a "hands-on vines to bottle" winemaker even though that applies to only part of his lineup. Asimov could have been clearer about which parts that applies to.

[AKR]

I've had some of the older Copain PN, and they were pretty good.

The complaints about 'corporate' winemaking sound like something that is often repeated; its' not like that was an outcome that could not have ever been predicted by anyone. When sellers engage with economic buyers (ie. for profit corporations) why the shock when the new owners expect returns.

It sounds like he didn't prosper from the sale if he's prowling on eBay for used forklifts. I would have expected that he would have had some capital after the sale, and would have been able to engage in a passion project afterwards. Perhaps the sale was really just settling up debts, and getting a salary for a few years. During/after the GFC, that might not have been such a bad outcome for a startup.

[gene m.]

I have inaugural rls of chard, Syrah and pinot which I will check in on in a yr or 2. They were very reasonably priced
I liked the Copain Caillou and Cop Syrahs with some age on them. Copain made some very good wines


Arv we can check the chardonnay out sometime soon. Till then bashing the article is one thing. Bashing a winemaker you don’t know or don’t have experience with seems misguided