Martini Meets Gallo
Courtesy of
30 Second Wine Advisor
By Robin Garr
Two of the oldest family names in the California wine
business met last year in an unexpected marriage that brought the
historic Louis M. Martini winery under the vast umbrella of Ernest &
Julio Gallo. Terms of the deal between the closely held
family companies weren't disclosed, but some sense of its scope may
be gleaned from the observation that, after the purchase, Gallo
pumped $2.2 million more into updating Martini's winemaking
facilities.
Martini is one of the oldest surviving Napa wineries, tracing its
history back to the Prohibition era. Although beverage winemaking
was outlawed in the U.S., Italian-immigrant family patriarch Louis
M. Martini went back to Italy to learn winemaking at Alba in
Piemonte, then returned to Napa in 1922 to start the L.M. Martini
Grape Products Co., which produced sacramental wines and sold grapes
for home winemaking.
According to Napa legend, when the nation repealed Prohibition in
1933, Martini went down to the winery at midnight on the day that
Repeal took effect and celebrated the moment by waking the neighbors
with a joyous, noisy hoot on the factory steam whistle.
The Martini family has been making wine ever since (and it has
had a special place in my heart as one of the first Napa wineries I
ever visited, back in the late 1960s when the valley still had only
a handful of wineries lining the main highway and a few more back in
the hills). I have always admired its commitment to making balanced,
straightforward wines the old-fashioned way, and selling them
affordably.
Although they've never been listed among Napa's "cult" wines,
older Martini reds hold up amazingly well in the cellar. Within the
last few years I've enjoyed Martini Cabernets from the 1960s that
were in perfect condition - delicate, "sweet" and pure - and that
were still selling for almost giveway prices in the $30 to $40
range.
Gallo, of course, may be the classic California wine success
story, also founded by immigrants from Italy and also tracing its
roots back to Repeal. Based not in the wine country but Modesto in
California's Central Valley, it was long known primarily as a mass
producer of inexpensive wines, a job it did so well that it became
the world's largest winery, pouring out more wine per year than some
entire countries produce. In the past generation it has sought to
burnish that image, adding the increasingly respected Gallo Sonoma
product line, acquiring other wineries, and producing such an
amazing array of labels that it's often difficult to tell whether
you're drinking a Gallo wine or a competitor.
Naturally, Gallo's surprise acquisition of the Martini winery and
its 650 acres of vineyards in Napa and Sonoma counties has wine
lovers watching to see whether the Martini product will change or
stay the same. Arguing for stability, family members Michael
Martini, the wine maker, and his sister Carolyn Martini, the winery
president, (who was featured in an interview article in The Wine
Advisor on March 1, 2002) remain in their posts under Gallo. On the
other hand, anyone who has lived through a corporate takeover of a
family business knows that some things are almost certain to change.
Recently I picked up the first post-Gallo wine from Martini I've
seen, the 2001 Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon. It sports a slightly
updated, understated white label but retains Martini's historic
horse-and-wagon image. But it's what's inside the bottle that
counts, and there I'm happy to report that - so far - the more
things change, the more they stay the same. This is a fine,
straightforward red wine, fruity and balanced, holding promise of
immediate enjoyment and reasonable longevity, at a price that's
still right. I think Louis M. Martini would approve.
LOUIS M. MARTINI 2001 SONOMA COUNTY CABERNET SAUVIGNON
($11.99)
Dark garnet in color, this classic California Cabernet breathes
ripe aromas of plums and sweet leather. Full and bright on the
palate, tart black-cherry fruit is shaped by a crisply acidic
structure and just a whiff of tannin. Black fruit remains clean and
true in a medium-long finish. (Jan. 10, 2004)
FOOD MATCH: Proves the validity of the "red wine with red
meat" rule as a perfect match with a simple medium-rare rib eye
steak.
VALUE: Maintains the Martini tradition as an excellent
value; you'll pay plenty more for California Cabernets of similar
quality.
WHEN TO DRINK: Enjoyable now, but its structure and
balance give no reason to doubt that it will carry on Martini's
reputation for longevity even in its relatively modest wines.
WEB LINK: To visit the Louis M. Martini Website, click
http://www.louismartini.com
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Find prices and vendors for Louis M. Martini Cabernets - including
some older vintages - on
Wine-Searcher.com. |
