A Virtual Visit to… Gundlach Bundschu

By Thom Elkjer

This spring, one of Sonoma’s most historic wineries is celebrating one of the most dramatic anniversaries in American wine: the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. In those days, the nation’s major wine companies were based in San Francisco and had offices around the country. They bought bulk wine from growers and cooperatives in the California countryside and either bottled it or put it in tank cars before shipping it to their distribution centers in eastern cities.

The massive quake and the three-day firestorm that followed put many of them out of business. It certainly destroyed Gundlach-Bundschu’s downtown operations -- including nearly a million gallons of wine – and also consumed the family’s Telegraph Hill mansion. But Charles Bundschu, who headed the family’s second generation (and told the story of the quake in a series of vivid letters) had an ace up his sleeve: the winery had been sourcing grapes and wine from its own vineyard in Sonoma.

That’s where the winery moved after the quake, and where the tasting room is today. The latter is currently full of 1906 memorabilia and displays that show not only how the family recovered from the quake, but how dramatically California’s wine industry has changed over the past century. The winery has also staged a dramatic quality resurgence in recent years under sixth-generation vintner Jeff Bundschu and winemaker Linda Trott, and you should make sure to taste the evidence when you visit. Here are a few examples worth checking out:

	Chardonnay Sonoma Valley Rhinefarm Vineyard 2003 ($24): rich and dark, more applesauce, butterscotch and honeyed almonds than raw apples, butter and nuts; yet it’s more bracing than most Chards with similar flavor profiles, and finishes clean and bright.
	Pinot Noir Sonoma Valley Rhinefarm Vineyard 2003 ($32): alive with red cherries, cola, cream soda and rhubarb pie aromas and flavors, most of which return in the warm, sweet finish; the dryer, edgier mid-palate suggests decanting now or giving the wine another year or two in bottle.
	Merlot Sonoma Valley Rhinefarm Vineyard 2003 ($30): sweetly spicy, emphasizing cherries, cinnamon and a hint of stewed prunes, and with great structure – soft entry, gently gripping mid-palate and mouthwatering finish with lingering fruit flavors. If only more Merlot were like this.
	Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Valley Rhinefarm Vineyard Vintage Reserve 2001 ($70): I expected a monster from the big ’01 vintage, and discovered instead an elegant, engaging aristocrat full of classic cherries, dark chocolate and bell pepper and with enough ripe tannins to run for another five years at least.