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Core Wine Company Bringing Exotic Blends to a Wine Glass Near You David Corey is a man on a mission - a mission to bring exotic Grenache and Mourvèdre based blends out of obscurity and into your wine glass. Much like the varietals he works with, David Corey and his Core Wine Company have quietly moved from behind the scenes and onto the main stage of Santa Barbara County's explosive wine industry.
Unlike many of his peers, David's career in the industry didn't start in the cellar or the lab - his introduction was exclusively through the vineyard. In the mid-90's David took his agricultural experience in the salad bowl of California's Central Valley and shifted focus to the vineyards of Santa Barbara County. David started his work in Santa Barbara as a sustainable agriculture consultant at Cambria and then at Kendall-Jackson (David's commitment to earth-friendly practices extends far beyond his vineyard work, as he even commutes to the winery on his bike most of the time). After a few years in Santa Barbara County, David branched out with his own consulting practice and also worked with one of the most highly regarded viticulturist in the area - Jeff Newton of Coastal Vineyard Care. A few years of vineyard work under his belt, David began to turn his attention into the cellar and spent a two harvests working at Central Coast Wine Services - ground zero for Santa Barbara's growing niche of high-end artisan winemakers (David now shares space at CCWS with the likes of Red Car, Hitching Post, Arcadian, just to name a few). With a good foundation in the vineyard and expanding expertise in the winery, David and his wife Becky launched Core Wine Company in 2000 with the goal of making exciting blends modeled after the wines of southern France and Spain. David and his wife had visited the Languedoc, Bandol, and other Mediterranean wine-making regions and remembered how well wines the wines blended with the local cuisine. They looked to create similar wines here in the States and seized on the opportunity in the Central Coast.
Through David's vineyard consulting practice, he saw promise for Grenache and Mourvèdre at a few choice sites in Santa Barbara County - such as the Purisima Mountain and Stolpman vineyards in Ballard Canyon. However, the catalyst for Core Wine Co. came from his work with Barnwood Vineyards (who own about 600 acres of vineyard land in Santa Barbara County). David had worked with one particular Barnwood site in Northeast Santa Barbara County that he knew could produce something special there. This 17.5 acre "Alta Mesa Vineyard" is perched 3,200 feet above the Santa Maria Valley AVA and is planted solely to Grenache and Mourvèdre. The vineyard is planted to about six different clones on decomposed granite soil (that explains the unique mineral components laced into Core's offerings). A variety of factors, including the high elevation, extreme temperature swings, and rocky soil naturally limit yields to well under 2 tons per/acre. In 2002, the yield for the "352" blend was a miniscule 1.2 tons per/acre. David purchased grapes from Alta Mesa for his 2001/2002 releases and was enthusiastic about the results - but he knew that to make extraordinary wines he needed control of the vineyard so he could farm it with his goals in mind. David explored all options with Barnwood and finally negotiated a 10 year lease that started in 2003. Now that the vineyard is in David's capable hands he is able to shape his wines without any outside influence. David's first changes to the farming practices at Alta Mesa have included watering back the vines, precise shoot positioning, and moving the vineyard even more in an organic direction. While he still purchases Syrah, Cabernet, and a few other varietals from another Barnwood site close to Alta Mesa, David has complete control over the heart and soul of his production and the benefits will shine through in coming vintages. With a lock on top quality fruit for the next decade, David has been honing his skills in the cellar. Core's first release was in 2001, but the line-up didn't really crystallize until this year's release of the 2002 vintage. With long-term goals in mind, David lets most of his wines spend about 18 months in barrel and another 6 months in bottle so they take some time to make it to market. Three blends provide the foundation of Core's 2002 line-up: a Côte-du-Rhone style "352" blend, a unique Mourvèdre/Grenache/Cabernet blend named "Hard Core", and a Grenache/Mourvèdre blend named "Elevation Sensation" that comes solely from the Alta Mesa Vineyard. While David appreciates the purity of varietal wines, he believes that "blends are more complete" and will continue with this program for years to come. Core's production was only 650 cases for 2002, but will inch-up a bit to about 900 cases for the 2003 and 2004 vintages.
To create this diverse line-up, David is constantly experimenting at the winery. David relentlessly tries different blends with his base of Grenache and Mourvèdre - a touch of Cab, a drop of Syrah, maybe even a little Tempranillo here and there. For the past two years he has been co-fermenting many of his varietals in different percentages to get the formula just right. David is sensitive to differences in each varietal from year-to-year so it's doubtful he will use the same recipe twice.
David also
experiments with different types of barrels, using a variety of coopers to
attain the "spice box" flavors he prefers, and mixing aged French and
Hungarian oak. On a few of his lots, David is using larger 400 liter
"puncheons" rarely seen in the new world.
All of David's hard work in the vineyard and experimenting in the cellar is starting to pay dividends. Core's 2002 line-up is packed with intriguing flavors that have something to offer every palate. Core's "352" and "Hard Core" are more extracted blends that offer an assortment of dark berries and clove stitched together by an underlying mineral component. Core's Elevation Sensation is a lighter but more elegant effort that combines huge aromatics, exotic spiced raspberry tones, and a seemingly endless finish. While the labels on the outside of Core's bottles may reveal fairly high alcohol levels, you would never know by the seamless wine on the inside.
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Current Line-Up
Elevation Sensation (65% Mourvèdre/35% Grenache)
Hard Core (55% Mourvèdre/25% Grenache/20% Cabernet Sauvignon)
Blend "352" (50% Mourvèdre/30% Grenache/20% Syrah)
Mourvèdre Rosé (75% Mourvèdre/25% Cinsault)
Coming Attractions Grenache Blanc/Rousanne/Marsanne Late Harvest Grenache |
Contact website: www.corewine.com David Corey: dave@corewine.com Becky Corey: becky@corewine.com |
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