González Bastías is a town, and a small, family owned winery in western Maule owned and operated by Jose Luís Bastías and Daniela Lorenzo.

Jose’s family planted their 4 hectare vineyard in the early 1800’s and they have been cultivating it ever since. Visiting this vineyard is like travelling back in time: to reach it, you must cross the Maule River by canoe from the local train station between Talca and Constitucion. Jose farms and vinifies biodynamically and without the use of machines; the soil is a mixture of sand and gravel. All the fruit is pressed by hand over bamboo zarandas into open top cement vats; the wines are then aged in either barrels or amphora. All made without manipulation and without the addition of sulfur.

The wines from this unique property are some of the most unique expressions in Chile and are remnants of Chilean ancestry, which is in danger of extinction.

This profile and tasting notes were edited from the Brazos Wine website, along with the pictures used. For more information please visit: Brazos

The Gramona family traces their history as grape growers and winemakers back to 1850 when Josep Batlle managed the vineyard of La Plana for a local family. His son Pau, who was active in the wine cork trade was uniquely positioned to begin selling the wines made from La Plana to sparkling wine producers in France who were at the time suffering from the ravages of phylloxera. By 1881 Pau was in the position to purchase the vineyard of La Plana and to establish Celler Batlle. It was at this time that Pau realized that Xarel.lo, the indigenous grape to this part of Catalunya, was instrumental in his success selling wines to France due to its ability to make well-aged sparkling wines. Pau’s daughter Pilar married Bartolomé Gramona and together they continued to expand their vineyards and sparkling wine business and in 1921 “Gramona Cava Champagne ‘’ first began to appear on their bottles of sparkling wine. By 1945, Pilar and Bartolomé’s sons, Bartomeu & Josep Lluis took over the management of Gramona and began to elaborate the cuvées that the estate is known for.

Today the sons of Bartomeu & Josep Lluis, Xavier & Jaume Gramona manage the operations at Gramona. Each generation has brought something new to the estate with Xavier expanding the scientific understanding of lees aging and the inherent properties of Xarel.lo while Jaume has pursued the conversion of all their vineyards – owned and leased – to organic farming as well as converting the family’s vineyards to biodynamic farming as well.

The wines made at Gramona are sourced from up to 303 hectares of vineyards (35-75)  year old vienes) that are farmed at least organically as well as the family’s 72  hectares  of vines that are farmed biodynamically. The soils in the Alt Penedès, where Gramona is situated, are primarily clay limestone. Close to the Anoia river they become more alluvial and near the looming Montserrat mountain there are areas of slate. Their top sites: La Plana, Font Jui, Mas Escorpí, and La Solana, are all located close to Celler Batlle where the wines are made and aged. These sites are also distinguished by calcite formations known as têtes de poupées which slowly breakdown in the soils releasing minerals. Whether it is these unique soils, their location and a gentle rise between the Anoia to the north and several natural springs to the south, or the diversity of the massale selections of Xarel.lo and Macabeu found in these sites that makes Gramona’s best sparkling wines so unique could be debated. Combined with the generations of labor and talent the Gramona family has devoted to these vineyards is the bedrock on which their reputation has been established.

At Gramona time is never an issue. The wines receive perhaps the longest average aging than any other sparkling wines in Spain and are never released until they are perfectly mature. Eighty-six percent of the sparkling wines produced in Spain are released after only 9 months while at Gramona theirs are aged a minimum of 30 months, some even 15-17 years.

Long considered a pioneer for their work in the cellar and releasing sparkling wines only after extended aging, Gramona now farms their estate organically and biodynamically with certifications from the Consell Català de la Producció Agraria y Ecològica and DEMETER. They are also taking steps to promote sustainability in their production by reducing their carbon footprint – using geothermic energy and recycling all the water used at the estate.

This profile and tasting notes were edited from the European Cellars website, along with the pictures used. For more information please visit: European Cellars.

"We're getting the band back together!" was how I felt asking Stefan Steinmetz to join the Bowler national portfolio this year. From 2005 to 2012, the Steinmetz wines were a key member of the influential and wonderful Mosel Wine Merchants portfolio, which first brought fame and attention to shining lights like Clemens Busch, Immich-Batterieberg, Matthias Knebel, Peter Lauer and others. I've followed and enjoyed drinking the Steinmetz wines since then, but never thought I would have the honor of representing them at Bowler. Fortunately, life is long and luck favors the prepared, so here we are.

Weingut Günther Steinmetz consists of 13ha of vines spread over a rather broad area of 20km in the heart of the Middle Mosel. The historic estate, centered in Brauneberg, is 120+ years old; Stefan's grandfather was one of the first in the village to bottle wines under his own name. The vineyards on the elegant, blue-white-and gold labels read like a who's who of legendary Mosel sites:  Brauneberger Juffer, Piesporter Goldtröpfchen, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Dhroner Hofberg, Mülheimer Sonnenlay, and Kestener Paulinshofberg, all ranked as VDP Grosse Lagen (Grand Cru's). Perhaps the most exciting and defining of Stefan's holdings are his sites in Wintrich, the Wintricher Gaierslay and Ohligsberg, two steep, south-facing, cool and breezy side-valleys of purple-hued slate and quartzite in which he holds commanding positions. There is a sense of breathing sacred air as one strolls through these quiet, half-hidden vineyards.

Stefan took over the winery when he was just 17 years old due to the sudden passing of his father in 1998. Not hoped for and not easy, it took a heroic level of determination to assume the mantle at such an important estate. His success and expansion of it in subsequent years has been remarkable. Today, his wines are considered a benchmark for the area, lauded by collectors and required reading in every major vintage report.

Farming and winemaking here are strictly conscientious. Grapes are harvested in low quantities, entirely by hand. As Stefan puts it: "The external economy is oriented towards natural viticulture, which includes the most environmentally friendly viticulture possible by not using fertilizers or herbicides and insecticides. In the cellar management, we renounce any addition of treatment agents such as yeasts and fining agents, as well as acid additives or deacidification limes. Also, no animal proteins are used. All wines, without exception, are fermented spontaneously in large wood or steel. The aim of my efforts is to create wines that are a "fingerprint" of everything that makes up the character of a great vineyard."

Stefan makes a full range of Rieslings from dry to sweet, all connected by throughlines of grace, harmony, and crystal-clear mineral expression. Those who like tension in their wines will not be disappointed. Also notable are his Pinots which come from a mix of German and French clones grown on slate. He vinifies these exclusively in neutral oak with varied levels of stem inclusion and maceration, depending on the site and vintage. He also experiments with other red grapes, including a particularly compelling Syrah. There are even a few Romanée-Conti barrels in the basement (don't ask, don't tell).

How can I express in a few sentences the special nature of this small but crucial family estate, its soul-gladdening wines and its kind-hearted, dedicated owners, Stefan and Sammie Steinmetz? I cannot. The wines will have to do that for me. I look forward to sharing them with everyone and helping this estate achieve even greater status and appreciation than it has already earned.

Hamacher Wines is a classic example of how we choose wineries to work with at Bowler: Samples are sent to the office, the bottles are popped in the afternoon, and a few of us taste and discuss. Everyone agrees that the wines are very good, and a great fit for our portfolio, but we have too many producers in our book, and the reps are already overwhelmed by the number of wines to sell. So, we make the difficult decision to pass. That evening, David Bowler brings the samples home, and in the middle of a glass of one of the wines (Bieze Vineyard in Hamacher's case), he has an epiphany and emails the winemaker letting them know we changed our minds and want to work together. Great wine is hard to pass up, especially in DB's case. 

Eric Hamacher got the wine bug in the 80s while studying biochemistry and food science at U.C. Davis. His wine journey that followed led him to California working for Mondavi, Chalone, and Etude, but the cool climate and unchartered territory of Oregon eventually stole his heart. In 1995, he moved up to the Willamette Valley and started Hamacher Wines. In 2002, after having bounced around winemaking facilities for seven years, Eric founded the Carlton Winemakers Studio where he would make his wines for the next decade. Finally, in 2014 he moved his operation into the old Ponzi facility thanks to a connection he had made – his wife Luisa Ponzi.

Eric’s winemaking is old-world in style without ignoring the fact that he is making wine in the new world. Seeking elegance and texture, he harvests on the earlier side, ferments with natural yeasts at cool temperatures, and ages the wines in mostly neutral barrels. His production has been around 2000 cases per year and has been that way since he started the winery. Eric’s wines are deliciously classic Oregon, and showcase the terroir of the Willamette Valley beautifully.