|
|
Betz Family Winery
Family and wine
Last month we started a three-part series about the Betz Family
Winery. This month we focus on those who are part of the Betz Family and
how the wine is made.
 Because
of his years at Ste. Michelle, Bob Betz was uniquely qualified to start
his own winery. "As a small winery, we have to work with our growers,
make the wine and manage the company," he says. Cathy Betz, Bob's wife
and partner, has the knowledge and skill to manage the financial and
business end of things. Daughter Carmen has also come on board as
director of sales after stints with Robert Mondavi in California and
Columbia Distributing in Seattle. "They are both so amazing. We were in
a meeting with our auditor the other day and I couldn’t believe the
things Cathy spoke knowledgably about. She handles all the reporting
that has to be done by state and country. After 38 years of marriage,
she still amazes me. And Carmen absolutely ‘gets’ what Betz Family
Winery is about. We know the world doesn’t need Betz Family Winery, so
we have to provide a level of service to customers and vendors they
don’t see elsewhere."
Photo above: Carmen, Bob and Cathy barrel tasting
 In
addition to family, they have a loyal and well-trained group of
volunteers they rely on completely. "I can give instructions and walk
away," says Bob. "Our assistant winemaker Kathryn (Kat) House is family,
too. And we took on a new intern this year, Chris Dickson, who has
worked vineyards around the world."
Photo: Bob and Kat at Red Willow Winery
They make only red wines, Rhone and Bordeaux. For years, the Rhones
included two Syrahs: La Serenne, a 100% Boushey Vineyard grape that’s
like "a silk hammer," and La Côte Rousse, a powerful Syrah from Red
Mountain. The third Rhone is a Grenache-dominant wine called Bésoleil
with Mourvedre and Syrah blended in. In 2007, they added another Syrah
from Red Mountain. La Côte Patriarche is made from grapes from the
oldest planted Syrah in the state. "That vineyard is responsible for so
many of the cuttings in this state; that’s why we named it the
patriarch," says Bob. "David Lake of Columbia encouraged Mike Sauer, the
owner/grower of Red Willow Vineyard, to plant it years ago. That slope
is made of pre-flood sandstone soils*. Our wine is concentrated, dense,
silky and mineral and is a wonderful wine."
 Bordeaux
wines include their Père de Famille, 82-85% Cabernet Sauvignon with
Merlot and Petit Verdot and Clos de Betz, 60% Merlot blended with
Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Local wine writer Paul
Gregutt has chosen the 2005 Père de Famille as his #1 pick in his Top
100 Washington state wines for 2008.
All grapes come from the Columbia Valley, which includes Red Mountain
(about 55% of their grapes, from four different vineyards), 25% from
Horse Heaven Hills (a single vineyard) and 20% from Yakima Valley (two
different vineyards). He has four criteria he uses to buy grapes and
doesn’t waver from any of the four. 1) Grapes must come from a great
site. 2) The grower must be smart. 3) The grower must have a high work
ethic. 4) The grower must allow Betz to carve out a geographic area
within their farm and work with them in farming the grapes. "This is my
last job," says Bob. "I want to do it right. In many cases, we’ve had
the same rows for the past ten years."
By farming every grape with the farmer and staying within the same
blocks and rows, Bob has great control over the grapes he uses. The
downside of this is that when there’s a short year, he is short grapes
and, therefore, wine. He won’t buy other grapes. "We picked light in
2008," says Bob. "It was cool and wet in spring and pollination didn’t
occur as well. We’ll have less wine this vintage."
 French
barrels, 225 litre classic Bordeaux style, were the barrels of choice
for years. However, the last few vintages have moved toward some
Burgundy barrels which are the same volume, but a different shape. "The
surface-to-volume ratio is different and it changes things in a way I
like," explains Bob. "We’re also now using some 300 litre Rhone barrels.
With the rate of evaporation and intensity of the wood, the wines are
richer and have more fruit intensity." Betz ensures that fruit focus
happens starting in the vineyard with the way clusters are dropped and
sorted by hand. They also ferment in small containers (1-1/2 tons).
"Small batches don’t build up as much heat," he explains. "The coolness
helps the fruitiness. We primarily punch down to mix caps and juice, but
we also want some oxygen so will also pump over during fermentation.
This gentler approach helps focus on skin tannins. We also leave the
wine in wood for a shorter period of time. Last week we took our 2007
Syrah out of the barrel after 12 months. We used to do more, but I felt
the wines had too much of a wood impression."
Photo above: Intern Chris Dickson and Bob at the winery
"Every single barrel has our tasting notes and tracking number for
the contents and the barrel. Barrels get certain varietals and when
those are removed, the barrels are used again. Each change is tracked.
Fermentation and then tasting notes are added. I do a three-point
quality assessment that means something to me," explains Bob. "I can
then blend barrel by barrel. I also do a quality ranking. I know which
barrels have the top wine, great wine, good wine. Generally about 2-10
barrels are sold off to other parties."
"Bottling is when I have most of my angst," smiles Bob. "After you
bottle, you can’t go back. We do many trials before bottling, including
blind tasting. Infrequently, we do egg white fining which pulls out hard
tannins and particulate matter." Betz is so focused on providing a
quality wine, he always does a DNA analysis. "It’s expensive, but I need
to know there are no yeasts or bacteria that can ruin the wine."
* There are many websites you can visit to learn about the Missoula
floods. This site gives some background information:
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM15RX
Click here to read Part 1
Connie Adams/January 2009 |
| Visit
our sponsors soon |
|
|
|
Sound
RIDER!
the Northwest's ultimate
motorcycling resource
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
Betz Family Winery