Every wine region of note around the world got to be what it is because of the grapes that are most closely associated with it: Cabernet Sauvignon = Napa; Pinot Noir/Pinot Meunier/Chardonnay = Champagne; Pinot Noir/Chardonnay = Burgundy (and parts of Sonoma); Cabernet Franc/Chenin Blanc = mid-Loire Valley.
The variety serves as short-hand that cements the essence of the place in the consumer’s mind and creates a virtuous circle of grape=place, place=grape. And if the winemaking community is doing a good job with the grape(s) that reinforcement can lead to potential success that allows for the next generations of families to continue to create everyday AND sustainable magic.
The Cab Franc Guild was created to leverage the passion of a growing number of wineries to create a world-class identity around Cab Franc. The group will work together to tell the Livermore Cab Franc story, to create and participate in events together, to sell together, and — together — to create a new history for the Livermore Valley.
Not only is the Guild an advocacy group, it is one dead-set on creating a quality benchmark for Cab Franc. Guild membership is open to all wineries, grape growers and hospitality professionals that focus on Cab Franc. In order to participate in tasting events and trade shows and to receive the imprimatur of the Guild, each wine (made from at least 75% Cab Franc and 100% Livermore Valley fruit) must first be tasted blind by members of the Guild and receive a “pass” by at least 70% of the membership. In the near future wine lovers looking for great Cab Franc will be able to follow the Cab Franc Guild Wine Trail map to a whole weekend’s fill of great Cab Franc.
While so many things have to go right, so many obstacles have to be overcome, so much heavy lifting has to be — indeed — lifted, I can’t help but sense that the Livermore Valley and Cabernet Franc — that rarest of great grapes — are on an inevitable trajectory toward wonderful entanglement.
It isn’t often that a place, the zeitgeist, the right grape, and the right winemaking styles converge simultaneously to create a sense that the beginning of a movement, the birth of an idea, was inevitable from the start. While so many things have to go right, so many obstacles have to be overcome, so much heavy lifting has to be — indeed — lifted, I can’t help but sense that the Livermore Valley and Cabernet Franc — that rarest of great grapes — are on an inevitable trajectory toward wonderful entanglement.
