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Happiness in a Bottle at Rombi Tasting Room B Y L A R RY H A R L A N D I f you visit the Rombi Tasting Room in Carmel Valley, you won't escape an encounter with winemaker Sal Rombi. And you won't want to. Expect a friendly ambassador of wine, but know that he's fiery, almost fanatical, about his craft. He will bend an ear, and an elbow, with anyone, anytime. It all starts in a glass jar, not a bottle. Rombi keeps a jar of dirt, twigs and dried leaves dug up near his vines atop a ridgeline at 1,650 feet in the remote Carmel Valley Appellation. Inside the jar is Rombi's "terroir," a sense of place that defines a partic- ular vineyard, giving the finished wine its character. Opening the jar transports the sniffer to a tree-studded ridge with aro- mas of chaparral, madrone, oak and dirt. "That's what's pounding my grapes," Rombi says. The gregarious, 62-year-old will follow up that aromatic firestorm with a pour of his 100 percent Merlot, or estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Sticking a nose inside the glass is a revelation, and Rombi always watches with pride. "It's a beautiful thing," he says. "The grapes absorb the aroma of what's around it." Rombi loves interacting with wine lovers, especially those who appre- ciate his small-batch, handcrafted wines that start at $65 a bottle. Between leaf drop in the fall and bud break in the spring, Rombi per- sonally prunes his vines on his 1 1/3-acre vineyard. He leads the crush, the fermentation, the bottling and labeling (applying the Rombi label by hand). He even sweeps the sidewalk in front of the tasting room. Rombi grew up in commercial kitchens, and by the time he was 20, earned thousands of hours at the stove. He believes there is a corollary between creating great wine and cooking great food, and loves to recite the analogous steps, including: "Barrel aging is crucial. It is the slow braise of the wine." Rombi finds it all invigorating. To honor that feeling, he chose a fitting tagline for his winery: "Taste pure joy!" Rombi Tasting Room is located at 1 Center St., Carmel Valley, 831/659-7200, www.rombiwines.com. 150 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 1 4 Photo: Kelli Uldlall wine notes 150 Wine Notes_SU05 Carmel Magazine 4/27/14 2:33 PM Page 1