Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/874703
4 0 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t Tom Gore's education in vineyard management began at age three while riding shotgun in his father's pick-up truck. "I never wanted to do anything else but farm," the second-generation California grape farmer says. We're standing on the Red Fan Deck, a platform overlooking an irrigation pond where Gore's sidekick—a young black Labrador retriever named Hurley—swims enthusiastically toward imaginary ducks. It's a flawless, blue-skied mid-morning in early August, and acres of verdant vineyards climbing the roll- ing hills of Alexander Valley surround us. I'm there to discover what's behind the wines that bear Gore's name, talk about "wine farming" and taste the wines al fresco over a delectable bounty from SHED, the Healdsburg farm-to-table phenom. As Gore is quick to point out, "there are a lot of farmers who've made wine." The dif- ference here is that Gore's not the winemaker for Tom Gore Vineyards (that job falls to Maureen Martin), and although he's heavily involved in the blend tastings, farming 1,600 acres "keeps [him] busy." "Physically, I wouldn't be able to do both," he says. Farming, after all, is the raison d'être for these wines. "We wanted to make a brand where the first touch point is the farming," he explains, waving his hand toward the rapid- ly-ripening vines. "We talk about how farming practices affect the wines. That doesn't take away from the winemaking layers at all, but with Tom Gore Vineyards, we wanted to focus on the impact farming decisions make—things like matching variety to soils, rootstocks, clonal selections, canopy management—and how these add to the layers in a wine." Gore's description attains full clarity as we taste the wines. The 2015 Tom Gore Sauvi- gnon Blanc, labeled as a California appellation, originates more specifically from Alexander Valley and the vineyards Gore farms in Mendocino County's Potter Valley. "I'm really trying to take advantage of the warm climate of these valleys," he says. "I (de)leaf early and try ALEXANDER VALLEY i a Sunshine Glass FARM-FOCUSED WINEMAKING AT Tom Gore Vineyards by Diane Denham / photos by Tia Gavin At SHED in Healdsburg, the beet salad with pistachio dukkah pairs well with the Tom Gore Vineyards 2014 Reserve Field Blend.