The Somm Journal

80 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } DECEMBER/JANUARY 2018/2019 to your winemaking and your equipment, as well as long-term contracts with your growers," Hoernlein added. Like California—though its story un - folded millions of years earlier—Burgundy can credit much of its terroir to upheaval. Tectonic shifts lifted the valley floor, which was previously marshland, and exposed ancient sea beds throughout the region. "Often Burgundy soil is much like a marble cake where you have clay and limestone mixed together on the same site, and if you took a slice of it, it would look swirled," Hoernlein explained. After tasting through ten wines from the Chablis 1er Cru to the Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, we were introduced to the wines of DeLoach by Director of Sonoma Winemaking Brian Maloney. Although play - ing the second act to a Burgundy tasting would likely intimidate most winemakers, Maloney didn't skip a beat. Listening to him share his acute knowledge and under - standing of wine, geology, and chemistry is akin to hearing a master violinist at work. "Sonoma County and Burgundy are not the same place. We are much, much fur ther south, so we have a more temperate climate throughout most of the year and our day length is shor ter, but we do have some similar influences in terms of our soil bases," Maloney said, noting that more than 30 soil series can be found throughout the county, rang - ing from marine-based sandstone to clay loams and volcanic soils. Like Burgundy, the best vineyard sites are also planted on well-drained soils with a poor holding capacity for nutrients and water. In addition, Hoernlein notes that although Sonoma County is further south, Burgundy technically maintains more growing degree days due to its continental climate. The cold Pacific Ocean has a pro - found effect on nighttime temperatures, causing shifts of up to 40 degrees. "That's one of the secrets to the North Coast: That diurnal shift means the acid retention is huge," Maloney said. "Nighttime is where the acid goes to die, so if you have warm nights, the acid goes down. If you have cool nights, all that acid is regenerated. That does mean we tend to have higher sugars and higher acids compared to Burgundy." It made sense to the somms in attendance: With more sugar and resulting alcohol, the California wines balance out their acidity, resulting in greater power overall. "There are all different terroir and different ripening styles, and what we're trying to do here at DeLoach is spotlight that," Maloney continued as he pointed to images of the winery's grower part - ners—each with a corresponding jar of soil—displayed on the walls. "We try and make sure that our wines really represent the terroir and that distinctive personality that's coming out of each vineyard." After an enlightening introduction, we were swept away to visit the new JCB Tasting Salon in downtown Healdsburg. Upon arrival, Boisset warmly greeted us with bubbles to reset our palates. The emerald-green front room is adorned with jewelry, velvet, and leopard prints that surround the "Tree of Life," the Salon's iconic gold sculpture that repur - posed 50-year-old Napa Valley rootstocks. "Our hope is to draw guests into a world of surrealism," Boisset mused. Though Somms examine a 3D map as Brian Maloney describes the geography of the North Coast. The somms tasted through an extensive lineup of Burgundies from the Boisset Collection. In a comparison of Old World and New World profiles, DeLoach highlighted its estate and vineyard partners throughout Sonoma and Marin counties.

• Cover