Last Earth Day, I spent the afternoon visiting with Kathleen Inman of Inman Family Wines. It was one of the most memorable tasting of my 2011, and I’m hoping to make it up to Santa Rosa again this Earth Day to check in with Inman Family Wines, taste the wines, and say Hi. Earth Day at Inman Family Wines is a perfect way to honor the day, learn about sustainability in grapegrowing and winemaking, and to get inspired by someone with a vision of land stewardship that is approachable and infectious. Below are the details of the tasting on April 22 and a reprint of my blog post from last year. Hope to see you there!

Inman Family Wines Earth Day Celebration

April 22, 2012
Time: 11am-4pm
Cost: $10 Tasting Fee (waived with purchase)

Address:

Inman Family Wines
3900 Piner Road (corner of Olivet)
Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Contact: Michelle Berger  707-293-9576

Invite from winery: “We are excited to invite you to Inman Family Wines Earth Day Celebration on Sunday, April 22 from 11am-4pm.While you sip on our Russian River Valley wines you can learn more about our organic farming practices and the eco-ethics that guide our business. Tours of our vineyard and “green” winery will be given throughout the day. Delicious crepes made with local organic ingredients will be available by Ultra Crepe.If you have left our tasting room with one of our eco-friendly re-usable wine bags, please remember to bring it back for a refill!!”

Reprint blog post from April 28, 2011 – Cruising Terroir

For Earth Day I had the privilege of meeting up with a wine maven of the Russian River Valley, Kathleen Inman of Inman Family Wines at her eco-bucolic estate vineyard, Olivet Grange Vineyard.

To understand her wines, it’s best to understand Kathleen a bit first. In the few hours that I got to talk with her, I was introduced to a woman who is a born steward of the earth, is funny, and who ultimately makes wine for herself.

First off, it should be noted that Olivet Grange Vineyard (10.5 acres), although not certified, has been farmed organically since day one. In addition, the winery building is about as green as it gets. From solar to reclaimed wood and steel, all aspects of the facility are intended to have a low impact. “Organic” and “LEED” certifications would be hers for the taking should she care to obtain them, but for Kathleen, it’s more about the actions that are important. She tends to each vine, each step of the winemaking process, and each step of conducting business with a passion for preserving history & nature, protecting resources, and to having a light footprint. (To read The Inman Family Winery Project: The Embodiment of Eco-Ethics, click here)

Kathleen’s also a self-proclaimed “lunatic” (the funny part). No, she’s far from crazy, but she does farm and make farming decisions based on the cycles of the moon. Biodynamic you might ask? No, that’s not her thing. She just has her ears to the ground, hands tending her vines, and eyes to the sky. She pays attention and makes decisions in uniform with nature’s cycles.

To summarize Kathleen’s impressive approach to winemaking, I would say three things:

• she strives for the best aromas and flavor while keeping alcohol levels low (she’s usually the first vintner picking her fruit in the Russian River Valley).
• she trusts her instinct, palate, and skills (note that once the brix level reach 19% she stops testing sugar and solely relies on the taste and her feel of the fruit)
• she is very hands-off in her winemaking (native yeasts ferments and withholds additives and fining).

The result: Inman Family wines are aromatic, expressive of varietal & terroir, and alive. There is no sense in any of the wines I tasted that the fruit was picked too early, and for the most part, all struck a beautiful balance of fruit, acid and tannin. Perfect food wines and great for cellaring.

I got to taste through her whole line up, and while I thought they were all fantastic, the three standouts were as follows:

 2009 Chardonnay ($30.00)

Have you ever teared into a perfectly ripe ruby red grapefruit with your hands and not washed them afterward? You sort of don’t want to as the essential oils from the grapefruit drying on your skin leave you with almost a perfect scent of fruit and air. That’s like the experience you have with this wine.

Upfront minerality and perfectly ripe fruit trick you into wondering if this is a Chardonnay sans oak. It’s not. It just has the right kind of oak (new, tightly grained French oak) and the right amount of time in barrel (50:50 to stainless steel).

2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($30.00)

Coming from the Estate Olivet Range Vineyard and Thorn Ranch Vineyard and aged 11 months in oak, Kathleen referred to this wine as “affordable luxury”, and it is. You can’t go wrong with this wine. Pleasing aromas of cherry and cola are then translated nicely onto the palate with the addition of a good amount of earth and minerality. Long finish. Beautiful wine.

2007 Olivet Grange Vineyard Pinot Noir ($56.00)

All grown on the estate property, under the watchful eye of Kathleen, the 2007 Olivet Grange Vineyard Pinot Noir is a show stopper. A little tight on the nose at first (a testament to the ageability of the wine), with a little air and time, this wine opens into an aromatic beauty with the essence of hibiscus and rose dancing with cherry and light spice. The flavor of this wine is of pure Pinot Noir – red fruit mixed with spice and earth. You’re awarded with a long, luscious finish.

This was my first visit to Inman Family Wines, and most certainly – not my last!!

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