Cover Story:

These witty wineries may be the laughing stock of California, but
when it comes to the quality of their wine, tones are decidedly serious

By Mark L. Orler

Making wine is a gamble: a literal crap-shoot of farmer ingenuity, risky venture capital and futuristic visions of consumer taste. Speak to any successful winemaker and you will hear the strained voice of someone whose livelihood can be wiped out in one season by a feisty fungus or voracious insect.

And with all of that pressure, it’s no wonder that the major note in wine advertising is B-serious. Ninety percent of wine commercials orbit around an austere spokesperson with a slight British accent, describing scenes reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. Grapes are nurtured and harvested by elf-like creatures who, after a day of labor, frolic in one of the many waterfalls echoing in the background. In this world, winemaking is portrayed as a half-magic, half-pseudoreligious awakening—for those taking these advertisements half-seriously.

But just when you think you need to put on a prayer shawl before breaking the seal, along comes a winery like Frog’s Leap, where winemaking and wine drinking are celebrated for what they really are—a whole lot of work followed by a whole lot of fun.

Frog's Leap winemaker John Williams
One Giant Leap For Wine
Frog’s Leap winery began “on a whim with no money,” according to winemaker and co-founder John Williams. Formerly known for its gourmet frog legs production—actually they grew the entire frog but just sold the legs—the winery is situated in Mill Creek in the Rutherford district of Napa Valley.

Williams, who is as quick to point out his failures as he is his many successes, prides himself on the winery, circa 1981, and their decidedly lighthearted approach to the cutthroat business of winemaking. When asked about his winery’s motto: “Time’s fun when you’re having flies,” he joked, “We had no better idea.” And added, “We just enjoyed wine; we were never exposed to the fondling and collecting of vintages.” And at Frog’s Leap, the enjoyment of wine is top-priority. “We just knew that wine, historically, was to give pleasure… pretension just wasn’t there for us.”

This pleasure jumps forth from every aspect at Frog’s Leap, from the wine making to the wine marketing. “We don’t do our events for commercial purposes,” says Williams, whose campaign to make February 29th, Leap Day, a national holiday didn’t quite make it to the steps of Congress. “We were amazed that nobody had thought of this before, I mean you get a whole day given to you every four years.”

While the national holiday campaign may have not leapt into the hearts and minds of the federal government, the party that Frog’s Leap holds every four years gains the attention of four to five hundred registered voters and wine enthusiasts who attend the celebration. The winery’s other events show the humor and exuberance that Williams
tries to maintain.

No Green Nuns
Frog’s Leap’s annual Frogtoberfest began as a celebration at the end of harvest and has continued simply because, “the name is so cool,” says Williams. When asked whether the lighthearted approach affected the wine making, Williams’ tone becomes
oddly serious: “There is nothing fun about wine if the quality is not there.”

Case in point, after years of trying to find a suitable outlet for their Chenin Blanc and Riesling grapes, Williams, in what he described as a “sheer act of desperation,” created a Germanesque vintage based on Blue Nun’s Liebfraumilch. Leapfrogmilch, which Williams describes as, “classy and elegant,” is best expressed by the bottle’s back label: “nicht a green nun…from two ancient vineyards long forgotten in der hubbubin of der modern wein world.” Clearly, Frog’s Leap demonstrates that having a good time and making good wines can share the same space.

Platform Shoes And Togas
While Frog’s Leap staunchly aims its humor away from the commercial aspect of wine, winery Clos Du Val embraces the two-pronged advertising goal of good times and good publicity. Businessman John Goelet and wine maker Bernard Portet started the winery, located in the Stag’s Leap district of Napa Valley, in 1972.

And while the two opened Clos Du Val as an attempt to bring old-world viticulture to the United States, their success and advertising has been anything but antiquated.
Themed parties are the weapon of choice for this winery according to Brooke Correll, vice president of marketing. “America is a beer nation,” says Correll whose previous
advertising experience included work on the Spuds McKenzie Budweiser campaign. “On that level we cannot compete. Few wineries have the money to create that scope of advertising.”

But anybody can throw a party. Clos du Val seizes the opportunity to throw a fête with such gatherings as toga parties and more recently a Come As You in ‘72 event.

Attendees were encouraged to ring in the winery’s 30-year anniversary in their favorite flared bell-bottoms and platform shoes. Says Correll: “Beer advertising in America has predominantly been a‘ drink the beer get the girl’ proposition. We are focusing on ‘drink the wine, have a good time.’”

Grahm’ing It Up
And quite arguably no winemaker or winery knows more about having an eccentrically good time than Randall Grahm, founder of Bonny Doon and Ca’ del Solo wineries in Santa Cruz, California. Never one to be pinned down, Grahm has taken his Gonzo-influenced philosophy on life and infused his winery with the shenanigans and oddities of the most calculated and intriguing two-lane sideshow.

Take his web site. The content is less about wine than it is about his penchant for the freewheeling and envelopepushing works of philosophers, writers and artists like Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Steadman. Steadman actually
does some of Grahm’s labeling. Like Thompson and Steadman, who coined and personified the Gonzo philosophy of both art and literature, Graham has prided himself on pruning boundaries—real or perceived—in the wine industry. “We are trying to make
wines that break out of the New World paradigm of confectionary fruit bombs,” says Grahm, “and we are not opposed to taking oddball grapes and making great wine from them.”

When asked about his “oddball” marketing events like the Death of the Cork Wake (tipping his hat to screwcaps) and his 24-page Enquirer parody called the Vinquirer, where he poked fun at everybody from Robert Parker to The Wine Spectator, Grahm replied, “ sometimes we lead with our chin.”

Good Clean Fun— And Grapes,Too
But when it comes to talking about wine, Grahm is reserved and takes his wines, dare we say, seriously. “The last thing I want people to say about me after my death is that ‘he was a great marketer.’ We are going to reign it in a little bit and focus more on the wines themselves.”

Grahm revealed that Bonny Doon and Ca’ Del Sol are moving in some surprising directions. “It’s got to get beyond the parlor tricks,” he says. “We are going to be focusing on more biodynamic farming and truly organic winemaking.”

As his focus changes and the winery looks toward the uncertain future that plagues any creative talent trying to break out of orthodoxy, one must wonder if this will tone down or dramatically change how the wine is promoted. To this Grahm replies, “I have this streak, I like stirring things up.”

More Winemakin’ Frogs
As Randall Grahm spends his time stirring, Todd “Dr. Toad” Williams, president of Toad Hollow Vineyards, is hopping all over the country. Williams keeps a schedule of amphibianinfluenced events that has him traveling as “Toad on the Road” more than 90
days a year. “We’ve hosted a ‘toadga party’ where folks dressed like their favorite animal, in addition to a ‘tiptoad through the tulips’ event and a ‘croak and dagger’ night,” he says.

Not taking things too seriously has been a winning strategy for Williams, but his wines are nothing to sneeze at. “If you look at the labels of the wine they are silly,” he says, “but…the wine is really good!” Leaving no room for pretension, Toad Hollow, resting in Sonoma's Russian River Valley, focuses on good, everyday wine. “I want to be the King of Meatloaf wine,” jokes Williams. And as for the future of Toad Hollow, Williams admits that they will look at the demographics of wine tastes and grape varieties, but that their concern is less academic. Demonstrating a wise-guy side, Williams recounts a story about an overly curious wine drinker. Says Williams, “I had a guy ask me what grapes we blended in our Cacaphony Zinfandel and I asked him if it tasted good. He said ‘yes’ and I jumped back,‘ then what the hell do you care what we blended?’”

Barefoot In The Lake
Blending good wines with good times is the aim of most of these wineries. But celebration can come disguised in forms other than parties and outrageous antics, according to Dennis Johnson, Wine Club and Merchandising Materials Manager of Grape Links, which makes both Barefoot and Mistle Toe Wines.

Named almost as a dare, Barefoot Wine began with founders Michael Houlihan and Bonny Harvey literally crushing grapes “barefoot in his garage,” according to Johnson. “Our winemaking philosophy has always been more about the people who buy the wine than the industry itself,” says Johnson, and this has led to some interesting combinations of sales techniques. “Our main concentration is, of course, ompetitions,” he says. “You need to get the rating before you do anything else.”

However, after the seriousness of a wine competition, Barefoot Wine kicks off its shoes and has some fun. “Few of our tastings are done in formal settings,” says Johnson. Most tastings surround local charities or other regional events.” And while most wineries ply their wares at restaurant and industry events, Barefoot not only looks outside the bottle, they sometimes turn it over.

Recently, Barefoot Wine jumped the opportunity to hold a tasting at a
barefoot water ski competition. “It just seemed to fit,” said Johnson. “I mean, it was a barefoot water-ski tournament.” And while playing around the many lakes and ponds of the U.S. may be a viable alternative approach to wine marketing, the interstate is always the best route to get you from coast to coast.“ We have more than 18 national sales managers,” added Johnson, “and we cover a lot of ground.”

The local approach to their events is far reaching, as emphasized by their national ZAP Zinfandels Tour and an Electric Kool-Aid Acid Trip traveling campaign with a Mardis Gras flair. “Most of what we do is tongue-in-cheek,” said Johnson.“ We strive to make the best wine at the best price…but have fun doing it.”

Wine, above all is about enjoyment—something
that clever wineries cultivate well. And while labels full of anthropomorphic frogs or psychedelic sketches by Ralph Steadman can’t be compared to the staid grand cru
labels found in Bordeaux, it’s the wine inside that makes the difference. First-class wine can flow from even the oddest sources.

Mark L. Orler is a frustrated cook who occasionally uses his limited writing skills to discover the true meaning behind his unexplained devotion to food and wine. The only testament to these skills, however, is an ever-growing waistline. Mark also writes our humor column, Sour Grapes.

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