“The king sits in Dunfermline town, Drinking the blude-red wine,” Sir Patrick Spens., St. 1
John Grunau, son of respected entrepreneur, plumbing company owner and developer Gary Grunau, joined Grunau Company after graduating from the University of New Mexico with an economics degree. No plumbing career for this ambitious young man. He works on sundry development projects with his ever-active civic giant of a father.
Since meeting Adrienne (originally from Albequerque, New Mexico) in college, the two got married and are now ensconced in a nine-year perfect partnership. Over the years, they sampled various wines and felt their passion for The Grape grow until they became heavily hooked. John heard about and began working with a custom grape-crushing and high-quality winemaking facility in Napa, Calif. The couple works with various vinous winemakers to craft a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Chardonnay and two Pinot Noirs, all from different areas. Ultimately, they are aiming to gradually goose production by a barrel of wine (25 cases) per year of each wine, to an ultimate size of 800 cases each. After that, if the stars align properly, the Grunau clan would like to shift their focus to Argentina, where conditions are ideal for explosive growth in the wine industry (I still predict that Argentinean Malbec may conquer the world).
I spoke briefly with Phil, the co-owner of Thief Wine Bar and Shop in the Milwaukee Public Market. He had only nice things to say about Grunau’s Cabernet and Chardonnay.
Grunau was nice enough to drop off samples of his product for me to analyze. As we talked, John explained more of his philosophy and moral modus operandi:
-Life’s too short. The couple doesn’t want any regrets.
-The cleanly designed label displays notes of “classic whimsy,” particularly the hook and shoe symbolism (the former for his love of fishing, the latter for Adrienne’s love of running).
-Grunau’s wines are based upon what they like to drink. I’d like to tactfully suggest that they also plumb what the public truly wants, if John wants to continue developing a winning formula. Similarly, in today’s vastly oversupplied marketplace, pricing should be a consideration.
Here are my tasting notes, along with retail prices and any additional salient notes as provided by John:
1. 2008 Chardonnay, Jigsaw Vineyard, Russian River Valley, Calif., $30 at Thief: Wine carries notation “little things,” because that’s how the Grunaus feel about life, with most things being unimportant. Straw color, with medium body and a medium-rich nose that’s typical of the Russian River Valley. Nice, fairly fruity middle with a whisper of heat on the finish (improved with one half hour of breathing). A-
2. 2008 La Encantada Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills, Calif. (Site of Richard Sanford’s prime winery land), price unknown: Label indicates “O eight one five,” the date of the couple’s first kiss and their marriage two years later to the hour. Red velvet hue with fairly heavy body. Rich, deep, almost Burgundian nose with layers of promise (again, like a first kiss). Rich fruit, with long, clean finish. Easily worth another kiss! B+
3. 2008 Pinot Noir, Doctor’s Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands, Calif., price unknown: Label indicates “fruition,” meaning the fruition of John’s and Adrienne’s dream. Dark ruby robe with silky “legs” (indicates heavy body). Heavy, heady nose with notes of coffee. Brooding fruit with nice depth and measures of blackberries. Clean finish with some tannins evident (mellowed with air time). A-
4. 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa Valley, $70 at Thief: The fruit for this wine was sourced at Napa’s famed To Kalon vineyard, original site of many of Robert Mondavi’s award-winning wines. Dark, deep and brooding red color with heavy, inky body and deeply fruity, intense nose. Berries galore here. Complex, layered fruit with loads of depth. Some bottle age would help it mellow out. Clean, fun finish! A-
Cheers, John and Adrienne. You’re introducing added dimension to the great Grunau name.
