We love good wine here in Texas. We love it even more when made by one of our own, though the debate is still heated on where the grapes come from and who is making it…mainly, I just want it to be good whether it is made in Napa Valley, Sonoma, Willamette, or Hill Country or made from grapes grown in throughout the state or in other parts of the country. Dallas residents and Texas natives Dr. Clay and Brenda Cockerell fell in love with the wines of Bordeaux, driving them to find a vineyard in the northernmost part of Napa Valley where they are growing stellar Bordeaux style, oak and stainless steel aged Sauvignon Blanc, calling the wine Coquerel, taking the French spelling of their name. They also grow a few other varieties on their property and source fruit from other vineyards around Napa for their Petit Sirah, Merlot, Verdelo and Chardonnay.
Their winemaker, Christine Barbe, was recently in town with Brenda and Clay and I had a chance to visit with her a but before they headed to Abilene (Brenda and Clay’s hometown) for the Buffalo Gap food and wine festival. I was thrilled to have a chance to sit down with Christine and Brenda before they headed out of town.
French born and raised Christine had tasted wine when she was younger, but didn’t know a lot about it and didn’t originally go to school for wine, instead she earned her undergraduate degree in biochemistry. She then went on to earn her PhD at the University of Bordeaux focusing on research and was introduced to the great wines of St. Emilion and Margaux, turning her focus to oenology falling in love with the classic white variety of the region, Sauvignon Blanc in particular. She participated in various research studies when she met and made a great impression on some of the folks from Gallo in Napa.
When she finished her PhD and was looking for a job in her native France she found jobs in the wine industry were lacking, so turned to the friends she had met a few years prior at Gallo. They sponsored her to come to Napa working in their new research and development center. Christine liked the Gallo team as they were interested in changing from the norm and trying new techniques to make the best wine they could. She found this even more in 2000 when she joined the team at Mondavi, who was focused bringing more of the vineyard into the winery, making wines focused on the land. Though this is the way many winemakers focus their efforts now, at the time winemakers were still using every trick in their book to create the flavor of the wine in the winery instead of really letting the terroir show. She also started making wine on her own under her label Toquade, the French term for an infatuation that you can’t live without….how she felt when she knew she needed to make her own wine.
As Brenda and Clay were getting started with their winery in 2006 they met Christine through a mutual friend and, with an instant connection, knew they would become both good friends and a fantastic team as their winemaking goals and Christine’s wine philosophy married hand in hand. Starting small, about 200 cases of their Coquerel Terroir Sauvignon Blanc, in a space that was essentially a two car garage Christine handled every element of winemaking. Often working around the clock, the entire production from pressing, to punch down and batonnage, to racking the barrels, Christine managed the refined process of creating Coquerel wine, ensuring the product was exactly as she and the Cockerells hoped for….delicious, elegant and very special. Christine is also the vineyard manager for the 10 acres of the 22 acres currently planted to vines on the property. This ensures that every element of the wine (from vine to glass) is under her watchful eye. Today, their production has grown to require a larger off-site facility, so Christine has a team she works with instead of doing it all on her own, while continuing to manage everything. They are actively working to bring a production facility and tasting garden to their vineyards, if Napa will permit, but the camaraderie many experience throughout the wine industry as a whole, and especially in Napa, has successfully allowed them to make their wine at an off-site facility since they started.
When the Brenda and Clay found their vineyard a number of varieties were planted in addition to Sauvignon Blanc, most of them native Portuguese varieties, most of which have been replanted now to varieties that thrive in Calistoga, but they kept the white Verdelho vines, creating a light and crisp, grapefruit and guava filled white perfect for seafood pairings. They also learned early not to let Mother Nature get them down when an unexpected freeze hit their vines right before harvest. Instead of scrapping dozens of vines of their luscious Sauvignon Blanc they harvested their Sauvignon Blanc and created their Le Douche Revanche, a late harvest Sauvignon Blanc. Sweet and citrus filled with a layer of cream and spice. A dessert wine I particularly like as it has enough sweetness balanced with acidity to make it delicious on its own or paired with anything from cheese to sweet custard or citrus filled desserts. Now they make this special dessert wine intentionally, leaving a handful of vines to harvest late in the season.
Brenda and Clay are also getting their wine on an even broader scale with its inclusion in the upcoming film “Words and Pictures,” starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche currently being shot in Vancouver, BC. Though product placement is something we see a lot of today – Moet made a splash with their inclusion in “The Great Gatsby,” it is usually not from one of our own. Pahlmeyer Winery went from a relatively unknown to silver screen stardom when it was included in the film “Disclosure” with Michael Douglas. As Jayson Pahlmeyer notes having the bottle included created such an instant buzz that their then twenty-four dollar 1991 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay quickly became a hit, and the extremely hard to find. The wine sells for almost double that price now. In “Words and Pictures,” Co-Produced by Dallas based Lascaux Films and Produced by Dallas native Curtis Burch of Latitude Productions, central characters Jack and Dina (portrayed by Clive and Juliette) enjoy several bottles of Coquerel Family Wines in scenes throughout the film. Fingers crossed the film is as successful for Coquerel and the Dallas producers as “Disclosure” was for Pahlmeyer.
You can find the Coquerel wine throughout Dallas at Pogo’s and Sigel’s stores, or via their website.
