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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Hot Topics Forum Photo Gallery Past Readers Polls Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Online Games Movie Preview October 17, 2006 About Cabernet Sauvignon Lorn Razzano Archives Tuesday August 29th Tuesday September 5th Tuesday September 12th Tuesday September 19th Tuesday September 26th Tuesday October 3rd Tuesday October 10th Tuesday October 17th By Lorn Razzano Tidings Correspondent For many years, at least the 38 years I have been selling wine, Cabernet Sauvignon has had a glorious run on the red wine scene. I remember as a kid in the business that this noble red wine grape drove the interest in the California wine scene way ahead of any other grape in the mind of the consumer. The catch word was "Cabernet" for those finding out about wine to the serious collector of wines. More was written about Cabernet Sauvignon than any other grape on the scene and the wineries took note. It all started with the 1968 vintage in California. The 1964 as well as the 1966 vintage were just coming to print, meaning that the travel writers (there were very few "wine" writers of the day) were just beginning to take notice of wine as a topic worth writing about. The 1968 vintage paired the perfect growing year for Napa Cabernet and perhaps a few places (wineries) to visit while one had a weekend off. This vintage started an avalanche of curiosity that has turned into one of the biggest businesses in agricultural history. Let's face it, we don't hear of zillion dollar B&B's in the middle of artichoke or corn country! The catalyst for all of this was the tremendous 1968 vintage to be followed by the 1970 and 1974 vintages. To put this in some sort of historical perspective we need to understand that I was making just about three dollars and hour and a very fine 1968 vintage Cabernet was selling for about eight dollars per bottle. There were perhaps five wineries in the Napa Valley that were making sound wine including Heitz, Louis Martini, Mondavi, Inglenook, B.V., and perhaps Beringer. Martini was one of the first wineries to put some sort of distinguishing mark on their labels by calling the wine a "Special Select." To this day I have no idea what this extra print on the label meant but it somehow set this wine apart from their other Cabernet Sauvignon by an extra dollar per bottle! Not to be outdone by this clever print job, other wineries followed suit and we began, by the superb 1970 vintage, to see all kinds of wild and fun sayings such as "Special Reserve," Vintner's Choice," "Family Selection" and various "Lot" numbers that seemingly have no connection to anything! By the middle 1970s newspapers started getting hip and publishing writers who knew the inside scoop about wineries and specific types of wines available to the public. The upshot of all of this was the emerging, talented winemaker now seen as a kind of super star. Very in depth bio's began to appear in major newspapers on specific wine makers and as a result (among other key factors) U.C. Davis began a serious increase in wine program enrollment. This may be a simple over view of the spring board 1968 vintage but the facts are there and the wine business throughout the United States has blossomed into an almost unrecognizable giant in less than 40 years. Few had any idea of the enormous impact the wine industry would play in California to say nothing of the miracles in Oregon and Washington State. Who would dream that with a handful of cuttings from Louis Martini in 1964 Richard Sommers (Hillcrest Vineyards) would start an industry attracting many millions of dollars annually for Oregon. What will we see 40 years from now? It boggles the mind. Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.