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| Greg Baiocchi is Mr GST |
“In many ways, I am a “millennial”
winemaker: I like to experiment. Baiocchi is a new winery so we can afford to
be different, as there are no expectations imposed from the wine critics
yet. I want to be authentic. I want to deliver an experience that emanates
from the vineyard and finds its way to the glass. I like to co –ferment the
fruit, and that’s a point of origin of our blend, GST. One wine lover has called me “Mr GST” because
I believe in originality in my blends, and GST is a blend that is pretty,
seductive, and complex.
Our winemaking philosophy, briefly, is that
we co-ferment, use indigenous yeast, balance our use of new French oak, and
believe in unfined and unfiltered wines. We want to bring the
fruit to the glass with as much transparency as possible. The vineyard
philosophy was to plant Mourvedre, Grenache, Syrah & Tempranillo because of
the excellence of our terroir for these varieties. From a strategic winemaking viewpoint, these varietals all work well together in any growing season. This vineyard mix allows me to make handcrafted wines no matter what Mother Nature throws our way each year.
Our site in the FairPlay AVA of El Dorado
County, CA., is perfectly suited for
these varietals. I manage the vineyard to the terroir, which allows me to
produce wine of defined character. To
me, creating a sense of place in our wines was critical to the winery business plan.
To enhance the sense of place, all our wines
are fermented on indigenous yeast, with little or minimal intervention. This winemaking
technique allows the purity and freshness of the fruit to come forward, thus
further imparting a sense of place in our Baiocchi wines.
Gminor, our signature blend of Grenache-Syrah-Tempranillo,
was our second experiment with co –fermenting.
Why GST?
I studied these varietals and where they originated
and how they are blended throughout Spain and France. I believed this blend would be a complex
hybrid of origin, our El Dorado terroir, and fresh taste.
And so I handcrafted a wine that was pretty,
seductive yet complex.
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| G minor: a GST blend |
Our GST is accessible at an early age, and can
be opened anytime to share but still delivers structure that stands up proudly to
food pairings. We see it marching ahead
on wine lists at a value price ($24.00) to consumers of all ages, but perhaps
it will be particularly attractive to Millennials.
Grenache
(44%
of 2011 G minor) is so versatile and brings so much to the table. This is the pretty
part of the GST blend, with great aromatics, nicely floral, and a strawberry
essence -- it consumes the senses and is what captures you when first meeting
the wine.
Syrah (32% of 2011 G
minor) provides the weight, the curves, the seduction of the GST blend .
Syrah holds the wine on the mid palate, melding blue fruit with all the red
fruit of Grenache. It plays an important
role in the blend, because holding the wine on the mid palate long enough allows
the acidity to catch up and then… the Tempranillo!
Tempranillo’s earthy tannins
bring the structure, complexity and length to the finish in the GST
blend. Tempranillo constitutes 24% of
2011 G minor.
The compatibility of these three varietals is
what makes Gminor great for food. Overall it is a medium-weight wine, earthy
and ripe.
Where does GST go next? Well, Christian Miller tasted this and put
it on Spago (Beverly Hills) wine list.
We are confident at Baiocchi that GST, at a $24 retail price point, will
find a welcome in the marketplace.”
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| Greg and Sharon Baiocchi in their brand-new tasting room on Main Street, Sutter Creek CA |
Read more about this GST wine, and
Baiocchi Wines and Vineyards, at http://baiocchiwines.com
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