Fall - 2022

146 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 2 wines under the Galante brand a decade later. He and his wife Dawn (for whom their “Dawn’s Dream” brand is named) sold their vineyard in 2020. He explains why this AVA is unique. “What I consider the outstanding factor is that due to the climate and the general absence of coastal fog coming in at night, we harvest later, getting a long hanging time for the grapes. The result is great maturity, you get nice acid devel- opment, resulting in lower alcohol content but intense flavor.” He says that this longer growing term equates to a varietal character not found anywhere else in California. Another factor contributing to that increased hang time is frost. “Frost comes later here,” he says. “But it also starts earlier. As a result, we always held off pruning the vines as long as possible.” Due to changing climactic pat- terns, Jack notes that there have been fewer frost events over the past ten years. “It’s an upside to climate change,” says this eternal optimist. “There’s always an upside to everything.” The name Bernardus “Ben” Pon is spoken reverentially by members of the Carmel Valley wine community. “I give him credit for putting our appellation on the world wine map,” says Walter Georis. “He loved the romantic side of the wine business and put a lot of energy and resources into marketing and promoting the Though mainly known for producing Bordeaux-style red wines, microcli- mates within the Carmel Valley AVA allow other varietals to thrive, includ- ing whites such as these Sauvignon Blanc grapes shown during the fall harvest at Joullian Vineyards. Hot days and cool nights enable Carmel Valley’s red wine grapes to spend more time on the vine, developing more intense flavor profiles. Photo: Gary Crabbe/Enlightened Images/Alamy Stock Photo Photo: Patrice Ward