Monday, February 8, 2010
An Interview
with one of Mexico's Premier Winemakers
'Vino-Tourism' by Steve Dryden
Monte Xanic Winery sparked Mexico’s silent revolution in creating world class wines from small
boutique wineries in the northwestern state of Baja California. Dr. Hans Backhoff has been the Monte Xanic winemaker since
the beginning of the project, and he has shared a grand vision with his business partners that has become a reality over the
years. Last November I spoke with Hans about the success of the winery, the current situation in the vineyards, his role in
wine industry leadership, his family, and the future of the winery. Here is what he had to say.
Question. Twenty-two years ago you had a vision to create world class wines in Baja California, using
Bordeaux varietals. Did you accomplish this, and if so how?
Answer. “We don’t just grow Bordeaux varietals; we also grow cold weather grapes. Our
idea more than anything was to experiment to see what grows better here, but not only in terms of quality, but also for survival.
We’re looking at vines that can survive soils high in sodium, vines that can survive with minimal water, and plants
that are resistant to disease. In addition, you need to see what varietals develop with good health and quality. Basically,
that is what our project is about. We were pioneers in many ways with new technology and viticulture. For example, today we
have a system of computerized irrigation that allows us to stress the plants according to moisture content to make smaller
berries with concentrated flavors. As far as winning medals and international
awards, you might consider that to be a standard of excellence but I personally don’t think so. A lot of results of
competition are flawed and don’t necessarily show the best. We’ve received many awards, some double Gold medals,
many Best of Class awards for our Gran Ricardo, Malbec, Chenin Blanc, and others in national and international competitions. I do consider our Gran Ricardo to be a 'World Class' wine, but every year is different.
Some vintages are better, some less and others poor. This is a general rule for
the wine industry; each vintage has variables in quality and taste. We are very proud of our products and with our achievements."
Q. Tell us about your vineyard management program. What’s
going on out there, are you moving towards sustainable farming or organic practices?
A. “Right now we are trying to survive the many problems we are having in the fields. I don’t
see ourselves turning organic right now, in fact, that term 'organic' is being abused for commercial purposes. Our main goal
is to see that the plants survive and stay healthy. There are many problems in the valley, for example problems with salinity,
disease, and a shortage of water. When the vines are weak, certain fungi will attack and kill the plants. We’re in a
very aggressive replanting program; we’re planting between five and ten hectares each year. Again, our main goal in
the vineyard is to make sure the vines survive."
Q. Over the last 20 years, have you noticed any particular varietals that seem to stand out here,
plants that are health resistant to drought, disease, and produce consistent superior fruit?
A. “Yes, for instance Cabernet Sauvignon is a tough vine. It’s one of the more resistant
vines to Pierce’s Disease, and can withstand (more than Merlot) salinity in the water and the soil. One early problem
we discovered was, with growing Baja California vines on their original rootstock, we started seeing a lot of problems with
those vines, nematodes and a high mortality rate from too much salt. We lost almost all of our first Merlot plantings from
those problems. Plants on their own root systems are very weak against disease and high salinity. One good thing in this business
is that you can start over and plant with new rootstock and clones that are more suited to the conditions and are stronger.
We’ve planted new high quality clones and have selected rootstocks that produce well in this region. Of course, everything
continues to evolve and change, the dynamics are different from one year to the next."
Q. Is your Gran Ricardo Premium Reserve still considered to be your flagship wine? Tell us a little
about your other wines, including your new 2001 Oporto [port], the 2006 Petite Syrah, and the Muscato di Canelli.
A. “One of the things we do here, we are in a continuous experimentation. The Gran Ricardo is
a Bordeaux blend; in order to make it happen we have to grow several Bordeaux varietals, and then we make a lot of trials
to see which of those will go in the blend each year. I think our Gran Ricardo has been a very successful wine, it’s
been successful in the market, our customers recognize the brand, and we sell whatever we produce. The wine has been doing
well in different competitions, and I do consider it our flagship wine, but we are also getting to the market with limited
editions. These new premium wines are new to the market and deserve to be in a certain position. For instance, we started
crafting our new Malbec, and suddenly this same Malbec beat all the Argentine Malbec in a competition in Los Angeles and it
was voted 'Best of Class' in this same competition. And, you say, wow, we are achieving
a good Malbec, and of course we started to get a heavy demand for that Malbec. Then, we came out with a Syrah produced in
a limited production because we feel it has great potential. This year we released a limited edition Petite Sarah, Oporto,
and a Muscat Canneli. These low production wines give us an opportunity to see how they develop over time, and it gives us
a chance to see how they do in the market."
Q. Your son has an extensive winemaking education in France? Will he direct the winery to the next
level in the future?
A. “My son attended the University of Bordeaux for two years in Enology and received an MBA
in Wales. Right now he is the CEO for the company in Mexico City, where he’s helping us to internationalize the wines
as we want to export the wines to the international market. I’ve been the winemaker here since the beginning of the
project, but we also have several professional consultants from Napa Valley and other regions who advise us. Today we have
exported about 500 cases over the last three months to the global market, but we are starting a new export program to expand
that amount."
Q. Here in Mexico we’re starting to see a new generation of young, educated winemakers with
global experience and prospective — returning home with professional skills. How do you think this will affect the future
of this wine industry?
A. “When an area starts developing or emerging as a wine country, like now [with Baja California's]
Guadalupe Valley, what happens is that everyone gets very enthusiastic, then suddenly you have lawyers and doctors making
wine, many people with other professions making wine; this happened in Napa Valley years ago.
A lot of these people don’t have much experience in making wine, and you’re going to have very bad wines,
but also you're going to have very good wines because you’re going to have some wine under controlled conditions, many
people with very good advice, real professionals. Then you’ll have many
more brands and some will be outstanding. These young people with professional winemaking skills, education and international
experience will make drastic improvements to Mexico’s wine industry."
Q. What is your role as a current leader in the wine association?
A. “When you have an area like this that is developing, you get a lot of enthusiastic people
in the emerging industry. You also get a lot of problems, because many people don’t understand the dynamics involved.
Part of our job has been to raise the consciousness of our government officials about what is a wine area, and how to protect
and maintain it. The big issues are water and salinity, but it seems it’s
going to be solved, at least for an area, and it will be very positive. Another
problem is the use of the land, for example, if you have an agricultural area and you don’t have rules for the use of
the land, then you may spoil the whole area. You’re going to have developers coming when they see there is money to
be made from people wanting to live in the countryside, they’re going to come and develop the area. Some of my work
has been to try to create consciousness in our officials to understand that our wine area has to be treated as a wine area.
And, if they allow unplanned and unmanaged development everything will be ruined and you’ll never have a wine area.
There is a problem with micro and macro developers, people who have two hectares and divide it into ten or more lots; this
is illegal and will destroy the potential of the wine region. We need rules to
protect the area; I’ve brought the rules and guidelines from Napa and Sonoma to our government officials, so they can
see how other regions protect their wine industry. I’ve asked them not to copy them, but to read the documents to see
what a wine area is and how it is managed. In fact, right now the guidelines are being established to manage and protect this
wine region. The municipal government will make the rules and then, after public discussion, congress will make the laws.
This will establish the rules and everyone will know the plan. This has been our major project for many years."
Q. Some regional scientists are claiming that the current water shortage will leave this valley completely
dry within the next ten years. Do you agree, and is anything being done to address the water crisis issue?
A. “No, I don’t agree that this will happen, that the valley will run out of water. We
do have an issue with people selling water rights or water concessions on the black market for water that isn’t available,
and this is not right. But the problem is not that drastic. For instance, the city of Ensenada is in the process of developing
a desalination plant which will take pressure off of the water supply here in the valley. The extraction of water to Ensenada
from the valley is now about 33% of the water supply here. There is another big project now underway that will use recycled
water from Tijuana and send it to the valley. We’re talking about a lot of water and it will make for huge changes in
the wine industry, creating much opportunity for expansion and growth. We’re talking about ten times more water than
is currently being pumped into Ensenada. This is not the promise of a politician, it is already in the process of being constructed;
even the location of the reservoir has been established. The city of Tijuana throws away 8,000 liters of water per second
into the ocean, and we can recover much of that water; in fact, Napa Valley has been doing that for years. People are out
there trying to resolve the water shortage issues in our wine region."
Q. To date, Mexico has not embraced many standards of quality control, basic guidelines, or established
laws concerning the concentration of oak aging, or AVA designations. The only specific rule concerns the percentage of alcohol,
basically for tax purposes. How important do you think it is to the future of Mexican wine (if they venture into the global
market) to embrace some simple guidelines?
A.“This is incorrect information; we have many guidelines for our wine industry. The issue is
that [government officials] make the rules, but they don’t have the inspectors to enforce them. One example was the
legal limit for the amount of alcohol was 13.5 or 14%, but it changed with the wines that come from abroad, because you can’t
have rules for imports that aren’t the same for our wine industry. Again,
the problem is with rule and regulation enforcement, not with a lack of guidelines."
Q. I see many young people at local wine bars, at wine events, and during the Vendimia festivities.
They seem to be evolving from a beer and tequila culture into the world of wine. What do you have to say to the new wave of
young people who are exploring the wine culture in Mexico?
A. "It’s great, this is exactly what we are focusing on. The people who started drinking our
wine 20 years ago are not our main market anymore. The new group of consumers are these young people who are exploring the
wine culture. One of the things we are doing with our limited editions is directed very much to that market. These are the
people who are experimenting and starting to learn about wine, then we are giving them exotic and different sorts of wines,
and to see how the reaction is or what the demand is for those products. Another important role for us is with wine education.
If you visit our website you’ll find our newsletter, the Wine Spirit. This publication is for people who want to learn about the culture
of wine, tasting, competition, new trends, corks, etc. We understand that this is a learning and experimenting market. Young
wine lovers are the future of Mexico’s emerging wine culture, and we embrace them with much enthusiasm. "
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For a Baja California Wine Route map, click on MexiData.info "Links," and go to "Mexico Maps and Time
Zones"
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Steve Dryden is a wine, food and travel writer living in Valle de Guadalupe, in northwestern Baja California,
where he guides individual and small group wine tours. He can be reached at sbdryden@hotmail.com. Visit his new blog at www.winefoodguide.com.
