Page 49 - Hong_Kong_&_Macau's_Best_Restaurants_English_edition

Victoria
Chow (above)
Though they’re from a generation often criticised for samples wines
impatience and entitlement, Chris and Brandon Hanson knew at Mayacamas,
an estate
there could be no shortcuts in Northern
California

With his beanie, ripped jean shorts and “I used to think it was risky to go
windswept blond hair, Carlo exuded the natural,” said Carlo. “In fact, in the first
prototypical surfer dude much more than few years with RAEN, my brother and I
the frou-frou wine guy. Once he got around second-guessed ourselves.” But the Mondavi
to waxing poetic about whole-cluster family had always preached balance and
fermented grapes, though, there was no harmony with nature, so his push for going
doubt that wine runs deep in him. “I think “beyond organic” by using biodynamics,
what the young makers—next-generation, permaculture and organic practices is in
young bloods or whatever you want to call some ways a natural extension of what he
us—are doing is in line with what we see in was taught as boy. “We are the resistance to
the best kitchens across the world, where bad farming,” he said. “We are waking up
less is more,” explained Carlo. and making a change. My generation will be
Carlo is outspoken in his stand against the global movement for this.”
chemicals used in farming, on a crusade to I thought back on that early-morning
draw attention to the proven damages to the harvest in the Mayacamas vineyard and
environment and our bodies that’s caused of little Jimmy, the son of Mayacamas’
by the blind use of GMOs and pesticides. estate director, as he ran between the rows
He has chosen to go the route of making of vines. “Just a Napa kid getting a little
natural wines—something he doesn’t loudly harvest action in before school!” his dad
market for fear of being misunderstood as hollered at me from across the hedge as I
something that “smells bad”. looked bemusedly at his son, diving into
Natural wines, made without chemicals, the dirt and getting progressively wetter
and using native yeast and minimal from the rain. Jimmy put a cabernet grape
intervention, again sounds like media hype between his teeth and proudly proclaimed,
and a passing trend. In fact, some of the “I’m gonna make some grape juice later!”
most highly regarded and most expensive With what I’ve seen the new generation
wines in the world, including Domaine championing on my trip, I feel pretty
de la Romanée-Conti, are made using this comfortable that the future of sustainable
method, without publicising what they farming and winemaking will be soon be in
deem as the most ancestral of techniques. his hands. Indeed, the kids are all right.

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