Markham winemaker dinner at Cafe Maxx

Markham winery is one of our best friends in Napa and we are happy to welcome winemaker Kimberlee Nicholls to South Florida.  Chef Oliver Saucy is making a Special five course meal to accompany the wines.  The Fee for this dinner is $95 + Tax + Gratuity, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

Markham wine Dinner with Special Guest Winemaker Kimberlee Nicholls

Tuesday, January 20th

7pm

Pass arounds

Dried fruit and goat cheese mini philo purses

Lump crab and avocado crostini

Yellowfin tuna poke

2012 Markham Chardonnay 

First course

Double Sun shrimp raviolis with roasted pepper, corn and Andoullie natural sauce

2013 Markham Sauvignon Blanc

Second course

Crispy duck confit over wild mushroom cannellini beans

2012 Markham Merlot 

Third course

Grill braised beef short ribs with seared sea scallop, escarole and black raspberry sauce

2012 Markham Cellar 1879 Red Blend   

Fourth course

Marinated and grilled lamb T-bone steak, polenta sauce, winter vegetables and demi glace

2011 Markham Cabernet Sauvignon 

Dessert

Orange-chocolate tart with blood orange fruit salsa

A bit about Markham Winery:

One of the hottest stories in the Napa Valley in the past seven years has been the appearance of Markham Vineyards in the vinous spotlight.  After a decade of languishing in the shadows - despite some outstanding wines - everyone has begun to notice the exceptional values currently being produced at Markham.  As prices for any wine that can lay claim to the Napa appellation persist in their upward spiral, only a handful of Napa vintners continue to turn out quality wines at reasonable prices.  In 1991 Markham released an excellent 1989 Chardonnay (The Wine Spectator scored it a (92) - the highest score it gave any wine in the entire vintage), an excellent 1990 Sauvignon Blanc, and a very good Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.  In the intervening years Markham has established itself as one of the best value/quality producers in Napa.

The winery, north of St. Helena, was originally founded in 1874 by Jean Laurent, an immigrant from Bordeaux.  In 1977 an investor named Bruce Markham bought the rundown stone structure that once housed the former Laurent winery, and Markham Vineyards was officially founded in 1978.  Bruce Markham, one of the many former executives and business professionals who found their way to the rich, fertile Napa Valley to pursue the lifestyle of winegrower and winery owner, came from a family-owned advertising business which extended throughout seven of the Rocky Mountain states.  He began by purchasing some vineyard property in the Napa Valley in 1975.  Soon after, the family business was sold to a multi-media advertising firm; and Bruce invested in some additional prime vineyard property.  Then he and his wife, Kate, moved to California and took over operation of the vineyards and proceeded to the next logical step of launching a winery.  He hired an excellent team, headed by winemaker Robert Foley and winery manager Bryan del Bondio.  (Foley left in early 1993 to pursue new winemaking interests –Rob Hunter, formerly of Robert Keenan and Lyeth, is now the winemaker.)  Del Bondio, fresh out of UC Davis and the fledgling winery's very first employee, got involved with Markham after his father, Al del Bondio, had helped Markham outfit the winery.  The goal of Markham was to produce high-quality, estate-grown wines from grapes grown on the winery's three Napa Valley vineyards (totaling 300 acres): Calistoga Ranch; Yountville Ranch; and Napa Ranch.

Despite making many of the right moves, Markham could not "break from the pack" and attract much interest from critics or consumers.  Although the winery was producing one of Napa's best Merlots and an excellent Cabernet, overall sales were sluggish; and Bruce Markham was eventually forced to sell out to a Japanese-owned firm named Mercian in late 1987.  Finally, things began to turn around near the end of the decade as more and more critics came to recognize that not only did Markham produce an excellent Merlot, but that the winery's Cabernet was also very good.  In his book California's Great Cabernets, author Jim Laube correctly called the shot: "Markham Vineyards Cabernet is one of the most underrated wines and undiscovered values in Napa Valley."

Why did it take a decade to discover Markham?  It was primarily a matter of direction and finances.  Under former owner Bruce Markham, the winery was severely undercapitalized.  And despite producing superb reds, the whites were nothing more than ordinary.  New French oak, barrel fermentation, and new blends, in tandem with a change in ownership, have now begun to radically alter the perception of Markham's wines.  In a word, the winery's past four vintages of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc have been absolutely delicious wines bursting with lively fruit. Since the 1989 Chardonnay received such acclaim, the winery has continued to produce excellent sequels.  We have selected the last six vintages (1990 through 1995) among the year's Top Ten Best Buys for Chardonnay in our annual selections for "Best California Wines of the Year" in The Wine News.  Also, the winery's Sauvignon Blanc has been very impressive in recent vintages.  The 1991 tied for first place in a tasting of 129 California Sauvignon Blancs conducted by The Wine Spectator and was also selected as one of the “TOP 100 wines of 1993” in that publication.

Markham produces five "regular" wines (a very good Muscat Blanc rounds out the portfolio) - all are now among the best in their price class.  In addition to the afore-mentioned wines that now appear under the Markham moniker, there is an excellent second label line of wines called Glass Mountain.  Under the umbrella of the Glass Mountain label, Markham makes a Chardonnay, a Cabernet, a Petite Syrah, and a Rubis du Val (a blend of several red grapes) that sell for prices below ten dollars a bottle.  In 1993 a $12 million renovation was completed which effectively doubled the current output of the winery from 85,000 cases to a projected goal of 150,000 cases.  The new winery facilities were unveiled officially at the Napa Valley Wine Auction in June of 1993 (we attended a grand dinner to commemorate the occasion at this beautifully renovated winery.)  In the fall of 1993 the winery introduced a new line of reserve wines under the Laurent label - the wines did not take off in the marketplace and have since been dropped.  Del Bondio, however, promises that there are new and better reserve wines now in barrel.

Since 1981 Markham's Merlot has been its flagship wine.   Ironically, the Merlot is the only wine that does not come from the winery's estate vineyards; most of the grapes are purchased from a ranch in the Stag's Leap area of the Napa Valley.  Markham's 1990 Merlot was "Highly Recommended" (91) in The Wine Spectator; it was also the highest rated 1990 Merlot among 85 tasted in a report in The Wine Spectator in August of 1993.  Not only has Markham's Merlot been rated consistently well by independent critical wine journals, it has also consistently been among the "heavy medal" winners in wine competitions.  The 1987, for example, was - according to statistics compiled by The California Grapevine  - the number two point earner among all Merlots in the 1990 judging season.  There are now 16,000 acres planted to Merlot with at least 250 brands on the market.  Merlot sales in California jumped an astonishing 80% in 1993, and there were also significant increases in 1994, 1995, and 1996.  In fact, Merlot has become the hottest varietal in the U.S. marketplace.  The “sideways” phenomenon of the early part of the 21^st century has cooled things off a bit for this varietal but Markham is still at the head of the pack, especially when you look at the price.