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October 2015 WINES&VINES 19 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS S anta Cruz, Calif.—It was a cliffhanger, but winemaker Randall Grahm surpassed his aim to crowd-fund a dream vineyard in San Juan Bautista, Calif., where he imagines breed- ing 10,000 new wine grape variet- ies within a decade. "We're finished; we have met o u r g o a l a n d a r e a t a b o u t $167,000. Miraculously—unprec- edented or not—we knocked it out in the last 48 hours," Grahm told Wines & Vines of the crowd- funding campaign that was fully funded Aug. 28. Only days before, the one- month offering for his Popelou- chum Vineyard was stalled at around half the $150,000 target, but as time ran out, a total of 1,148 "founders" had invested amounts starting at $35. Grahm, proprietor of 35,000-case Bonny Doon Winery in Santa Cruz, Calif., and its flag- ship Rhône blend, Le Cigare Volant, explained the enterprise in great detail on the Indiegogo fundraising site. "We aim to create a truly unique, superior and nuanced wine, a 'Grahm Cru,' an expres- sion of the unique terroirs of our Popelouchum Estate in San Juan Bautista (Calif.). We plan to do this by adopting a very unusual method- ology—the breeding of 10,000 new grape va- rieties, each genetically distinctive from one another—and blending them into a unique cuvée that the world has not tasted heretofore. In so doing, we might also discover individual vines that are more congruent to our site as well as those that might have greater global utility." The fundraising page con- tinued: "The intention of the breeding program is to incor- porate the features of disease and drought resistance into the vine offspring, making them more sustainable, in light of global cli- mate change and ongoing impact on the planet. It is our intention to provide these varieties as a sort of 'open code' to any viticulturist through- out the world who may be interested in them. Greater diversity will make the world a more interesting place." With grape breeding efforts currently pur- sued by universities around the world, what makes this one different? Does it make any sense from a scientific point of view? "That's slightly difficult to answer," Grahm told Wines & Vines. "There are basically two propositions, two bets. The first involves a vineyard planted with a diverse population of grapes—but organized—all descendants of common parents. The hypothesis is that a highly diverse, large population will yield a wine of unusual distinction and complexity. It's not based on superior grapes." The second bet, he suggested, is: "By creat- ing a very large population, in the fullness of time, maybe one to five distinctive varieties may emerge that have organoleptic properties congruent to site and have applications elsewhere." Grahm is a familiar and outspoken charac- ter on the world wine stage, known as a pro- ponent of terroir characteristics. If and when his cuvée comes to fruition, the blend would demand an extremely long back label. Ever creative, Grahm suggested he'd consider an "accordion label" that would pull out and provide all the juicy details. Is Grahm's merely a quixotic quest, or will it add practical knowledge to the viticulture/ wine industry? We asked academic experts to weigh in, starting with Andy Walker from the University of California, Davis, who's been serving as a volunteer consultant to Grahm and the Popelouchum project. On the Indiegogo site, Grahm summarized Walker's well-known work, specifically in breeding disease-resistant vines, now as much as 97% vinifera, with resis- tance to powdery mildew and Pierce's disease. "He now has re- sistant vines. It is now our job to figure out how to impart really positive, interesting flavors to them," Grahm said. How attainable is Popelou- chum? "It's hard to say," Walker told Wines & Vines. "It's definitely long-term. His goal is to increase diversity, primarily working with Grenache. "No one has really worked this way. He's thinking more of super- clones with distinctive character; definable differences, but not looking for a new variety," Walker said. "He's looking for nuance and behavior." Walker said he's been acting as a sounding board for the general concept, sharing his expertise on how to collect, harvest and sprout the infant vines. Bruce Reisch, research leader at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station's Cornell-Geneva Grapevine Breeding and Ge- netics Program, has been instrumental in bringing to market some of the best-known new cold-climate hybrid grapes, including Traminette. He redefined the Popelouchum project: "We'd call them 10,000 new seedlings. Minor changes, minor mutations. Seedlings are new crosses between existing varieties, and they are grown from seed," as Grahm plans to do in his yet-to-be constructed greenhouse. "We figure the success rate in our breeding would be 0.01%. I'm definitely looking at fewer than one in 1,000. From many crosses we make, we don't save a single seedling. For some we save 10 or 15," Reisch said. "I'm all in favor of the principles," he said. "There's a need for breeding. There are many old varieties. It's about matching with the site." Grahm noted that relatively few of his inves- tors are wine industry professionals, but said hopefully, "I think people can still put money in if they choose. I don't know exactly how it works." Most current investors are fans of his wines such as members of the Bonny Doon wine club. Growers and winemakers, Grahm noted, remain rooted in tradition and are often resistant to change. —Jane Firstenfeld TOP STORY Crowd Funds Grahm's 10,000 Cultivars " We'd call them 10,000 seedlings. Minor changes, minor mutations." —Bruce Reisch, Cornell University Randall Grahm's Popelouchum Vineyard will be home to the new project.