????在燈紅酒綠、寸土寸金的納帕西北50英里處，有一間古老的蘋果加工作坊，一面巨大的加州州旗從車間天花板上垂懸而下，音箱中播放著齊柏林飛艇樂隊（Led Zeppelin）的歌曲，而一條名叫“吉姆”的杰克羅素梗正在一個個發酵罐之間轉悠。你可別指望能在這間工廠里能找到上等的赤霞珠葡萄酒（Cabernet）。在這里，一群“離經叛道”的葡萄酒釀造師們已經不再釀制赤霞珠葡萄酒，而是轉而選用灰特盧梭（trousseau gris）或維德格（Valdiguié）葡萄。過去的幾十年間，他們選用的葡萄品種都產自于加州最古老的葡萄園，借此釀制加利福尼亞口感最好的葡萄酒酒品。

????葡萄酒釀造師帕克斯?馬勒、斯科特?舒爾茨以及賴安與梅根夫婦分享了他們旗下葡萄酒品牌的釀造理念與設備，這些品牌分別是Wind Gap, Jolie-Laide，以及Ryme Cellars?！凹永Ｄ醽喌淖匀粭l件豐富多樣，不單單是常見的赤霞珠和霞多麗，許多不同種類的葡萄品種也適宜在這里種植，”馬勒說。他和舒爾茨都選用灰特盧梭葡萄來釀造葡萄酒，這種葡萄原產于法國的阿爾薩斯和洛林地區，。雖然這個品種早在20世紀初就在加利福尼亞廣泛地種植，但時至今日，種植灰特盧梭的葡萄園只剩下一處，它位于俄羅斯河谷之中。

????由于受到傳統觀念的影響，人們或許會覺得這些不常見的葡萄品種難以大面積種植，但克里斯?布羅克韋說：“這些葡萄卻并沒有人們想象得那么神秘。”。他在伯克利的一間倉庫中經營著一個只有一名員工的“城市釀酒作坊”。他說：“很多年前，這些葡萄品種就已經廣泛地種植于加利福尼亞地區。”盡管布羅克韋出品的葡萄酒是選用灰特盧梭這樣不常見的葡萄品種釀造，但是他卻很快地指出，自從20世紀90年代中期以來，這種葡萄就已經出現在了加利福尼亞。布羅克韋對他所釀制的佳麗釀（Carignan）特別有感情，釀制這種酒的葡萄是來自于納帕北部亞歷山大谷有著130年歷史的葡萄藤。“佳麗釀葡萄園從1879年就開始栽種葡萄，而如今有人卻要挖掉這些葡萄藤，改種赤霞珠。要知道，這些古老的葡萄藤早就已經成為加利福尼亞歷史的一部分！后來，我開始思考，‘該怎樣去挽救這些葡萄呢？’”于是，這些產自1879年葡萄園里的果實很快就成為布羅克韋釀造的旗艦葡萄酒的主要原料。

????如果找對地方的話，大家就能夠加利福尼亞境內尋到早期葡萄種植歷史的蛛絲馬跡。上世紀60年代，一位現年已經93歲的老人與父親一起，在他們位于卡利斯托加（Calistoga）的房子旁邊種植維得格（Valdiguié）葡萄；兩個意大利兄弟把從老家后院帶過來的巴貝拉（Barbera）葡萄栽種在西雅拉丘陵（Sierra Foothills）之中，以提醒自己不忘故土。一位年邁的農場主居住在門多西諾已經被他忽視多年、種植著大片慕合懷特葡萄(Mourvèdre)的土地上。致力于尋找散落在民間的珍貴葡萄品種的釀造師們則試圖要重現這片地區豐富且多元的葡萄種植傳統，這種傳統早在他們來到這片地區之前，就借助那些早期的葡萄種植者們傳承下來。現在，輪到他們來釀造葡萄酒，以紀念加利福尼亞移民所帶來的種植傳統了。這群人重新定義了加利福尼亞地區葡萄栽培的潛力，同時也是在向那些默默無聞的早期葡萄種植者們致敬。無論是出于前瞻性的遠見，還是根本就是無知者無畏，他們畢竟將這些不常見的葡萄品種栽種到了加利福尼亞這片土地之上。

????據Idlewild葡萄酒釀造廠的薩姆?比爾博介紹，如今在北加利福尼亞地區的葡萄莊園中，93%的土地上都種植著八種常見的葡萄品種?！暗藗冞€不清楚，為何只有這八個葡萄品種在加利福尼亞地區大獲成功。過去50年內，許多不常見的葡萄品種栽種在余下的7%的土地上，但由這些葡萄所釀制的葡萄酒在銷售上卻異常慘淡……我們正在努力改變這種局面?！?/p>

????去年，來自Forlorn Hope釀造廠的葡萄酒釀造師馬修?羅瑞克試著將選擇范圍縮小到四種葡萄上，但最終，他選了21種不同種類的葡萄?！叭绻医拥揭粋€電話說：‘我找到種植匹格普勒（Picpoul）葡萄的人了！’這種時候讓我怎么拒絕他呢？”

????Fifty miles northwest of Napa's bright lights and gilded estates, a California flag hangs from the ceiling inside an old apple-processing plant. Led Zeppelin plays from the speakers while a Jack Russell named Jim darts around the fermentation tanks. If you're looking for a trophy Cabernet, you've come to the wrong place. Forgoing Cabernet Sauvignon for grapes like Trousseau Gris and Valdiguié, a handful of renegade winemakers have begun experimenting with heirloom grape varieties from many of California's oldest vineyards to produce some of the most compelling wines to come out of the state in decades.

????Winemakers PaxMahle, Scott Schultz, and husband and wife duo Ryan and Megan Glaab share ideas and equipment to make wine under their respective labels: Wind Gap, Jolie-Laide, and Ryme Cellars. "California is so diverse, it makes sense to grow different grape varieties, not just Cab and Chardonnay," says Mahle. He and Schultz both make wine from Trousseau Gris, a grape that traditionally hails from Alsace-Lorraine. Though the variety has been widely planted in California since the early 20th century, today only one vineyard block remains standing in the Russian River Valley.

????Though mainstream trends would make you think otherwise, "these grapes aren't that esoteric," says Chris Brockway, who runs his one-man urban winery, Broc Cellars, out of a warehouse in Berkeley, "they've been in California for years." Though Brockway works with grapes as unusual as Valdiguié, he is quick to point out that the variety has been planted in California since the mid-1900's. Brockway is particularly sentimental about his Carignan, which comes from 130-year-old vines in the Alexander Valley, north of Napa. "The Carignan vineyard was planted in 1879. Someone was going to tear it out and plant Cabernet Sauvignon. It's a part of California history! I thought, 'What do I have to do to save this?'" The fruit from the 1879 vineyard soon became the backbone of Brockway's flagship wine.

????There are tiny vestiges of California's early grape-growing history planted across the state if you know where to look. A 93-year-old man who planted Valdiguié vines next to his house in Calistoga with his father back in the 1960's. Two Italian siblings who brought over Barbera from their backyard and planted it in the Sierra foothills to remind them of home.An old farmer who lives on a plot of Mourvèdre in Medocinothat he has neglected for years.The winemakers who source grapes from these idiosyncratic diamonds in the rough are striving to resurrect the diverse viticultural traditions of the growers that came before them. In turn, they are making wines that are a commemoration of California's immigrant heritage; they are a re-imagination of California's viticultural potential; and they are a tribute to the unknown growers who had either the foresight or the foolishness to plant these unusual grapes in California in the first place.

????According to Sam Bilbro of the winery Idlewild, today 93% of all of Northern California's viticultural acreage is planted with the same eight major grape varieties. "But it is a myth that these are the only grapes that can do well here. In the last fifty years, many of the lesser-known varieties that make up the remaining 7% have become almost commercially non-existent. We're trying to change that."

????Last year, winemaker Matthew Rorick of Forlorn Hope tried to narrow his focus down to four grapes. He ended up working with 21 different varieties. "I'll get a call saying, 'I found somebody growing Picpoul.' How can I say no to that?!"