39-Day 'SF Chron' Wine Series Goes Beyond the Grapevine

By: Joe Strupp What do California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a Mexican bordello have in common?

Would you believe a winery?

That is one of the many fascinating degrees of separation that emerge from an unusual multi-part series running in the San Francisco Chronicle. It follows the two-year creation of a single bottle of wine -- from grapevine to uncorking.

This is hardly the typical newspaper package on a local industry's impact on the community. For starters, this series, titled simply "Grape," is running an unheard of 39 days, which began on April 4 and will conclude May 26.

In addition, the stories -- written by veteran Bay Area journalist Mike Weiss and spanning 70,000 words -- go beyond the usual profit-and-loss angle of most business reports.

"The wine industry is California's symbolic product," says Weiss, 61, who spent 18 months researching the series and another four months writing it. "If you look at it the right way, you can see the California story in a bottle of wine."

Weiss, who came up with the idea in 2001 while sipping a glass of wine on the Mendocino coast with his wife, seeks to link nearly every aspect of Golden State life to the wine business. Schwarzenegger's connection comes from the 2003 recall election that propelled him to office based largely on his vow to ease taxes, including those that heavily influence winery operations.

As for the south of the border brothel, Weiss came across it while visiting migrant farm workers in Mexico who make up the heart of the grape-picking rank-and-file. "I only indulged in some brandy while I was there," he points out. "I just watched the girls dance and went home to my motel alone."

In between, Weiss' bottle of wine connects to everything California, from seismic activities -- which created the valleys and hills where the grapes grow -- to the casino business in neighboring Nevada, where his winery of choice also owns assets.

"I think it worked," says Carolyn White, deputy managing editor/features, who initially saw the project as a magazine story, but deemed it worthy of more space. "He has characters who are well-rounded and he is an exceptional writer."

The series begins at the end, when the bottle of 2002 Fume' Blanc from the Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma County, north of San Francisco, is opened at New York's famed Four Seasons Restaurant in May 2003. From there, Weiss takes readers back to where his story began, in the fields of Keegan Ranch, the Northern California vineyard where grapes for his bottle of wine were grown, for a lesson in pruning, soil temperatures, and a short history of grape growers.

During the proceeding 38 days, readers learn about the background of the winery's owners, life for the migrant workers, and even the politics of restaurateurs. The entire series is available on the Chronicle Web site.

"I've always found that process makes for great reading," says Weiss, whose California experience includes a stint at West, the defunct Sunday magazine at the San Jose Mercury News; teaching journalism at the University of California, Berkeley; and authoring the book "Double Play," about the 1978 murders of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.

"This has a real beginning, middle and end," Weiss explains. He contends that two people died during the making of the wine, while three babies were born, but declines to offer specifics until those parts of the series run. White believes the entire cost for the series, including two photographers, travel and staff time, tops more than $200,000.

Weiss' story, which is being turned into book by Gotham Press due out next year, also reveals various wine industry facts, such as 10 gallons of water are needed to make each bottle of wine; the number of California wineries has increased 50% -- to 900 -- since 1995; and that only one in nine Americans drink wine regularly.

White says the lengthy number of parts should not deter readers. "We made each day's part digestible," she says. "I think it is compelling."

Weiss' research included the reading of about 10 wine books, taking a correspondence course in wine from the University of California, Davis; and meeting with a secret winery source he dubbed "Deep Cork."

"I was trying to cover the story and educate myself," says Weiss. "I did not want to write it as a wine writer, but write about the people."