Some people take risks, and some people allow the people who take risks to buy them lunch. Which is why I was eating with John Niven, who took a second mortgage on his home to open Cadre, which makes white wines from grapes that aren’t famous in California. These are wines so unusual, they require you to use the option button your keyboard: albariño and grüner veltliner.¹ I worry that if I tell him about ugni blanc, he’ll take a meeting in the back of a social club in North Jersey.
Cadre makes $30 whites² from San Luis Obispo, a region I love so much that I accepted a free trip there. The wines are pretty and restrained and not at all bro-y. Which you could guess from the labels. When he called local San Luis Obispo artist Sarah Deiter to design them, she asked him what celebrity he’d compared his wine to. This is how young people talk now. Niven couldn’t think of one, so he told her that Cadre feels like the store “Anthropologie on mushrooms.” I have no idea what that means, but she sure did.
He gives them names like Sea Queen and Beautiful Stranger, which makes me think that he’s been to more places than just Anthropologie while on mushrooms. Niven planted the albariño and grüner veltliner grapes in 2007, right before America turned its back on red wine. And before the California chardonnay and pinot noir market got flooded with ambitious winemakers trying to make Burgundian claims. “If we were making chardonnay or pinot, we’d be living out of our cars right now,” he said. Which would be sad, because I’d feel guilty about letting him pay for my smoked mackerel bento box. He started the winery partly because he was pissed off that his family sold the vineyard that had been in the family since the early 1970s. And that it was his full-time job to run. So he bought his own grapes from the new owners and started Cadre. He doesn’t have a tasting room and doesn’t travel around the country to sell his wine. The whole operation is pretty chill, as is Niven. Especially considering that he’s got a second mortgage. Much like Dan Petroski’s Massican wines, these are meant to be everyday food wines. Cadre makes a grüner/albariño blend that you can only buy at Hog Island Oyster Company, hopefully while sitting on a picnic bench and doing your own shucking. I left while my bro buddies were still drinking with John. I’m sure they exited with arms around each other’s shoulders, headed out to pick up women at a high tea. I’ve finally found guys I feel comfortable around. At least at lunch.
1
He also makes a sauvignon blanc. He’s not crazy.
2
You can find them for $23 in stores if you look around. Also, Cadre has two wines that cost about $15 more. You're currently a free subscriber to The Corrupt Wine Writer. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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