EDIBLE: New Folktale Winery prioritizes punk rock and fun.

Nothing says punk rock like… wine.

OK, maybe not. But it makes sense for new Folktale Winery & Vineyards in Carmel Valley – and its sister company Alcohol by Volume – even if the live music coming to the winery leans pop rock and country at the moment.

ALC/VOL’s landing page features a YouTube video of a kid wailing on some drums and the line “Welcome to ALC/VOL. If it’s too loud, you’re too old.” Elsewhere on the website – underneath a Kurt Cobain quote reading “Punk is saying, doing and playing what you want” – announces ALC/VOL is the outgrowth of its co-founders’ desires to shake free of corporate restraints.

Its seeds were sown in recession-era 2009, when they set out to create quality bottles that could sell for under $10. Not as renegade as Henry Rollins screaming on the mic, but edgy enough for a buttoned-down industry that raises its sniffer at anything under $20. The fact that it’s helped lead to a fun and progressive concept at Folktale, in the former Chateau Julien, has me hankering to listen to more NOFX and Ramones myself.

ALC/VOL’s first label was Alias. They kept costs low by maintaining a lean team where everyone wears a lot of hats, investing money on grapes over advertising, and signing longer-term contracts with trusted growers who could meet minimums for style and quality.

“With good growers and good grapes, making great wine is a lot easier,” says co-founder Greg Ahn, who has lived in Monterey for a dozen years. “The sales side is where it’s most difficult.”

On that front, ALC/VOL used smart label design and industry contacts to build relationships with vendors, adding brands as they went. ALC/VOL continues to buy Monterey and Napa grapes to bottle under labels like Aviary and Bread & Butter, Manifesto, State of Art and Des Amis.

“WE BOUGHT A WINERY.
MAYBE WE NEED TO WEAR ASCOTS.”

The group recently acquired the upscale Le Mistral Rhone-blend brand from locally based Ventana Vineyards, which does a Syrah-Grenache red blend and a Viognier-Roussanne-Marsanne white.

But the game changer was the purchase of Chateau Julien this April.

The 15-acre property has long been a landmark on the Carmel Valley Wine Trail for its iconic French architecture, winemaking machinery and massive barrel room, which played host to dinners and other events. The $12-million deal took a year. (Get notes from a visit, and the extended version of this piece, on the blog, www.mcweekly.com/edible.)

The Folktale team has been working feverishly since, replacing all of the winemaking equipment and reimagining the property physically and philosophically. Go-to local design mindCarissa Duncan, who helped style places like Cannery Row Brewing Company and 1833, conceptualized the space and its character-rich details – think vintage doors charred black and old barrel racks repurposed as tables. Green-roof pioneer Fred Ballerini of Pacific Grove took the lead on landscaping.

A private sneak peak July 28 included food from Tarpy’s and pop anthems from Icelandic rockers Kaleo. More music seems likely, if only because Ahn is involved with epic wine-music festival Bottle Rock in Napa Valley.

The place opens to the public 4:30-7:30pm Friday, July 31 (and then stays open 11am-8pm daily). Classic rock/county music comes courtesy of Fred McCarty because seems BadReligion was booked.

To capitalize on the valley sun and comely grounds, the Folktale crew encourages visitors to taste al fresco in the front yard area they call the “wine garden,” at tables or on pillows under courtyard trees, around the fire pits or on the lawn with blankets.

Visitors can also taste at the 26-foot single slab cypress wood communal table in the winery’s solarium or in the loungey gallery. Wines come served in tasting flights, by the glass ($9-$14) or bottle ($28-$45), with optional food pairings – Lula’s Chocolates, Cheese Shop cheese, Salumeria Luca charcuterie and Monterey Meringues ($10-$22/plate).

A hostess greet visitors at the garden gates with a sparkling Brut, one of six wine tastes for $20 (waived with purchase of two bottles) poured by the resident wine educators, including a Rosé, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to go with the white and red Le Mistral blends.

Winemaker David Baird is a Carmel native with experience at Paso Robles’ Justin Winery and Santa Ynez’s Fess Parker. He also gets input from two rising stars, consulting winemakersSabine Rodems of Wrath and Scratch fame and Jamey Whetstone, who made wine with respected Turley in Paso Robles.

For the Folktale label, they source grapes from Mission Ranch and Ventana in Arroyo Seco. The property wines come online next, starting with a 2015 bottling; the music-and-mingling tradition continues 4:30-7:30pm Fridays and Saturdays and 2-5pm Sundays for what they’re calling “Sip, Sample & Be Social.” Lawn games like cornhole and horseshoes encourage interaction to go with the entertainment, like gifted guitarist John Sherry Aug. 1. Dogs are welcome. Again, not crazy rebellious Dead Kennedys stuff, but things done a little differently.

“For a second we felt like, ‘We bought a winery, maybe we need to wear an ascots,’” Ahn says. “But we want to keep it relaxed, not hoity toity. Being in Carmel Valley works perfectly – we don’t need to put on airs, we can just create an environment.”

One where everyone’s welcome, wine nerds and punk rockers alike.

QUICKBITES

• Speaking of new social wine venues (see story, left), Ray Franscioni and friends have just opened an impressive new hub for gathering and tasting wines in the former Ventana space next to Tarpy’s with Roadhouse Wine Bar (372-1909). Many of the best Pessagno wines and a range of Puma Road juices all are available for tasting, making it suddenly the tasting space with the deepest catalog of quality choices, with a leafy patio, three indoor spaces and food available from next door to boot. More on the blog.

• Eden Hutchinson, formerly of S.F.’s Tartine and Big Sur Bakery, now does the pastries and custom desserts at Carmel Belle (624-1600). More on the blog.

• Mundaka sister Monterey Bagel Company will change back to a Mundaka auxiliary space as Ramsay Elmachtoub’s inspired run at homemade bagels and schmears comes to a close. Get in there before the end of the month for some of the best such grub the area’s seen.

• Dan Dronsfield just sent me a video he did with about 200 portraits of different attendees at 2015’s Pebble Beach Food & Wine.

• Maddox Haberdasher will come on as head of hospitality at Restaurant 1833 (643-1833), a new position, but not before “MADDOX Presents: Summer Sultry in the Forest at Porter’s in the Forest” 7-11pm Saturday, Aug. 8 ($35 in advance; $50 at the door). Johnny DeVivo treats, Grey Goose bar, BMWs to ogle, sophisticated fashion, pretty people.

• Carmel Ridge (324-0035) has been hosting some impressive musical acts with free wine tasting Friday evenings down on Cannery Row.

• Oh, the amazing adventures of the Monterey Meringues family. Catch up with those – as they canvas mainland China – on the blog.

• The Beach House at Lovers Point (375-2345) and relatively new Executive Chef Evan Lite just dropped new summer items like baked sea scallops pot pie peas ($15), crab-stuffed petrale sole ($28.90).

• Tasting notes from the brand new Salinas Brick House in Oldtown now appear on the blog.

• Henry Rollins: “Questioning anything and everything, to me, is punk rock.”