A Tribute To Grace Besson Vineyard Grenache and Lucinda Williams
Angela Osborne describes Grenache as this tension between unruly and elegant–slightly favoring the more feminine side. Her beloved grandmother’s spirit and name embodies this same quality, which is why Angela named her wine label A Tribute to Grace. Each wine Angela makes is a single-vineyard expression of Grenache.
Lucinda Williams is similarly complex–a little edgy, a little sweet, and totally unique. As longtime Village Voice editor Robert Christgau wrote about her self-titled album, “it’s down to a big not enormous, handsome not beautiful voice that's every bit as strong as the will of this singer-by-nature and writer-by-nurture.”
Angela’s work is deeply personal, from the tribute to her grandmother at the center, to the way she brings her family into her vineyard scouting and foot treading adventures. Similarly, on the seminal 1988 record, Lucinda Williams, the artist pours out her heart and wears it on her sleeve. It’s at once vulnerable and raucous, just like the duality of Grenache that Osborne describes.
Angela and her family stomping grapes. Photo via Skurnik
A Tribute to Grace tells the story of Angela’s journey as a winemaker. The New Zealand native embarked on a quest to find where she’d grow the grape she became enamored by early on in her career. She landed on the central California coast. This is where she’s built her winery, raised her family, and farms and sources Grenache that sings in the California sun.
Besson Vineyard is a special site just outside of the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation. It’s owned by George Besson, Jr. who farms it organically. The Grenache on this historic vineyard was planted in 1910, which Angela sources for one of her single-vineyard bottles.
The 2021 A Tribute to Grace ‘Besson Vineyard’ Grenache was fermented natively, foot-tread for nine days, then pressed on the tenth. It’s 60% whole cluster fermented, and aged 10 months in neutral French 220L barrique.
Its color is a gorgeous light ruby. The unbridled aromatics show savory herb, spice, fresh forest air, and pure red berry fruit. The palate has vibrant yet tamed acidity, gravelly minerality, structure to age, and a finish that lingers. The wine is sure of itself and a little unexpected, just like Lucinda Williams.
An impassioned storyteller herself, Lucinda digs into her desires, heartbreak, search for self, and boundary setting on Lucinda Williams. I must have heard Lucinda growing up, but it’s really thanks to one of my favorite artists, Waxahatchee, who pulled me into her world. Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee often cites Lucinda as one of her top inspirations and influences, which you can definitely hear in her music.
“I Just Wanted To See You So Bad” eagerly kicks off the album. The music is upbeat and the vocals are confident, but the lyrics have a sense of knowing desperation. It’s a song about chasing someone despite your friends’ skepticism and not fully knowing them, but you do it anyway.
The endearing twang of “The Night’s Too Long” tells a coming of age story about a girl buying an old rusty car to drive to greener pastures. Images of a rusty car, a sweaty shirt, and dancing to a dive bar band with Corona in-hand conjure the rustic side of the Besson Vineyard Grenache. It evokes the hard working, down to earth, gritty, and wild parts of the winemaking.
On the softer side, “Abandoned” is vulnerable and emotional and “Like a Rose” is pretty and delicate. Both songs represent the beauty and elegance of the wine. Then, we’re jolted back into the tough, defiant, bluesy contrast of “Changed the Locks,” perfectly in line with Grenache’s yin and yang qualities Angela talks about.
“Passionate Kisses” is one of the all-time great American songs, with jangly R.E.M.-style guitar, romantic and earnest lyrics, and a sense of self-respect. The rest of Lucinda Williams takes us on a ride through contemplative, nostalgic, and spirited exploration.
Above all, Lucinda Williams and the Besson Vineyard Grenache represent the power and complexity of two strong women. Both have endured a lot and have proved their resilience on the other side of hardship. Lucinda suffered a stroke in 2020 which prohibited her guitar playing, but that hasn’t stopped her. She’s since put out two acclaimed albums showcasing her singular songwriting talent.
For Angela, the onslaught of the pandemic caused her to lose 90% of her business overnight and to shut down her tasting room during lockdown. But, Grace is thriving again with beautiful recent vintages to show for it.
As Lucinda put it when describing the songwriting process with her band post-stroke, “It was really challenging because I wasn’t playing guitar. But sometimes when things are challenging like that, good stuff can come out of it.”
