The Winetasting.com Blog
An Interview with Joel Peterson, Winemaker at Ravenswood
We sat down with Ravenswood winemaker on Wednesday, October 27th with Joel Peterson to talk about life and his love of Zin.
How did you discover wine?
In 1951, my parents drank a great bottle of 1945 French wine, turning them into wine drinkers. My father started a wine club 
and allowed me to become engaged in the process of wine tasting. When my father died in 1971, I began to reevaluate my life. I figured I could probably make wines with a background in bio-chemistry and micro-biology. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Joe Swan, who was just in the process of developing his winery. Working with Joe, alongside Andre Tchelistcheff, it became obvious to me that this was kind of our “forgotten heritage” and that it had the potential to make super wine. In 1976, I jumped in with both feet.
What makes Ravenswood Zinfandel so special?
We don’t use a lot of technology. We hone very closely to traditions and don’t let our size change the quality of our wines. Our wines are quite simply made and unusual for a winery of our size. We are also still very committed to this notion of “wine from place,” resulting in very focused wine. For example, the Amador County Zinfandel has a distinctive Sierra Foothills quality which we refer to as a ‘Dr Pepper” taste with vanilla and black cherry qualities. Because it is dry farmed, crop levels are low so the resulting wine is one of great intensity.
What is the biggest barrier to selling Zinfandel?
Wow. One of the early barriers is that White Zinfandel had become so ubiquitous, and when given a red Zinfandel, people wondered why it was red. We have overcome that now but the biggest hurdle is finishing that process in convincing people that Zinfandel is as good as ever. Cabernet has this status that it draws from Bordeaux, but with Zinfandel, we’re on our own.
Do you have any superstitions when it comes to making wine?
If you were a wine, which varietal would describe your personality best and why?
I could be a Zinfandel but more likely to be a heritage field blend because there is more complexity, more balance, and you get intensity yet graciousness at the same time. In the United States, we are all a little Heinz 57 in that respect.
Get the 2007 Ravenswood Zinfandel here for just $18 per bottle.
Oct 31, 2010 at 2:14 PM
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Be the first to comment on this postCostumes for a Cure
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| Winetasting.com General Manager Chris Edwards (far left) and crew at the 2008 Napa Valley AIDS Walk |
If you'll be in the Napa Valley this weekend for Halloween, please join Winetasting.com in supporting the 19th Annual Napa Valley AIDS Walk. This year's walk will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30, rain or shine. Proceeds benefit the CARE Network at Queen of the Valley Medical Center.
The walk begins at the historic Lincoln Theater, on the grounds of the California Veterans Home in Yountville, California (map). Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., but you can download and print out your registration form now (PDF). The first 100 walkers will be provided umbrellas and t-shirts.
With the theme "Costumes for a Cure!", organizers promise a lively and fun walk, complete with "treats" throughout the walk for the kids (and kids at heart)! Other activities planned include costume contests, raffles, team competitions, balloons and music. KVON/KVYN will host a live remote broadcast with DJ Kellie Fuller, of the popular Kellie in the Morning show.
Sponsors for the event are the Lincoln Theater and the Veteran's Home of California, in association with WTN Services / Winetasting.com, 1440 KVON and 99.3 The Vine, Napa Valley Wine Train, Gillwoods Restaurants, Harry London Chocolates, The Popcorn Factory and a variety of community stars.
History of the Toast
There are several theories behind the history of a wine toast. The most interesting comes from ancient Greece, where one of the methods of killing an unwanted political rival or spouse was to slip a little poison into that person's wine. Not surprisingly, many became wary about sharing a glass of wine.
The solution? The host would drink first from his or her own glass, and then each would clink glasses and "drink to one's health". (Think Princess Bride). Now, centuries later, we still partake in the same ritual.
Carry it on by sharing this story and these memorable toasts:
- "May the best of your yesterdays be the worst of your tomorrows."
- "One bottle for four of us. Thank God there's no more of us!"
- "Here's champagne to our real friends, and real pain to our sham friends."
- "In all this world, why I do think? There are five reasons why we drink: Good friends, good wine, lest we be dry and any other reason why."
- "May all your troubles during the coming year be as short as your New Year's resolutions."
- "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow ye diet."
Share your favorite toasts in the comments below!
A Well-Deserved Thank You
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| Photo by Orin Zebest |
Francis Sanders has done a great job as our blog spokesperson for the Geerlings & Wade brand. As we fold the Geerlings & Wade tradition into Winetasting.com, his role will continue to be instrumental to our long-term success. His voice and influence will continue as one of the many faces of Winetasting.com, as his perspective is much appreciated today and every day.
In the words of Francis:
I'll resist pulling a Bullwinkle J. Moose here, one of my favorite childhood incidents (no wonder my parents needed something stronger than wine). Co-creator Bill Scott, voicing the puppet host of NBC's 1961 The Bullwinkle Show, told the young audience "to take the knob off the TV set so you’d be sure to stay tuned." The angry network told the press that 20,000 or so kids had wrecked their family TV sets, my brother and I among them.
If I could only wield that kind of power moving people to the Winetasting.com blog ... and am actively taking suggestions on how to do so ...
Francis, if anyone could convince so many people to pull the knob (or pop the cork), it would be you.
Thanks for all you do!
Chris Edwards
Vice President & General Manager
Winetasting.com
Chandra's Diary: Bordeaux Via NYC
I live in New York City, one of the greatest cities in the world. Any tourist who has tried to navigate the NYC subway system will relate to the challenge that I faced with learning about French Bordeaux and its various appellations -- the geographical areas where a wine's grapes are grown.
New York City is composed of 5 boroughs: Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. Within each borough, there are dozens of neighborhoods.
Similarly, there are four major wine-producing areas within the Bordeaux region: the Left Bank, Between the Garonne and the Dordogne Rivers, the Right Bank and South West France.
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| Map of Bordeaux - Click to enlarge. |
And within those areas, there are 60 appellations and thousands of chateaux (wine-producing estates). Appellation D'Origine Controlee, which translates to "controlled designation of origin" (or AC, as it's commonly known), is France's legal designation for the area where a wine is made.
On the left bank of the Garonne River, you'll find prestigious AC's such as Medoc, Graves, Margaux and Pauillac. All of these areas make beautifully complex red Bordeaux wines, while Graves in the south produces both reds and whites. East of Graves, Sauternes and Barsac are renowned for their sweet white wines.
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| Sauternes - Photo by keskyle70. |
Within the area between the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, Entre-Deux-Mers is the largest appellation, which makes white Bordeaux wines and some red Bordeaux as well. Ste. Croix -Du-Mont AC is known for its sweet wines, made in the Sauternes style but more affordable. Premier Cotes-de-Bordeaux is known for their dry red wines and some Bordeaux AC-style wines.
On the Right Bank, the Saint-Emilion and Saint-Emilion Grand Cru AC's share the same prestigious soil. But to be labeled a Grand Cru, winemakers are required to limit the yield of their grapes to produce a higher quality wine. These wines are very expensive to care for and age due to all of the complex characteristics that need to develop in these special wines.
All red Bordeaux wines are made primarily from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grape blends. Depending on the Chateau, the winemaker will add more of one and less of another to make their patented wines. All white Bordeaux are a mix of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grape blends.
I recently had the pleasure of tasting my first Bordeaux, the 2004 Château Du Piras. This crimson beauty has a complex palate, with what I thought to be sour cherries, red fruits and some blackcurrant flavors on the endnotes.
I did not pair this wine with meat, as suggested. I decided that I wanted to be totally selfish with my first Bordeaux experience, and I did not regret the decision. This is a great wine, with a great price and a nice finish.
The Final Curtain
This is the last Geerlings & Wade blog post. Geerlings & Wade is finally folding into our parent company, Winetasting.com. With that, my role as the reluctant wine face of Geerlings & Wade ends. For those of you that read this blog, I refer you to http://www.winetasting.com/blog.
I will continue in a much-less-public role behind the scenes, consulting for Ann Littlefield, Winetasting.com's new director of merchandising, while putting our exclusive domestic house brands and our imported wines in the bottle. I am overjoyed to relinquish the thankless "wine air traffic controller" role to poor Ann, to whom I’ll supply both institutional knowledge and therapy.
I will miss usurping this forum to flog Dave Griffin's and my independent project, www.corkedthecomic.com. Through all of the company changes since our spring 2009 acquisition by the Winetasting Network, the-powers-that-be have been consistently supportive of our strip, offering our tie-in wines to their clients and introducing tie-in wine merchandising. Current historical monthly burn rates for our tie-in bottlings since the 2009 sale are ranked 6, 18 and 44 overall, so someone is obviously paying attention, and we thank you for that.
I will miss writing blog posts where I was an integral part of making or bottling the wine, explaining the work involved and what I was, or what we were, striving for, rather than just pimping product. I will continue to contribute those types of articles to the Winetasting.com blog, but mercifully, will no longer be the sole voice.
I will also miss the "Francis as the Invisible Man" and "Francis as Hannibal Lecter" icons, which were dead-on in capturing my joy at being volunteered to be the public face of the "old" wine business.
Since I do not know what will happen to the Geerlings & Wade Facebook and Twitter accounts, I admit here that I will miss Facebook. Not only did I enjoy contact with old friends plus fellow wine & food professionals – I never imagined I would meet so many excellent pastry chefs – but I also liked meeting people with shared interests in music, illustration art, film, cartoon art and the Boston professional baseball, football and basketball teams, all introduced via a wine & food road.
I still do not see the point to Twitter. I don’t have enough to say that it need be instantaneous in 140 characters or less.
Our November features will include two items I proudly produced: 2009 Grass Tree, South Eastern Australia Chardonnay [AUS302, $14.99], and 2006 Black Shadow, North Coast Syrah, California [CAL919, $14.99], introduced in the post Saga of the Black Shadow (6/21/2010). I, with Peter van Hoof, am responsible for putting our magnificent Pouilly Fuisse alternative, 2007 Vignerons des Terres Secretes, Chai Prisse, Macon Villages, Burgundy, France [BUR564, $21.99] -- last blogged as part of Santa’s Nice List (12/4/2009) -- in the bottle and getting it here to the U.S.
I'll resist pulling a Bullwinkle J. Moose here, one of my favorite childhood incidents (no wonder my parents needed something stronger than wine). Co-creator Bill Scott, voicing the puppet host of NBC's 1961 The Bullwinkle Show, told the young audience "to take the knob off the TV set so you’d be sure to stay tuned." The angry network told the press that 20,000 or so kids had wrecked their family TV sets, my brother and I among them.
If I could only wield that kind of power moving people to the Winetasting.com blog ... and am actively taking suggestions on how to do so ...
Chandra's Diary: An Intro to Viticulture
The 1995 film A Walk In the Clouds is essentially two love stories meshed into one. First, there is the love story between the vineyard owner's daughter and a stranger coming home from the war. The second is a love story that evolves between the stranger and the vineyard itself. To quote the movie: "Our blood, sweat, tears and soul live in this vineyard."
Little did I know, that movie would be my introduction to viticulture: the science of growing grapes. The cultivation of the vineyard is much like taking care of your children, and this is the analogy that will help me express my studies to you in way that everyone can relate to.
The vineyard calendar is 11 months, compared against our nine-month pregnancy calendar, with both bringing forth life for babies and grapes alike.
 Photo by Mark Smith |
Planting (Newborns)
When a vine is planted, it needs the proper nutrients, soil, climate and weather conditions. Young vines, much like newborns, need protection from elements such as weeds, pests and animals, much like making sure babies have on sunblock and hats to protect their fragile heads.
Pruning (Babies)
If children are not groomed properly, their hair will become tangled and hard to manage. And those nails ... if you don't cut their nails, they will scratch themselves up. When you prune the vines, you are making sure that they are presentable and able to grow properly.
Training (Toddlers)
When babies grow up a little more, they are ready for the next steps to train them for life. That means potty training, teaching them how to use utensils and introducing them to reading. Vines also need to be trained and arranged to grow straight and make wonderful fruit. A popular training method is called Vertical Shoot Positioning (pictured), which allows more air and sunlight to circulate around the grapes.
Yield Management (Childhood)
As a young child, you probably only played in your own backyard so your parents could keep an eye on you. That is the human equivalent of Yield Management. Although you get to play in the yard, there are still backyard insects that can hurt you ... bee stings, ringworms, spider bites, etc. Grape vines are exposed to various troublesome pests as well, including grape moths, spider mites and nematodes (roundworms) -- nasty little worms that attack the roots of the vine. Not good.
Like parenting, there are many different viticulture techniques use around the world. But we all age like fine wine ... with a few sour grapes along the way.
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