The Most Difficult Place To Grow Wine On Earth

Wine Artistry

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit beyondorganicwine.substack.com [https://beyondorganicwine.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] I’m thrilled to announce that my first book is officially available for pre-order! The book is called Wine Liberated: The Ecological Revolution and the Vintners Inspiring Change [https://bookshop.org/a/124372/9781645024477]. The heroes of Wine Liberated are people who I met through this podcast, who took the time to share their knowledge and inspire me and listeners around the world with their cou…

The Most Difficult Place To Grow Wine On Earth

A big thanks to our special sponsor for this episode: Shifting Gears Travel [https://www.sgtrips.com/] My guest for this episode is Tim Jordan, who is a co-founder of and winemaker and consultant for Common Wealth Crush [https://commonwealthcrush.com/]. From overseeing winegrowing brands Star Party and Midland [https://www.midland.wine/] in Augusta County, to his winemaking and vineyard responsibilities at Common Wealth Crush, Tim has his finger on the dynamic pulse of Virginia wine. Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, he holds a PhD in entomology from Virginia Tech, with a focus on grapevine insects. This specialized knowledge and passion for Virginia winegrowing has propelled him through numerous roles in the industry over the years, including as vineyard manager for Michael Shaps Wineworks, winemaker at Barren Ridge Vineyards, consultant with Shenandoah Vineyard Services, and now co-founder of Common Wealth Crush. Tim is also part of the grape breeding program in Virginia, in collaboration with the USDA, that is developing new grape varieties that can successfully produce delicious wine within the unique regional limitations and challenges that grapes face in Virginia. I wish every state had one of these programs. I have a special relationship with Virginia in a way. Virginia is the setting for the first episode of the Beyond Organic Wine podcast [https://beyondorganicwine.substack.com/p/karl-hambsch-owner-of-virginias-only-bfe] (which I highly recommend listening to if you haven’t), and it’s the setting for Chapter 1 of my book, Wine Liberated. That’s because Virginia is one of the oldest wine regions in the US, and it’s simultaneously one of the most difficult places to grow wine on earth. So the lessons we learn from the folks growing wine there organically, ecologically, or regeneratively – and there is a growing group of winemakers who are – these are lessons that can be applied broadly across most of the winegrowing world. But Virginia is also a place where Vinifera Culture has been, and continues to be, heavily invested in. Enormous amounts of resources are given every year to trying to produce wine from Vitis vinifera in Virginia. This is a product of a colonized wine culture that defines wine as the fermented juice of varieties of Vitis vinifera only, and it’s time we call this what it is… utter and unsustainable folly. Yet, as you’ll hear, this is what most people learn as we begin our journey with wine. And so Tim’s journey began by planting and growing vinifera in Virginia. But twenty years on, Tim has learned too much to go back. He won’t plant vinifera again for his wine, and he’s setting an example that I hope more and more growers in Virginia, and around the world, follow. This theme is merely background, however, for an in-depth look at a thoughtful, community focused, ecologically informed journey to grow wine in one of the most challenging wine regions on earth. Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondorganicwine.substack.com/subscribe [https://beyondorganicwine.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Listen Twice, Speak Once - Villa Calicantus

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit beyondorganicwine.substack.com [https://beyondorganicwine.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] My guest for this episode is Daniele Delaini who owns and farms and makes wine for his family winery Villa Calicantus [https://www.villacalicantus.it/en/wine-tasting-in-bardolino-lake-garda/] near Lake Garda in northeast Italy. He grows most of his grapes on cement pergola, what they locally call “pergola veronese,” and farms local indigenous varieties of grapes biodynamically and makes wines without adding anything to nor su…

The Quest for the Wild Vine – Patrick Pierquet

As a younger man, Patrick Pierquet found the wild grape that became the Frontenac grapes (noir, gris, and blanc). He tells about his experiences discovering the wild parents of several of the North America’s most popular, commercially used wine grapes, as well as the practical aspects of what it takes to breed new varieties of grapes. He also tells stories of Elmer Swenson, with whom he got to work. I recorded an entire episode while picking one of Patrick’s grapes: Fearless Wine [https://beyondorganicwine.substack.com/p/fearless-wine-picking-frontenac-gris-acd?utm_source=publication-search] Patrick also mentions Tom Plocher, who was also influenced by Elmer Swenson, and you can hear Tom’s episode here: Tom Plocher [https://beyondorganicwine.substack.com/p/tom-plocher-how-to-breed-grapevines-ee5?utm_source=publication-search] And if you want to learn more about how important grape breeding is to the present and future of wine, check out my episode with the most famous European grape breeder: Valentin Blattner [https://beyondorganicwine.substack.com/p/earth-day-special-valentin-blattner?utm_source=publication-search] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondorganicwine.substack.com/subscribe [https://beyondorganicwine.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

The French Won The Judgement of Paris

This month we, in California especially, will be inundated with reminders that 50 years ago this May a few pioneering California winemakers beat the French at their own game in a blind tasting that came to be known as the Judgement of Paris. The rise of California wine on the global stage began when French judges preferred California wines to their own Bordeauxs and Borgognes. California won, and the golden age of California wine followed for the next several decades. At least that’s been the doctrine for the last 50 years. Let me suggest an alternative perspective on this historical event: The French won. “But,” you’ll insist, “They didn’t! It’s a matter of historical record.” It depends on which game we think was being played. If we think the game was, “Who makes a better Cabernet or Chardonnay?” Sure, California won that game. But was that really the most important game that was being played that day in 1976? I don’t think so. I think the more important game being played 50 years ago was, “What is the global benchmark for fine wine?” It was a game the French couldn’t lose no matter what wines the judges picked. The French won the Judgment of Paris merely by agreeing to the tasting because it positioned California wines, and any other would-be wines of global importance, in the position of imitating French wines. California only won at being the best imitators of French tastes in wine. But the French won the bigger prize. They showed that if you wanted to be taken seriously, you had to emulate them. You had to follow their lead. The Judgment of Paris created the dynamic that established the French as the arbiters and definers of taste in wine. They became the producers and directors of the game, and the rest of the world became mere players. And so for 50 years California wine has not been Californian. It has mostly been French wine made in California. We even aged our Judgement of Paris-winning wines in imported French oak. Outside of Europe, nine varieties of grapes account for over 50% of the global wine vineyard area, and most of those grapes have French names. Most people in wine are so inculcated in this way of thinking that it’s probably hard for them to imagine a different kind of wine world. That’s how total the French victory was: We can’t imagine wine without French grapes. California has essentially never even tried to develop its own wine culture… despite the fact that there are three species of grapes endemic to California. That’s three times as many species as the French have, but we never even tried to build our own wine varieties from them. Do you know any named wine grape varieties that have Vitis californica genetics? A century before the Judgement of Paris, a wine made from America’s oldest wine grape, Norton, won the award for “best red wine of all nations” at the Vienna World’s Fair of 1873. Yes, an American wine made from an American hybrid grape won a tasting that compared it to the best wines from all over Europe. Why didn’t we celebrate the 150th anniversary of that victory three years ago? While there’s a certain amount of pride to be taken in beating someone at their own game, it’s still their game. The greater pride comes from building your own game that represents your tastes, your culture, your grapes, and your ideas of what wine can be. Everywhere can do this, and will do this differently, leading to a diversity of amazing wine cultures around the world. I think it’s time for another tasting. This time the rule is that your wine has to be your own, from your local grapes or other indigenous fruit. And I have a prediction of the outcome: We will all be winners. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondorganicwine.substack.com/subscribe [https://beyondorganicwine.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]