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Changing the face of Winemaking
Francois Cinq-Mars
This week I would like to start to introduce you to some of the winemakers that have changed the face of winemaking in Napa Valley, from the over controlled and factory manipulated wines that were starting to become the mainstay of the California wine Industry.
Some of you are probably asking yourself what does over controlled and manipulated wines mean. I’m talking about the wines that are made by chemists rather than the wines that come from the heart, the wines that are made in a laboratory under very controlled and formulaic conditions. Don’t misunderstand me some things need a formula, I like my Best Foods mayonnaise to taste the same every time I make a sandwich, I like Coca Cola to taste like Coca Cola every time I open a bottle. When it comes to wine, I want my wine to have a life of its own, free to change and evolve, and filled with character.
David Ramey is this kind of a winemaker, an innovator and revolutionary. Educated at U.C. Davis, he spent time in France at chateau Petrus were he learned first hand old world traditions and time honored winemaking techniques. Upon his return to the U.S. David decided not to throw in his lot with the university scientists and make cookie cutter wines that are largely devoid of character but rather to put terroir back in the bottle and create unique and distinctive wines.
David has been the winemaker for several wineries that you maybe familiar with, they include Chalk Hill, Matanzas Creek, Dominus Estate, and Rudd.
In 1996 David and his wife Carla founded Ramey Cellars. Today the make three red wines and six white wines, the reds are all Bordeaux style wines, with cabernet as the main component. The whites are all Chardonnays, three of them are vineyard designate wines and three are Appellation wines.
If you haven’t tried a Ramey wine I would urge you to seek them out, they are some of the best that Napa Valley has to offer.
My personal favorites are the Hyde Vineyard chardonnay and the Jerricho Canyon. The Hyde Vineyard chardonnay is plush and has a nose of lime blossom and white peach and an extremely long and elegant finish. The Jerricho Canyon is ruby red and filled with aromas of blackberry and anise, it is packed full of dark exotic fruit and minerals with an extremely long finish.
Next week a look at another innovative and imaginative winemaker.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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