A new video with Stu discussing tasting wine, with our thanks to Tom Sanders:
Category: Personalities
Stuart Pigott sends thanks to Sam Smith in a recap of the City of Riesling
On his blog today Stuart Pigott thanks the participants of City of Riesling in Traverse City, Michigan, including Sam:
I got back to NYC from the City of Riesling festival a scant 24 hours ago and the hectic events of last weekend are still going through my head. What I remember most are the people who made it all possible and also gave it such an abundance of life and energy……
In my recent posting about the Smith Madrone estate winery on Napa/California I forgot to mention the new generation there, Sam Smith. The great thing about Sam is that he is utterly grounded in the work his father Stuart Smith and his uncle Charles Smith have done up on Spring Mountain with Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, yet he brings a fresh perspective to all of that resulting from his experience working for wine producers and restaurants around the world. He also has a great sense of humor that helped us avoid sliding into geekdom too often. The problem with that is once you go into Terminal Geek Out you no longer get any real pleasure except from what you yourself think and say, your awareness of other people narrowing until it disappears completely. The problem with all of that is that wine is about sharing (also ideas).
And there’s more and photos at http://www.stuartpigott.de/?p=5352
We ‘wowed’ Isaac James Baker in 2013
5 California Wineries That Wowed Me in 2013, a post by Isaac James Baker on January 19:
| 2013 was a great year, wasn’t it? Over the course of the year I tasted a lot of amazing wines and toured many a beautiful California vineyard. As a writer for the daily wine blog Terroirist, I blind-tasted my way through a lot of samples in 2013, most of which hailed from CA. I found myself gravitating toward several producers who put out consistently awesome wines, regardless of vintage or grape variety.
Some of these winemakers are new-ish, some are just new to me, some have been bottling vino since before I was born. But all of these producers wowed me in 2013 with wines of high quality and distinction. I haven’t tasted the full portfolios from these five producers (yet). But from what I’ve tasted so far, I feel confident enough saying: If one of these folks made the wine, then it’s probably legit. |
Smith-Madrone: Founded in 1971, Smith-Madrone’s winery is located on Spring Mountain, west of St. Helena. The operation is run by brothers Stuart Smith, managing partner and vineyard manager, and Charles Smith III, winemaker. They dry farm their estate vineyards, which line steep slopes between 1,300 and 2,000 feet in elevation. Their mountain wines are dynamic, lively and they show a refreshing sense of purity and minerality.
Lots more here: http://isaacjamesbaker.blogspot.com/2014/01/5-california-wineries-that-wowed-me-in.html?spref=tw
LeSommelierFou visits: “a clear vision” and more
Le Sommelier Fou—aka David Pelletier—-relays his visit to the winery : I showed up at Smith-Madrone winery at the end of what seemed like a fairly busy Monday, because Charles Smith, as he greeted me, immediately put a glass of Chardonnay in my hand and, with a gentle pat, showed me outside, asking me to give him a moment. And so I went out, to gaze at the beautiful hilly vineyard and enjoy this wine that had all the making of a cure to this warm, dry day in Napa. We didn’t get too many of those, but that was one of them.
Charles Smith joined me, all smiles under his Christmassy white beard, holding forth his hand, and apologizing for having been maybe a little too dismissive. His freshly washed hand did not lie. That’s what Napa is about to welcoming wineries: when you gotta go, well, you gotta go.
It was later on brought to my attention that I met with the quieter Smith brother, which made me wonder if I would have been able to place even a word had I met with Stuart. Charles, without being all too verbose, always has the historical precision or an anecdote ready to fire when it comes to the winemaker’s life in California. He’s a goldmine when it comes to the history of Napa. As I was pointing out that not too many wineries made Rieslings around these parts, he was quick to point out: “and not too long ago, 75% of wineries were growing Riesling, and while not too many of us made great ones, we still made some pretty good ones”. So what happened that literally wiped out this variety from the Napa map? “The Paris Judgement. That’s what happened.”
Come to think of it, it does make sense…
Smith-Madrone Winery is niched in the West slopes of Napa Valley, in the Spring Mountain District appellation, likely one of the lesser-known of the valley; while it is not too far from the main strip, it is still far enough from the action that you don’t come across too many people on your way. Furthermore, its red sands make for a rather unique terroir. As for many of Napa’s most beautiful properties, this winery had once been planted with vines that were soon abandoned with the coming of prohibition. In the first breaths of the Smith-Madrone adventure, back in 1971, the Smith brothers planted Pinot Noir, among other varieties, because they were crazy about it. After ten years, they took it all out, having not been able to come with a satisfactory result (at least to their standards) during this whole time. Nowadays, walking among the vines, you will find Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, with some Cabernet Franc and some Merlot. You could also find Viognier once; Charles is a fan of the whites they make with this variety in the Rhône, but once again, he never was quite able to come up with this sort of result.
We chatted about a lot of things while I was there, including about me, which kind of came as a surprise: Charles likes to know who he is dealing with, put it this way. The man speaks a lot, but he listens just as much. Stuart, according to what I’ve been told, is a little feistier. I was able to get a glimpse at the character by reading his blog, aptly entitled “Biodynamics is a hoax: someone has to speak up“. Any questions? Agree or not, what matters is that there’s a healthy debate put in place, and this blog allows for it, even with its title leaving little to no room for interpretation.
But on to the wines: does it do any good to have very firm opinions when it comes to making wine? Looks like it, because Smith-Madrone wines are excellent. The Smith brothers have a clear vision of what their contribution is to the California catalogue: their primary concern is to make wines that are pleasurable, and for that, they must be digestible: “Now why would I harvest overripe grapes and make a wine that my customers won’t be able to physically take?” You harvest when the grapes is ripe, and that’ll do. The idea is simple, and to accomplish it, Charles Smith is convinced that one cannot be all over that place: “I don’t know how some can get away with making sixty different wines; I do only four and my head is spinning!” Too much is like not enough, so they say.
Charles has a dreamer side to him, so it appears, and it came about as we were tasting the house Riesling, when his eye kind of went into the distance, to the days where he had some of the finest wines from this grape: “when they are well-made, Riesling wines are virtually ageless.” He told me of some of these bottles from days of yore, and you could tell their taste were still on the tip of his tongue. In this reverie, I was able to better grasp what it is that drives the winemaker, the authentic one, to get on this lifelong quest: to get back to the wine that made him get to the other side of the mirror. It is, in a way, the purpose of this blog, too: to find that wine that made me fall, even if it means looking for it all of my life.
So long as you are in the wine business for this reason, it’s difficult not to make authentic wines. And it does help when authenticity is your main character trait. It is certainly so for Charles.
Stu and Charlie profiled in the Napa Valley Register
Today The Napa Valley Register profiles Stu and Charlie:
“…..Although the rustic winery has no tasting room, plenty of wine lovers book visits to the remote vineyard. All are hosted by at least one of the Smith brothers, another do-it-yourself duty Stu and Charlie enjoy. Stu believes that Smith-Madrone’s simplicity, remoteness and high wine quality attract visitors wanting an alternative to the busier, more opulent valley floor.
“They like us, and, I’m not sure what it means, but everybody says we’re authentic,” Stu said. “I’m not sure how you define authentic but we’re apparently it.”
Read the entire story: http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/two-brothers-discovered-wine-and-never-looked-back/article_dbf2be42-1699-11e3-b18c-0019bb2963f4.html
Stu talks in Tulsa
On his recent trip to Tulsa, Stu was interviewed by Scott Cherry: here’s the story:
Napa Valley pioneer comes to Tulsa to intro Smith-Madrone wines
By SCOTT CHERRY, July 31, 2013, Tulsa World
The California wine industry as we know it today was in its infancy when Stu Smith launched Smith-Madrone Vineyards and Winery in 1971.
“Napa Valley only had about 30 wineries, and all of the grapes – cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, riesling, whatever – sold for the same price, $450 a ton. None was worth more than another,” said Smith, who this week made his first visit to Tulsa to introduce his wines to the Oklahoma market.
His brother, Charles, joined Smith-Madrone in 1973 and settled in as winemaker. Stu Smith is enologist and vineyard manager.
They operate a highly regarded, small-production winery, making 3,500 to 4,000 cases a year of only three varietals – riesling, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon.
“My brother and I consider riesling, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir the greatest wine grapes in the world,” Smith said. “We tried pinot at first, but it didn’t work out so well. The other three have been fabulous.”
They make their wines only from grapes grown in their vineyards at the top of Spring Mountain in Napa Valley. Cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay are well-known Napa grapes, but riesling is not commonly connected to the region.
“The problem with American rieslings is that they were made too sweet with no balance or elegance for many years,” Smith said. “A well-made, dry riesling is one of the best wines in the world.
“We see a lot of misconceptions in the wine industry, and one is that white wines don’t age well. Chardonnay maybe not so well, but riesling and gewurztraminer age very well. A 15-to-20-year-old dry riesling can be amazing.
“A lot of people think we make the best riesling in America. We try to do nothing to dissuade that notion.”
The brothers, natives of Santa Monica, Calif., have varied backgrounds. Stu has a degree in economics from UC-Berkeley and did master’s work in enology and viticulture at UC-Davis. He taught enology, the science of wine and wine making, at Santa Rosa Junior College for 12 years, chaired the 1986 Napa Valley Wine Auction, is an avid canoeist and was a longtime Boy Scout leader.
Charles has worked as a sawyer (a person who saws timber), a probation officer, a furniture mover, a taxi cab driver and school teacher. For years, he was a world-class croquet player, representing the United States a number of times in international competitions.
Visitors are welcome to phone Smith-Madrone to arrange a tour of the vineyards and winery. “People like to get a peek in the closet and see what is really happening,” Smith said. Smith has a unique, big-picture view of the emergence of the American wine industry. Among many factors, he cites three he considers most significant.
“First, we had soldiers returning from World War II who had been to Europe and had been introduced to wine,” he said. “Then came the Boeing 707. Prior to that, the only way to visit Europe was to travel to the East Coast and take a ship back and forth. No one had the time or money to do that except the wealthy. The 707 allowed the middle class to travel to Europe for a week or two at a time in the ’60s and ’70s.
“Thirdly, the James Bond movies had more influence than people might think. Yes, there was a lot of action, but they were travelogues as much as anything that included foods and wines.
“The whole combination crescendoed into a prominent wine industry.”
Smith said the Madrone in the winery’s name is not a person but an evergreen with a red-brown trunk and branches that is the primary tree on the property. In the spring it bears lily-of-the-valley-like flower clusters, and in the fall orange-red berries appear.
Charlie is a guest on LifeBetweenTheVines
Take a listen: Charlie’s a guest on LifeBetweenTheVines, Podcast #94.
As host Ray Fister explains, “Way back at the beginning of our LifeBetweentheVines journey, we spoke with Charlie Smith of Smith-Madrone Winery on Spring Mountain….Podcast #2 to be exact (July of 2008). We revisited Charlie in June of this year to get caught up with things new….and well aged at the winery.”
http://lifebetweenthevines.com/podcast-94-charlie-smith-of-smith-madrone-vineyards-winery/
Stu has dinner with the Governor of Nebraska
On Tuesday July 16 Stu had the honor of dining with the Governor of Nebraska, Dave Heineman, and the First Lady, Sally Ganem, in the Governor’s mansion in Lincoln. As the auctioneer at VinNebraska on April 13 this year, Stu had the pleasure of auctioning this evening off, and the lot was purchased by Smith-Madrone’s long-time loyal retailer in Omaha, Dave Deao (his store is The Winery). It was as Mr. Deao’s lucky guest that Stu was able to meet Governor Heineman and share a wonderful evening. The Governor and his wife were waiting for the guests on the Mansion’s front steps when everyone arrived. The dinner included individual six-ounce “Omaha tenderloin” for each guest: the wines were 2010 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay and 2007 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon. The evening included the Governor and First Lady taking the group on an extended tour of the mansion, including their upstairs private residence. Another guest that night was Snickers, the “First Puppy,” a Maltese and Silky Terrier hybrid, who has his own blog.
Stu is quoted in the July 6 Wall Street Journal
For the July 6 issue of The Wall Street Journal, Stu was asked for his opinion of ‘natural’ wines. Lettie Teague writes: “Stu Smith of Smith-Madrone Winery in the Napa Valley has been growing and making wine for over 40 years (including some made with wild yeast) and said he was sympathetic to the natural-wine movement, which he called an “emotional reaction to an ever-changing world,” but he said he was troubled that it relied more on belief than science…”
Read the entire article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324436104578579650208883968.html?KEYWORDS=lettie+teague
“Stu is a man of conviction” in a profile at FoodRepublic
Take a look at Richard Martin’s conversation with Stu at FoodRepublic.
http://www.foodrepublic.com/2013/06/20/stu-smith-what-you-might-call-wine-artist
It starts:
“I always picture winemakers like they’re portrayed in TV ads or on labels: walking amid the vines, looking pensive, touching the grapes. I can’t picture Stu Smith doing anything so passive. The co-vineyard manager and winemaker for Smith-Madrone Winery in Napa would more likely philosophize with his grapes, cajoling them to produce better wine. … clearly, this is a man of conviction. He and his brother Charles have been producing single-estate wines from a Napa mountainside since the early 1970s, and as the region has grown up around them, they’ve resisted any urge to go commercial, instead keeping the grapes and the wines at the center of their attention even as celebrity winemakers and celebrities-turned-winemakers popped up around them….” and there’s more.
Smith-Madrone News 