"Hi, I'm a winemaker."

“So… what do you do??”

This is the question that I get just about every time I meet someone new. Of course, we’ve all been there; it's just normal small talk while you’re trying to blend in at your SO’s sister’s friend’s party. However, it's like déjà vu when I usually get it after I’ve already explained to them… “I’m a winemaker.”

Before I began my studies in viticulture and enology in Bordeaux, I was in another niche-type career as well; I was a professional cyclist and raced all over the world with Team USA. Winemaking and professional cycling are the types of careers that most people have honestly never thought about before. It's normal to have never questioned the process and effort that goes into making that glass of wine we have in front of us. Just the same, there's more to cycling outside of the Tour de France and Lance Armstrong...

However, that's not to say that people are disinterested. I've found just the opposite! Usually once I tell them that I’m a winemaker, I'm then bombarded with fifty questions of genuine enquiry. 

I’ve decided to start this website about wine from the production point-of-view. For all the curious guzzlers, I want to explore deeper into winemaking techniques, culture, biases, traditions, etc. I want to talk about what makes a wine good or bad, why one Cabernet Sauvignon can be $3 and another $500, and why your cool friend from SF uses the fancy, French word "terroir." I've seen other sites (really good ones too!) that explain wine from the Sommelier or vendor's point-of-view, but the winemakers have somethings to say as well! How do my colleagues and I taste a wine? What attributes and defaults are we looking for? How do we choose whether to sow Alfalfa and Camomille into the soil as cover crop or whether to spray with pesticides?

During these weekly blogs, I’ll write about all things winemaking. I am going to start this with a series: Vineyards, Harvest, Cellar, Bottles, and Market, and In your glass. In addition, I'll throw in some casual interviews with fellow winemakers about the different philosophies when it comes to winemaking (there’s a wiiiiide spectrum between the extreme “vin nature” movement promoting wines with zero sulfites to the more intensive, interventional, additive- based "winemaking”). Now, pull up your jeans and let's dive deeper into all things wine. 

Join me and have a glass.