Matthiasson

S

SFJoe

Joe Dougherty
What is up with me and Napa lately? It just keeps coming back.

Anyhow, an nice article by Jon Bonne on Steve Matthiasson.

One quote:
'Yet the challenge he faces was never clearer than during a recent panel arranged by the Napa Valley Grapegrowers at Matthiasson's suggestion, on farming Cabernet at lower alcohol levels.

Were there technical concerns? Not so much. His fellow vineyardists were primarily concerned with what one called "the elephant in the room": If Napa pursued a modest approach, would it be skewered by the critics who had prompted winemakers to chase ripeness uber alles?

It's not that Matthiasson's views were kooky. It's that so many of his colleagues still live by the score, die by the score.

"That's what has been so shocking to me," he says. "I thought getting up there and saying 'You're doing it all wrong' was going to create controversy. And there was no controversy."'
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
MatthiassonWhat is up with me and Napa lately? It just keeps coming back.
"'
Click to expand...

You and me both. Although I have a lot of friends out there which keeps me going back. I recently tasted some wines from a young guy who is living in a cabin outside of Calistoga. His name is Ketan Moody. His wines were awesome AND he is a genuine and interesting guy.

You can read about his project here on page 10. There is also a Steve Matthiasson article in this addition.

Ketan

Graeme MacDonald who was formerly Abe's assistant winemaker is also making some nice wines from a small family plot of To Kalon.

I just wish the pricing could come down so it would be easier to explore.
 
It's an interesting problem. How do you abandon a system, even one that you don't like or believe in, after following it for so long? I think that we may need a Thomas Kuhn of the wine world to help lead us out of the current score paradigm. Something that I have always wondered about is the volume of wine that is sold at Trader Joe's and Cost Plus. Is it the case that, if it's cheap enough, consumers don't consider scores? Or do score conscious consumers simply not shop at these stores?
Lately, I have been finding more interesting bottles from California, Oregon and Washington on my wine shop prowls in San Francisco than ever before. These are not just from young winemakers, but folks who never enjoyed the wines that have harmed the reputation of wines from the states above. I think it's exciting to find wines from Jim Cowan, Steve Edmunds, Bow & Arrow, Teutonic, Matthiasson, Tatomer, Ryme and a host of others on the shelves.

Best,

Brad
 
Sadly whether we like it or not the majority of casual wine drinkers in this country like wines this group doesn't care for. There has been some gains made in making less spoofulated wines but those people still represent very few producers.
 
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