EXPERTAdvice
Pomona vintners offer advice for the would-be connoisseur.
Secrets of
the Vine
Pomona alumni taking part in this year's reunion activities will have the opportunity to share in the life work and agricultural passions of several alumni vintners. Of that group Catherine Corison '75, Donn Chappellet '53, Jim Gullet '70 and Patrick Campbell '70 took a moment to share their attitudes and advice for the novice wine appreciator.
"Wine is alive and it has a life," Corison begins. She has spent the better part of her life elbows-deep in the work of vineyards and wine-making. Her interests in wine as a life system took her from her wine appreciation course at Pomona to Donn Chappellet's Chappellet Winery as his winemaker through the 1980s, and later to build her own Kronos Vineyard and Corison Winery. "Wine comes from vines that are living; it's fermented with yeast, a living organism; and it goes into barrels that were once living trees." Wine even has a lifespan, she says. It experiences infancy, childhood, adolescence, maturity, and can even go over the hill.
From selecting vines with a proven reputation to the winemaker's mood on a particular day, the bottle of wine one selects from the grocery shelf is already replete with activity and emotion. According to these experts, there are three keys to appreciating the life of wine: experiment, trust and building relationships.
Experiment
Each vintner has a special catalogue of techniques and methods, but all agree on the general process for making a good wine: choose vines with a proven reputation, coax the land to yield the best grapes, then nurture the grapes through the winemaking process.
"However, one can be a good farmer, but still not farm good grapes," says Chappellet. Even with 33 years of growing experience, he admits that he still experiments with various farming methods. Chappellet's interest in winemaking began while he was at Pomona. "While my fraternity brothers went to beer busts, I was learning about wines. I even collected a few bottles while I was a student at Pomona." Today, his wife and children stay involved with Chappellet vineyard and winery, making the venture truly a family one.
"In farming, the first thing you learn is that no two years are alike. You have to learn from others and keep trying new things," says Gullet. In 1984, he and his wife purchased vineyard property in Amador County, east of Sacramento. "My wife thought that we were buying an 'acre of hobby grapes,' as she called them, but she soon found out that I had bigger plans in mind." In 1999, the Gullets bottled their Vino Noceto wines for the first time in their own winery.
Experimentation is also key to selecting wines to drink. "It's really about tasting the wine," says Gullet. Try two different wines, or even different vintages of the same wine, with a meal, these vintners suggest. "You'll find that you like one wine better than the other by the end of the meal," Chappellet adds. "More than two wines, however, will only confuse your taste buds. Gradually, you'll develop an appreciation for what good wines are."
Trust
"Not only do you have to trust in your own methods when making wine, but you have to trust yourself when choosing a wine," says Campbell, owner of Laurel Glen Winery. Campbell made his way to winemaking through a circuitous route from Claremont and Pomona College, through three years in a Zen Buddhist community, finally to a vineyard on northern California's Sonoma Mountain.
"Don't follow the pundits," Campbell warns. "Wine critics are the worst thing that's happened to winemaking. They can be consummate snobs." Of course, there are certainly standards to follow, he adds, but if you like a bad wine and are happy with that, then fine. The good news is that there are good wines to try in all price ranges. "You don't have to spend a lot of money to find a good bottle of wine."
Build Relationships
"You have to trust your own palate," says Corison. Of course, trusting one's palate is often difficult when standing in the well-stocked aisle of the neighborhood wine shop. To avoid being overwhelmed in such a situation, these vintners suggest building a relationship with a salesperson at your local shop. "They want you to come back after all," says Campbell. Trust them and they'll get to know your palate and guide you in choosing wines that you like, Corison maintains.
"As vintners, we must rely on others as well," says Gullet. "The connections with people and other winemakers are so important. I've come to know my fellow Pomona alumni in the industry and to learn from them."
--Sarah Dolinar
Join us Friday, April 28, 2000, at 4 p.m. for an Academic Department Fair and Alumni Vintner Winetasting on Marston Quad. Among the vintners invited to participate are: Patrick Campbell '70 with Laurel Glen Vineyard, Donn Chappellet '53 with Chappellet Winery, Catherine Corison '75 with Corison Winery, Jim Gullet '70 with Vino Noceto Winery, George Becker '51 with Ravenswood Winery, E. Wayne '50 and son Jeff Hogue '76 with W. Hogue Vineyards, David Kernberger '62 with Mill Creek Vineyard, winemaking consultant Robert Pepi '72, Milton Schroth '55 with Twin Creeks Winery, Anthony Soter '74 with Etude Wines and John Thornton '53 with Thornton Winery.
