Virtually every winery with half-a-clue about business seems to have their winemakers out flogging their wines somewhere in the world in the past couple of months. I know this from first-hand experience, since I’ve seen them all out there. It’s not enough for the second-assistant intergalactic sales manager to be on the road these days; the big-guns are venturing to places they’ve rarely visited before. I’ve spent the past few weeks in the US and while there, crossed paths with the respected winemakers the likes of Michel Chapoutier, Stephan Asseo, Piero Antinori, Peter Sissick, and Jacques Lardiere. And they all ran into me.
Nashville’s l’Ete du Vin was a blast. I enjoyed getting to know Stephan Asseo from California’s l’Aventure winery during that visit. He’s originally from Bordeaux but wanted to try his hand working with Syrah. These sorts of desires aren’t allowed in Bordeaux, so rather than move to the Languedoc, he relocated to the central Coast of California and nowadays makes wines that maybe the Bordelaise should have been listening to him all along.
The next week I met up with Chef Christopher Lee (from Aureole New York) for a charity dinner in Jackson Hole, Wyoming of all places. He totally understood how to integrate Torbreck’s wines with his cuisine. He created a duck dish that was rock solid with the 2004 Descendant. In Philadelphia it was a dinner with Chef Jennifer Carroll of 10 Arts Bistro in the Ritz Carlton that made the stopping in Philadelphia worthwhile.
I finished up my visit with stops in Martha’s Vineyard and then in New York City where I enjoyed an incredible 4th of July fireworks display over the Hudson River. Yes, it’s tough being away from home so much, but pounding the pavement’s not so bad when the steps lead to bringing great food, wine and people together.