David Hirsch

David Hirsch in vineyard

Lunch with David and Jasmine Hirsch

The Nantucket Wine Festival Who’s Who:  Alex Gambal, Bertrand Ambroise, Michel Anglada, John Arns, Alis Arrowood, Beaux Freres, Jack Bittner of Cliff Lede and Franz Hill, Chateau d’Esclans, Donelan, Ray Coursen of Elyse, Kristine Ashe Vineyards, Sean Larkin of Larkin, Jack Larkin & Tinknocker, Hall, Hirsch, Hourglass, Jordan, Justin Baldwin of Justin, Carissa Mondavi, Miner Family, Eric Munson of Dancing Bear Cellars, Jorge Ordonez of Fine Estates from Spain, Damaris Colhoun of Landmark, Martin Estate, Michael & Fiona Ragg of Mischief and Mayhem, Pride Mountain, Regan Wines, Comte Philippe & Beatrice Senard, Robert Sinskey, Bill ‘DANCING BEAR’ Bishop of Steele & Shooting Star, Tariquet, Dominique Demarville of Veuve Clicquot, Villa Sparina, Wishing Tree…

These are but a few of the all-star cast that is the 2010 Nantucket Wine Festival, but they, in particular, are near and dear to our hearts.  Some of them you hear about a lot, others fly under the radar.  Most, we sell their wines;  some, we just admire.  All will contribute to a stellar 4-day wine experience–I know, because I’ve spent time with almost all of them!

Just this winter, I was in Sonoma, lunching with David Hirsch and his daughter, Jasmine, at their new home on the rugged Sonoma Coast.  It is a 2+ hour drive from Sonoma, over hill and dale, and thus, we named it “Outward Bound” day.  It was a treat hanging with David, a pioneer of this appellation.  Hirsch makes pure, Burgundian-style Pinot Noir and sells his grapes to others such as Littorai, Failla and Siduri.  His Saturday seminar on “The True Sonoma Coast” will be very worthwhile.

Lunch with the Arrowoods

We (meaning Denis Toner of the Nantucket Wine Festival, our friend David Kuhn, Mark Donato and I) also lunched with Alis & Dick Arrowood of Arrowood and Amapola Creek in Glen Ellen.  The Arrowoods are a true wine country success story, in that they built up their label Arrowood, sold to Kendall Jackson (who retained Dick as winemaker), and now they’ve started a boutique label, Amapola Creek.

Ray Coursen & Kristine Ashe

We had dinner with Ray Coursen (Elyse) at Michael Chiarello’s Bottega in Yountville and again enjoyed his company at a winter feast in his home with veteran winemakers Sandy Belcher and John Arns, plus newbie Kristine Ashe.  On other nights, we dined with the Donelan Family team at Cyrus in Healdsburg and had a glass of wine with Carissa Mondavi of Continuum.

I’ve visited many beautiful properties, large and small, and having some of these wineries come to Nantucket brings back wonderful memories.  The vineyards and state–of-the-art caves at Hourglass and Hall are stunning and Justin is by far the most luxurious winery to spend the night in (except for, perhaps, Jordan!).  Pride Mountain is also a special property–Its high elevation, straddling Napa and Sonoma Counties offers terrific views and yields tremendous wines.  And in November, we’ll be back in Beaune to see old friends like Alex Gambal, Michel Anglada and the Senards.

With Michel Anglada at La Ferme de Rolle in Burgundy

Several luminaries I have had the pleasure of hosting at currentVintage.  Eric Munson, Jorge Ordonez and Robert Sinskey have all done store tastings in the past, and this year, we welcome Michael & Fiona Ragg of Mischief & Mayhem and Dominique Demarville, Cellarmaster of Veuve Clicquot.  The Raggs have the distinction of being British winemakers in Burgundy and Demarville made history as the youngest champagne Cellarmaster ever at age 36.

I am such a fan of Bertrand Ambroise and Jack Bittner that I selected the Ambroise Cremant and a Zinfandel from Franz Hill for a spring dinner pairing in a recent issue of Nantucket Today.  Jack is the General Manager of Cliff Lede (where all the parcels are named after rock bands and albums, eg Dark Side of the Moon) and Franz Hill is his own project.  Wines from Shooting Star, Wishing Tree and Domaine de Tariquet are among the value gems of the currentVintage wine collection.

Yes, it’s an all-star cast–Don’t miss these wineries and winemakers at the NWF next week…!

Alex Gambal

Alex Gambal is a festival favorite–As an American in Burgundy, he seems sort of like a hometown hero, even though he’s from D.C.  Here is a bit on Alex from a previous cV Lifestyle post:

http://currentvintage.com/blog/2009/09/27/alex-elyse-a-love-story/

Napa dinner with Kristine Ashe, Ray Coursen, John Arns & Elisabeth English

Ray Coursen of Elyse Winery is another NWF regular and was also featured in the above post.  Ray was deservingly honored as NWF Luminary of the Year in 2009.  I had a couple of excellent dinners with Ray in Yountville this winter, including this fun evening with fellow winemakers Kristine Ashe, maker of Entre Nous and John Arns, maker of outstanding cabs from Arns Winery .

Tasting Amapola Creek wines with Alis & Richard Arrowood

Elisabeth at Cyrus with winemaker Tyler Thomas and Tripp and Joe Donelan of Donelan Family Wines

Eric Munson of Dancing Bear Cellars & Eos with Andy Peay of Peay Vineyards at currentVintage

Elisabeth with Jorge Ordonez (Founder, Fine Estates from Spain) at currentVintage

http://currentvintage.com/blog/2009/09/17/ode-to-jorge/

Hourglass vineyards

Sean Larkin of Larkin Wines

http://currentvintage.com/blog/2009/05/27/six-degrees-to-sean-larkin/

Luxurious suite at Jordan Winery

Amapola plates 2

Amapola plates 1

Jorge Ordonez with Ateca "Atteca" Garnacha

Pioneer. Visionary. Legend.  These words are so overused (often by me)…so what do you call someone who really is a PVL?  In this case, I’ll call him a rock star, because just as a rock star is more than a musician and the president is more than a politician, Jorge Ordonez is more than a wine importer.  He is a rock star of the wine industry, and we’re not simply talking limestone and schist.

Three words are consistently associated with Jorge:

Quality.  Influence.  Charisma.

Before Jumilla was a household word, there was Jorge Ordonez, ambassador of the Spanish wine world.  In the 1980s, Jorge recognized that the Spanish wine trade needed an intervention.  The vines were there, the wines were there, but that wasn’t what was making it into the households of the American consumer.  The good wines were often not so, by the time they were shipped across the Atlantic in un-refrigerated conditions.  Grapes from the oldest vines in the world were being lumped in with new stock, resulting in mass-production plonk.  For the winemakers who were making great wines already, Jorge organized controlled shipping and distribution so that what went into the bottle in Spain was what arrived on our shores.  Recognizing the value in Spain’s pre-phylloxera vine heritage, Jorge championed the potential for low-yield, highly concentrated wines and guided these wines into bottle and ultimately, the international marketplace.

His quality standards from the vine to the restaurant are such that he has raised the level of the entire Spanish wine industry, as others must now compete on the field he has groomed.

Mark Donato & Jorge Ordonez at Cinco restaurant, Nantucket

Jorge’s aggressive management style has influenced every aspect of Spanish wine production from the vineyard to the bottle label.  Some bemoan the modernization of old world wines, but Jorge maintains that he is merely an adviser and only intervenes when asked or needed.  Nevertheless, modern technology has come to Spanish regions that were mere backwaters 20 years ago and dozens of indigenous varietals have reached a wider audience, while outside varietals, eg chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon have been introduced.

Jorge has developed some interesting and influential projects in the last decade.  In addition to importing and consulting, he is now highly regarded producer and his collaborations as well as his own projects have proved extraordinarily successful, in case you haven’t heard…El Nido,  a joint venture with Australian wizards Chris Ringland and Dan Phillips has been called the greatest wine ever to come out of Jumilla.  The “El Nido” is generally 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Monastrell and has received 93-99 points from Robert Parker every year of it’s brief existence since 2002, with it’s cousin Clio not far behind.  That is impressive even to those who pretend they don’t care about points.  These are modern wines:  big, extracted, fruit-forward mouthfuls of wine showing their Australian influence and appealing to an American palate.

Jorge has also endeavored to celebrate the Moscatel of his native Malaga through Jorge Ordonez & Co. a joint venture winery with the late Austrian, Alois Kracher, and his son, Gerhard.  Their original and aromatic Botani Moscatel Seco (high elevation, hand-harvested, air dried) is a revelation in dry Moscatel and the sweet moscatels are superior as well.

Lastly, this leaves charisma.  Just because you can sing doesn’t mean you’re the next Madonna.  You can be the most knowledgeable wino on the planet or represent the best wine in the world, but words will fall on deaf ears without personality and passion behind them.  Jorge’s demanding and dynamic style combined with unflagging determination have brought Spain much recognition and prosperity in just twenty years.  He represents nearly 50 Spanish wineries (which could easily be doubled), holding them each to his exacting standards, regardless of price, and he continues to bring his own innovative and quality wines to the market.  Considered the Martha Stewart or Oprah of the Spanish wine world, vineyards that are not meticulous don’t make the cut and there is a long line of wineries waiting to take their place.

In a nutshell,  since 1987, Jorge Ordonez has saved the Spain’s old vines from the tractor, brought them to their true potential, and then educated the world of their value.  It is exciting to think what the next twenty may bring…!

Jorge Ordonez wine tasting at currentVintage:

5-7 Monday, September 21, 2009

508.228.5073

Nantucket Food Pantry dinner at Cinco

Featuring Jorge Ordonez and wines of Fine Estates from Spain

6:00 Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Watch Jorge Ordonez interview on The Wine Library

Bottom two photos Courtesy of Gene Mahon, www.mahonabouttown.com

top photo courtesy of www.elephantjournal.com