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NAPA VALLEY | WINE COUNTRY THIS WEEK Winemaker Profile: Judd’s Hill Winery Kenn Vigoda by Charles Neave I have always thought that going to Judd’s Hill Winery, at the southern end of the Silverado Trail in the Napa Valley, is an adventure. The winery building itself brings back memories of farms and homesteads you might only remember from movies. Outside the door into the very well-appointed tasting room there is a coop with Rhode Island Red chickens and nature is everywhere. If a hobbit popped up now and then it would not surprise me. Winemaker Kenn Vigoda, a Detroit native, has all the credentials you’d look for in a winemaker. “I’ve been here three years, since June of 2008. Before that I was at Raymond Cellars for 24 years. That was my first job in the wine industry. I started the wine lab at Raymond then worked my way up to winemaking. But to begin with I got a chemistry degree from Oakland University in Michigan, then I did two years postgraduate study at USC, which is how I got to California.” As Vigoda describes production at Judd’s Hill, “We do 3,000 cases a year for the Judd’s Hill label, and 9,000 cases for microcrush clients, so a total of 12,000 cases a year.” Microcrush? That’s when someone brings in fruit from their own vineyard, or locally purchased, and Judd’s Hill transforms their grapes into juice and then into wine under the customer’s own label. With microcrush it could be almost any varietal of grape and in almost any quantity. “Hopefully it is at least a barrel, which works out to 24 cases (a respectable 288 bottles), but we have done even less. In one or two cases a whole lot less. We pride ourselves on being very flexible and in working hard to accommodate our clients.” To add even more flexibility to their winemaking options, Judd’s Hill created their Bottle Blending Day Camp, allowing wine country day-trippers to work with a winemaker to blend, bottle and label their own Bordeaux style wine in just a few hours. It’s a unique opportunity for visitors to experience wine country in a fun, hands-on way, and return home with a few bottles of their own personal cuvee. How much in demand is access to a high-quality microcrush facility? Very And the higher the quality – as it is at Judd’s Hill – the greater the demand and the longer the list. “We have almost a hundred custom crush clients that use our 3,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility.” 36 Judd Finkelstein & Kenn Vigoda But what about Judd’s Hill’s own wines, which are highly coveted and rightfully so? As the affable, ukulele-playing Judd Finkelstein, (who started this entire endeavor with his parents, renowned architect Art and his mother Bunny, and his wife Holly) said, “A big part of our winemaking philosophy is to let the fruit be the showcase. Our style is to have wines with true varietal characteristics with just a nuance of the underlying oak. I feel that we just guide it along in an artful way and not to manipulate it too much so that its fruit of origin is lost.” Altogether they handcraft ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Syrah and Cabernet Port under the Judd’s Hill and Judd labels. Plus a new Sauvignon Blanc, an off-dry Rosé, and a 2009 Napa Valley Chardonnay will be out in the fall and a 2010 that is still in barrels. “One of the reasons our Cabernet has become so sought after by people who love wine is its elegant style, a style that showcases the true nature of the Cabernet grape,” Judd said. “It’s an approachable wine – in fact we make all of wines to be approachable upon release, yet they still have enough depth so that they can be cellared and aged for years.” But the big question on everyone’s minds these days: what about this years’ vintage-to-be, one that had hail, frost, snow, heat spikes and unseasonal bouts of rain and cold? Vigoda responds, “That is a very good question, and right now no one really has the answer. But I know that the grapes are a couple or even three weeks late and maybe the quantity of the harvest will be a little lower but it’s still too early to telI. But the quality should be just fine” The one thing you can be certain of, however, is that when you stop and taste at this unique Napa Valley oasis, is that the wines, each and every one of them, will be superb. The tasting room at Judd’s Hill is open daily by appointment from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. (the last tasting is at 3:00 p.m.) They’re located at 2332 Silverado Trail in Napa. To make an appointment call (707) 255- 2332 or check out www.juddshill.com. Look for us on Facebook and become a Fan!
WINE COUNTRY THIS WEEK | NAPA VALLEY Sutter Home for Hope Celebrates a Decade of Making a Difference Sutter Home wine has always been part of celebrations big and small. This year, the company is preparing to celebrate something really special – the 10th Anniversary of its groundbreaking Sutter Home for Hope program. One of the first companies to embark on a large-scale campaign promoting breast cancer awareness, Sutter Home launched Sutter Home for Hope in 2001, after one of its owners, Vera Trinchero Torres, was diagnosed with the disease. Since then, Sutter Home for Hope has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for breast cancer research, treatment and education programs benefiting thousands of families across the country. “For all of us at Sutter Home, this is such an important initiative. It’s personal. When we say ‘Until there’s a cure, there’s Sutter Home for Hope’ we really mean it. We’re committed to helping find a cure,” said Wendy Nyberg, Senior Marketing Director for Sutter Home. “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, but we know there’s still a lot to be done. That’s why this anniversary is so important to all of us.” Year after year, thousands of people all across the country support Sutter Home for Hope – either by taking part in the successful “Capsules for Hope” program, participating in events like Walk for Hope, sharing their personal stories on the Sutter Home for Hope website, hosting “Girls’ Night In” parties to discuss breast cancer awareness, or simply wearing pink Sutter Home for Hope jerseys or ribbons. Sutter Home is adding pink-ribbon art to 5.5 million bottles of its red, white and blush varietals. “Capsules for Hope” runs from August through the end of the year. For every top quality seal on any Sutter Home bottle of wine Sutter Home receives from consumers, the company will donate $1 toward breast cancer research, treatment and education programs.* Consumers who purchase Sutter Home varietals packaged in a screwcap closure may send in the receipt as a substitute for the capsule seal. Sutter Home’s support for breast cancer programs during the last decade has helped raise awareness and critical funds that benefit people across the country. Joanne Gomez, a 26-year breast cancer survivor, shared her story on Sutter Home for Hope’s website. “I want to share this one important message to women: early detection and early treatment can save your life. Breast cancer does not mean the end; it’s just a different chapter in your life. Stay positive.” “If it’s one thing a cancer patient needs, it’s hope. We’re glad we can make a difference and look forward to the day when Sutter Home for Hope is no longer necessary,” Ms. Nyberg reiterated. For more information about Sutter Home for Hope, please visit www.SutterHomeForHope.com, or contact Juliana French-Arnold at (707) 302-3020 or jfrencharnold@tfewines.com. *Disclaimer: Sutter Home will donate a combined maximum of $100,000 to City of Hope for the mail-in capsule promotion. www.WineCountryThisWeek.com 37
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