Over at DirtySouthWine.com Hardy mentioned he was off to film a chap by the name of Sean Thackrey, who happens to be a very well-known winemaker.  Whenever I hear about winemakers, well-known or just getting started, I love learning about their stories.  How did they get started, what are they passionate about, what are they most known for and the list goes on.  Next time you visit a winery, see if you can get a chance to talk to the winemaker and you won’t be disappointed.

When we visited Lancaster Estate this past summer, we got a chance to chat with winemaker Jennifer Higgins who was more than happy to take a few of her precious minutes to show us around and talk about current activities going on in the winery.  Here’s a little snippet talking about steam cleaning barrels.

I was also able to interview Sarah Gott, who had much success at wineries like Joseph Phelps, Quinetessa, and Joel Gott and is now a consultant for several other wineries including Clif Family Winery, which I wrote about here.  She is a true believer of sustainability and has helped Clif develop a red blend fashioned after Orin Swift’s The Prisoner.

Michael Brajkovich of New Zealand’s Kumeu River winery focuses on making natural wines using Burgundian winemaking styles and has targeted Chardonnay as the best grape for his property.  Much of the nutty-ness and hints of toast are from the yeast as I described here.

Getting back to Thackrey… Sean is one of those grizzled veterans in his late 60’s now and has been making wine since the late 70’s.  You can find stories about him just about anywhere and there is a “recent” article about him from 2003 in the Wine Spectator archives.  He is best known for Pleiades, which is a blend of mostly Syrah and 5 other varieties, and Orion, a highly concentrated red from the Rossi Vineyard in St. Helena.  I can’t wait to see what Hardy puts together after his interview and video session.  But, this is the part of Sean’s story I really gravitate to:

“He’s a self-taught winemakerwho believes that the practical challenges one encounters when fermenting grapes have little to do with what’s taught in a classroom. ‘Wine science is to winemaking the way food science is to cooking. They’re simply different problems,’ he says” – Wine Spectator, January 31, 2003.

So, you can learn alot about the wine you are drinking, the story and passion behind the juice which hopefully will enhance your experience.  Which winemakers have you met or make one of your favorite wines?

Cheers!