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Smith Madrone Winemakers' Forum |
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Stuart A. Smith, Charles F. Smith, moderators. Our Inbox and mailbox is often filled with interesting messages. We find many of you have great interest in our vineyard and how we make our wines. Why not send us a comment or question? Stu and Charlie are guaranteed to put in their 2 cents although their appearances will definitely be unpredictable. Besides matters enological, we have been known to have strong opinions on croquet, hillside ecology, and Napa Valley land use politics. To Post A Message, send an email to Stu@smithmadrone.com APRIL 2006 It was fabulous to have Stu with us last weekend....he is such a caring man with a huge heart who has helped grow the Wine & Roses Event substantially throughout the years. Stu was our auctioneer on Saturday night and did a FABULOUS job! We are so grateful for Stu's time, generosity and heart in helping us help families fight Alzheimer's disease. With Stu and Smith Madrone's participation, we are working together to give everyone a reason to hope. Tina Stroud, Alzheimer’s Organization of Sioux City (Iowa) FEB 2005 Stu has been the official auctioneer for VinNEBRASKA in Omaha since its creation in 1990. This year the silent and live auctions raised more than $90,000 for the event, with ticket sales and corporate sponsorships also bringing in more than $100,000. Over the past 16 years the VinNEBRASKA wine event has contributed almost a million dollars to local charities including All Our Kids Inc. We are grateful to Stu for his spirit of fun and professionalism as our auctioneer and to VinNEBRASKA for selecting our charity again for 2006. I know that the entire VinNEBRASKA family is grateful to Stu for his leadership and his support. He really made a difference to our success. Julie Hefflinger NOV 2005 ... I remember telling you that we would celebrate our wedding anniversary
(several months ago) with the bottle of Smith-Madrone Cab Sauv we purchased
while visiting. But I never told you how we liked it. We LOVED it! It
was a 2001. Such a classic cabernet flavor, full and rich and oh, so
smooth. All dark, dark fruit, and some dark chocolate, too. We had it
with lamb chops, it was divine. Then we looked at some pictures taken
that day and reminisced about sitting up there, on a beautiful sunny
afternoon, high above Napa Valley, in piece and quiet...saying to each
other how lucky we were and thanking Smith-Madrone for arranging
it. I had an interesting cheese experience with your Chardonnay. I like to pair Cabernet Sauvignons with cheeses like Biagura, a raw sheep’s milk cheese from the Basque region in France. My cheese retailer was out of it, so I bought some Bigio, an Italian aged Pecorino that’s aged five months then buried in ash for 3-4 months; the cheese is actually muddy on its rind. - Talk about terroir! We decided to give it a try with your Chardonnay-just to see what it was like. It was beyond fabulous! This cheese brought out the fine qualities of your wine and kept the earthiness of the cheese. We were amazed. Like an operatic impresario, The Cheese Impresario brings to the public
the enjoyment of cheese through journalism (I write a cheese column for
The Beverly Hills Times), luxurious events and worldly travel. October 28, 2004 Stuart, Occasionally in my dealings I come across companies who are the epitome of what an excellent company should be. A year ago my fiance and I were preparing for a small party and were planning on serving your wine. We wanted it to be just so. Your 1999 Cabernet was the wine of choice to be served. To that end we were discussing the optimum serving temperature. Instead of guessing, I saw your phone number on the bottle. Not really thinking I would get my minor dilemma solved or even get someone to answer the phone early evening on a FridayI called. To my pleasant surprise you or your brother answered the phone and not only guided me but made me feel good about calling saying "we were recently discussing this very same issue" and went on to talk about your wine and wine in general for 20 minutes. You folks represent a rare breed of company that not only produce superbproduct but also recognize that the ultimate consumer is as key to your success as the quality of the grape. Thanks again from a loyal customer for life. Doug, Your question for a "drink by date" is somewhat unusual, mostly people want to know what is the optimal age for drinking a wine. Optimal timing for a wine is always tricky, but a "drink by date" is a little easier because it's so far out. Based on past experience with aging of our wines, I would suggest that both the 1999 and 2000 Cabernet Sauvignons should live a good 15 to 20+ years. The optimal age for those two wines may be more like 12 to 15 years. I'm puzzled by your reference to the web that our 2000 is better than the 2001 - is that from our website or others. My opinion is that I like the 2000 very much and the wine has won many awards and much praise. The 2001 is preferred by Charley and is typical of the 2001 vintage that everyone likes so much. The 2001 is smoother, softer, more fruit forward - typical of the 2001 Cabernets from Napa. It all depends on what style and which vintage you like more. It appears that Parker and the Wine Spectator prefer overall, the 2001 vintage over the 2000 vintage and they may be right in the long run when you consider all the wines from a given vintage. Many of our visitors that taste both vintages are split - some prefer and buy the 2000, some prefer and buy the 2001 and some buy both. The 2000 has been in the bottle a year longer and when the wine is this young that difference is significant. As the wines age the bottling date becomes less important. Hope this helps. Stuart Smith, Smith-Madrone Sept 21 June 13, 2004 May 17 2004 Carol from Walnut Creek We enjoyed our visit to your lovely winery and very happy that your son encouraged us to make the trip. The day was so beautiful and I watched a butterfly that seemed extremely familiar with your winery. When I asked you about it, you thought it was a monarch..but I knew it wasn’t! You mentioned that you had once thought about naming one of your wines after the butterfly so I looked it up. It’s called a “California Sister” and is very common in all of California. It’s related to the “Viceroy” which looks almost exactly like the “Monarch.” We want to come back this fall during harvesting to see some grapes coming in..we’ll call and make sure it’s convenient for you. Thanks again for a special day. May 8, 2004 May 11, 2004
stu- Can you tell me why Omaha Nebraska has one of the great unknown wine tastings/auctions
in the US? It seems like an unlikely place?! January 18, 2004 John from Cardiff CA A belated thanks for your hospitality and generosity at the time of my 50th birthday visit. Your cats topped my girlfriend’s favorites list. It was also great for her to meet a real “down to earth” owner/winemaker such as yourself. I purchased an Imperial (6L) of your 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon at an auction a couple of years ago. I am getting married at the end of this month and would like to serve the bottle at the reception. What is the best way of presenting the wine (how long should it breath, etc.) is it different from a regular bottle of wine?
December 15, 2003 Dan from Los Angeles Over the past few years my wife and I have become steadily more interested in wines. As we drink more wine our tastes have become more diverse. Lately we have been interested in Riesling. Fortunately we received a tip about your wines and specifically the re-release of the ’97 Riesling. We ordered some…and I must say, it did not disappoint. I continue to be surprised at how well a Riesling can hold up to a cheese course. Likewise we enjoyed the ’02 version. I wanted to write and let you know how much we enjoyed the wine. Do you see more and more wineries (who grow their own grapes) employing
some practices of organic farming. As a resident of the Valley, I have
always been concerned about this issue. Stu Smith: I don't believe that organic farming will become widespread. I do believe in what's called "sustainable farming." This is a concept which advocates minimal use of petro chemicals, integrated pest management and natural uses of cover crops, etc. I believe that this concept of farming has a much better chance of achieving widespread acceptance, and thus has a greater chance to improve the envirnoment. It's not that I think that organic farming is bad, it's just that I think organic farming is limited. Hi Guys! Is it true that shooting skeet over the vineyard enhances
the complexity of the Riesling grape? Cool website! Stu Smith: Skeet shooting enhances the complexity of the shooter - no doubt about that - and when blended with the art of shooting over the vineyard we all win. Now if only the clay pigeon were made of fertilizer. How may bottles of wine can each grape vine produce? And how many
vines do you have? Stu Smith: Smith-Madrone has approximately
34 acres in various stages of production. There is no better view of Napa than from Smith~Madrone winery. There
is no better wine to drink while sharing that view with a loved one than
Smith~Madrone Riesling. Thanks for sharing your wine, view and company
with us. Mark and Tiffany Stu Smith: Right on. Drinking Smith-Madrone wine and enjoying the place and the view is the BEST!!! We attended a wedding where Smith-Madrone wines were served. Very
tasty. But the bride seemed to us to be "high maintenance," so we figured
your wines must be costly. Anyway, can we order a bottle or (just) 2?
And do you deliver? "Wine is the lubricant of good conversation," or so
said the matron of honor as she toasted the groom. She seemed to like
SM wine a lot. Stu Smith: All brides are high maintenance on their wedding day, but not nearly....(better stop before I get into any more trouble). Yes, you can buy by the case or 6 bottles or even 3 bottles. We don't deliver personally, but if you buy the wine we can arrange to have your wine shipped to you via either Fed Ex or UPS. And remember you can order on-line, 3 cases or more and the shipping is free. How come you guys don't shave, are you Amish or something? Stu Smith: I've had my mustache since 1966 and my beard since 1982 and if I ever knew why I grew them I've certainly forgotten now. Why does Riesling have so many names---Johannisberg, Dry, Grey, White?
What does it all mean? Stu Smith: Riesling is the true name of the variety. White Riesling is redundant - when was the last time your had a red Riesling? Johannisberg is a cute little winery in Germany, not too dissimilar to Smith-Madrone. When California first started making wines over 100 years ago they stole European names and one of those was Johannisberg, which was then added onto Riesling to become Johannisberg Riesling. It would be the equivalent of calling Pinot noir "Romanee noir" or Cabernet Sauvignon "Lafite Sauvignon." Smith-Madrone was the first American winery to call the varietal by its true name---Riesling. We started in 1983 and were all alone for about 15 years. Now others are finally using the true name of the varietal---Riesling. |
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