Stuart Smith: Iconoclast, Riesling Fan

By Jack Heeger, SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Thursday, August 17, 2006 1:18 AM PDT

Thirty-five years ago Stuart Smith left the UC-Davis campus and headed toward Napa Valley, where he wandered around a 200-acre forest at about the 1,900 foot level on Spring Mountain, adjacent to Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. As he explored the area, he discovered some old grape stakes among the trees, indicating that grapes had once been planted in the area.

This intrigued Smith, so he put together a partnership with his family and friends to purchase the property, and, began to clear about 20 acres to plant his first vines. In 1973 he was joined by his brother, Charlie, and together they started to build a winery. "We had never built anything before," he said. Asked why he decided to start a winery without any previous wine industry experience, Smith replied simply, "It was good old-fashioned American ignorance. I didn't know any better."

By 1977 he released his first wine under the Smith-Madrone Winery label -- 267 cases of Riesling -- and soon added some Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay to his portfolio. Today, he produces about 4,000 cases annually, has 34 acres in vines and plans to plant another 10 acres, "mostly Riesling, Cab or Cab blending grapes," he said. He's replanting some other areas, "block by block, and even some vine by vine," because the vineyard has been hit with phylloxera.

Two palates help blend

"We both are involved in blending and we both bottle," Stu said. "Two palates are better than one, and if one goes into left field, the other pulls him back."

As he recalled his early days, he reflected on the changes he's seen in the valley. Driving around the property, he talked about spacing of vines -- when he arrived the usual was 12 feet by 8 feet, today it's 8 by 5. In 1971 everyone drove crawler tractors, today most use wheel tractors.

The method of paying for grapes was different, too. Smith explained that the usual way then was to get part payment in the summer, part in the fall, but the final price was not determined until January. "That's how it was done then -- the way wineries paid." In 1971, the price of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Johannesburg Riesling and Pinot Chardonnay was only about $350 per ton, he said.

Livestock was predominant

Grapes weren't the predominant crop until "somewhere in the '80s," he said. "Livestock was. They grew prunes, pears and walnuts.

"There were no vineyard managers. Everyone farmed their own land, and some split their own (grape) stakes. At that time people put in overhead sprinklers, but not for irrigation -- for frost control. This was an annual issue. In '68 or '69, they had something like 20 straight nights of frost. The risks farmers had then don't exist now."

He said that during the 1974 harvest there was a lot of rain, and the local media announced that pickers were needed. "They were paying the astronomical figure of $1 a box," he said.

Biggest change is people

But the biggest change Smith has seen is in the people who are coming into the wine business. "The county is changing," he said. "Some of the people coming in don't care if they ever make money. They don't go to planning commission or city council (meetings). They have homes that are vacant," referring to those who live in the valley only on weekends. "They don't have kids in school. They're not here when we need them. They don't volunteer for the watershed task force or sit on the planning commission."

As a result, he said, "You'll see (more) changes in the Napa Valley, and I'm not too optimistic about the future (of the valley)."

Smith is a staunch advocate for Riesling and makes about 1,000 cases of it annually. "Sometimes I feel like Sisyphus (who was condemned to push a large rock to the top of the mountain, only to have it fall back down)," he said. "It's hard to go against the trend, knowing that you're right." But riesling is becoming more popular today, and Smith said he understands why. "Some Rieslings are not just among the finest white wines in the world, they are one of the finest wines in the world. Consumers in the 21st century are now embracing Riesling."

Riesling pricing problems

But one of the problems, he said, is that Rieslings are priced too low. "If it's priced too low, people don't take it seriously, and if it's priced too high, they don't drink it."

Most others were calling the wine Johannesburg Riesling, but Smith wanted to drop the prefix. "We should not use the crutch of European names," he said. In 1983 he petitioned the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for permission to "call it just Riesling, but it was turned down." He fought for it and enlisted the assistance of Maynard Amerine, considered by many to be among the most influential people in American wine history, and eventually Smith's persistence paid off and his request was approved.

"That illustrates my history in the wine business -- challenging the status quo," he said. "In school I studied macro economics, and it gave a broad view of the world. I had been taught to be critical."

He's been critical about other things, too. His name occasionally appears on letters to the editor, particularly on matters involving land use, and he's not hesitant to express his opinions. Told that the word "curmudgeon" was once used to describe him, he grinned and said, "I'll buy that. There aren't enough curmudgeons in the world."

Becoming an activist

He says he didn't become an activist by choice. "It was self preservation."

He urges others to become involved on a local basis. "People (seem to have) given up. They think their voices can't be heard in a meaningful way."

Another of his passions involves the Boy Scouts. Smith, an Eagle Scout who earned the title while attending school in Santa Monica, was selected as Scoutmaster of Troop 1 in St. Helena in 2001. He recruits boys for the troop and tells parents, "If you send your boys to us, well teach them how to step forward from the crowd with the skills and knowledge to help people in an emergency, and they'll gain confidence (in themselves)."

That training paid off for the scouts of Troop 1 a little more than a year ago. While on a campout in Sequoia National Park, lightning struck the area and an assistant scoutmaster, Steven McCullagh, and a scout, Ryan Collins, were killed. Scouts later credited the training they received with helping to save the lives of others who also were struck by the lightning bolt.

A difficult anniversary

As the anniversary of the event approached recently, Smith, who, according to witnesses, was knocked unconscious by the bolt for about 45 seconds, said, "This is harder than I thought it would be. I hope the anniversary will be a milestone in the healing process. I now understand the Band of Brothers concept in combat -- camaraderie and safety is a shared experience."

As he talked about scouting, he became more animated. "The 11 to 18 age is the most difficult time in (a boy's) life," he said. "They go from a boy at 11 to a man at 18. (Scouting) helps them navigate (through life)." They gain an outdoor ethic, he added.

He's an avid canoeist and recently took his 6-year-old daughter, Charlotte, on a canoeing trip. He has four other grown children -- two daughters and two sons, one of whom, Sam, works with him at the winery.

Smith participates in numerous charitable events and in 1990 attended an auction in Nebraska that would change the nature of his charitable life. The man conducting the auction was a livestock auctioneer but when it came to wine, he "was terrible," Smith said. "I asked him if I could try, he handed me the bullhorn and I started talking about the people (behind the wine). It worked and I've been doing it ever since.

"Through that I was invited to (an auction) in Sioux City, Iowa, and I've been going back there every year, too. The people there are grateful, and it means a lot to those communities." He said community work like that is important in scouting, and this makes him a good role model.

About the name: The Smith part of Smith-Madrone is easy to figure out, but where did Madrone come from? "It sounds better than Smith-Douglas Fir or Smith-Poison Oak, the predominant trees and shrubs on the ranch," he said.

For information on the winery, go to www.smithmadrone.com.