You will meet a lot of people in a lifetime and when you operate in the wine world you encounter winemakers, grape growers, wine distributors, etc. with the hope that you might connect on some level. What the Happy Wine Guy has found is that more often than not the folks in the wine world have an extra aspect to their personalities that sets them apart from the “normal”. Some are eccentric, some Professorial and some are just regular Joes that are digging the lifestyle. All of this just adds to the “spice of life” that many verbalize but few actually embrace.
Last week Happy Wine Guy went to a tasting led by John Anthony Truchard. You may know of the brand that his father Tony started almost 30 years ago Truchard Vineyards. www.truchardvineyards.com
John Anthony grew up in the business of growing, farming and wine making and after succeeding in many aspects of the wine business including consultant to many up-and-coming winemakers, he has launched a line of wines under his own name, John Anthony Vineyards, www.javwine.com
It’s pretty cool that he chose to not leverage his family surname but to rather make it on his own merits. And after tasting his wines HWG can attest that he has the expertise to make his own mark in the wine world. John Anthony spoke to a small but attentive group and his easy delivery and constant smile made the time fly by. We learned a ton about his evolution and career as well as in depth facts about his current vintage that we were sampling. He came off as a “regular Joe” but could and did get “Professorial” on the topics of fruit sourcing, micro-oxygenation, cooperage and blending to name just a few.
We sampled the 2007 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 Napa Valley Syrah and the 2005 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. Although a man of many talents John Anthony is not a prideful egomaniac winemaker. He humbly defers the primary winemaking to a talented woman he has known for years, Alison Doran. She is also from a winemaking family and was selected as the winemaker for a number of reasons including her experience and tutelage under Andre Tchelistcheff. Andre was Alison’s mentor for 20 years helping her understand both the art and the science of making wine. Additionally she was the enologist at Lewis Cellars for several years before joining J.A.V. in 2003.
The 2007 Sauvignon Blanc is pretty unique. No secondary fermentation which delivers a slightly creamy finish on this 100% stainless steel fermented wine. This wine is fully ripe, with very nice citrus and tropical fruit flavors. A real winner! ($19.00)
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% C.S. sourced from the Oak Knoll district in Napa. They purposely went for a higher acid-lower sugar flavor profile and the result is a beautiful wine with smooth, soft, integrated tannins. You will not find any high alcohol heat or tongue-twisting harshness in these wines. ($49.00)
Likewise the Syrah was an example of fine hand-crafted wine ($40.00) and the half-bottle of desert-sweet Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc (you don’t see that made very often!) was delicious. ($49.00)
The tasting was a subtle, effortless education on a topic of liquid pleasure and friendly, adult indulgence. In the grand scheme of life amid the grab bag of human potpourri you encounter in the wine world, if you get the chance to meet John Anthony and his wines you will be better off for it.