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by Bill Brosseau, Winemaker
I am frequently asked, 'Why did you want to become a winemaker?' However, I rarely get tired of answering this question. My earliest introduction to winemaking was in 1980 when my parents planted their vineyard at their recently purchased property in the Gabilan Mountains (Eastern Monterey County). They had fallen in love with the wines coming from Richard Graff of Chalone vineyard though the Chalone Appellation had yet to be formed. They also wanted to raise their children in a safe and peaceful location. While I was well under the age to have a work permit, my dad was kind enough to let me help out with projects such as digging holes for irrigation and carrying supplies.
For some years, we would harvest our Pinot Noir and crush it in our backyard. We used wood tools, plastic drums for fermentation and stored our newly finished wine in our garage which was not temperature controlled. At the time, all these methods seemed to make sense. However, as I grew older and had a opportunity to taste the wine, I realized that we were not so great at making wine, but rather great vinegar. After a short stint in home-winemaking with Dad, we decided to focus our energy on farming wine-grapes for wineries. In the back of my head, I wanted my Dad to be proud of me and make his dream of a world-class vineyard come true. However for the meantime, I still had to focus on my homework and chores.
Once I became a teenager, I soon realized that I loved dirt-bikes, trucks and sports more than farming. Fortunately, my Dad never pressured me to focus on winemaking or grape growing. Otherwise, I probably never would have returned to this field. Even though my focus had changed, he still managed to keep me interested in wine appreciation (not our home-made wines either). My parents would occasionally sneak me a taste of Chalone Chardonnay, arousing my senses. However, it was when they brought me to a Chalone wine event that I began to fall in love with the wine industry lifestyle. <br>
In the next newsletter, I'll continue this autobiography with the wine that hooked me and the path that led me to Testarossa Winery. |
