THE ART OF WINEMAKING

The beauty is in the blending.

“Have you ever wanted to become a winemaker?” Mike Gilboy of Beringer Wine Estates challenged participants of the 11th Annual Labor Day Wine Festival at Pinehurst in the Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina, to match their talents to those of the winemakers behind the final blend of the 1997 Meridian Santa Barbara Chardonnay.

“Blending is a winemaker’s art,” Gilboy said, as he divided the participants into several groups and set the ground rules for the “hands on” seminar. Taste each wine and decide what you like best, he instructed. Then decide what percentage of each wine you want in your final blend.

With beakers in hand, the groups went to work. Along the way, Gilboy provided some background on their task. The participants were combining 1998 Chardonnay barrel samples from three separate vineyards to make their “own” final blend. The vineyards included White Hills, Riverbench, and Cat Canyon, all from the Santa Barbara Coast. These are the three vineyards that go into the final blend of Meridian Santa Barbara Chardonnay.

Located in Paso Robles, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Meridian Vineyards was established by Beringer Wine Estates in 1988. Meridian has been noted as a world-class producer of Chardonnay, thanks to the talents of winemaker Chuck Ortman.

How did the Wine Festival participants fare? Well, none came up with the exact blend of the previous year’s vintage: 62 percent White Hills, 20 percent Riverbench, and 18 percent Cat Canyon. But they excelled in the pursuit of creative naming: White Canyon River Chardonnay; Pinehurst Blend; Cathy’s Clown; White River Cat Reserve; Cat Reserve; Hector’s Ripple; Top Cat Reserve; No Cat; and Gilboy’s Folly (no offense intended, we’re certain); among others.

If you want to take part in the fun, feasting, and other festivities, the next annual Labor Day Wine Festival at Pinehurst is scheduled Aug. 31-Sept. 4. Call 910-295-8708 for more information or reservations.