Tag Archives: Karen Steinwachs

Hop On, A Dry-Hopped Sauvignon Blanc

Written by Allison Levine on
Wine

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

There is a saying in the wine business that “it takes a lot of good beer to make great wine.”

After a long day during harvest, many winemakers will agree that a refreshing, low-alcohol beer is exactly what is needed. So, what would happen if hops were added to wine? Would you get the best of both worlds? Well, that is what winemaker Karen Steinwachs did and wouldn’t you know it, hop-infused wine is quite tasty.

 Steinwachs has been making wine in the Santa Ynez Valley for more than a decade and is the winemaker at Buttonwood Farm Winery and Vineyard. In addition to making wine, Karen sits on the board of World of Pinot Noir and each year during the technical symposium that takes place prior to the festival, 60-70 winemakers get together to taste the current vintage of wine.

They also bring interesting wines from new vineyard wines to experimental wines, to share and discuss. In 2014, Scar of the Sea winemaker Mikey Giugni, who also makes cider, brought a hopped cider for everyone to try at the symposium and “it was so delicious, it is what all of the winemakers drank at dinner that night,” Karen recalled.

Karen kept thinking, if Mikey can add hops to cider made with apples, why couldn’t she do it with wine? After all, like many winemakers, Karen loves beer and it might just be in her DNA.

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The stories behind ten Garagiste producers

Written by Allison Levine on
Wine

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

There are about 9,000 wineries in the United States. Almost half of the total (approximately 4,000) of those wineries have limited production of fewer than 1,000 cases.

These small producers are sometimes called “garagiste.” The term “garagiste” originated in Bordeaux, France and referred to renegade producers in the mid-1990s who did not want to follow the strict rules of the region. Many of them made wine in their garages, hence the name, but today these “garagiste” producers around the world are producing some of the best wine in the world.

But as small producers, how do their get their stories out? These are wines made of passion and can be hard to find. Many of them do not have tasting rooms. They sell direct to consumers and possibly to local restaurants and retail shops. And another way to find them is at the Garagiste Festival.

The first Garagiste Festival was in Paso Robles in 2011. It was started by Doug Minnick and Stewart McLennan as “a way to shine a light on small lot, amazing wines that typically do not have tasting rooms,” explained Melanie Webber who handles the public relations and communications and has been working with Doug and Stewart since the beginning.

Since 2011, there have been 18 festivals, seven in Paso Robles, six in Solvang, four in Los Angeles and one in Oakland. In May 2018, they are going to Sonoma for the first time.

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Garagiste Winemakers – the good, the bad and the funny

Written by Allison Levine on
Wine

GARAGISTES -(gar-uh-zhē-stuh) n, Fr. – A term originally used in the Bordeaux region of France to denigrate renegade small-lot wine makers, sometimes working in their garage, who refused to follow the “rules.” Today it is a full-fledged movement responsible for making some of the best wine in the world. Syn: Rule-breakers, pioneers, renegades, mavericks, driven by passion.

These are small production commercial winemakers who are making under 1200 cases per year. Most of them don’t have tasting rooms, nor do they have big marketing budgets to promote their wines. The Garagiste Festival was created to celebrate the artisan winemakers.

 

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