(L to R) Ashley Hepworth, Theresa Heredia and Damian Parker

The Talent Behind the Wines at Joseph

PhelpsVineyards & Freestone

By Kathie Fowler

Craig Williams, Director of Winemaking, started working at JPV in 1976 and was promoted to winemaker in 1983, a position he held until 2000 when he became increasingly involved in the vineyard and winery development of the new Freestone project. At that time he turned over day-to-day winemaking operations at JPV to a production team headed by Damian Parker and Ashley Hepworth, and in 2002 Theresa Heredia joined the staff. Today, as Senior Vice President and Director of Winemaking, Craig oversees the winemaking programs at both JPV and Freestone.

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Damian began his career at JPV in 1981 as bottling line supervisor, and held several positions over the years before being promoted to Vice-President of Production in 1997. Although his enology background does not include a formal degree, his skills, aptitude and innate winemaking talent have made him invaluable to the team.

Ashley joined JPV as an intern for the 1999 harvest and holds a degree in biology and chemistry. Through here dedication and passion for winemaking she became Associate Winemaker for JPV in 2004. Together, Damian and Ashley manage day-to-day operations from pick decisions to the bottle, and are greatly assisted by David Ramirez, JPV’s Cellarmaster, and Kelly Fields, JPV’s Enologist.

Theresa started as a Research Chemist in 2002 and was promoted to Associate Winemaker for Freestone in 2005. Along with Justin Ennis, Freestone’s Cellarmaster, Theresa is currently involved in plan development, purchasing new equipment and designing the lab. Once the winery is up and running this fall, she will relocate to the Sonoma Coast area to focus exclusively on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay production from the Freestone vineyards. Theresa holds a degree in biochemistry and has completed three years of study toward a PhD in chemistry with an emphasis in enology.

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Damian, Ashley and Theresa have made numerous trips to France to study winemaking and vineyard and production techniques in both Burgundy and Bordeaux, and have brought back many new insights and ideas, a number of which are being implemented in time for the 2007 harvest. Speaking with the three of them revealed so much about their unique personalities, as well as the dynamic, committed approach each brings to their respective jobs.

Kathie Fowler: Describe some of your experiences in France.

(L to R) Rob Baxter, David Ramirez, Damian Parker and
Ashley Hepworth standing in front of Cheval Blanc

Damian Parker: In 2004 I had a wonderful time visiting Bordeaux with Ashley and David Rameriz, JPV’s Cellarmaster. Rob Baxter, our European Sales Manager, also joined us. We visited 16 Chateaux including Lafite-Rothschilde, Haut-Brion, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Cheval Blanc, and Chateau Angelus, where Ashley later interned.

It was fascinating observing the different approaches to winemaking. Some chateaux emphasized innovation, some were more traditional, but all had a sense of place. There may be only a creek separating the two vineyards, but that was sufficient to consider each unique.

Probably the most important thing I came away with as a new perspective on where our wine-making techniques fit in the scheme of things. In California, we are certainly innovative in our own right, but without insight into how the French do it, we lack a dimension of understanding.

Ashely Hepworth: In 2005, I worked for ten weeks in Bordeaux at Chateau Angeles, a small chateau near the center of St. Emilion. Chateau Angelus is a Premiere Cru Classé and makes approximately 5,000 – 7,000 cases annually.

Chateau Angelus in Bordeaux

In Bordeaux, winegrowers adhere to tradition but are also quite innovative in their approach to the vineyards and winery. They embrace new ideas, are always experimenting with new equipment and winemaking techniques, and are constantly striving to improve the technical side of wine-making. I loved working for Chateau Angelus, which has been in the Boüard de Laforest family since 1850. The family’s tenacious winegrowing techniques, meticulous vineyards and newly renovated winery are producing excellent wines. Definitely my favorite Bordeaux chateau by far!

Domaine de Montille

Theresa Heredia: In 2006 I worked for a small, family-owned winery in Burgundy called Domaine de Montille whose holdings consisted of about 15 hectares, or 37 acres. The owner is Hubert de Montille, the 76 year old father, and his sone Etienne, and daughter Alix, who are the winemakers.

The de Montille family considers themselves purists and strictly adhere to tradition. They believe in their hearts that wine quality comes only from the vines and they do not give priority to the latest technological equipment. All red wine is fermented in open top oak fermenters with no temperature control and they are very fond of traditional pigage, where a person climbs into the tank and walks barefoot on the grapes. Wines are aged in small underground caves where the barrels are held for 13-16 months before bottling. I would say that Burgundian winemaking is all about extracting the purity and essence of the grape and expressing its true regionality. The human or technological influence is not given priority.

Kathie Fowler: Can you explain some of the things you’ve learned from
French winegrowers?

Damian Parker: With so much history and in some places over 200 years dealing with the same grapes, the French know about balance. We are still learning how to balance tradition with innovation. Yet even though the French have centuries of tradition, experimentation has always been encouraged in Bordeaux. Taking risks is part of the responsibility of being a winemaker, and whether in France or California, the goal is to continue improving and to produce the best bottle of wine possible.

Ashley getting a tractor lesson

Ashley Hepworth: I came back with tons of ideas from Chateau Angelus and other chateaux. I observed different grape receiving methods, fermentation methods, vineyard techniques to achieve more concentrated flavors, and improved aging techniques. In the vineyard, since irrigation is not allowed, winegrowers really have to understand their soil and its water-holding capacity relative to balanced crop load. Chateau Angelus paid immense attention to each parcel and varietal in their vineyards and were tenacious in limiting crop load if necessary. During the aging of the wines, I took away the idea that less racking and more time on the initial lees is good for capturing and keeping freshness.

Tapered wooden tanks

Chateau Angelus was using some exciting equipment including a new triage system with a machine called Vaucher Beguet which allows the grapes to be delivered to the tanks more gently after separating out raisins, green berries and stems. They were also using tapered wooden tanks for fermentation made by Taransaud, and double-walled stainless tanks, fabricated by LeJeune.

After observing how all of this equipment worked and through an entire harvest and speaking with Damian and Craig about what we wanted to implement at JPV, we decided to take all the research we had done and compile what we wanted. In November 2006 Damian and I traveled to Vinitech in Bordeaux and met with the engineer of Vaucher Beguet to design a grape receiving system for JPV. We also decided to purchase some new tanks. Santa Rosa Stainless Steel is creating eight double walled stainless tanks, with capacity of nine tons each.

(L to R) Theresa Heredia (California) with Guillermo Padro (Spain) and Nick Lane (New Zealand)

Theresa Heredia: The most important thing I learned during my two-month stay in Burgundy is that the winemaker’s role is to preserve the grape’s integrity at the harvest. Making Pinot Noir depends mainly on fermentation: once the wine is in the barrel, hands off! There is no racking until just before bottling. During fermentation, one of the most critical decisions is how much to macerate: how often should we pump over and punch down? I have a much better understanding now of the benefits of slow, cool macerations during fermentation.

I also learned a lot about the importance of evaluating the lees in Chardonnay production.
I returned to California with a new passion for Chardonnay winemaking because I tasted
so many amazing whites while I was there. We do not have the rocky limestone soil that creates the minerality and structure of white Burgundies but we can definitely learn how to capture the fruit characteristics and the natural acidity that will provide the structure of the Freestone Chardonnay.

Because lees are what help preserve the freshness, character and regionality of the terroir, I was interested in the crushing, de-stemming and pressing regimes being utilized to maximize the quantity of good lees.

The tadition of pigage
(walking barefoot on the grapes)

I also have a greater understanding of the importance of incorporating tradition into winemaking. A winery in Burgundy could be several hundred years old, so compared to them we are just infants. Winemaking decisions in Burgundy may seem fairly elemental, but generations of experience have guided these decisions. Walking around in the cellars there gave me chills as I felt I was visiting the holy land. Without doubt, the most important lesson I brought back is that less manipulation is better.