Somm Blinders - Blind Tasting for the Rest of Us

If you are a wine geek, you are probably familiar with the 2012 documentary, Somm. The film follows four individuals as they prepped for the Master Sommelier exam. You were likely awed by the candidates’ impeccable ability to blind taste a wine and guess correctly its vintage, variety, appellation, and sub-region. While you aspire to have that kind of palate, you secretly wonder if you could even tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi, or even Diet Coke.

The good people behind the documentary have since produced sequels, started a streaming service, and even come up with a blind tasting game for the rest of us. The Somm Blinders is a fun card game that anyone who enjoys wine can play. You may even learn a few things along the way. I’m going to share a few tips on how to get the most out of the game.

How to Play

The Somm Blinders now consists of three decks - the original, the red, and the white. Each deck has a list of wines to be included in the blind tasting. Most of the cards in the deck are about that wine (such as its flavor profile, country of origin, and vintage). Each card is also assigned a number of points.

Somm Blinders Original Deck

For each bottle round, you will blind taste a wine on the list. But first, every player gets five cards. At each turn, you will pick a new card and then discard one so that you will always have five cards in your hand. As you taste the wine, your goal is to match the cards to the wine. The bottle round ends when someone calls the wine correctly. Each player then gets the total points of the cards that match the wine. For the player who calls the right wine, five extra points will be given.

Not All Rules Are Meant to be Broken 

The game came with quite a bit of rules. Like many drinking games, part of the fun comes from breaking the rules. But to get the most out of the game, I’d suggest that you not break the following rules.

1. Include only wines that are on the list

Do not go rogue, and I don’t mean French red. Do not pick a bottle of wine that is not on the list. The cards are set up to describe the wines on the list and will not work as well if you decide to pick something else.

Five wines from the original deck

2. Use only “typical” wines 

Here’s a wine term for you - typicity or typicality. According to Jancis Robinson’s Oxford Companion to Wine, this refers to the wine’s quality of being typical of its type, geographical provenance, and even its vintage. An often sited example is Chardonnay from California versus one from Chablis. 

Oaked and unoaked Chardonnay

First, the grapes may taste different based on the soil and climate from which they grow; in other words, different terroirs. The winemaking method also differs. Chablis is not typically oaked (with the exception of the Grand Cru) and tends to produce a lean and clean Chardonnay with high acidity. California Chardonnay is often oaked, which produces a richer, buttery wine with spice notes. Watch James Beard Award-winning author and wine communicator, Madeline Puckette of Wine Folly, blind taste both wines.

How do you pick a bottle that is “typical” of the grape variety and region? Ask your wine merchant or wine steward from where you purchase your wine. If there is none around, read the label and go for at least a mid price range bottle. I would avoid bottom shelf wine as they are highly unreliable in terms of typicity or typicality. (That is a blog post in itself for another day.)

3. Swirl, smell, sip, and spit

While spitting is optional, this is a friendly reminder to play the game responsibly. Depending on how many bottles you are blind tasting and how you are getting home after the game, spitting may be the smartest thing you do. Even if you don’t win the game this time (who is really keeping a straight score anyways), you will likely live to play another day.

Blind tasting

My Verdict: I have played Somm Blinders with both serious wine nerds and social wine drinkers. Everyone had a great time! We even made up other rules just to keep things interesting. It presents a level playing field so no one has to worry about how much or how little wine knowledge they bring to the game. I currently own the original deck but will definitely be adding to that. Cheers, and let’s have some fun!

Wine Flaw - Excessive Volatile Acidity

Ugh! My 2021 vintage has high volatile acidity (VA). It smells of pressed sugarcane juice and nail varnish. While I have made wine with high VA in the past, they were all within the threshold to be bottled and enjoyed. But the prospect for this vintage is dim. Hopefully, the addition of sulfites (sometimes referred to as SO2) will salvage some of it. 

Wait? Is sulfite the good guy now? What about VA? Let’s delve a little into the wine science. 

Nail varnish by Laura Chouette on Unsplash

What is VA?

VA is the measure of the volatile or gaseous acids in wine. The gaseous state of the acids is also the reason why VA can often be detected by smell. The aroma compounds that contribute to high VA in wine are primarily acetic acid (commonly known as vinegar) and secondarily ethyl acetate (associated with the smell of nail varnish). Oftentimes, the presence of VA is noticeable by the smell of nail varnish rather than that of vinegar. 

A certain amount of VA is acceptable and sometimes desirable to add to the character of a wine. Some sweet wines, such as Amarone della Valpolicella and Sauternes, and even dry ones, like Barolo, often accumulate a high level of VA. If you see the descriptor “lifted” in tasting notes or wine reviews, that’s what it means. However, when the level of VA results in an overpowering and off-putting aroma, it becomes unpleasant and can result in wine spoilage.

Acetic acid by CA Creative on Unsplash

VA is created by the activities of acetobacter. Acetobacter is a genus of acetic acid bacteria. It is widespread in nature and is responsible for creating vinegar, intentionally or otherwise. In winemaking, acetobacter can be found in bruised grapes, annoying fruit flies, winemaking equipment or anywhere in the cellar. Good sanitation practices, such as constant wiping down and cleaning with Star San, an acid-based sanitizer, is effective in limiting the presence of acetobacter.

SO2 versus VA

The reality is that it is nearly impossible to keep acetobacter out of the wine. The next layer of defense is to make the wine less conducive for bacterial activity. Acetobacter are aerobic organisms, which means they require oxygen to create havoc in the wine. Sulfite, an antioxidant, is often used to inhibit the microbial activity and growth. Yes, the much maligned sulfites are needed if you don’t want your wine to turn into vinegar.

Side note - How do natural wineries even make wine without adding sulfites? Maybe that is why natural wines often taste “interesting” and unpredictable!

Barrel tasting by Mauro Lima on Unsplash

Thankfully, modern science has crafted a formula to calculate the amount of sulfites needed for wine protection based on a number of parameters - such as pH and alcohol content. This hobby winemaker is just keeping up with it. 

Geek alert - As a rule of thumb, I have always targeted 50 ppm of FSO2 (parts per million of free sulfur dioxide) in the absence of a lab test. When sulfites are added to the wine, some will bind to the chemicals in the wine and some will dissipate. FSO2 refers to the remaining sulfur dioxide that is “free” or available to protect the wine. 

FSO2 need by pH level (Credits: enobytes.com)

As a hobby winemaker, I don’t perform multiple tests on my wine, unlike a commercial winery that would test throughout fermentation and aging. Instead, I tend to do a single broad spectrum test closer to bottling. Well, that did not work very well when the final test results indicated that the wine was not stable nor stabilizing.

My wine pH was >4.0, a first for me. Based on the chart above, I would have needed more than twice the regular SO2 dose to protect the wine. Even though I was dosing to achieve 50ppm FSO2, the test results showed that my FSO2 level was only at 4ppm. No wonder my wine is suffering from high VA. Recovery from high VA this late in the game is incredibly challenging. So lessons learned!

My Verdict: Rules of thumb are great until they don’t work. Learning from my own mistakes, albeit painful, sticks better. The good thing about winemaking is that if one vintage fails, you get to do it all over again the next year. You bet I’m going to do things differently, like doing focused tests on the wine and paying more attention to pH. I plan to kick VA in the butt for this next vintage. Wish me luck!

My Go-To “Grocery Store” Wines

Summer! It’s time for road trips, hikes, and picnics. For such moments, you want a wine that is made for easy drinking and maybe fits into a CamelBak®. Here are my three go-to “grocery store” wines that are widely available and eager to please - a white, a pink, and a bubbly.

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region is an easy choice for the summer. Kim Crawford ensures consistency of quality for US$10-$18. Pale yellow in the glass, the Sauvignon Blanc has the distinct Marlborough perfume of green apple and fresh herbs. On the palate, it is vibrant with plenty of acidity, tropical fruit, and a tinge of grassy field. Kim Crawford pairs really well with fresh oysters and seafood. It also works with corn dogs and coleslaw.

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

Fun Facts: Founded by the namesake winemaker and his wife, Kim Crawford Wines started in 1996 as a “virtual” winery. The couple ran the business from their home and used leased facilities to keep operating costs low. In 1998, the wines were exported to the United States and were highly successful. By 2003, Vincor International, a Canadian company, bought the the winery for US$8.6 million plus an incremental amount based on the growth in profit for the next five years. In 2008, Vincor was purchased by global beverage giant, Constellation Brands. Since then, Kim Crawford has been part of the Constellation wine portfolio, which ensures its availability throughout the country.

AIX Rosé

If your favorite wine color is pink, I recommend a nice Provençal rosé. And if you’d like a label that you can remember, it doesn’t get easier than AIX. From Maison Saint Aix, AIX Rosé is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault. Salmon pink in color, the rosé is aromatic with floral and herbal notes. On the palate, it is dry, medium-bodied, and zesty with tropical fruit and briny minerality. AIX Rosé pairs well with poached lobster and roast chicken. Or enjoy it with ham sandwiches and potato salad. You can find AIX Rosé in the range of US$16-19 at major grocery stores.

AIX Rosé

Fun Facts: Despite being named after the celebrated appellation of Coteaux d’Aix en Provence, AIX is a young winery owned by a Dutchman. Looking for a life change in his mid-forties, owner and winemaker Eric Kruger left his advertising career and moved to France with his family. He eventually decided to follow his passion in wine, something he nurtured since his high school days working in a wine shop. The first vintage of AIX was produced in 2009 and won the Medaille d’Or in Paris. Leveraging his marketing expertise, Kruger was able to catapult AIX into the US market, and we can now find it in our grocery stores. 

Flama D’Or Brut Cava

Perhaps you are looking for a little sparkler this summer without breaking the bank. At US$6-9, the Flama D’Or Brut Cava is an excellent deal. Cava is Spain’s affordable answer to Champagne. It is made in the traditional or Champagne method. This means that the second fermentation of the wine takes place in the bottle (as opposed to a tank like a Prosecco). Flama D’Or is made with three Spanish grapes - Macabeo, Xarel.lo, and Parellada. Straw yellow in color, persistent bubbles from the wine help deliver floral and fruity aroma. On the palate, it is vibrant, fizzy, and citrusy. Flama D’Or Brut Cava is perfect with tapas. It is also yummy with fried chicken or creamy mac and cheese.

Flama D’Or Brut Cava

Fun Facts: Flama D’Or Brut Cava is made by Castell D’Or, founded by a group of 13 Catalan cooperative wineries in 2006. These wineries span the areas of El Penedès, La Conca de Barberà, Priorat, Tarragona and Montsant. In Spain, cooperativism dates back to the second half of the 19th century. The member wineries of Castell D’Or pull together their generations of winemaking knowledge to create a wide range of cavas and a few still wines. Besides being found in grocery stores, Flama D’Or Brut Cava has also gained popularity in restaurants for being food-friendly at a great price point.

With several weeks of summer left, I hope you find a “grocery store” wine that beats the heat and also the inflation. And if you happen to try any of the three, let me know what you think. Enjoy!

The Pinot Gris You Never Knew

Pinot Gris is often thought of as the grape next door - commonplace, approachable, and pleasant. Originating from France, Pinot Gris is mostly used to make a dry white wine that is zesty with notes of stone fruit. The grape is also known as Pinot Grigio in Italy, where the style of wine made tends to be lighter and livelier with higher acidity. Either expression of the white wine makes for easy sipping in the summer but not something that wows the palate.

Grayish-pink Pinot Gris by Reinhold Möller

It’s Not Really White

What you may not know is that Pinot Gris is not even a white grape. In fact, it is a mutation of Pinot Noir, where one of the two cell layers responsible for berry color is missing anthocyanins. It is crazy to think that both grapes are genetically identical except that the skin of Pinot Gris is grayish-pink (“gris” is gray in French) while the skin of Pinot Noir is deep dark red (“noir” is black in French).

Anthocyanins by Bruna Branco on Unsplash

Anthocyanins are color pigments found in many blue, red, and purple fruits and vegetables. Although anthocyanins by themselves are odorless and nearly flavorless, they do interact with aroma substances during the vinification process to enhance the flavor of the completed wine. Because of its lower level of anthocyanins, Pinot Gris is seldom made into a red wine. 

You Say Rosato

In recent years, I have seen more Pinot Gris being made into rosé (or rosato in Italy). That was actually how I found out that Pinot Gris is not a white grape. SMAK, a woman-owned winery in Walla Walla that makes rosés exclusively, has a summer blush that is 100% Pinot Gris. Depending on the vintage, the color ranges from light copper to pink hue. But it is always crisp, with notes of peaches and melons as well as delicious minerality. I have since tasted other pink Pinot Gris and generally prefer it to the dry white expression.

SMAK Summer Rosé

I Say Ramato

Last year, I had a taste of the 2020 Holocene Pinot Gris that blew my mind away. It had a beautiful deep orange-red hue and the aroma was a juxtaposition of smoke, cigar, and stone fruit all at once. On the palate, it was vibrant yet smoky and complex with notes of whiskey.

Is this a red, pink or orange wine? As I savored the wine, I knew this much - that was not a white wine! I would have pegged it as an orange wine except that it was not made with white grapes. Holocene website describes their Pinot Gris as a “great balance between a ramato-style orange wine and a rosé.” 

2020 Holocene Pinot Gris

So what exactly is ramato? Wine scholar Lynn Gowdy of Savor the Harvest described it best when she wrote “(o)range wines are made from white grapes, rosé from red grapes, and ramato only from Pinot Grigio.” Ramato style of Pinot Grigio originated from the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region of Italy. It was the traditional way of making Pinot Grigio till the 1960s when white Pinot Grigio was popularized and exported.

Because Pinot Gris (or Grigio) is technically a red grape, one could argue that ramato is closer to a rosé or rosato than a traditional orange wine. However, the length of skin contact for a ramato sits somewhere between that of a pink wine and an orange wine. Depending on the winemaker’s style, maceration may last from 24 hours to two weeks and hence the wine develops the kind of complexity that is more commonly found in an orange wine than a pink wine.

My Verdict: Why limit yourself to dry white Pinot Gris? In my opinion, Pinot Gris blush and ramato are far more interesting and delicious. Give it a try this summer and prepare to be wowed. The grape next door does not always have to be plain. 

Savennières, the Cerebral Chenin Blanc

For most Americans, Chenin Blanc is a nice nondescript sipper. We may have an opinion on Chardonnay (oak or steel), Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough or Sancerre), and Pinot Gris versus Pinot Grigio. But very few have much to say about Chenin Blanc. In parts of France and in South Africa, however, Chenin Blanc is the talk of the wine town.

2018 Château Pierre-Bise Savennières 

Recently, I broke out a bottle of the 2018 Clos le Grand Beaupréau Savennières from Château Pierre-Bise. Savennières (pronounced sah-ven-yair) is a captivating but underrated wine made from Chenin Blanc. Medium to deep straw in color, the wine started off lightly aromatic. But when it opened up in the glass, I got a tinge of botrytized sweetness, honey, toffee, pear, and quince, all of which balanced with an abundance of acidity. The wine had a full mouthfeel and a very pleasant finish. 

For this month’s post, let’s delve into Savennières, the wine that some wine critics call the cerebral Chenin Blanc.

Where in the World is Savennières?

Lovers of Old World or generally European wines are familiar with the practice of labeling wine by the region names rather than grape varieties. Savennières is an area within the Anjou wine region located in western Loire Valley (the orange area below). Anjou is also believed to be the place of origin for Chenin Blanc, where it is also known as pineau de la loire. 

Savennières is within Anjou wine region in the Loire Valley

In the Loire Valley, Chenin Blanc is made in a broad range of styles - from sweet to dry, from sparkling to still. In addition to its versatility, the grape also has a lot of natural acidity and holds enough sugar to give the wine a burst of crisp tartness that is rounded and smooth. 

Savennières vs. Vouvray

While Vouvray tends to take the center stage for Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley, Savennières offers a compelling alternate expression of the grape. Savennières is often more interesting and engaging while Vouvray is deemed friendlier and more approachable. While I have yet to taste the two wines side by side, my limited palate memory certainly favors Savennières over Vouvray in general.

Vineyard at Château Pierre-Bise

Both Savennières and Vouvray vineyards are situated in similar latitude with comparable climate. One difference between them is the soil. The soil in Vouvray is mostly clay and limestone while Savennières has hills of schist. Andrew Jefford did a “terroir tasting” for Decanter a few years ago, specifically focusing on wine grown on limestone versus schist. The results were consistent with the flavor profiles of Vouvray and Savennières. Wines grown on limestone are fresher, more vibrant and more ready to enjoy while wines grown on schist are weightier, more intense, and need more time to open up. 

Another difference between the two wines lies in the winemaking approach. Savennières often goes through malolactic fermentation while Vouvray does not, resulting in a buttery and fuller mouthfeel in the former. Savennières also tends to be more oxidative and has a higher alcohol content, giving it a different character from Vouvray.

My Verdict: If Chenin Blanc has not struck your fancy in the past, you may want to try Savennières. You can often find good bottles in the $20-40 price range at your local wine shop. Savennières does take time to open up, sometimes up to 48 hours. I prefer to let it sit in the glass and sip it over a couple of hours to observe its transformation. I hope you give Savennières a go. I would love to hear what you think.

Wine and War in Ukraine

Unless you have been hiding under a rock (and I don’t blame you for that), you have been bombarded with headlines about Ukraine. For over two months, the world has watched in horror as Russia invaded the country and inflicted devastation on its infrastructure and its people.

Unbeknownst to many, myself included, Ukraine has a rich wine history. That is not top of mind as Ukraine vineyards are being pummeled with Russian missiles and artillery. But it does draw a parallel to the resistance of French wine families against the Nazi regime during World War II. While today’s history is still in the making, let’s look back at the origin of wine culture in Ukraine.

Ukraine Wine Regions by WSET

Early Winemaking

Winemaking in Ukraine dates back to the 4th century BC on the south coast of Crimea. There is evidence of wine presses and amphorae from that era. Crimea and the southern Ukraine areas that hug the Black Sea have always been considered the oldest wine regions of the country. Ancient Greeks and later Ancient Romans that settled along the area had found it to be ideal for growing grape varieties for table wine. In addition to Crimea, these would include modern day Odessa, Mykloayviv, and Kherson.

North of the Black Sea regions and on the west side of Ukraine is the Transcarpathia (or Zakarpattya). It is believed that winemaking in the area was started 2,000 years ago by the Celts and Dacians. The first documented mention of Transcarpathian grapes was found in a letter dated 1093. It was written by a Hungarian king to gift the village of Sevlyush (translated as “grape village”) to the monks.

Melitopol vineyard by Rodion Kutsaev on Unsplash

From Russian Royalty to Russian Revolution

In the early 19th century, Crimea thrived as an agricultural area under Russian Prince Mikhail Vorontsov. He also developed vineyards and helped establish Crimea’s first school of winemaking. Upon his death, his estates were sold to the Russian Imperial family and then placed under the charge of Paris-educated Lev Golitsyn. Golitsyn was considered the father of modern winemaking in Crimea and had cultivated 600 grape varieties. Golitsyn also had great success making sparkling wine in Crimea so much so that his sparkler defeated all French entries to claim the Grand Prix de Champagne at the 1900 Paris World Fair.

1952 poster advertising Soviet champagne

Following the Russian Revolution, wineries in Ukraine and other Soviet Union countries were subject to the changing agendas of the Kremlin leadership. During collectivized agriculture in the 1920s, quantity of wine was preferred over quality. In 1936, Stalin decided that sparkling wine should be made available to all people. This led to the introduction of Sovetskoye Shampanskoye (or Soviet champagne). Ukraine, with 250,000 hectors of vineyards, was the largest wine producer to the USSR. In the 1980s, however, a third of its vineyards were destroyed as part Mikhail Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign.

Post Soviet Era

After the breakup of the Soviet Union and the independence of Ukraine in 1991, many vineyards were pulled and repurposed for other forms of agriculture. As the dust settled, the remaining Ukraine vineyards were generally categorized into four regions, three of which hug the Black Sea:

• Transcarpathia on the westmost part of Ukraine and within close proximity to the Hungarian Tokaj region
• Bessarabia between Moldova and the Black Sea
• Rest of the Black Sea Region
• Crimea peninsula

Vineyard in Crimea by Alexey Fedenkov on Unsplash

In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and took half of the Ukrainian wine production with it. Most of the wines produced in Crimea were semi-sweet and dessert wines. The Ukrainian wine industry then moved its focus to making Western-style dry wine. Since then, Ukraine’s production of dry wines has grown by seven to nine percent every year. This was further accelerated with the lifting of an archaic law that required a steep registration fee of US$19,000 to bottle wine. This was replaced in 2018 with simpler requirements and an annual fee of US$30. 

What now?

As one knows, the modern Ukrainian wine boom was short-lived. Since February, many of the wine regions around the Black Sea were shelled. Russian troops occupied, looted, and destroyed numerous wineries. Russian missiles peppered the vineyards. The fallout from the war also impacted supply chain and wine tourisms in neighboring countries, such as Poland, Georgia, and Hungary. 

The international wine community has been showing support for Ukraine in different ways. Several European wineries got organized to provide accommodation for Ukrainian refugees. Renowned British wine media, Decanter, will be cancelling entries of Russian wineries for the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards while waiving fees for Ukrainian entrants. 

Quilceda Creek Winery fund raising for Ukraine

Several fine wine auctions are being held to raise funds for emergency relief efforts and humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees. One private member club, Crurate, raised US$130,000 that were distributed to the Red Cross, Save the Children, UNHCR, and UNICEF. 

Many wineries are also raising funds for Ukraine. Top Washington winery Quilceda Creek is donating 100% of the gross sales from the release of their first and only planned production of white wines to the José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen to feed Ukrainian refugees. Upon release on April 20, the wines were sold out in under an hour. It was estimated that over US$300,000 would be raised. I was among the several privileged winery members to secure the 2020 Quilceda Creek Horse Heaven Hills Sauvignon Blanc and 2020 Quilceda Blanc Columbia Valley White Wine.

My Verdict: In today’s world, it is hard to comprehend the atrocities that are committed against a sovereign nation. I hope that many will contribute to humanitarian aid for displaced Ukrainians. Check out your local wine shops, wineries, or communities for opportunities to help. Or you can donate to the efforts of José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen. Peace to you.

Behind a Great Winery is a Carrie Alexander

I first met Carrie Alexander of Force Majeure Vineyards three years ago. Carrie was and still is the Director of Sales and Marketing, and I was among a dozen people attending the winemaker dinner. An unforeseen construction delay at the winery’s new facility in Milton-Freewater led to a last-minute change in the dinner venue. Carrie moved the dinner to the lovely home she shared with her husband and winemaker, Todd. 

Force Majeure winemaker dinner at Carrie and Todd's home

That night, from the pre-dinner social to the seated affair, Carrie made sure our wine glasses were never lacking and each course was served and timed flawlessly. Her goal was to showcase the carefully curated wines while crafting a memorable dining experience. She achieved both with the grace and finesse that came from years of experience in fine dining.

Today, Carrie wears many hats. In addition to her work at Force Majeure, she also plays a pivotal role at The Walls Vineyards, Pasxa Wines, and Holocene Wines. I am stoked when Carrie agreed to let me interview her for the blog. Let’s get to know Carrie.

You've been somewhat of a veteran in the wine industry from Napa to Walla Walla. How did you first get into the wine business? 

I got my start in the late 90’s working as a server at the Napa Valley’s Rutherford Grill and Bouchon. I had access to many amazing wines during the weekly staff tastings with winemakers. It was an opportunity you can’t get just anywhere. Later, I became a restaurant manager and wine buyer. During my time at the Arizona Inn in Tucson, I achieved the AAA Four Diamond Award for the restaurants at the Inn, a first in its 70-year history. I also elevated the wine list, which gained recognition from the New York Times.

Carrie in Molly Chappallet’s garden

After many years working in restaurants, and with my children being school-age, I made the transition to the wine industry. I managed the tasting room and marketing for Chappellet Winery. That was life changing.

Molly Chappellet is an unparalleled woman whose attention to detail and creativity had a major influence on me. When my staff think I’m being overly specific about how I want things done at the winery, I have been known to mention that Molly would make us measure all of the edges of a table cloth to ensure they were perfectly even on all sides. 

People tend to romanticize working in a winery, and yet the business part of running a winery is just as important. Tell me how you developed your business skills.

While in the the Napa Valley, I worked for Chef Cindy Pawlcyn of Mustard’s Grill fame. What an amazing business woman she is. Her partner Sean Knight was instrumental in developing my skills as a manager. He took time to train me on financials and really seemed to believe in my potential.

Carrie with Chef Cindy Pawlcyn

What is it like to be a female in the wine industry, and how has it changed over the years?

I think it’s really common for women to deal with gender-related challenges at some point in their career. I have been extremely fortunate because I have worked with, and for, some truly amazing and inspiring women - and men, for that matter.

In recent years, I have observed that “women in wine” is being used more frequently as a marketing angle. It’s certainly a driver for consumers, who are particularly interested in supporting wineries with female winemakers.

In your experience, what has been done to champion women in the wine industry?

There are winery owners out there who really champion women in the wine business. Mike Martin, owner of The Walls, is one of them. Early on in our discussions about my joining The Walls, he expressed an appreciation of my experience and knowledge in the wine industry. He was really the first person in Washington who didn’t see me as Todd Alexander’s wife, but as an individual with her own set of skills and accomplishments. 

Carrie showcasing The Walls wine

I can understand why some might see my position in the industry as having to do with being married to a very well-respected winemaker. There are certainly benefits to being so close to someone so talented, creative, and dedicated. But we both work very hard and have our own set of skills contributing to our overall success in this industry. 

To me, feminism is about equality. It may be somewhat controversial, but I actually don’t try to involve myself in groups that are specifically for women. I prefer to be a part of groups that are diverse and then work toward improving women’s recognition within those groups. 

Is there one woman in the industry who has inspired you throughout your career? 

Absolutely. I don’t even have to think for two seconds about who it is. Blakesley Chappellet is someone I admire and whom I consider a mentor. I worked with Blakesley at Chappellet in the Marketing Department. Her uncompromising quest for excellence in experience and aesthetics are an inspiration to me. I will never forget her saying, “Fine is NOT fine.” That is, if it’s “fine,” it is not good enough. 

What is your advice for young women who want to venture into the wine industry? 

Find people who care about purpose-driven businesses. A purpose-driven business is one that cares not just about gender equality, but about equality for all. It cares about economic and environmental sustainability and providing a living wage to all those along the supply chain. Sustainable, purpose-driven businesses are inherently going to care about your future within them. 

Also, try to find people who inspire you and believe in your potential. Those who work with me know that I care about their careers, not just the job they do today and for our winery. I try very hard to nurture their passions and their skills so that they can go on to create a life they love. Sean Knight, Cindy Pawlcyn, Blakesley Chappellet, Molly Chappellet, and Mike Martin have all done that for me, and for that I am eternally grateful.

"Find people who inspire you and believe in your potential" - Carrie

Outside of work, you are also passionate about giving back to the community. Can you tell me about your volunteer work?

I sit on the Executive Board of the Walla Walla Alliance for the Homeless, and that is currently the main focus of my volunteer work. The Alliance is celebrating its 5th anniversary on May 22nd with a fundraiser at The Walls. The goal is to raise money to create fifteen transitional shelters for those who have demonstrated that they are ready to take a step toward housing. It provides an opportunity to practice more independent living before being assisted to move into an apartment or a house.