We’ve confirmed Clark Smith for the week Jan 13-18, 2014 as our next Special Guest on Wine Berserkers. Here’s a brief bio, as provided by Clark:
I’ve been making and selling wine since I dropped out of MIT in 1972, first as a retailer in the east Bay and then in the cellar at Veedercrest prior to the BS and MS degrees at UC Davis, after which I was founding winemaker at R.H. Phillips in the Dunnigan Hills and then went on to start WineSmith Wines and Consulting, out of which grew patents for reverse osmosis methods for alcohol and VA removal. This gave birth to Vinovation in 1992, which specialized in developing new winemaking tools including ultrafiltration, electrodialysis and micro-oxygenation.
I make Eurocentric experimental wines for my own WineSmith brand (balanced, very long-aging Bordeaux style Cab Sauv and Cab Franc, Faux Chablis and Beaune-style Pinot Noir, and for Diamond Ridge Vineyards and Two Jakes, for whom I have been experimenting in high ticket sulfite-free Bordeaux varieties for over a decade.
In 2008, I got out of the technology business because I thought writing about wine, particularly the 99% of winemakers who own tiny brands with no distribution who need their stories told, was a better use of my time. This year, U.C. Press published > Postmodern Winemaking> , which spans a broad range of technical and social issues about which too little is being said. I also have taught a course in Fundamentals of Wine Chemistry for 29 years and am an Adjunct professor at CSU Fresno and Florida International University where I teach online introductory classes and conduct research on Wine and Music, cognitive enology, and minerality, and give edutours of the Republic of Georgia.
I sing in two local choruses and am working on a CD of songs about the real wine industry.
I’ve judged with Clark at various wine competitions over the past decade (as recently as the 2013 Sonoma County Harvest Fair.) he can hold his own against the best of this board. It should be fun.
Please note the dates have changed, as Clark will have BerserkerDay offers on his book, and some wines that would merit discussion when he is our Special Guest
Are these WineSmith wines or anything that may be limited production and sell out?
I’m interested in tasting the wines that would be discussed, but am worried they may disappear in a BerserkerDay frenzy while I’m busy with the day job.
I’ve been known to do that from time to time, Mary.
Actually, I thought Clark was quite gentle & even-handed in his treatment of Alice in his book. He doesn’t have much
respect for the “natural” wine movement, but he’s not “Klappy” (new adjective added to the lexicon here) about it.
Tom
I certainly would enjoy it, Andrew. I think it would be quite civilized & educational. I haven’t seen anything in Alice’s blog about her thoughts
on Clark’s book & ideas.
What I would like to see, and haven’t yet seen to my knowledge, is a discussion of Clark’s thoughts & ideas by some
of the other winemakers. I noticed in a recent interview w/ PaaulDraper, Paul referred to their winemaking at Ridge as being
“pre-industrial rather than post-modern”, which I view as a comment (but not a slap in the face…Paul wouldn’t do that) on Clark’s ideas.
I’d very much like to hear Paul’s thoughts on Clark’s ideas.
Tom
Clark Smith has a wine up for sale today on Wine Woot. He fully participates in the discussion there, so if you’re interested in getting a feel for what he is about you may want to check it out.
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