Vineyard & Winery Management Magazine
Feature Story
Q&A - Stéphane DerenoncourtThe star winemaking consultant discusses his approach, his California brand and New World potential
By Laurent Guinand
Originally from northern France, Stéphane Derenoncourt arrived in Bordeaux in the early 1980s and immediately started working in the vineyards. As a self-taught viticulturist, he expanded his experiences in numerous appellations throughout the southwest of France.
As he strived to push the concept of terroir, Derenoncourt was inspired by the Burgundian model and focused on capturing minerality and freshness in his wines. He developed his own work methodologies, based more on intuition and less on systematic decisions. Empirical observation and tasting the berries, juices and wines are underlying pillars of his approach.
In 1999, Derenoncourt and his wife, Christine, purchased Domaine de l'A, a property located in the Cotes de Castillon in Bordeaux. Derenoncourt also became a "flying winemaker" - global consultant - after a very successful winemaking experience at Chateau Pavie Macquin ("my baby," as he calls it). Derenoncourt now works with about 60 properties throughout the world, where he proposes an integrated approach to his clients, from vineyard management to winemaking. He defines his work as research to optimize a local terroir.
In February 2010, Derenoncourt announced the release of the first wines under his Derenoncourt California label (total production around 4,000 cases). The 2006 releases include four Napa Valley wines - a cabernet sauvignon from Caldwell Vineyard ($220), a cabernet franc from Caldwell Vineyard ($140), a merlot from Stagecoach Vineyard ($140) and a syrah from Hudson Vineyard ($60). There is also a Lake County cabernet sauvignon from Red Hills Vineyard ($40).
V&WM: As a consultant for numerous wineries throughout the world, do you spend more time in the vineyard or in the winery?
SD: We spend much more time in the vineyard because the quality of the grapes is the essential ingredient to making a good wine. Making wine with first-rate input is then not very complicated. We strive to work in the most natural environment, from sustainable farming to a biodynamic approach, depending on the location of the vineyard.
V&WM: Do you think that the biodynamic approach will remain a market niche, or will it represent a standard that numerous growers will adopt in the future?
SD: The biodynamic movement has a great future in front of it. This method has already delivered numerous wonderful wines, and is now well-covered by the media. It reassures consumers on health issues because of the natural quality of the product. Its philosophy is also attractive in a time where the excess of traditional viticulture (in particular, regarding the use of chemicals, water needs for irrigation and yield management) finds itself at odds with green concerns of many consumers, such as global warming and protection of the environment.
V&WM: Do you like the increased flexibility in vineyard management and winemaking in the New World, compared to France, and Bordeaux in particular? How does that translate to organoleptic qualities of the wines?
SD: Since regulations are less constraining in the New World, we do have more flexibility. But in reality, the exercise is actually the opposite: You have to fight to find (grape) maturity in Bordeaux, whereas California imposes on us to adapt to too much sun in order to keep enough freshness in the fruit.
Once at Rubicon Estate (in Rutherford), we did a blind tasting of 10 Napa wines. We found that the wines scoring the highest were the ones with the highest level of residual sugar. I am not a big fan of sugar and jammy wines, and I believe that these types of wines are taking too much space in the landscape. The same goes for food, as I think there is now too much sugar in what we eat. These flavors are easy to identify and are comforting, like a sweet. But it is a little bit too simplistic for wines, which have much more to express than that.
V&WM: Speaking of California wines, why did you decide to create your own California wine brand?
SD: I wanted to have an experience in this major wine region of the world, other than being a consultant.
V&WM: What are the main differences between being a consultant for an American winery and producing your own wine in the United States?
SD: The main difference is directly linked to your level of control in viticulture. When you buy grapes, you usually deal with grapegrowers who are not winemakers. It is therefore difficult to impose your philosophy and approach on viticulture to these grapegrowers. When you buy a few tons of grapes that do not represent much in the total sales of a grapegrower, you have very little leverage to impose strict viticultural rules.
Consulting for a winery is entirely different. My goal is to enter in the domaine's intimacy in order to evaluate the qualitative potential of the vineyard and winery, the goals of the owners and the means used to reach the objectives. When the project is interesting, we then propose a global approach, from the vineyard to winemaking. If the project is accepted by the owners, then our entire team is involved. We are very active all year long, visiting our clients numerous times throughout the year.
V&WM: Once you receive the grapes for your California wines, how do you vinify them?
SD: Once we obtain the grapes we want, the process is simple, gentle and respectful. We vinify full berries with soft extraction. We do manual pigeage (punchdown) with a controlled temperature of around 82°F.
V&WM: Many of your wines are around 15.5% alcohol. How does that fit in with your winemaking philosophy?
SD: Alcohol is only a part of the balance of the wine. It is important to keep precision in terms of ripeness and to treat the fruit without violence when you crush, with slow extraction. You can feel more alcohol in a wine with 12.5% and unripe tannins than in a wine with 15% and a good balance.
V&WM: Some of your wines are already sold out. How do you market them? What are your main distribution channels?
SD: We distribute through the classical distribution channels. Additionally, we designed a website (www.derenoncourtcalifornia.com) that allows customers to find out where to buy our wines. We also regularly organize trade and media events to present our wines.
V&WM: Getting back to the consulting side, what attracted you to Boxwood Winery in Middleburg, Va., and what do you think of the potential of Virginia wines?
SD: When Boxwood approached me in 2006, they asked me to visit the vineyard and winery. They had already done a lot of homework with regard to planting the vines and developing the local terroir. They were determined to have a scientific approach to vineyard management and winemaking. They also had the means to their goals. Also, I clicked immediately with the family. Finally, Virginia is an easy stop on my way back from California to Bordeaux. So I had no hesitation to work for Boxwood.
As far as Virginia is concerned, it is true that its wines are not very well-known outside of the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area. Some of the white wines were well-received internationally, but red wines have been trailing. The issue is that people have been trying to make wine there since Thomas Jefferson, but with limited success because of the weather, which triggers a lack of concentration in grapes, as well as pest and mildew. Today, there are a number of interesting wineries leading the way. I believe that Boxwood is a key component of that effort to put Virginia on the map. From my experience there over the past few years, I am now persuaded that the key red variety for Virginia is cabernet franc.
V&WM: You are based in Bordeaux, but you are also a big fan of Burgundy. Where else in the world do you think that pinot noir has realistic possibilities to produce icon wines, and why?
SD: It is difficult to produce powerful yet balanced wines with pinot noir. I strongly believe therefore that Burgundy remains the temple of subtlety. Burgundy benefits from a continental climate that pushes pinot to its limits. This is only with a serious viticulture program that you can obtain such complexity in wines. We should not forget that pinot loves limestone, which is rare, especially in the New World. Europeans should communicate more often on this.
V&WM: You consult in different parts of the world, such as India, Lebanon and Turkey. Do you think that with a good understanding of terroir and ample technical means, it is possible to produce interesting wines everywhere in the world?
SD: Indeed, I think that we can produce interesting wines in many parts of the globe, but I am also persuaded that there are few places where we can make icon wines with nice complexity and balance, and that are easy to digest.
V&WM: In this context, which countries have the potential to emerge on the international scene in the coming years, similar to Austria and New Zealand?
SD: A lot will depend on the evolution of tastes. Things are sometime difficult to compare. Austrian wines will seduce wine aficionados who like freshness and acidity, whereas New Zealand wines will attract those who enjoy strong concentration and residual sugar. The impact of wine marketing is also so strong that it is difficult to predict who will emerge successfully. There are a number of historical regions where the potential exists with an existing base of vines planted and a certain know-how. I am thinking in particular of Eastern European countries, as well as eastern Mediterranean countries with poor soils and the presence of limestone. Turkey and Georgia have great potential with interesting local varieties. In many occasions, wineries there need to get out of a traditional viticultural approach based on high yield in order to rediscover the terroir and let it express itself.
V&WM: Where is your next challenge?
SD: My company has known such fast growth that we have never done any business development. We take things as they come, depending on our level of interest, and demand is strong enough for us to choose our clients. I do not plan my future. I enjoy meeting new people and I am very attached to the human dimension in any new undertaking.
V&WM: Do you still accept new clients?
SD: Yes, I am lucky to have formed a very strong team of professionals, which allows me to take on more clients if need be.
V&WM: How many are on your team? Do you meet with every client?
SD: I have seven people, and I am not involved with each client now. We have two levels of contract - one with me and one without me. But I still visit 70 clients.
V&WM: In conclusion, what are the three main challenges facing the wine industry today?
SD: First: mastering know-how. Second: mastering communication and marketing. Third: positioning wines on the right ratio between quality, price and pleasure.
Laurent Guinand is the founder of GiraMondo Wine, an event and consulting company based in Washington, D.C. He teaches wine marketing at the Bordeaux International Wine Institute and the Burgundy School of Business. In 2010, he launched the Wine Entrepreneur Conference, an international conference aimed at promoting entrepreneurship in the wine industry.
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