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 Well, that's not quite the selling approach this fabulous Petit Sirah would take on it's own, but Judd Finkelstein's love of wine and Hawaiian music are so intertwined that it could be a marketing campaign.
Recognize the name? Judd is the son of Art and Bunnie Finkelstein
who are well respected, fine Napa Valley winemakers; they produce
the outstanding Merlots and Cabernets of Judd's Hill, named
for — who else? — son Judd.
Judd lives in L.A. these days, racking up sales for Judd's Hill wines but he longs to get back to Napa Valley to rack something else — wines at the family winery.
When he isn't hitting congested freeways to sell wine, Judd's hitting the recording studio to make another CD with his group called The Maikai Gents. You can get an idea of his passion for Hawaiian sounds by visiting his website, www.mkgents.com. Then you can get a sense of his passion for making wine by trying his 2000 Petit Sirah (he spells it the alternative way — Petite Sirah. Any way you spell it, it's still the same mystical and delicious Duriff grape…).
Since he was old enough to stand up, Judd has been crushing grapes. His father began a winemaking career by crushing fruit in the family garage; Judd stomped on those grapes long before he rode a bike. "It's in my DNA," says the 30-year-old winemaker.
Living in the shadow of a successful winemaker family is not easy; Art and Bunnie built and sold Whitehall Lane Winery, which is a mid-valley, Rutherford, Napa Valley, gem. Striving to make a name for himself, Judd set out to bottle some of his own blends. His first efforts were successful and they are improving each vintage as Judd finds new sources of fruit.
To date, he has produced, in different years, a Pinot Noir, a Syrah and the Petit Sirah that is being offered on ilovenapa.com.
"I found an incredible lode of Petit Sirah on the Cranston Vineyard near the tiny town of Acampo, in the central valley," says Judd. The vines are 40-years-old. I bought fruit in 1999 to blend into a Syrah that I was making. But I found the fruit so good that I decided to make a 100% Petit Sirah with it in 2000."
Judd initially went south, to L.A. to get a degree in TV production and stayed on to work in the industry for three years. Judd says he likes the industry but doesn't have the same passion for it that he has for fine winemaking. "I have an itch to scratch — I have to get back to Napa Valley to make wine."
Although Judd plans to return to his family's winery, he'll
have to wait about a year until his wife is ready to move out
of L.A. Holly is getting an MBA in business, which may prove
to be a handy tool for moving the family wine business to a
whole new level.
2000 Judd, Cranston Vineyard, Petit Sirah
Purple-blue colors on the eye and purple-blue scents in the nose; the wine has the aroma of a lean Australian Shiraz more than it does of a typical Petit Sirah.
Tons of blue fruit on the tongue; jazzy rifts of blue
and red fruit zip across the palate. There is a rich middle
palate with a thwap! of cocoa entering about three-quarters
of the way through the swallow. The wine ends with a lusty
top-note. We kept our bottle open and at room temp, with
just the cork gently replaced — no gimmicks, no aerosol
cans, no gas, no goofy pumping systems — and 36 hours
later the wine was even better! Only $26, available in
many area wine stores.. |
ilovenapa.com Rating:
$26 |
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