Donald getting a taste of the wine business  PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents RUTHERFORD, Calif. -- All that was missing was the bunsen burner. Of course, high school chemistry class was never this much fun.  (Bruce Philpott/Terlato Wine Group)
Winemaker Marisa Taylor Huffaker carefully measured the various lots of dark red wine into a long, thin beaker before emptying the contents into another, larger, one. Each time the blend was different, with its own distinct taste. And with each pour, the group of nine people, surrounded by six glasses and a grid to track the percentages of each lot in the blend, came closer and closer to what will become Luke Donald's signature wine. The blending session was held last month at the Rutherford Hill winery, nestled in the hills at the northern tip of the Napa Valley. The goal was to develop a Claret for the young Englishman that Paterno Wines International would market. This was a hands-on experience for Donald and his fiancée Diane Antonopoulos, courtesy of their hosts, Bill and Debbie Terlato. The Terlato family owns four wineries -- Chimney Rock, Alberbrook, Sanford and Rutherford Hill -- and a thriving import business. Donald met Terlato when he was a student at Northwestern. Terlato took lessons from Donald's coach, Pat Goss, who initially suggested the two get together. Depending on which of the three golfers that Terlato jokes inhabit his body comes to play, his handicap is between 0 and 4. "(My coach) thought it would be good for me to have some good competitive games," Donald said. "Also, Bill had an interest in sports cars, and so did I. And I knew he had a background in wine, which I was just getting into at the time." Terlato liked the soft-spoken Donald, a two-time TOUR winner and now the No. 10-ranked player in the world, immediately. "He seemed very mature," Terlato said. "Very respectful. He also had an interest in wine and food, and so, from time to time -- I mean, he was a college student -- I'd bring some bottles for him and his friends to taste, and he would tell me what he liked and which wines he preferred. "That's how we struck up a friendship. Over the years, we started to play some golf and spend more time together. And the friendship just sort of blossomed." Last year, Terlato floated the idea of creating a wine for Donald. He was adamant, however, that he didn't want a celebrity endorser. Terlato wanted someone who would be involved in the development of the product. "It was something totally different than anything we've ever done," Terlato said. "We're developing a food culture in the United States, and so we see this as an opportunity to produce a product that represents his personality, but also targets a younger audience." The opportunity to partner with his friend, whose family business is the nation's No. 1 high-end wine importer by volume, was a no-brainer for Donald. "I've always tried to surround myself with kind of premier brands to elevate my brand," said Donald, who already has contracts with Polo, Rolex and the Royal Bank of Scotland. "Whenever I've done any deals it wasn't really about chasing money. It's about situating myself with the right kind of brands. ... I guess it's a kind of lifestyle, in a way. "Every time I tell people (about the wine) they are very interested, "Oh wow, that sounds pretty cool." Being involved in the process is what makes it really fun. I don't want to just open my first bottle of wine and have no idea of what it tastes like. So I'm excited. " Donald, already an accomplished artist, doesn't consider himself and wine connoisseur -- yet. He's read several books on the subject and Terlato has helped him learn about pairing wines with food. The 29-year-old tries to taste and differentiate between the various components, rather than just drink the wine. The night before the blending, Terlato and his wife hosted a dinner at their home. Their guests tasted champagne with the hors d'oeuvres, two white wines with the wild mushroom risotto, a trio of reds with the lamb chops and a port and two ice wines with the desert. With each course, Terlato spoke passionately about the pairings -- encouraging his guests to think about what they liked and why it complimented the food. He was equally heartfelt the next morning when the blending began. Six different lots of wine were used, all made from grapes harvested in 2005. Two were 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon while one was 100 percent Merlot. Two more paired the two grapes together; one that was predominantly Cabernet and the other roughly two-thirds Merlot. The final lot was 64 percent Cabernet Franc, 24 percent Merlot, 10 percent Cabernet and 2 percent Petit Verdot. The group tasted each one to get a feel for the inherent flavors before the actual blending began. Doug Fletcher, who is the vice president of winemaking for the Terlato Wine Group, stressed the importance of swirling the wine in the glass to "increases the nose's chance to participate in the tasting." Winemakers might taste and create 80 different blends in a day as they try to discover the right combination, Fletcher said. Lest anyone get the wrong idea, though, they taste, then discretely spit before going on to the next incarnation.  (Bruce Philpott/Terlato Wine Group)
"We have an old joke that we won't remember the place, but the wine was ..," Fletcher said, smiling, as his voice trailed off. "We have taste memories. We can actually verbatim tell you all the attributes a wine has." The goal, Terlato said, is to find a combination of grapes that is balanced from front to back. Donald tends to favor Merlots, so the first combination was a 50-50 blend with one of the Cabernets. "Who knew," Antonopoulos said, joking, as Taylor Huffaker measured out the contents of the two bottles. "I thought they just picked grapes and mashed them up." The first attempt was deemed a little too dry and too tart, so the lot with the Cabernet Franc -- which Fletcher says the French refer to as the donut while the merlot is the middle -- was added. That blend, Donald decided, had a "kind of a pucker feel," so the percentages were changed before the next batch was mixed. "Let's see," Antonopoulos said, turning to her fiancé and grinning. "Are your teeth blue yet?" "That's why we have a toothbrush in our briefcases," Terlato said. By the third blend, Donald wondered aloud if Fletcher thought that "at the end of the day, we'll come up with something you already have." "Probably not," the winemaker said. "And even if we did, the oak components of the barrels add a different flavor." Terlato thought the fourth blend was a bit too tart. Additional Merlot was added to soften the fifth up a little, but it wasn't smooth enough for Donald. A little of all six lots was added to the sixth blend, which still wasn't quite right. The seventh was more like it, and featured a distinct chocolate smell that is characteristic of Napa Cabernets. The eighth and final blend was even closer, and after tasting it later with lunch in the winery's nearby caves, Donald was certain that was the one. Maybe the number had special significance. "I was eight when I started playing (golf)," he said with a smile. In the end, a mere 5 percent made the difference -- that much less of the 100 percent Cabernet and that much more of the blend that was 76 percent Cabernet and 24 percent Merlot. Five different lots went into the blend. The wine, which has yet to be named, will be bottled in August and a release in April or May of next year is anticipated. Donald, who majored in art theory and practice at Northwestern, will more than likely create the label. "You guys have become great tasters," Terlato said to Donald and Antonopoulos. "If this golf thing doesn't work out...." |
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