5 minute read
Time-Honoured Friends
By Sylvia Jansen, DipWSET, CSW, Sommelier
In 15 years of publication, The Cellar Door has featured hundreds of wineries and more than a thousand wines. Among these are a few whose wines have become customer and staff favourites, and where our relationship with each of them has grown. These six wineries straddle four continents and represent over 15 years of building ties.
Bodegas Aragonesas (Campo de Borja, Spain)
Our familiar red-wax-sealed Don Ramón red blend is not the only gem in the Aragonesas crown. Established in 1984 in Spain’s Aragon province, Aragonesas is the largest local employer and central to the area’s identity, partnering with the area’s 600 vine growers contributing to their wines. Director David Gimeno describes it as “a big family, with a good working environment, commitment from everyone, great value wines, and humility.” We admire how much they value and care for old-vine Garnacha, with a history dating back to 1145. “The old vines are our heritage,” David explains. “The way to keep them is with a lot of care and incentives to growers for great quality grapes. We know their yields are low, and we are happy to pay growers well for quality fruit. This arrangement is good for our growers, it is good for us, and it is so good for these old vineyards!”
McManis Family Vineyards (California)
With five generations of history, a commitment to social and environmental sustainability, and a range of expressive, delicious wines, we have been showcasing McManis for almost two decades as one of our favourite California wine producers. Husband and wife team Ron (fourth generation) and Jamie McManis focus on growing a wide range of grape varieties on 4,000 acres of premium vineyards in the rich agricultural region around Lodi, overseeing every part of the production from grape to bottle. With their certification in the Certified California Sustainable program and Lodi Rules—which promotes practices to enhance biodiversity, soil and water health, and community and employee wellbeing—the McManis family has helped us educate our customers about innovations in sustainable winemaking.
Joseph Mellot (Loire Valley, France)
Over 5 centuries, the Mellot family has built a reputation for classic, terroir-driven wines. Company president Catherine Corbeau-Mellot grew up in a winemaking family: “By the age of four, I was helping my grandfather fill wine bottles!”
Catherine married into the Mellot family, and when her husband, Alexandre, passed suddenly in 2005, she stepped up to manage both the family and the estate. She honours the Mellot family traditions and has improved their sustainable practices. Their 25-year-old son, Adrien, has finished his wine studies and now oversees the vineyards. Their trusted export manager for the past 20 years, Olivier Rivain, has visited us in Winnipeg enough times to develop a love for the Winnipeg Jets!
Heron Ridge Winery (Stellenbosch, South Africa)
This story is about the right people at the right place and time. When our intrepid lead buying team, Mike Muirhead and Gary Hewitt, visited South Africa with Paul and Shirley Martens of Blend Imports, they attended a wine tasting at Post House winery in Stellenbosch. They experienced a dark, unfiltered wine that was an exploratory project of Pippa Orps, who was, at the time, assistant winemaker at Post House, but grew up on her own family winery, Heron Ridge. Following a serious discussion, Mike and Gary bought that wine—grown on a mere 2 hectares of vineyards—that did not yet have a name or a label (let alone a reputation). When it arrived at Jones & Co. under her family winery’s name, Heron Ridge, it sported a simple label, and the vintage served as the name: O-Nine. Manitobans fell in love with it, and since then, we have been the only retailer outside of South Africa that carries the label. Heron Ridge continues to craft interesting fine wines with depth, character, and complexity.
Quinta do Infantado (Douro Valley, Portugal)
Gary Hewitt first encountered João and Catarina Roseira of Quinta do Infantado in 1999 at an international wine show. The complexity, texture, and quality of their Infantado Ruby Port instantly struck Gary. This unfiltered Ruby was far more intense, structured, and complex than its basic “Ruby Port” category—and according to Gary, “the best Ruby that I had ever tasted.” The winery’s history goes back to 1816 when vineyards were established for the future King (“Infantado” refers to the prince). Their vineyards are near Pinhão, the centre of what is widely considered a “grand cru” of the Douro Valley in Portugal, where they have been pioneers of organic viticulture. The fifth and sixth generations of the Roseira family manage the estate, with João heading winery production. João is well trained—he made his first Port vintage with his grandfather when he was just 6 years old and has never missed a vintage.
Hewitson (Barossa Valley, Australia)
In 1997, Dean Hewitson knocked on the Koch family’s door, hoping to secure an agreement to use Mourvèdre fruit from their ancient pre-phylloxera 1853-planted vineyard for his wine project. What he secured was a place in wine history. For more than two decades, Hewitson has built a storied reputation on these (and other) celebrated vines and his own inspired winemaking. “I had heard about this old Mourvèdre patch, so I knocked on Ross Koch’s door,” Dean says. “He gave me a go.” Their relationship continued: the 1853 vineyard was showcased in the iconic Old Garden Mourvèdre. That plot has produced cuttings for a newer vineyard dubbed Baby Bush (itself more than 20 years old). Our relationship with Dean Hewitson began in 2002 when Gary Hewitt visited the winery on a buying trip in Australia. The Hewitson combination of old vines, dry farming, and brilliant winemaking continues to draw global attention.
