The Winemaker series: Marc Girardet

This past April it was a pleasure to meet Marc Giradet, winemaker for Girardet Wine Cellars at a Trade Wine tasting from Artisan Vines Distributing, Corp. celebrated at The Park Tavern restaurant in midtown Atlanta. 

Girardet Wine Cellars is located in Roseburg, Oregon and is the dream come true from founders Philippe and Bonnie Girardet, they established the winery in 1971.  The site offers a favorable micro-climate for vines, “on the edge of the warmer interior Umpqua Valley and the cooler coastal mountain range”. 

Philippe Girardet learned the art of winemaking back in his native Switzerland working in his great uncle’s vineyard.  He applied his Old-World knowledge of handcrafting wine in his Oregon estate and released his first vintage in 1983. Second generation Winemaker, Marc Girardet learned the art of winemaking working alongside his father Philippe and he was very kind in answering some questions for us.

Q: Marc, When did your passion for wine started?

A: I would say my passion for wine started when I was a teenager, growing up in my parent's vineyard. And especially, when I got to start participating in round-table wine tastings I really got into it.  We would do the blind barrel lot evaluations, and make detailed tasting notes, and that really caught my interest.

Q: How did you get into the wine industry?

A: I got into the industry after college when I was 19. I had studied computer programming and business accounting, but I told dad that the wine business sounded like a lot more fun.  So I entered the business officially at that time, and made it my career priority.

Q: How did you learn to be a winemaker?

A: I grew up with the perspective that I used to think that "everyone must have a vineyard, because it seems like a way of life".  I learned the winemaking arts partially through osmosis by hanging around my dad as he was making wine when I was an adolescent, and then more seriously when I was 19 and became a permanent part of the family business.  After several years of learning our in-house techniques from dad, and lots of reading and hands on experience, I became the youngest winemaker in Oregon at age 24.

Q: What is been your major challenge as a winemaker?

A: The biggest challenge as a winemaker for me is that you are also a farmer, and you deal with mother nature a lot.  The most important thing is to start with the best grapes possible and the rest comes naturally.  I don't use additives or other means of adjusting the grape chemistry, so "what you see is what you get".  I put a lot of emphasis on farming the grapes to yield consistency every vintage so I can end up with great flavors for the customer every season.  But not at the sake of losing authenticity.  I think that is very important in a bottle of wine.

2008 Girardet Baco Noir: (100% Baco Noir grape) This grape was develop in Bordeaux, France in the late 1800’s and was named after his creator, Francois Baco. Baco Noir is a hybrid grape from Folle Blanche and Vitis Riparia, it was introduced to Oregon in the 1970’s by Philippe Girardet.  This well crafted wine shows aromas of ripe dark berries, mocha, dark cherries and coffee bean.  On the palate this lush red wine feels full-bodied with firm tannins and great texture; you can enjoy layered flavors of ripe plum, candied blueberries, cherries, red currant and cinnamon with long lasting notes of vanilla bean and dark chocolate.

Enjoy this wine with pasta dishes on heavy red sauce, French cuisine, roasted or grilled beef, roasted lamb, duck roast or confit, hard aged cheeses and dark chocolate (at least 69% cocoa).  In Atlanta you can find this wine around $22 at wine retailers like The Wine Cellars, Sherlocks, Nico's Wine Corner, Ansley Wine Merchants, Tower Wines, Green's, Halls of Fine Wines, Mac’s Beer and Wine and HopCity Craft Beer and Wine.