023: Dick Peterson, The Winemaker

In this podcast Legendary winemaker, Dick Peterson, describes his recently released book as, "A history book of California winemaking as told by me." "The Winemaker" is a must read for any wine geek or fan of California winemaking. Dick began making wines with Ernesto and Julio Gallo in the 50's, took over at Beaulieu Vineyard after being chosen by Andre Tchelistcheff in the 60's, developed The Monterey Vineyard and the original Taylor California Cellars in the 70's, then dynamited and drilled caves to develop Atlas Peak Vineyards in the 80's. In his eighties he is still consulting for wineries and makes his own wines from Wrotham Pinot, which he cultivated after finding a single old Roman vine in England. More on Dick's background and accolades can be found on his website listed in the Inside Winemaking.com show notes.

Our conversation covers not only Dick's career of winemaking in California, but also has stories that didn't make it into the book, including how a spelling mistake helped get some of Piero Antinori's greatest Sangiovese budwood into the Napa Valley. I had a wonderful time with Dick and was quite impressed with his both his honesty and detailed accounts of a long and storied winemaking career.