My name is Kent Higginbotham, and I’ve watched Napa grow from 9,000 to 80,000, and have great love for what this valley was and has become. Living here my whole life, I’ve worked in every part of the industry, and now plan visits to wine country, and drive the roads less traveled every day. Through this column, I’ll be sharing with you what these years and miles have taught me. Northern California is home to some of the best wine makers in the world. To name a few, we’ve got Heidi Barrett (see Chris- tine Hinkley’s article in last month’s Mischievous Ink) and Phil- lipe Melka, Celia Welch and Paul Hobbs. But with winemaker fame often comes inevitable high prices. But what if you could have discovered Heidi Barrett pre-1992 Screaming Eagle fame? Well, THAT proverbial ship sailed, but there are plenty of young guns out there who are making their mark and are still under the radar... Julien Fayard is one such “Rising Star”! With time served at Chateau Lafite Rothschild and for the last six years the right hand man of Phillipe Melka, he has had his hands in some of the most prestigious wines of the Napa Valley, such as Lail Vineyards, Ashe, Gemstone, Metisse and Dalla Valle. Julien and wife Elan have their own wine brand called Azur, which is beloved by those who know about it and sure to sell out with only 900 cases produced. Christopher Vandendriessche of White Rock Vineyards is another up-and-comer with fantastic wines that have not yet been completely unearthed. Family owned and operated from vine to bottle, White Rock was purchased by Christopher’s family in the 1970s, but the area has been producing famed grapes since the 1870s. With an annual produc- tion of 3,000 cases or fewer per year, this is another hot find kept secret by loyal follow- ers... and here I am letting the secret out. David Yorgensen broke into the more public scene when Robert Parker rated eleven of his O’Brien Estate wines over 90 points. If you can’t get your hands on any of the 4,000 or so cases of O’Brien Estate, then seek out David’s personal project, Kind Cel- lars, which is still flying under the radar at only 120 cases. We all follow our favorite wineries, as well we should. But why Like us for a not follow the artists behind the wines as they contribute to small projects and create mad science of their own? chance to win tickets to Have more questions? Contact Kent via INK’s 3rd mischievousink on facebook or kent@squirelivery.com party! MischievousINK 7
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