An American Hears the Call of Burgundy
By ERIC ASIMOV
BEFORE his 29th birthday, Ray Walker became the first American ever to make Le Chambertin, the grand cru red Burgundy that is one of the most revered names in wine. How Mr. Walker came to make this wine is a story of passion and perseverance, family support and great good fortune, naïveté and surprises, not least of which is that Mr. Walker had never drunk a Chambertin before he made his own.
Happily-ever-after tales are rare in the wine business, which generally operates on the more down-to-earth plane of crafty marketing and cut-throat competition. But Mr. Walker’s entry into the famously insular world of Burgundy, with little money, no connections and virtually no experience in winemaking, seems straight from the annals of fairy godmothers and Prince Charmings.
Today, Mr. Walker — tall and lean with sculptured good looks — and his wife, Christian, are the proud proprietors of Maison Ilan, a small négociant business here in the heart of the Côte de Nuits. It is named after their young daughter, Isabella Ilan Walker.
Up to now, they have made only a little bit of red wine, including two grand crus, Le Chambertin and Charmes-Chambertin. The wines are elegant, fresh, structured and graceful — astoundingly so, given they were made by a novice.
As a younger man, Mr. Walker, who grew up in the Bay Area and worked there in his family’s real estate business, was decidedly not a wine drinker. It was not until he met his future wife, who liked wine, that the subject came up.
“We’d get into heated arguments,” Mr. Walker, now 30, recalled during a recent visit to his small, spotless winery underneath his house here. “She’d say, ‘Adults drink wine with food,’ and I’d say, ‘Only alcoholics do.’ ”
Not until they traveled to Italy, where Mr. Walker proposed marriage, did he see the light. It shined so brightly that he became obsessed with wine.
At first he studied Bordeaux. But early in 2005 he sampled a 2002 Meursault Clos de la Barre from Comtes Lafon, a white Burgundy. Another bright light went off.
“Oh my God, this is nature!” he recalled saying after tasting the wine, his excitement of the moment still palpable. “From that moment on, I was certain I was going to explore Burgundy. And then we got into the reds, and I couldn’t believe it.”
For two years, Mr. Walker carried around “Côte d’Or,” Clive Coates’s magnum opus on Burgundy. Finally, in 2008, as he was training for a new job at Merrill Lynch, with his wife six months pregnant, he realized he was not happy. With her support, he quit to learn about the wine business.
Before long he was hired at Freeman Winery in Sebastopol, in Sonoma County, to wash barrels and help with bottling and the harvest.
“He’s a really bright guy, and he gets it right away,” said Ed Kurtzman, the winemaker at Freeman. “He was driven and knew exactly what he wanted to do, though I don’t think he knew where he was going to end up.”
At Freeman, Mr. Walker learned the basics of making wine. The ambition was growing to do it himself, but when he was offered some petite sirah grapes to turn into wine, he could not muster enthusiasm.
“My wife said: ‘Don’t do that. We don’t drink wines like that,’ ” he recalled. She asked him what he was most passionate about, and the answer, Burgundy, was obvious. So were the obstacles.
In the real world, people do not leave their jobs, their wives, their new babies because they fantasize about making wine in Burgundy. If the all-too-real logistical and financial difficulties are not enough to swat down such ambitions, certainly the dubious prospects of acquiring grapes and equipment and enough money would do the trick. Yet here was Mr. Walker’s wife and parents urging him to follow his heart. What else was he to do?
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/dining/with-maison-ilan-an-american-winemaker-invades-burgundy.html?_r=2
Clark Wine Center is more than a wine shop to people living in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone. Clark’s wine shop is also a popular venue for parties and family gatherings. Conveniently located on the main highway of Clark Philippines, it is accessible to guests from Manila, Subic, Pampanga, Angeles City and of course those who live and work in Clark. Aside from the 2-storey wine shop which also has a nice roof deck lawn for small party of up to 80 people as well as an indoor wine tasting room which accommodates up to 60 comfortably, this wine store called Clark Wine Center also has one hectare of picnic grounds surrounding it.
Best birthday gift to send to someone living in the Philippines is a nice bottle of wine from Yats Wine Cellars. Delivery of birthday wine can made to Manila, Angeles City Pampanga, Clark Philippines and Subic.
Wine Shop Manila offers best luxurious beers in Philippines called Vintage Beer.
Birthday gift of wine is the most popular gift idea this year in Philippines. Yats Wine Cellars offers birthday wine gifts that are unique and certain to make the recipient very happy. These birthday wines are not available in wine shops so it is a unique bottle of wine for the recipient.
This Manila Wine Shop is the largest wine shop in Philippines. This is the wine shop to go for fine vintage wines, not just the big names like Lafite, Latour, Petrus, Cristal, Krug, Grange, Vega Sicilia and Sassicaia. This wine shop in Manila offers many excellent vintage wine for under p4,000, even for some that are 20-30 year old from St. Emilion and Pomerol.
Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center. Visitors buy wine in Manila and Pampanga should not miss stopping at this wine shop for a few bottles of fine vintage wines to bring home.
http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com
Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.
Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.
Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)
YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay
Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.
Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:
http://www.PhilippinesWeddingVenue.com
While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com
YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.yatsleisure.com
Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:
http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com
Yats Restaurant is an excellent Restaurant to dine, a restaurant with good food, a good place to have birthday party and special events. A Kid-friendly restaurants in Manila
Famous Restaurant in Pampanga, a place to dine with friends in Clark, cozy restaurant with a nice ambience, a nice function place for special occassions
www.YatsRestaurant.com
Where to go in Clark? Hotel Clark Philippines is a De Luxe Hotel in Clark and Subic, a risk free place to stay, cozy and nice ambience, a nice function place for special occassion
www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
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