We've finally nailed down a date with visionary wine consultant and winemaker Clark Smith of Vinovation and GrapeCraft Wines. I'm telling you, if you attend no other wine tasting seminar this year, you must come to this one. Clark Smith is quite simply the smartest wine person you'll ever meet, not in some smarty pants, sommelier way, but in that cool college professor kind of way. His uncanny ability to make sense of the very complex subject of wine and winemaking is unmatched. I'm a total Clark Smith groupie and you will be too.
Clark left M.I.T. for the bay area in the 70's where he became interested in wine and food. He obtained a degree in enology from U.C. Davis and after a successful run as founding winemaker for R.H. Phillips winery, Clark began WineSmith Consulting in 1990, and in 1992, he patented a reverse osmosis technology whereby he could "fix" bacteriologically flawed wines and adjust alcohol levels. Today Clark's company Vinovation works with over 1,000 wineries worldwide. He also makes and sells Chablis-style Chardonnays, Cab Francs, and Loire-style Chenin Blanc wines under the WineSmith label. WineSmith gives Clark an opportunity to practice what he preaches. He works with organic vineyards (living soils) which he believes make sounder wines with measurably more minerality and the ability to age long. We currently sell his 2005 Cabernet Franc ($18.95), if you want to see what he's all about.
In his essays and talks, Clark deliciously deconstructs (hooray for English Majors!) the role and significance of technology in winemaking. His most famous article, Spoofulated or Artisinal?, takes apart the notion that great wine just happens. He reasons that opposing "natural" wine to "doctored" wine is not particularly meaningful since all wine is made. More recently, he and his wife, a classically trained musician and clinical psychologist, have presented on the way music affects the perception of wine, which by the way is the reason he'll be in Chicago. He is actually touring with Lollapalooza! How cool is that?
Clark's seminar will touch upon the music experiment and we'll taste through his WineSmith wines to illuminate his other interests: minerality, alcohol adjustment, and micro-oxygenation.
This is a sit-down format with nice stems and light snacks. Call 847-256-7777 to purchase tickets or you may buy them online. Registration is limited to the first 40 paid reservations.
Further reading: "Postmodern Deliciousness: the world according to Clark Smith" by David Darlington in Wine & Spirits and "Music to drink wine by: Vintner insists music can change wine's flavors" in the San Francisco Chronicle. Also take a look at Clark's blog, GrapeCrafter, but only if you have a few hours to kill.
