Stephen S
Wine Judge
Member since 2025
What is your most memorable wine or wine and food experience?
A difficult question, a Goldeneye Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, a Joseph Phelps vin du Mistral GSM, a Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon come to mind. But I would suggest the first time I tasted a Condrieu and discovered how delicate and complex a Viognier could be, that experience has stayed with me. I have never tasted a Viognier from any other region that comes close to those made in Condrieu and it is my reference of what “terroir” means and its impact on a wine.
What wines have you always wanted to try but haven’t? What is your favourite vineyard? Region?
I have always wanted to try Hermitage, both red and white. Although I have had many wines from the Northern Rhone vineyards, I have always wanted to try the wines from that famous hillside. Closer to home I’ve recently been hearing about the Syrah wines from ‘The Rocks District’ from the Oregon portion of the Walla Walla AVA as some of the most distinctive Syrah from the Pacific Northwest.
As a favourite vineyard, to visit, the Black Sears vineyard at the top of Howell Mountain in Napa always comes to mind. We had a tasting with the owner sitting around a rock table at the top of the slope overlooking their old vine Zinfandel vineyard. It was a wonderful experience. As a source of grapes, the Gap’s Crown Vineyard in Sonoma (Petaluma AVA) has provided Pinot Noir for many Californian producers over the years and I have always found them a seductive expression of cool climate California Pinot.
My favourite region would be the Russian River region of Sonoma County. Having visited Sonoma many times over the years, it is the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from this region that I always look forward to exploring. A very close second would be the Anderson Valley of Mendocino.
What event or experience started your journey in wine?
My father was always interested in wine. Living in London UK in the early 1970’s he was a member of ‘The Wine Society’ a British consumer co-operative retailing wine. In 1974 he was able to purchase through the society a 6-pack of the renowned 1945 vintage Burgundy from the Hospice de Beaune auction. 3 Pinot Noir and 3 Chardonnay. What I recall most from that purchase was how wonderfully rich and delicious the, then, almost 30-year-old chardonnay was, and it was a moment that began my fascination with the story of wine.