There’s a new episode of I’ll Drink to That! available. Episode 497 features Robert Drouhin, who led Maison Joseph Drouhin for almost 50 years. His family still owns that Burgundy house today, in addition to Domaine Drouhin in Oregon.
Robert Drouhin assumed control of Maison Joseph Drouhin in 1957. The handover was sudden after his father suffered a stroke, and in hindsight, it was at a fulcrum point in the history of Burgundy as it moved from one era into another. Robert has a cellar wall dating back to the 4th century AD and has used a sixteenth-century wine press, so it is especially poignant when he describes Burgundy wines as leaving the Middle Ages behind with the introduction of tractors in the vineyard and modern enology in the wineries. One of the real treasures of this interview is that Robert is candid about the changes that happened – and about his own changes of heart. Was filtering good? Were fertilizers helpful? Was a shorter time before the bottling beneficial? In some ways, yes. But in key ways, Robert eventually decides, these changes in Burgundy were not positive. He is clear about the reasons why, and about his own decision-making. As a listener, we are treated to an overview of the 20th century in wine, all the way back to the massive replanting of vines after the emergence of phylloxera, through the war years, the development of enology, the rise of the American consumer and American wine growing areas, and now to a period, Robert suggests, where the challenge is to alter the wines less in the winery. There are few people still living who could offer this kind of sweeping perspective and firsthand knowledge across all of the decades discussed, and we are lucky to have this recording.
Episode 497 is available on many listening platforms, including at these links:
I’ll Drink to That!, one of the world’s top wine podcasts, is hosted by Levi Dalton. Levi has had a long career working as a sommelier in some of the most distinguished and acclaimed dining rooms in America. He has served wine to guests of Restaurant Daniel, Masa, and Alto, all in Manhattan. Levi has also contributed articles on wine themes to publications such as The Art of Eating, Wine & Spirits magazine, Bon Appetit online, and Eater NY. Check out his pictures on Instagram.
The post I’ll Drink to That!: Robert Drouhin is From a Good Vintage appeared first on Vinography.
This Article was originally published on Vinography
