In 2012, Mother Nature produced the “perfect” growing season in California’s Napa Valley -- yielding a rare combination of quality fruit and an abundant crop load. Growers and winemakers across the Valley expressed high expectations for a classic year that would surely produce epic wines. This outstanding vintage sets the backdrop for the new six-part public television series Vintage: Napa Valley 2012. Each half-hour episode takes viewers into three renowned Napa Valley wineries and the lives of the people who make the wine. The series is produced by Tribe Road Media, Inc., is a presentation of WTTW National Productions in Chicago, and is distributed nationally by American Public Television (APT).
“Vintage is
a unique and engaging concept, and I am very pleased APT has agreed to
distribute the program,” said Daniel Soles, chief content officer for WTTW. “I
believe the viewers will be invested in stories of the harvest,” he added.
“Harvest is the most
action-packed part of the winemaker’s year, when some of the most important,
and nail biting, decisions need to be made,” says Peter Backeberg, the show’s
creator and producer. “We were granted fantastic access to follow the
winemakers and their teams and I’m sure the viewers will enjoy the ride,” he
added.
Vintage:
Napa Valley 2012 focuses on the
day-to-day hustle and bustle of vineyard sampling, picking decisions and the
crush pad. The series centers mainly on three wineries: Chimney Rock,
Rutherford Hill, and Markham Vineyards, although the cast of characters in the
show also includes vineyard managers, independent growers and even some friends
and family. “We would have loved to have shot at all the wineries in
Napa, but there are 350 of them,” said Backeberg. “But by tracking the three
wineries closely, we were really able to get to know the players and dig down
into the culture of winemaking in the Valley.” More information is
available at vintagetvseries.com.
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| Winemakers Marisa Taylor (Rutherford Hill), left, Kim Nicholls (Markham), center, and Elizabeth Vianna (Chimney Rock), |
“A great growing season will produce fantastic fruit, but that doesn’t mean the harvest is without its challenges,” added Backeberg. “What the show is really about is the nitty-gritty of making fine wine. It is hard work, with long hours and a lot of pressure. But the people are dedicated and passionate and they have a lot of fun. Hopefully we captured that and will give viewers a glimpse of what really goes into the birth of a vintage.”
The Featured Winemakers
Kim says it feels "weird" to say she is a winemaker.
After graduating with a degree in Biology from Willamette University,
Kim moved from the small coastal town of Long Beach, Washington, to California.
Her desire to use her biology degree led to the position of laboratory
technician at Napa Valley's Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in 1989.
In 1993, Kim came to Markham Vineyards as enologist to establish an
extensive laboratory program. After four years of hands-on experience in the
vineyards and in the winery, she was promoted to associate winemaker in 1997.
Kim's passion for all facets of the industry, from grape growing to wine
blending to lab work, coupled with 12 years of experience at California
wineries, led to her appointment as winemaker at Markham Vineyards in November
2001.
Marisa explains the team effort and commitment required to make wine.
Marisa Taylor is the winemaker at Rutherford Hill. This daughter of the soil grew up surrounded by the wine industry in neighboring Sonoma County. Like most people who grow up in Wine Country, wine was a typical fixture at her family's dinner table.
Every harvest Marisa and her team take part in an elaborate juggling act
between incoming fruit and available tanks. There is a tight family atmosphere
at the winery which includes Marisa's young son Ian, who is a frequent 'helper'
at Rutherford Hill.
Marisa began her college career at Santa Rosa Junior College and by the
age of 25 was making her own wine, using Pinot Noir from Carneros. She
graduated from the University of California in Davis, first with a B.S. in
Chemistry and then an M.S. in Food Science-Enology. A self-described "lab
rat," Marisa continues to have a passion for the analytical detail needed
for monitoring yeast cultures, barrels, fermentation, blending and ultimately,
bottling.
After initially honing her skills in the lab at Piper Sonoma and J
Winery, she became an enologist at S. Anderson Vineyard in Yountville, where
she learned to make Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and sparkling wine. Her natural
curiosity led Marisa to work abroad for the harvest of 1999 at the Colognole
Winery in Rufina, Italy, where she immersed herself in winemaking and learned
to vinify Sangiovese.
Elizabeth says the term "winemaker" is a misnomer.
Elizabeth Vianna is the winemaker at Chimney Rock, a "Cab
House" which sits nestled amongst 100 acres of estate grown vineyards and
right in the heart of Napa's Stag's Leap district. Elizabeth is a 15-year
veteran in the wine industry who is both respected and esteemed. A creative
soul and prodigious musician, Elizabeth is calm, smart and confident. She runs
a modern and high-end facility and where the wines exhibit a certain class...
hers.
Elizabeth originally hails from Brazil and came to Napa by way of New
York, where she was working as a clinical toxicologist. A biology major at
Vassar College, Elizabeth first fell in love with wine as a consumer, she
attributes her career in winemaking to a glass of 1985 Sociando Mallet, which
she enjoyed at a pre-auction tasting at Christie's in New York.
Elizabeth first came to Chimney Rock as a harvest intern in 1999, while
completing her Master's degree in enology at U.C. Davis. Upon graduation, she
became an enologist at Napa Wine Company and was soon named assistant winemaker
there.
Elizabeth was named to the position of assistant winemaker at Chimney
Rock in January 2002 and advanced to the position of winemaker in 2005. In
2009, Elizabeth was honored by the University of California – Davis School of
Graduate Studies when she was invited by the Dean of Graduate Studies to
deliver the commencement speech.
Elizabeth has also served as President of the Stags Leap District
Winegrowers Association.
About WTTW National
Productions
WTTW National Productions, a
division of Window to the World Communications, Inc. -- the parent company of
WTTW11 Chicago -- is a premier producer and presenter of original, high-quality
television programs for both public and commercial television broadcast.
For almost 60 years, WTTW Chicago and WTTW National Productions have introduced
a wide array of ground-breaking television programming – reflecting the world’s
rich and diverse arts and entertainment scene as well as education, politics,
public affairs, business, and religion – to a national audience. Its landmark
innovative series and original productions include the critically-acclaimed
performance showcases Soundstage, Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis;
Proclamation of Hope and David Broza at Masada: The Sunrise Concert;
cultural series Grannies on Safari; MEXICO – One Plate at a Time with Rick
Bayless and Pedal America; the business series CEO Exchange;
the documentary series Retirement Revolution; the weekly movie review
series Ebert Presents At the Movies; the creative arts series The
Artist Toolbox; the transmedia online educational childrens’ properties Mission
to Planet 429 and UMIGO, and the award-winning childrens’ series, WordWorld.
For more information, please visit www.wttw.com/national.
About American Public
Television (APT)
American Public Television (APT) has been a leading distributor of high-quality,
top-rated programming to America’s public television stations since 1961. In
2010, APT distributed nearly half of the top 100 highest-rated public
television titles. Among its 300 new titles per year are prominent
documentaries, news and current affairs programs, dramatic series, how-to
programs, children’s series and classic movies, including For Love of
Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots, A Ripple of Hope, Rick Steves'
Europe, Newsline, Globe Trekker, Simply Ming, America's Test Kitchen From
Cook’s Illustrated, Lidia's Italy, P. Allen Smith's Garden Home, Murdoch
Mysteries, Doc Martin, Rosemary & Thyme, The Rat Pack: Live and Swingin’,
Johnny Mathis: Wonderful, Wonderful! and John Denver: The Wildlife
Concert. APT also licenses programs internationally through its APT
Worldwide service. In 2006, APT launched Create® – the TV channel featuring the best of public
television's lifestyle programming. APT is also a partner in the WORLD™ channel expansion project.
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