Vinography's Alder Yarrow Chats with Joseph & Curtis

We had the pleasure of chatting wine with Alder Yarrow, and are excited to share the Q&A with everyone. Alder is a humble person who is wildly passionate and knowledgeable about wine and food. So pour a glass of vino, sit back, relax and enjoy - cheers!

How did Vinography get started?In 2003 I had become the "wine guy" that all my friends would ask for advice on various things, from the "best Merlot under $20" to the hottest new restaurant in San Francisco. I started Vinography as a place I could collect and store all the notes that I am in the habit of making about the wines I drink and the restaurants I visit. I also wanted a place I could send people to instead of dispensing the same advice over and over again. My day job is in the internet field, and it was also a good way to teach myself about these things called blogs, which were just starting to become better known. After my first few posts, it quickly became clear that the blog was also a creative outlet for me. Several weeks into my experiment, I found myself writing about food and wine every day, and I basically haven't stopped since. Vinography was the first active site on the internet to adopt the label of "wine blog."Where did your passion from wine originate?During college I spent some time studying at Oxford University thanks to an exchange program that Stanford had with them. The food was so atrocious in the colleges there, I started cooking for myself, and figured since it was legal, I should be drinking wine with my dinner. So I would go down to the local store and, too intimidated to talk to anyone, buy something that looked good that I could afford. I became fascinated with the different flavor profiles of wine, and that was the beginning of my passion.

What's an average day for Alder and Vinography?

‍Well, since I have a day job as the CEO of a consulting firm, my day is mostly about family and my job. I help to get my daughter ready for kindergarten, take her to school, and then work an 8 or 9 hour day at the office. Occasionally at lunch I'll see what kind of wine news is floating around on the Internet, but my days don't have much wine in them. I'll pick my daughter up from school, come home and have dinner with the family, which will often include a glass of wine. Then when the little one is in bed, I'll do another couple of hours of real work on the computer, and then if I have the energy, I'll write a blog post. That's a pretty typical day.

‍How often do you taste different wines?

‍I get a lot of samples, and open a few several times a week to taste them at home. Every six or so weeks, I'll spend half a day working through several cases of samples just to get the pile a little smaller. I go to large trade tastings every month or so, where I taste sometimes hundreds of wines, and every three or four months, I'll go on a press trip to a wine region where I'll spend a week tasting a lot of different wines.

‍Favorite wine region and wine?

‍I can't possibly select one specific region or wine. I adore all sorts of wines. Some of my favorite regions include Burgundy, Friuli, Tuscany, Alsace, the Mosel, Sonoma County, and Washington State.

‍Best restaurants in the country, and wine?

‍It's hard to beat dining in France in general, and in Burgundy in particular. I love that you can get older vintages of wines on wine lists there.Most overrated wine theme?I'm not sure I understand the question, but I really wish everyone would stop harping on about alcohol levels in wine as if they were the scourge of the earth.Best winemakers?The best winemakers, I find, are those that border on mad geniuses. Driven, iconoclastic, often eccentric, these winemakers couldn't possibly do anything other than make wine obsessively. And we get to benefit from their obsession. Frank Cornelissen, Ales Kristancic, Marcel Deiss, Dr. Bailey Carrodus, Didier Daguenau -- all make or made wine the way they thought it should be made, not according to some formula.The most overrated wine region?The Grand Crus of Bordeaux. While lesser Bordeaux still produce some interesting and affordable wines, most of the classed growths are simply out of touch with this universe, and their prices no longer correlate with any real sense of quality or pleasure.

‍Most bizarre wine story you have covered?

‍A wine label called Vampire Vineyards suing Martha Stewart because she showed her viewers how to make cute little Vampire Wine labels for Halloween parties.Next trend in the wine industry?A growing cadre of winemakers everywhere committed to being completely transparent in their labeling, showing everything that was used in the winemaking process, from cultured yeasts to fining agents.

‍How cool is Terry Theise?

‍I call him the Shakespeare of Terroir. In short, super cool. He's one of the best wine writers on the planet and he doesn't even get paid to do it.

‍Up and coming wine "rock stars?"

‍Take a look at the wines of Jamie Kutch. He is at the vanguard of winemakers in California who are making Pinot Noir the way the Burgundians do.

‍Best wine book?

‍If I have to choose just one, it's the Oxford Companion to Wine. If I get a second choice, then it's Kermit Lynch's Adventures on the Wine Route.

‍Why do you feel proper wine storage is necessary?

‍Well, it all depends on what you call proper. I think the vast majority of people obsess too much about wine storage, as if 58 degrees or even 61 is somehow horrible and to be avoided. If you're buying wine for investment purposes, and need to show records of proper provenance and storage, then a perfectly controlled wine storage environment is the equivalent of deposit insurance at a bank.

Alder Yarrow started Vinography in 2004 before wine blogging was even remotely accepted. His site is among many of the most influential wine blogs on the Internet. Featuring wine and sake reviews, restaurant reviews, editorials, book reviews, wine news, and wine event coverage, Vinography publishes new content daily to a global readership. The site works hard to create an alternative to the traditional sources and styles of wine journalism, partially through its emphasis on the stories, the people, and the passion behind wine, all told from a decidedly down-to-earth perspective.
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