Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1037369
96 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 suggested winemaking, I thought, 'I'm not Italian, I'm not male, I don't t any of the categories.' But I got into UC Davis, and lo and behold, there were all these really, really cool women taking the classes with me, and I thought, 'OK, here we go arm in arm.' It's been quite a journey." Perhaps the most endearing part of the dinner came when Meyer revealed that Vianna played piano at his wedding. He then playfully asked her if she was ever in an a capella group, a question to which he already knew the answer, given their close friendship. "I was a Vassar Night Owl and so was Meryl Streep," Vianna said coyly, and her afnity for music was made obvious in her harmoniously blended, pitch-perfect Chimney Rock Omega Point Cabernet. A Matriarchal Estate Buzzing from an early-morning hot air bal- loon ride courtesy of Aloft Napa Valley, the somms embarked on the second day of camp with breakfast and a lineup of SLD wines at Taylor Family Vineyards. Joining the three generations of Taylors were two more representing Ilsley Vineyards, Janice and Kim Ilsley, as well as Carol Lindstrom of Lindstrom Wines. With decades of experience in the SLD, the Ilsley family has helped other wine legends settle there, from John Shafer to "Bob Mondavi," as Janice jokingly calls him. After spending 20 years in the region, Lindstrom also feels very much like a part of the tribe. "One of the rst things I no - ticed when we moved here is how helpful everyone is in SLD," she said. Standing proudly alongside her daugh - ter Sandy and granddaughter Danielle, Pat Taylor, the radiant matriarch of Taylor Family Vineyards, shared the story of her and her late husband Jerry's endeavor to make a life in the SLD since 1976. "These ladies are breaking the stereotype by hav - ing a matriarchal lineage," said Master of Wine Martin Reyes, who moderated the discussion. "By the time the guys show up and want to get married, they have to join in the family business!" Jests aside, Jerry's presence lives on at the winery and was especially apparent in the 2005 Taylor Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which is beautiful and dense with cigar-box top notes. "My dad would carry a pouch of tobacco, and now when I drink this, I think of him," Sandy Taylor told the group. I'll Take Sustainable for $2OO, Alex Fleetwood Mac played in the background as the hip and incredibly sharp Remi Cohen, Chief Operating Ofcer of Lede Fam - ily Wines, welcomed the crowd in the winery's tasting-room courtyard. Cohen offered a bit of background on how Cliff Lede replanted the estate's vineyards in 2002 under the guidance of David Abreu, a well-known and respected vineyard manager. Abreu's inuence is felt just about everywhere on the winery's two proper - ties, "especially in Poetry Vineyard, [with its] very tight spacing and high density. The eld selections from some of the best vineyards David farms are some pretty legendary and proprietary clonal material," Cohen said. The winery at Chimney Rock is inspired by Dutch architecture. From left to right, Martin Reyes, MW; Kim and Janice Ilsley of Ilsley Vineyards; Carol Lindstrom of Lindstrom Wines; and Sandy, Pat, and Danielle Taylor take in the view from Taylor Family Vineyards. SOMM Campers Barbara Wong, Sarah Arceneaux, Rachel Drive Speckan, and Julie Dalton make the crossing to the Abbey Road vineyard block at Cliff Lede Vineyards.