The Somm Journal

12 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 { memo } { the reading room } BY THE TIME YOU read this I will have left my day-to-day job with The SOMM Journal, The Tasting Panel and The Clever Root. Some of you were already aware of my departure, but to others it may come as a rude and sudden shock. Try to compose yourselves. Assuming a horizontal position and applying cold compresses to the temples may help. It's been a very fast and furious ten-plus years since I helped Meridith May and Anthony Dias Blue launch The Tasting Panel as a national beverage trade magazine. (I had already worked for Andy Blue at Blue Lifestyle for a dozen years before that.) I've proudly watched the magazine grow into the most respected publication of its kind—hell, the only publication of its kind—in the nation. Then, four and a half years ago, we launched The SOMM Journal, and from the generous froth of uncorked enthusiasm we continue to bathe in (méthode champenoise, of course, we now we are fillin a ital role in the sommelier community. More recently, our savvy food and cannabis maga - zine, The Clever Root, has established itself as ineradicably as rhubarb in the garden of the farm-to-table and bud-to-bowl movements. (Full disclosure: I haven't smoked pot since Bowie wore platforms, so that aspect of The Clever Root's content always rested in "greener" hands.) Although my inner Louis XV fears an Après moi le déluge scenario, I'm trying to maintain faith that you'll never read about "the Rhône Valley in Bordeaux" in these pages (as I once did in an unedited story), that the office ii will eep delierin soewhere near four bars if all else fails, reboot the router), and that em-dashes and en-dashes won't entirely dis - appear from the digital font case. My deepest thanks go to Andy and Meridith for trusting my (largely seat- of-the-pants) judgment all these years and for putting up with my all-too- frequent meltdowns when the morning caffeine wore off at deadline time. Thanks also to the long-suffering staffs of M-Dash Publishing and Blue Lifestyle for their tremendous teamwork and grace under near-volcanic pressure. My greatest appreciation, too, goes to all our vibrant but sometimes verbose writers for giving this editor something resembling a raison d'être. But this is not just a goodbye; it's also a hello. I will still be connected to the publications as an ongoing contributor (with the same email address), and I'll also be free to travel more now that my desk duties have been assumed by a younger generation with a Millennial vocabulary and better eyesight. After years of electronic contact, I hope to meet many of you in person for the first tie eer. Keep in touch. See you in Paris or Petaluma. David Gadd dgadd@tastingpanelmag.com Goodbye. Hello. Chateau te. ichelle, ashinton State's founding winery, continues its yearlong 50th anniversary celebration with the recent release of its coffee table history book, Chateau Ste. Michelle: The First 50 Years (1967-2017) by Peter Blecha. The beautifully-illustrated hardcoer, featurin ore than 00 paes of ashinton wine chronicles, details the rich story of the state's wine industry and Chateau Ste. Michelle's leadership in bringing it to the forefront of the American wine industry. Over the past 50 years, Chateau Ste. Michelle has become the number-two premium domestic wine brand sold in the U.S (Nielsen-Dollars), with wines available in all 50 states as well as more than 100 countries. hile supplies last, the boo will be aailable for 0 online at www.ste-michelle.com. To follow along with other 50th anniversary updates, visit www.ste-michelle50th.com or follow Chateau Ste. Michelle on Instagram @chateaustemi - chelle, on Facebook at Chateau Ste. Michelle and on Twitter @stemichelle (or via the hashtag #CSM50). —David Gadd The illaette alley is one of y faor- ite domestic wine regions, which is why I was both excited and reluctant to read The Wines and Wineries of Oregon's Willamette Valley: From Pinot Noir to Chardonnay by ic ise and inda Sunshine. My fear was that this would be one man's (and one woman's) opinion on the area, but this concern was quickly extinguished as the boo doe into the story of one of illaettes pioneers, yrie ineyards aid ett aa apa inot. e learn of illaettes alost 0-year history throuh 20 or so of its ost instruental producers ise and unshine let the people tell their own story, and throw in some tasting notes to boot. It's very entertaining and a must read for fans of illaette wines. —Jessie Birschbach Yes, there are a number of books on Napa Valley, but Appellation Napa Valley: Building and Protecting an American Treasure by Richard Mendelson has a fascinating spin. In this coffee table-sized book, we learn how the area was shaped into America's greatest winegrowing region through the eyes of Mendelson, a renowned attorney specializing in wine law. His accounts of such Napa legends, including the apostrophe in Stags' Leap or the politics of establish - ing the boundaries of the Rutherford Bench, are detailed enough for sommeliers and enjoyable enough for wine connoisseurs. —Jessie Birschbach BY RICHARD MENDELSON WITH A FOREWORD BY THOMAS KELLER APPELLATION NAPA VALLEY BUILDING AND PROTECTING AN AMERICAN TREASURE David Gadd in his natural element at restaurant Le Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower. PHOTO: MARY DORST

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