Industry Notables Who Passed in 2017 (Part 1)

It is time again, to look back on the year and remember those in the alcohol industry who have passed. From wine to whiskey to vineyards and wine writers, we raise a glass in a final Salute!

JANUARY

Debbie Lewis

Debbie Lewis

Napa Valley Vintner Debbie Lewis died in January. She was involved in the wine industry for close to twenty years. Debbie and her husband Randy started Lewis Cellars in 1992. Today, the winery produces 9,000 cases annually of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. In 2016, the winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon won first place in Wine Spectators Top 100 Wines.

Debbie Lewis died January 4, 2017 from cancer. She was 72 years old.

Parker Beam

Parker Beam

Kentucky Master Distiller Emeritus Parker Beam died in January. He had been with Heaven Hill Distillery for more than 50 years. Beam was a six-generation Kentucky distiller and a grandnephew of whiskey legend Jim Beam. Beam began working at Heaven Hill under his father’s guidance in 1960. In 1975, he was promoted to Master Distiller, crafting the company’s premium small batch and single barrel bourbons. Beam was responsible for distilling and aging Evan Williams – the number two selling bourbon in the world, along with other Heaven Hill whiskeys.

Parker Beam died on January 9^th following a yearlong battle with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He was 75 years old.

FEBRUARY

Gérard Colin

Gerard Colin

Chinese wine pioneer Gérard Colin died in early February. Colin traveled to China in the late 1990s, and in 2001 became a consultant for Grace Vineyard. Colin established techniques and developed high standards for wines made in China. He went on assist on a project at Puchang Vineyard in Xinjiang, and has spent the past three years working on a wine marketing project in the Shandong province.

Gérard Colin died on February 9, 2017 at the age of 75.

Dr. Jim Swan

Dr. Jim Swan

Jim Swan was well known in the whiskey world, consulting for distilleries around the globe. His career spanned more than 40 years and included all facets of whiskey production. Dr. Swan consulted and gave advice to new distilleries along with those more established that sought his wisdom and encouragement. He was a champion of quality whiskey making at home in Scotland and around the world.

Jim Swan died suddenly on February 14, 2017. He was 77 years old.

Angelo Papagni

Angelo Papagni

Pioneer wine grape grower Angelo Papagni died at the end of February. Back in 1973, Papagni built a winery and vineyard in Madera, in the San Joaquin Valley of California. There he raised specific grape varieties like Alicante Bouschet, Barbera and Grenache that were at home in the arid conditions of the region. Papagni created quality wines from these regional grapes, which is why he was considered a maverick in wine circles. Papagi was a man ahead of his time, blazing a trail for other California winemakers to follow.

Angelo Papagni died on February 27, 2017 at this home in Fresno, California. he was 95 years old.

MAY

Pierce Carson

Pierce Carson

Napa Valley journalist Pierce Carson died in May. Carson began his career at the Napa Register where he worked for fifty years. He began by covering the courts but moved into writing about food, wine and culture as Napa began to develop into a world-class wine destination. Throughout his career, Carson reported on the rise of Napa Valley wines and wineries, and the changes in the industry that time brought.

Pierce Carson died May 20 from gall bladder cancer. He was 76.

Richard Ward

Richard Ward

A champion for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Napa Valley region has died. Richard Ward a co-founder of Saintsbury winery in Napa died in May. Ward and David Graves founded Saintsbury in 1977 with the intention of making Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes and wines as popular as Cabernet Sauvignon was. Thorough diligence and preservation, the two carved out a niche making outstanding wines from the two little used grapes. In time, Napa Valley embraced the grapes, and Saintsbury Winery fueled a nation-wide interest in both types of wine.

Richard Ward died on May 27, 2017 from complications from a bone marrow transplant. He was 67.

JUNE

Christopher Silva

Christopher Silva

A fifth-generation Sonoma County resident died in June. Christopher Silva began his career as an L.A. attorney but soon discovered his love for the wine industry. Silva started with St Francis Winery in 1998 as chief operating officer. Silva went on to became president and CEO of St. Francis Winery and Vineyard in 2003. During his 13 years at the helm, he turned St Francis into a wine destination, and achieved the designation of certified sustainable for three vineyards totaling 400 acres by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. St Francis Winery produces more than 200,000 cases a year, and most of the wines are now distributed around the country.

Christopher Silva died on June 20, 2017 after a two-month battle with brain cancer. He was 52.

Join us again next week as we remember other industry influencers from 2017.

~  Joy

Industry Notable Who Passed in 2016

 

By Joy Neighbors

Once again, it is time to look back on the year and remember those in the industry who have passed. Salute!

January

Bob Oatley

He was well known for his Rosemount Estate wines but Bob Oatley was also one of Australia’s richest businessmen. Oatley died January 10 in Pittwater, New South Wales, Australia. He began in the wine industry in 1968 with Rosemount Estate and continued until he sold the winery in 2001 for $1.4 billion. Robert Oatley Vineyards became the next step in the Oatley family winemaking dynasty.  Their wine empire boasts about 40 wine brands including Robert Oatley Signature Series, Wild Oates and Bare Foot.  Bob Oatley was 87 years old.

February

Peter Mondavi

Napa Valley Wine pioneer Peter Mondavi died February 20 at his home in St. Helena, California. It was Peter, and his brother Robert, who convinced their father to purchase the dilapidated Charles Krug winery in 1943. The brothers took Krug and established it as an early industry leader of quality wines in Napa Valley. But resentment began to build between the two and in 1965 they parted ways. Peter was known in the wine industry for innovating the process of cold fermentation to keep whites fresh longer, and creating a more sterile filtration system, which helped prevent spoilage. The brothers reconciled in 2005, just three years before Robert died. Peter said his greatest accomplishment was keeping Charles Krug Winery whole. Peter Mondavi was 101.

March

Henri Bonneau

Henri Bonneau, one of the most regaled winemakers of Chateauneuf-du-Pape died on March 21 in Marseille, France. Bonneau was an expert at blending other grape varieties with Grenache, creating stunning wines that captivated the palate. Bonneau had little time for upkeep and sterile facilities, his love was in the creation of the wine, which showed in the masterful vinos he produced, albeit in small batches, which only made them all the more desirable. Bonne died of complications due to diabetes. He was 77 years old.

April

Manuel Lozano

The industry lost one of the world’s greatest fortified winemakers in April. Manuel Lozano died April 26 of complications from a medical procedure. Lozano was the head winemaker and chief enologist for Bodega Lustau Sherries and Brandies, joining the company in 1999. Lozano preferred working with Sherry and had been named “Best Fortified Winemaker” seven consecutive times at the International Wine and Spirit Competition. In 2014, he also garnered the title of “Best Sherry Producer.” Manuel Lozano was 61 years old.

May

Donn Chappellet

Napa Valley lost another industry legend on May 22. Donn Chappellet, founder of Chappellet Vineyards and the pioneer vintner for Pritchard Hill died at his home on Pritchard Hill. Chappellet left the coffee industry to become a winemaker in 1966. He told the New York Times in 1971, “I think I had subconsciously wanted to become a winemaker for years.” In 1969, the winery released its first cabernet and Chappellet’s talent for crafting rich, powerful Cabs was revealed. In 1980, his best cabs were released under the Signature label with small batch releases coming under the Pritchard Hill label during the 1990s. Chappellet was 84 years old. Chappellet Vineyards will celebrate its 50^th anniversary in 2017.

July

Denis Dubourdieu

The wine industry mourned the loss of Denis Dubourdieu on July 27 from brain cancer. A man of many talents, Dubourdieu was a winemaker, vineyard owner, and professor of enology, but best known a the “Pope of White Wine.” Dubourdieu devised techniques for crafting an elegant and fresh white Bordeaux. His techniques won the praise of critics’ worldwide. In 2009, Dubourdieu assisted in creating the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences at the University of Bordeaux. In 2016, Dubourdieu was made a knight of the Legion of Honor for his contributions to the wines of France. Dubourdieu was 67 years old.

September

Greg Walter

Greg Walter spent his life celebrating the virtues of Pinot Noir. Walter died September 2 of colon cancer. Walter began in the wine industry in 1980 as a reporter for the Wine Spectator where he rose to become senior editor and then spent seven years as president. Walter left the magazine in 1994 to pursue other writing opportunities. He wrote for SmartWine Magazine, Wine Country Living Magazine, Appellation Magazine, and the Sonoma Valley Sun. In 2001, he began the PinotReport, a respected website and newsletter that touted the grape he was passionate about. The PinotReport won the James Beard Award for Newsletter Writing on Food, Beverage, Restaurants, and Nutrition in 2005. He continued with the website and newsletter until earlier this year. Walter was 58 years old.

October

Annegret Reh-Gartner

Annegret Reh-Gartner was known as the Riesling ambassador in an industry heavily controlled by German men. Reh-Gartner took over the vineyards of Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt estate in 1983. The estate has some of the regions best known vineyards located in Mosel, Saar and Ruwer valleys. Reh-Gartner and her husband, restaurateur Gerhard Gartner owned the Michelin starred restaurant, Gala. Reh-Gartner died of pancreatic cancer. She was 61 years old.