"Alsatian Style" California Wine - A Chat With Central Coast Winemaker Claiborne Thompson

by Brad Prescott

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The California Central Coast is home to many premium wine makers. Though less renowned than their Napa and Sonoma neighbors, Central Coast wine producers are consistently turning out great niche wines and marketing them to a rapidly growing base of Central Coast oenophiles. Based about 150 miles north of Santa Barbara in San Luis Obispo, Claiborne & Churchill is a fine example of a premium Central Coast winery. IntoWine.com recently caught up with Claiborne Thompson (one half the namesake behind "Claiborne & Churchill) to discuss his winery's focused niche of "Alsatian Style" wines, the current Riesling "craze", and his transformation from academia to winemaker.

Why did you choose to focus on fruity but dry "Alsace derived" wines?

We chose "Alsatian style" wines for three reasons: (a) to be completely different from the wines of our host winery (Edna Valley Vineyard), where I was working and who allowed us to start our winemaking in their cellar, (b) because we thought it would be a great unoccupied niche and if the wines were dry instead of sweet people would start drinking them more, and (c) both Fredericka and I love Alsace and its wines and have been there frequently.

How do your California "Alsace inspired" wines differ from those from Alsace?

They are a little fruitier and not as earthy. Also they do not have any of the oily or bitter qualities you sometimes find in Alsace. Our acids are also a little lower.

In the early 80's you made a career change from being a Professor of Old Norse Languages at the University of Michigan to being a California winemaker. How did you go about learning the new profession?

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On an (academic) trip to California in 1981, I visited a few wineries and got "bit by the wine bug." I talked my way into a job as a "cellar rat" at Edna Valley Vineyard, went back to Michigan, got (re-)married, sold my house and moved to California. I was Edna Valley's third employee. I worked there for five years, and they let me learn every aspect of the business. (It was much less structured and corporate than now.)