One of the electric winemakers in Napa, Cameron Parry produces a gorgeous range of wines for Groth Vineyards and has been there since 2014. Formerly with Chateau Montelena, Parry sits down with me, talking about his background, his gorgeous new releases as well as what wines really move him currently. I think you will really enjoy hearing his story in wine. Here is my exclusive interview with Cameron Parry, Director of Winemaking at Groth Vineyards.
WWB: What were some of your initial inspirations in becoming a winemaker?
CP: Well, I started home-brewing beer in college and that lead me into a love of fermentation. I was studying Biology, Microbiology, and Spanish (yes, I was a triple major), and after getting into brewing, I started to tweak my studies to include more yeast and fermentation related topics. Not having grown up with a lot of wine in the house, I didn’t know much about it, so my last semester in college, I took a wine appreciation course – basically I wanted to be able to go to a restaurant and not feel like a dummy when handed the wine list. As that class progressed, it clicked. Here was something I could do with my life. After finishing that course and graduating, I started looking for a harvest internship in California (I’m from New Mexico). Eventually I got a position with Gundlach-Bundschu in Sonoma where my career path became cemented. I worked for two years in several other cellars after that first harvest before going to UC Davis to pursue a Master’s Degree studying Viticulture and Enology.
WWB: How did you decide to come to Groth?
CP: Prior to joining Groth in the summer of 2014 I was the winemaker at Chateau Montelena, and had an amazing array of experiences there. The decision to leave Montelena and join Groth was not an easy one, but I was at a point in my career where I wanted a change and also more responsibility. The position at Groth offered just that – responsibility not just for winemaking/production, but the vineyards as well. This type of position where the winemaker oversees vineyard operations are rather rare and offer a level of global control that allows for the crafting of the wines in the vineyard and not just the cellar. After all, if it isn’t in the vineyard, it’ll never be in the glass.
WWB: You make some beautiful white wines that have really good richness and finesse. What are some of the challenges in making Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay with the long series of warm vintages beginning with 2012?
CP: Warm vintages are just part and parcel with growing grapes in California. It is our warm dry climate that sets Napa apart from other winegrowing regions around the world. This warm weather is the biggest driver of our style of Sauvignon blanc, where we focus on big rich fully ripe flavors that are hard to realize in cooler climates. The tricky bit is not letting them get over-ripe where you lose the freshness and the fruit character changes from ripe to desiccated. This requires a lot of time walking and tasting out in the vineyard to catch that optimal picking window.
WWB: Your 2016 Groth ‘Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon (WWB, 95) is a head-turning, wine that is not only very rich but has remarkable tension and finesse. Can you talk about crafting this very special wine?
CP: Sometime the stars align and you get vintages like the ’16 where it all just goes right. The section of vineyard where the Reserve Cab comes from is a truly unique and special place. The vines have an incredible natural balance, rarely needing to be hedged; they set smaller clusters with smaller berries, resulting in greater concentration in the wine. In the cellar, we continually build on our experiences previous vintages, making tweaks and adjustments – it is an ever evolving process, there is no ‘formula.’ For me, with wines like the ’16 Reserve, it’s what isn’t there that makes them so special. When you taste the ’16 Reserve, there isn’t anything poking out. No big coarse tannin, no bitter or astringent distractions, no big mercaptan greenness, no puckering acidity or cloying sweetness, no ethanol ‘heat’. It is the balance in this wine that makes it so special. There is abundant tannin, but it is velvety. There is firm acidity, but it is juicy and refreshing. There is a savory element, but it is complexing and complementary to the ripe fruit. There is barrel influence, but it is well integrated. Everything just works.
WWB: What are some of your favorite wines of the world? What is your cellar like?
CP: My cellar is a bit of a mess at the moment and in need of a major reorganization. I have so many favorite wines for so many reasons. Champagne is a staple and exploring through all the small producers is great fun. Chardonnay is in my blood after 10 years with Chateau Montelena, so I enjoy Chablis, white Burgundy, and domestic producers that follow a cleaner, purer, expression of that grape. On the red side, St. Julian features prominently. You’ll also find a handful of fun interesting wines from Italy, Spain, Chile, and South Africa. The bulk of my cellar is Napa Cab, but that’s to be expected I suppose.