Video: From Rural Texas to Napa Valley Wine Country. Mac McDonald of Vision Cellars Interview: Part One

Mac McDonald of Vision Cellars is not what you would expect from someone making some of California's best Pinot Noir. 

Mac speaks with a southern drawl, wears a farmer's hat, and sports blue jean overalls in a world of California's "Wine Country Casual."  He is a boutique craftsman who makes his wine in the corporate beast that is Wagner Family Wines.  He is also African-American in an industry where diversity is in the terroir and almost never among the winemakers.

Mac McDonald is also one of my favorite winemakers.  Not only because he makes delicious Pinot Noirs - which he does - but for the perspective he brings to the industry.

Please enjoy this 5 minute video or read the transcription afterwards.  

This is Episode #55 of the Understanding Wine with Austin Beeman Podcast.  // Direct Download Link.

Winemaker of Mac McDonald (part one) of Vision Cellars interviewed by Austin Beeman. Mac McDonald discusses his path from rural Texas to being a winemaker in California.

Mac McDonald:

I am Mac McDonald. I'd like to say I'm the owner, winemaker of Vision Cellars but I'm married with Miss Lil so I just make the wine for Miss Lil. 

Well, you know, it's kind of interesting how I got into wine. I grew up 89 miles south of Dallas, Texas. I grew up way in the woods, way in the country. I consider myself as an old organic kind of a guy, growing back up in there, squirrel eatin' type of a guy. At 12 years old, there used to be a couple hunters used to come down in these woods and go hunting with my grandfather and drink my father's moonshine. So one of them used to drink burgundy and these guys would give him a hard time about drinking that burgundy wine, blah, blah, blah.

But they was drinking corn whiskey. So one day he said to me, he says, "Hey, son, would you like to have this bottle of wine?" And said yes, but 12 years old, I didn't know how to get it open but I finally dug out the cork out of it and I took a stick and shoved it off in there and I tasted it. You don't have to worry about Child Protective Service because they didn't have anything back off in the woods to do that anyway. At any rate, I tasted it and I drank a half a bottle of that wine that day. It tasted pretty good. From that point on, all I talked about was I wanted to be a winemaker. Fast forward through high school, my coach says to me, "If you wanna make wine, you need to move to California."

That's why I moved to California, from Texas to California. I grew up about 89 miles south of Dallas, Texas, around Palestine, Waco, in that area. So I get into California, we had a pretty tough time getting to know winemakers and I didn't know who they were or what they do, any of that thing. So I started hanging around up in Mendocino County, which is about 160 miles north of San Francisco. Met a guy by the name of John Parducci up there and old John wouldn't give me the time of day but that was okay because some kid coming out of Texas talking about you wanna make wine but I kept going back up there and he started talking to me, telling me stuff. But really what kicked me off into this wine business is I met a family over in Napa valley. A family called the Wagner family and I hung out with Mr. Wagner probably for 9 months and I didn't know who he was, he didn't say anything about who he was.

And one day the taster room manager came out and said, "Hey, why you always out here bothering Mr. Wagner?" And I says, "Well, what do you mean? That old guy out there?" He goes, "That ain't just some old guy, that's Mr. Wagner. He own this place." I had no idea for 9 months I'd been hanging out with the owners of Caymus Vineyard. Fast forward a little bit further, I've known the Wagner family for around 31 years. 17, 15 years or so after hanging out with him, Mr. Wagner said to me, "Son, you ought to be in the wine business." And I thought, "Well, you know, I'd like to but I don't have that kind of money." He goes, "Don't worry about it, we'll take care of ya." So 17 years ago, my wife and I, Miss Lil, we started Vision Cellars and to this day, I'm the only non family member that's allowed to make wine at Caymus.

All my wines are crafted at Caymus Vineyard in Rutherford, California. I make 'em all myself. We own some vineyards in Sonoma County, which is about 110 miles north of San Francisco, Russian River Valley. We own this little vineyard there and we do craft wine from that vineyard. That's basically how I got into the wine business.

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Four Mistakes in the Winery Tasting Room that Destroy Customer Loyalty

There is nothing in the wine business that builds long term brand loyalty like a visit to the vineyard.  The combination of nature, luxury, hospitality, flavor, and education is warmed by the glow that only vacation can provide.  It is one of the greatest brand assets that any winery has.

Vineyard visits are additionally powerful when the visitor is a member of the trade.  A visit by a sommelier, retail manager, critic, or distributor can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars of sales spread over a lifetime.

But it is the bad experiences with a winery at the vineyard that can destroy loyalty and cost untold sales.

I've visited wineries in many different professional capacities:

• Retail Manager buying $500,000+ per year

• Senior Executive for Distribution Company

• Minimum wage retail employee

• Executive for winery

• Wine Blogger / Influencer

• MBA Student in Wine & Spirits

... and the vast majority of my experiences have been positive.  Sometimes, however, the experience is shockingly bad.  I left each of these wineries with a bad taste in my mouth owing nothing to the taste of the wine.

I'm not going to name names, because that isn't the point of this article.  I'm trying to be helpful.

#1 - Don't Pair Your Industry Visitor with Someone Who is Paid to Create Tasting Room Sales

I still mockingly tell the story of a Napa Valley winery that tried to sell me at "Tasting Room Retail" wines that I sold in my store.  Despite months of scheduling ahead and a promise to meet with the winemaker, I was paired with a guy who got commission on the wines that he sold out of the tasting room.  He was unable to grasp that I was here to learn about his wines, not to buy them at retail.

#2 - Don't Mock the Part of the Country in Which Your Visitor Lives.

Californians tend to believe that they live in the greatest state in the country.  Having lived in California, I know that there are many wonderful things and many horrible things about the state.  But yes, California is pretty nice and wine country is some of the best of it.  That doesn't mean that you should mock other people's homes.

I remember a winery in Sonoma County and a winemaker who couldn't stop making jokes about people from my state as ignorant hillbillies and 'people who had probably never heard of organic food.'  Every state in the USA has a full diverse compliment of people.  Smart and ignorant.  Cultured and uncultured.  Rich and poor.

That winemaker is entitled to his bigoted worldview, but I never sold his wines again.

FYI: This is the most common complaint that I hear for industry associates.  Wineries need to get their people in line on this.  It isn't okay!

#3 - Respect Your Visitor's Schedule

Those of us in the wine industry have many relationships with many wineries and limited time to visit them.  We probably have a schedule.  Please respect it.  If you are going to be late, say so.  If you need to reschedule, please let us know as quickly as possible, and don't be surprised if we can't.

Equally difficult is when the tasting is running too long.  It is incredibly frustrating have to breakaway mid-tasting to rush to the next location.  If I say that we have an hour, please shape the experience to the time available.

A little knowledge fixes this problem.  The best experiences often start with the question, "How long do we have?"

#4 - Don't Limit Your Visitor's Tasting to Only the Wines They are Familiar With.

When I'm coming to a visit a winery with which I do business, I'm coming to understand the place, the property, and the people. Tasting the wines is something of an afterthought.  I can do that back at home anytime.  So if you are hosting an Industry Visitor, don't limit them only the wines they actually work with. 

Going farther afield to taste small 'tasting room only' bottles and barrel samples is a great way to create a memorable experience for the visitor.  It also helps us understand the culture and perspective of the winery.

Strictly limiting what your industry partner can taste makes you look petty and cheap.

In Conclusion

In today's incredibly competitive wine business landscape, wineries want to make sure that their best customers - the industry professionals who promote their wine to the public - have memorable and compelling experiences at the winery. 

The four mistakes in this article should be considered "never evers" and yet they continue to happen.  Wineries that work to eliminate these mistakes will discover that they are reaping significant benefits.

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Can a Jackass Improve with Age? A Vertical Tasting of Martinelli's Jackass Hill Zinfandel

Jackass Hill is one of the legendary vineyards of California.  Planted in the 1890s by Giuseppe Martinelli, this is a legacy vineyard of Zinfandel.  One of the oldest in Sonoma, the vineyard is farmed without irrigation or pesticides. 

Called Jackass Hill because "it is so steep that only a jackass would farm it," the wines produced from the vineyard are some of the most sought-after Zinfandels in California.  They are extracted, high-alcohol, expensive, beasts that are in very limited supply. The wines routinely sell for over $160.  If you can find them.

This is normally not a style of wine headed for the cellar and it isn't readily apparent if they will last, improve, or decline with age.  People are buying this wine for the delicious blast of powerful fruit and pleasure of owning a scare luxury item.

So, when I was invited into a back room of the Martinelli winery to taste a vertical of Jackass Hill Zinfandel with the Martinelli family, I knew it would a special moment and a chance to taste some Sonoma Valley history.

Here my notes on the 2014, 2007, 2003, 2002, 2000, 1997, and 1996 vintages.

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Here are my tasting notes of a few memorable bottles.  All the wines were of the finest provenance possible, pulled directly from the winery's cellar, and were tasted first by the winemaker to confirm that they were tasting correctly. 

Martinelli 2014 Jackass Hill Zinfandel.  "Tight and intense. Yet perceptibly soft with extreme black fruit. Flavors of charred meat and hickory smoke. Very smooth. Right now this wine is a strange mixture of alcohol burn and smooth mouthfeel.  The genre here reminded me of bourbon, even if the taste did not."  90 points.

Martinelli 2007 Jackass Hill Zinfandel.  "Luscious with an apricot and jalapeño compote. That is an incredible thing to write in a tasting note, 'tis true, but it is also an incredible thing to taste in a red wine.  It was truly there and obviously so.  The texture is very smooth with red berry jelly with the least perceptive heat from the alcohol of any vintage of JHZ that I've ever tasted."  92 points.

Martinelli 2003 Jackass Hill Zinfandel.  "Peaches, plums, and apricots in a slow-cooker with dashes of herbs. A crusty char from smoke and heat. Creates a dark delicious goo."  93 points.

Martinelli 2002 Jackass Hill Zinfandel.  "The Jackass Hill terroir shows through the alcohol with strong apricot aromas and flavors. Also some stone fruit. Sexy and extreme! Incredibly big and incredibly lush. Massive but not ungraceful. Sweet stewed peppers. A finish that recalls apricots on the grill."  95 points.

Martinelli 2000 Jackass Hill Zinfandel.  "Two bottles were both off-putting and funky. Winery representatives considered them flawed. Not enough experience for me to know if this is the end of this vintage's life or if we just got unlucky."  No Rating.

Martinelli 1997 Jackass Hill Zinfandel.  "Exotic and lush with those aromas that are created when you pour red wine into cooking tomato sauce. Sweet potato cream. Apple pie with cinnamon. Spicy tomatillos and salsa on the finish."  91 points.

Martinelli 1996 Jackass Hill Zinfandel.  "Over the hill at this point, into the funky tomato-paste thing."  83 points.

Some final thoughts on Martinelli Jackass Hill Zinfandel.

These wines are not subtle shrinking violets and if you want to age them, you need to be prepared for some wildly usual flavors.  I absolutely adored the grilled apricot flavors that hit this wine in the 8-14 year age bracket, but at the 20 year mark, I was not a fan of the stewed tomato character. 

It is unlikely that you are going to find old bottles of this on the market.  Most have likely already been consumed.  But if you spot one, and if you want a wild adventure, consider picking up one of my recommendations here.

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