This month Wine Pairing Weekend Bloggers (#WinePW) are Celebrating BIPOC Winemakers & Winery Owners. If you’re not familiar with the “BIPOC” acronym it stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. I found this article in the NY Times interesting. It explores the history of the term along with pros and cons of its use from different perspectives.

2020 was a memorable year for so many reasons we’d rather forget. But from my perspective, as a Black American, the calls for racial justice was were a positive. And for me personally, it was this weird combination of cathartic and depressing.

I’ve chosen to focus on the positive. And one of thoses positives is that BLM movement lead to a spotlight being shined on racism in the wine industry.

Racism in the wine industry is no surprise to me because, I’ve experienced it first hand more times than I’d care to recount. While some wineries chose to stay silent on the sidelines, many took action, and that warmed my heart.

Theopolis Vineyards

I’m sharing a couple of wines from Theopolis Vineyards. I’ve know about Theopolis Vineyards for years, but only recently purchased the wines for the first time.

Ms. Theodora Lee, a senior partner and trial lawyer at Littler Mendelson, founded Theopolis Vineyards in 2003. In the wine world, Ms. Lee is known as Theo-patra, Queen of the Vineyards. Her passion for wine began upon her arrival to San Francisco from Texas in 1987, primarily due to the influence of her law firm mentors, many of whom owned vineyards. This led Ms. Lee to take several viticulture classes at UC Davis, before deciding to develop her own vineyard. In 2001, Ms. Lee purchased sheep land in the Yorkville Highlands of Anderson Valley, and began developing her vineyard. This process was quite complex from clearing land, doing soil tests, obtaining permits to remove some trees, drilling an agricultural well, and terracing the property. Finally, in 2003, Ms. Lee planted her 5 acre vineyard. Ms. Lee adopted her Greek name from pledging Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and established Theopolis Vineyards explains its website.

2017 Theopolis Vineyards Symphony

Symphony is a Californian crossing of Muscat of Alexandria and Grenache Gris developed in 1948 by the late Harold Olmo, professor of viticulture at UC-Davis. However it wasn’t released for commercial purposes until 1982.

The grape is mostly used in white-wine blends, where it contributes to the aromatic profile of the final product. A few varietal examples of Symphony are made in California, typically produced as off-dry or late-harvest wines. The grape is mostly grown in the Lodi and Sierra foothills AVA

My Tasting Note Follows:

Pale golden yellow color with orange blossom, Manila mango, lychee, and citrus rind aromas. On the palate it’s medium-bodied, and dryish with gentle acidity, and ripe peach and mango, mandarin orange, and Meyer lemon flavors and a clean citrus driven finish. 13.4% abv|SRP- $25|100 cases produced.  It was lovely paired with Adzuki Bean Curry It seemed to accentuated the ginger in the curry, and I’m a big fan of ginger!

2016 Theopolis Vineyards Pinot Noir

Fruit for this wine was sourced from select sites in the Santa Lucia Highlands. It was fermented in 0.75 ton bins, manually punched down, aged in 40% one year old and 60% neutral French oak barrels for 10 months, bottled unfined and unfiltered.

My tasting note follows:

Ruby color with inviting black cherry, pomegranate, forest floor, dried rose and baking spice aromas. On the palate it’s medium-bodied, and fresh with sauve tannins and a great mouthfeel. It shows enticing pomegranate, red cherry, raspberry and subtle spice flavors with a very satisfying finish. 14.6% abv|SRP – $45|110 cases produced. The wine was fantastic paired with Slow Roasted Herb Stuffed Pork takeout from our favorite “Pandemic” restaurant Top Hatters Kitchen and Bar.

These were harmonious, exciting and delicious wines I’d purchase again.

If you’re looking for other great BIPOC winemaker and winery owners be sure to check out what my fellow #WinePW bloggers have discovered. And if you like what you read, but a few bottles!

 

• Truffle Chip-Crusted Goat Cheese Truffles + McBride Sisters Brut Rosé from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• The Many Talents of John Legend on A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Family and Wine Go Together for These Black-owned Businesses from My Full Wine Glass
• Black-Eyed Peas with Collard Greens and Maison Noir OPP by Cooking Chat
• Where’s Linus Sauvignon Blanc with a Shaved Vegetable Salad, Crostini, and Scallops on Cauliflower Rice Risotto on Crushed Grape Chronicles 
• A Taste of Theopolis Vineyards from ENOFYLZ
• Pairing Crab Legs with Carmen Stevens’ Sauvignon Blanc by Our Good Life
• Meet Cheramie Law: Black, Female, and Founder of Texas’ Cheramie Wine from The Corkscrew Concierge
• Sipping Wines from the McBride Sisters Black Girl Magic Line by Avvinare
• Camins 2 Dreams: When a Chumash Winemaker Meets a Spanish One And Sparks Fly from Gwendolyn Alley, Wine Predator
  
• And here on Somm’s Table,  I’m sharing An Inauguration Day Toast with Bodkin The Fearless Blanc de Blanc and Cauliflower Curry

We’ll also be gathering on Twitter on Saturday, February 13th at 8 am PT/ 11 am ET to share our finds. Feel free to join us by following #WinePW