Cult Personality
Profile of Red Zeppelin Winery Wine Maker Stillman Brown
By Tom DiNardo
While working as the presiding auctioneer and master of fun at the
week long Telluride Wine Festival (Telluride, CO June 22 – 25, 2006)
I had the opportunity to meet Red Zeppelin Winery’s stylistically
eccentric wine maker, Mr. Stillman Brown. Mr. Brown greeted me with
his trademark salutation, “Elvis died for your sins”, and it was at
that point that I knew Stillman Brown and I were to become fast
friends.
 "Swilly
Idle,” as he is known to his friends, wine maker Stillman Brown
is a charming modern day version of Sid Vicious - meets - Elvis
Presley with a sprinkling of Ward Cleaver for conservative good
measure. His striking appearance (vintage 1980’s punk) is just as
intriguing as the destined to be cult status wines that he currently
produces at Red Zeppelin Winery (Cayucos, California – Central Coast
Appellation). A former political science major turned renegade wine
maker with a bent for baroque music and punk rock, his wines feature
the same quintessential harmony and balance between the elegant and
the austere as demonstrated in his personal dedication to excellent
wine making.
Zany with a wry sense of humor, Stillman Brown is quite a
charismatic fellow. A traditionalist he is not! However, he is a
damn good, no-nonsense winemaker. Mr. Brown has won many awards and
received countless accolades for his terrific wines. His syrah has
been voted “Best syrah” by the Pacific Rim International Wine
Competition, the Wine Spectator magazine, and the San Francisco
Chronicle. He is quite passionate about the craft of wine making.
“Swilly” is a walking encyclopedia on the topic of wine making. Like
Coach John Madden in an engaging football commentary, there’s no
stopping him.
At the Telluride Wine Festival’s Trade Tasting, I sampled four
Red Zeppelin Winery wines. First, I tried his yet to be released
2005 Chardonnay, which is a blend of chardonnay and viognier and
it is truly beautiful.
Next I tried his 2005 Pink Zeppelin (Paso Robles) dry rosè
wine. Fruit forward, but not sweet, this rosè is a blend of syrah,
grenache, cinsault, and mourvedre grape varietals. This is the best
rosè I have ever tasted.
The third wine I sampled was the 2004 Vindication (Central
Coast) which is a blend of 32% cabernet and 68% syrah. Simply
put, amazing!
The last wine I sampled was the 2004 Central Coast Syrah (Bear
Valley Ranch - O’Neill Vineyard). Outstanding! I sold a 5.0
liter imperial of this very same wine at Telluride’s Grand Tasting &
Auction for over $900. Mr. Brown’s response, like Elvis, “Thank you
very much.”
My only regret was that I was unable to try the now cult classic
Red Zeppelin – Hill of Graceland wine. Thankfully, Australia’s
Henschke family, producers of Hill of Grace, understand Mr. Brown’s
sense of humor, and they do not find Red Zeppelin’s Hill of
Graceland limited case production to be a threat to their ultra huge
tank farm operation located in Keyneton, a part of South Australia’s
Eden Valley appellation. When I jokingly asked Mr. Brown, tongue in
cheek, about the Henschke’s “ultra huge tank farm operation” he
responded, “No comment” with a knowing smile.
Out of all of the wines I tasted from the various wine maker
participants at the Telluride Wine Festival, I was most impressed
with Red
Zeppelin Winery. I sampled many wines from other nationally and
internationally known wine makers that participated in the Telluride
Wine Festival, and I truly believe Red Zeppelin Winery is well on
its way to very soon becoming a powerhouse winery of note. Both
Stillman Brown and Red Zeppelin Winery are under the radar for the
moment, but I anticipate that this will soon change. Stillman has
plans for Red Zeppelin Winery’s expansion next year in increasing
the winery’s case quantity production to accommodate current demand.
In the meantime “Swilly” enjoys his life as a would-be 1980’s rock
star and former fifth member of the band Winyl Tap turned extrovert
winemaker for Red Zeppelin Winery.
Tom DiNardo is a wine writer and
educator, sommelier, licensed auctioneer and certified appraiser. ©
2006 Tom DiNardo. All Rights Reserved.
Email Tom:
info@DiNardoandLordAuctioneers.com. |
