Winemaker Musical Chairs

"I've never fired a winemaker, they've always fired themselves. Every one of them has had their own issues," said Don Bryant, proprietor of Bryant Family Wines, when I called him up to talk about the recent departure of his winemaker Helen Keplinger, after just a single vintage on the job.

For her part, Keplinger chuckled at the notion of firing herself. "It is interesting to note that over the last 10 years, five winemakers have departed from Bryant - two of them during harvest. It's clear to me that there is a disconnect", she said. The roster of winemakers at Bryant Family has included some of Napa's most famous names, including Helen Turley, Philippe Melka, and Mark Aubert.

Following Keplinger's departure, Bryant promoted Todd Alexander to winemaker. After less than two years as her assistant (plus several years' experience assisting at other wineries), this 34-year-old young man will now be head winemaker for one of Napa's highest scoring and most sought-after wine labels.

It may be slightly unfair to call Bryant Family the poster-child for winemaker turnover in Napa, but it is far from an isolated case.

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Posted by: Alder on January 17, 2013 10:10 PM: Tweet; Share this post elsewhere: Digg it! - Add to del.icio.us - Add to Stumbleupon - Add to Reddit; Filed under: Ramblings and Rants

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Comments (3)

John Skupny wrote:

01.20.13 at 5:12 PM

Helen Keplinger is one of the brightest and nicest of the current winemakers on the scene. A taste of her own achievements, through her own label, clearly show that. Evidenced by the string of greatness that came and passed through the bryant cellar it will likely serve her well in deciding how to select future projects and whom to work with. Helen is a winemaker to keep an eye on!

Karen wrote:

01.21.13 at 6:34 AM

( Dearest Alder,It's starting to bug me that just when I'm 3 paragraphs into an article and getting interested, that I'm reading an "error" message that says go to another site, and pay, to read the rest of the article.)

Alder wrote:

01.21.13 at 10:04 AM

It happens 12 times a year only, Karen.