Julien's Journal September 2016 (Volume 41, Number 9) | Page 51

JJ

E.Guigal

WINE & SPIRITS
by John B. Donovan

John is always up for a glass of wine, especially when shared with friends. He is also
known to enjoy good craft beer on a fairly
regular basis. He is the executive director
for the Dubuque Mercy Health Foundation.

“

On drinking Bordeaux:

The French drink them young,
so a Socialist government
won’t take them. The English
drink them old, so they can
show their friends cobwebs
and dusty bottles. The
American drink them exactly
when they are ready, because
they don’t know any better.

– Anonymous

I

”

knew of and had already enjoyed wine
by E. Guigal when I learned the winery
and operation was very close to Vienne,
my destination when in France. Contact
was made through their website and a date
for a tour and tasting was set. I was thrilled.
We were so close that Natalee and I borrowed bikes and rode over four miles to E.
Guigal headquarters in Ampuis, right on the
Rhone River.
After a brief wait in the elegant lobby, and
the gathering of another eight people,

Stephan came out and introduced himself
as our tour guide.
E. Guigal has a rich history and is so well
known that Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate credited the Guigal family as “This
planet’s greatest winemaker.” Etienne
Guigal was the youngest in his family and,
in the early 1930s, landed in Ampuis when
his family could no longer care for him. He
picked apricots prior to obtaining a job at
Vidal Fleury Vineyard at age 14. He started
pruning in the vineyards and rose to Maitre
de Chai (head steward) over the next 15
years. Etienne left Vidal Fleury in 1946 to
begin his own company, E. Guigal.
Etienne’s son, Marcel, got involved early
due to his father’s loss of eyesight in 1961.
Marcel leads the company today, though it
is very much a family run business, with
Philippe, Marcel’s son, serving as Director
and Oenologist.
E. Guigal is known for its strong work ethic
and passion for quality, elevating Guigal
wines to the top of the wine world. E. Guigal
is certainly the leading winery in the Rhone
Valley. Through growing the brand, Marcel
brought notice to Côte-Rôtie and other appellations within the Rhone Valley that were
in danger of being forgotten in the annals of
the district’s wine history. This region has
a 2,500 year history of wine making and is
truly the cradle of wine culture in France.
Marcel and Philippe carry on the tradition
laid out by Etienne – leadership and excellence in wine for the Rhone Valley.
Initially, Etienne did not own any vineyards.
He purchased grapes from regional vineyards and learned the process of making
wine. Even today, they are not a large vineyard owner. A conscious decision was made
that when a vineyard is purchased, it must
be one capable of producing top quality
wines. They currently own only 150 acres
throughout the northern Rhone region. In
keeping with their carefu