For more, see our featured interview in Crush.
I started Vinavanti out of a love of food and wine. While I've always loved to eat, I discovered I love to cook and drink wine about five years ago, and it has blossomed from there. I decided that I wanted to create a line of wines that not only drank well on their own, but also paired well with food. Wines that people could enjoy not just with a special occassion meal, but with the meals they eat in celebrating life every day.
It is impossible to grow and ferment enough wines - varietals, appellations, vintages, and vinting methods - to cover the range in tannins, acids, flavors, aromas and body needed to consistently create a line of wines that pair well with different foods. Instead, I work in the old world tradition as a negociant - I search out and find wines that exhibit the qualities which make them great foundations for food wines, and then blend them to produce each wine in my line.
Finding these wines takes a lot of work. I begin with the varietals that normally exhibit the qualities I am looking for, and then start contacting wineries known for these varietals across California - Paso Robles, Napa, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Temecula, Monterey. Sometimes I find a great wine right away, sometimes I have to keep searching. For the Sangiovese I use in Il Pezzonovante, I contacted over 90 wineries to find the one I chose.
I then actually prepare the food, blend the wine, and sample them together... and blend, and sample, and eat... and blend, and sample, and eat. Until finally I have a wine that really makes the meal better. It's tough work, but somebody's got to do it!
It's because of this process that all of the wines are proprietary blends, with a unique name for each. I believe in good food, good wine, and good company. I hope we can be part of yours.
Sincerely,
Eric Van Drunen, Vintner