Thomas Jefferson was viewed in his day as a tall, handsome man, with strong hands and innate leadership tendencies. In late June, 1776, he sat in the upstairs of a Philadelphia house and confined himself for 10 days in the Summer heat to deliver the first draft of our nation's Declaration of Independence. Imagine the esteem afforded this man to choose HIM to write the initial draft of a document! He wrote later about his contribution, "Neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment, nor yet copied from any particular and previous writing, it was intended to be an expression of the American mind."

My respect and appreciation for Jefferson was sparked by reading An Evening with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson: Dinner, Wine & Conversation.

Jefferson's wine enthusiasm developed principally from his duties as Minister to France. His travels took him through the French countryside, where he acquired a taste for Champagne (the non-sparkling variety) and the little-known Vin de Paille (or straw wine) which is a sweet wine created in the Jura. Sixty-eight years before the 1855 Classification of Bordeaux, Jefferson had compiled his own list of preferences, listing the original four vineyards (Margaux, Lafite, Latour, Haut Brion) as first quality. He felt like Chambertin was the best of the red Burgundies he had tasted, and like his predecessors and those to follow, Madeira was to be the drink of choice in America. Part of this reason rests on the decree from England's King Charles to disallow any non-English wines from being imported into the American Colonies with the exception of Madeira, but at least important, Madeira was the only wine that could withstand the voyage across warm seas.

It is assumed that Jefferson was behind the "toasting" of The Declaration of Independence, as well as The Constitution--both documents were toasted with Madeira. Jefferson called wine a "a necessary of life" and his interests went far behind simply imbibing, but also included grape farming, wine production, grape classifications, and importing. He was a wine advisor to Presidents Washington, Madison and Monroe. He spent his entire presidential income on wine for entertaining. In my view he was the equivalent of the American version of Leonardo di Vinci.

Michael Bryan

The 8th annual Mendocino Wine Affair Showcases the Organic Rush
by Gregory D. McCluney, Wine & Travel Editor

“For decades, growers (in Mendocino) have been supplying fruit to Napa and Sonoma wineries to make some of their finest wines, “ said John Enquist, executive director of the Mendocino Winegrowers Alliance. “ So, you can’t blame them if they feel a little under-appreciated at times.” While Napa and Sonoma have taken most of the gold, and mounted a lot of marketing muscle to promote the fact, a significant amount of the fruit came down from the north.

What makes a wine organic? The way the fruit was grown, or the way the wine was made? And are organic wines different than others? Do they taste different--even better? Read on...

Event Calendar

Monday, July 17th, 7pm

• Part I ONLY beginning July 17th is SOLD OUT
• Part I & Part II beginning July 17th has 5 seats available
• Part II ONLY beginning September 11th has 8 seats available (NOTE: If you have taken Part I already, use COUPON CODE "part1" for $30 off)
• Visit the Introduction to Wine section for more information