30
Weekly Interview: Aaron Walker
Posted by Interviews | Posted on 09-30-2011
| Posted inEach week, as regular readers know, Terroirist poses 16 questions to a winemaker. This week, we’re featuring Aaron Walker, the winemaker at Pali Wine Co in Lompoc, California.
Pali Wine Co. was founded in 2005, when Tim Perr and Scott Knight – the entrepreneurs behind Perr & Knight, an insurance support and consulting firm — pooled their resources to launch a winery dedicated to small-lot Pinot Noir.
The first three vintages were made by Brian Loring, and Aaron Walker joined the team in June 2007 as an assistant winemaker. He became the head winemaker in 2008.
Aaron fell in love with wine through food and restaurants. Although he went to college to become an elementary school teacher, Aaron’s first job out was with a restaurant — Royale Brasserie (now Lou & Mickey’s Steakhouse) – and when an opportunity to work harvest for Bonaccorsi Wine Company presented itself in 2006, he dove in.
Over the next year, Aaron apprenticed with Joe Davis of Arcadian, Seth Kunin of Kunin Wines, Stephen Dooley of Stephen Ross Wine Cellars, and Gray Hartley of Hitching Post.
Check out our interview with Aaron below the fold. Read the rest of this entry »