Each week, as regular readers know, Terroirist poses questions to a winemaker. This week, we’re featuring Ryan Hodgins, the winemaker at Breggo Cellars.

Ryan’s career in wine began in Ohio, at Oberlin college. While there, he would have many conversations with his plant-biology professor about winegrowing — and soon became hooked. So a few years after graduation, Ryan headed to California to pursue a Master’s in viticulture and enology at UC-Davis.

After finishing his degree, Ryan worked harvests in Oregon, Napa, and even India — and then landed a position at Hanzell Vineyards as the assistant winemaker and viticulturist. In 2005, joined Breggo Cellars and helped launch the winery.

Check out our interview with Ryan below the fold.

What is your general winemaking philosophy?

Spend as much time as possible in the vineyard – greatness is achieved on the vine. Once the grapes enter the cellar, I strive to do as little as possible to the fruit and let it become the wine it wants to be. That said, my dogma is pragmatism, I believe in making the best wine possible and not be tied to a particular belief system that dictates my winemaking choices.

What’s open in your kitchen right now?

I opened several bottles over the weekend, highlights were a Chehalem 2002 Willamette Valley Ian’s Chardonnay that had great purity and freshness and a Mas de Boislauzon 2007 Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Who are your favorite winemakers in history, through personal account, or their wines?

Brad Webb, the founding winemaker of Hanzell Vineyards in Sonoma. Brad was hired to make Burgundian inspired wine in California in 1953 and was one of the first winemakers applying science to fine winemaking. Through much experimentation, Brad came far closer to capturing the essence of Burgundy than most Californian Pinot and Chardonnay producers who followed.

What new winemakers are you most excited about, and why?

I’m really excited about the urban winery movement that is taking off in Portland, Oregon (my home town). There are a bunch of young winemakers producing some very cool wines that reflect Portland’s DIY ethos.

The famed Savoy Vineyard, which was recently purchased by Breggo Cellars.

How do you spend your days off?

In my garden with my wife and kids, my 6 year daughter likes to eat all of the peas off the vine before they’re ready and my son likes to eat dirt.

What’s the best wine you’ve ever tasted? The most interesting?

Encounters with great wine are so often situational, for me, the most transcendental (I guess you can call that the best!) was at Guigal in 2004, barrel tasting the 2000 vintage of La Landonne and La Turque, after nearly 40 months in barrel the two wines had an incredible purity of flavor – just beautiful mind-opening wines.

What’s the oldest bottle in your cellar? The most expensive?

For my wife’s birthday this year we opened a 1976 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour – the oldest bottle in our cellar by a long shot. Next oldest is a magnum of 1998 Hanzell Pinot I was given when I left Hanzell in 2008. The most expensive is probably Mommessin Clos de Tart from 2005 (my daughter’s birth year).

If you had to pick one red and one white to drink for the next month with every dinner, what would you choose?

For red it has to be Chateauneuf-du-Pape, or maybe Priorat, or… For white it would be Austrian Gruner, I need to drink more Gruner. Actually that sounds like a fine idea – a month of Gruner Veltliner! I might just do that.

What’s your biggest challenge as a winemaker?

Keeping perspective. I have one of the best jobs in the world, I make something that makes people happy. I try to remind myself every day how fortunate I am.

What’s your favorite wine region in the world — other than your own?

My first impulse was to say Southern Rhone, but now I’m not sure, I’m less of a fan of their whites and I think my favorite region needs to produce equally great red and white. Burgundy seems too obvious, but I’m struggling to think of any other region where I’m equally passionate about both the white and reds.

Is beer ever better than wine?

Lord yes! Nothing tastes better at the end of a long day of harvest than a beer. I really don’t drink that much wine during harvest, once my palate is tuned to tasting fresh fruit and must, finished wines can throw me off.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

My mother has a tattoo that says “son.”

If you weren’t making wine for a living, what would you be doing?

I’d probably own a restaurant, but I’m a morning person, the hours might kill me.

How do you define success?

In winemaking? By crafting wines that make people excited to drink them.