Weekly Interview: Mark McWilliams

Posted by | Posted in Interviews | Posted on 04-06-2012

Each week, as regular readers know, we pose a series of questions to a winemaker. This week, we’re featuring Mark McWilliams of Arista Winery, one of my favorite spots in Healdsburg.

I first visited Arista three years ago, and Mark was kind enough to sit down with me and a few friends for a private tasting. I’ve been a huge fan of the wines ever since, and they continue to impress.

The McWilliams family traces its wine roots to 1996, when Mark’s parents, Al and Janis, purchased property in Northern Sonoma with the hopes of turning it into a vineyard.

Mark was in college at the University of Texas the time, but would spend his summers working on the family’s vineyards – and became hooked. So when he graduated, Mark dove headfirst into wine. And over the next ten years, he would work in various positions at Kendall-Jackson, take courses at UC Davis, and work for a distributor in Texas.

In 2005, Mark and his wife Jennifer moved to Healdsburg to join Arista, which officially launched in 2002. Today, Mark manages the day-to-day operations of the tasting room and production facility.

Check out our interview with Mark below the fold. 

What is your general winemaking philosophy?

My general philosophy is to make the best possible wine from the site with which we’re working, and to keep all of the focus on the vineyard and fruit so that its  unique qualities come through in the finished product. Winemaking  absolutely starts in the vineyard and that’s where much of our effort is placed.

In fact, I’d say that a large part of winemaking is actually grape growing. We spend a substantial amount of the year walking the vineyards and working with the growers to get the vineyard in balance, which ensures that the hardest work is behind us when the harvest arrives and the fruit is picked. The actual winemaking side is very straightforward. The role becomes one more of monitoring the progress of fermentation and maintaining the ideal conditions for the fruit to continue to do the work.

Mark and his brother Ben.

What’s open in your kitchen right now?

Ha! Funny you ask, because my wife is always asking me to clear the kitchen counter of wine bottles. Right now, I’ve got the following bottles open: a 2007 Alphart Rotgipfler from Austria, a 2007 Williams Selyem Allen Vineyard Pinot Noir, a 2007 Holdredge Selection Massale Pinot Noir, and a 2005 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Spatlese.

What can I say? I love Pinot Noir and aromatic whites!

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

If we’re talking California, I really love the wines of Joseph Swan and Louis M Martini and Louis P Martini. They all produced such classic, pure wines that seem to age forever. When I drink wines produced by Swan or Martini that are 40 or 50 years old, I can’t help but wonder about their mindset at the time. Were they thinking about these wines with that horizon in mind? Or were they simply trying to make the best wine at a given time and see how it would develop?

What winemakers are you most excited about, and why?

There are so many winemakers I respect and admire that it’s hard to keep the list short. Bob Cabral at Williams Selyem, Rod Berglund at Joseph Swan, Mike Sullivan at Benovia, Michael Browne at Kosta Browne, Adam Lee at Siduri, John Raytek at Ceritas, Ross Cobb at Cobb, and Thomas Brown from Rivers Marie come to mind. I think each of these guys are producing fantastic wines, but not in just one particular style.

To me, that’s the beauty of Pinot Noir from California. It doesn’t neatly fit into one category nor should it. Each of these winemakers is passionately and genuinely committed to producing world class wines and each of them have a very strong belief of what it takes to do accomplish that goal. 

How do you spend your days off?

My wife would laugh at the suggestion that I get a day off! It’s difficult when you’re building a small brand to have much free time. On the weekends, my brother, dad and I feel very strongly about being in our tasting room to meet our guests and tell our story. Outside of work, I love spending time with my wife and two young boys. We’re just at the stage where tee ball and soccer are beginning so we spend a lot of time outside in the yard chasing balls and looking at bugs.

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

Tough question. I think one of the great things about being in this industry is that we often have opportunities to taste amazing, legendary wines, so picking one is very hard.

One of the greatest wines I’ve ever had, though, and will never forget, was an ‘84 Chave Hermitage Blanc that I tried three years ago. I was blown away by its simultaneous youth and focus.

As far as interesting wines, I’d have to say that the Bruno Giacosa wines fascinating. They shift and evolve in ways I can’t wrap my mind around. They’re very interesting wines that are always fun to drink, because each one is an education.

What’s the oldest bottle in your cellar?

I have some Remoissenet Pinot Noirs from the 50’s and 60’s, which are rocking wines! I also have some fantastic Rieslings from the 70’s.

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

Riesling and Pinot Noir. No question!

What’s your biggest challenge as a winemaker?

The biggest challenge — which also brings a considerable share of fun and excitement — is every new vintage. It’s like getting a new set of rules each year. A growing season is a very fluid thing and conditions can change at a moment’s notice.

The challenge is being able to recall from past vintages and apply that knowledge to a current year. There’s a tremendous amount of science and a lot of modern tools we have to anticipate these conditions, but at the end of the day there’s a lot of the equation that’s left up to Mother Nature. You get one shot per vintage to stay in step with her.  

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

I’m so intrigued by Burgundy and the way they’ve been able to parcel down to such tiny pieces of vineyard. It’s always refreshing and motivating when I visit with the growers to hear their dedication to such small plots of land.

I’m also fascinated by Germany. I’m going next summer for the first time, and, judging from what I know from visiting with growers and producers, it’s going to an amazing experience for me.

Is beer ever better than wine?

There is nothing like a cold beer at the end of a long day on the crush pad. Then again, there’s nothing like a cold beer at the end of a short day on the crush pad. You spend a lot of time around wine so it’s not hard to come up with an excuse to need beer!

What would people be surprised to know about you?

For my first post-college job, I managed a Kinko’s in Dallas, Texas. I hated every minute of it. Every customer was in a rush, past a deadline, and simply had no clue what they wanted you to do for them. It was awful. It actually was a great experience only for the fact that it removed any doubt that being in the wine business was exactly what I was meant to do!

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

Drinking it or selling it. Honestly, wine is the most fascinating thing to me. I sincerely cannot imagine doing anything other than being involved in this industry. Outside of my aforementioned short stint with Kinko’s, wine is all I’ve ever done. I really never had a backup plan or desire to do anything else.

Comments (2)

  1. Great post! As a fellow Texan, I had to visit Arista on my last trip to wine country w/my mom and sisters. We had a wonderful time. Also, I too loathe Kinkos.

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