AN INTERVIEW WITH A WINEMAKER
Interview with Toby Hill
Each week, as regular readers know, Terroirist poses questions to a winemaker. This week, we’re featuring Toby Hill, the owner and winemaker of Phillips Hill Estates.
Although Toby grew up in the Bay Area, he didn’t always plan on being a winemaker. After receiving his BFA from the California College of the Arts in the late 1980′s, Toby headed to New York to work in the art scene. When he returned to San Francisco in the 1990s, it was to work as an architectural colorist.
In 1997, Toby purchased land in the Mendocino Ridge appellation overlooking the Anderson Valley, and quickly grew to appreciate wine. A few years later, a local winemaker who was preparing to launch his own wine brand changed directions – so offered Toby four barrels of unfinished 2002 Pinot Noir from Oppenlander Vineyard in Comptche, Mendocino. Toby has been making wine ever since.
Today, Toby makes limited production Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley and Comptche, sourcing all his fruit from local vineyards close to his home and winery. Check out our interview with Toby.
What is your general wine-making philosophy?
I am from the school of less intervention; the wine is made in the vineyard. However, I do express terroir when I feel the terroir is expressible. This depends on the vintage, or the age of the vine, and mostly the climate conditions at harvest. Sometimes, a blend of two or three terroirs is better then one. It is all about getting the best wine in the bottle.
What’s open in your kitchen right now?
A 2006 Rioja Reserva.
Who are your favorite wine-makers in history, through personal account or their wines?
Williams & Selyem for raising the bar on quality California Pinot Noir when Pinot Noir was barely on a wine list, Randall Grahm for keeping it playful, and Sine Qua Non for expressing his art.
What new winemakers are you most excited about and why?
MOVI Movimiento de Vinateras Independientes of Chile. This group of passionate renegade Chilean winemakers is committed to excellence and has carved out a place as small producers, producing better wines than their corporate competitors who dominate the market. Also, Violet Green, a small producer in Mendocino County who makes excellent restrained Cab Franc and Syrah and Bordeaux blend.
What’s the best wine you’ve ever tasted?
Last year while in Burgundy, a 2001 Corton Grand Cru Les Languettes.
The most interesting?
When I find myself pulling my head back and taking my nose off the glass and saying “interesting,” and it is a real funky aromatic experience, then I know it’s a good one.
What’s the oldest bottle in your cellar?
A 1970 Scharzhofberger Riesling trockenbeerenauslese.
The most expensive?
Either a bottle from Cote de Nuits or an aged German Reisling.
What’s your biggest challenge as a winemaker?
Timing when to pick. A weather shift in one day can affect the physiology of the grapes. Therefore, when working with several vineyards in different micro-climates with several vineyard managers who are working with several other vineyards, picking dates have to be planned in advance. The weather can change at any given moment.
What’s your favorite wine region in the world—other than your own?
Burgundy.
Is beer ever better than wine?
Yes, after a 4-hour wine-tasting event. Also, an ice-cold beer on a hot day in a pool in the tropical jungle in Mexico.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I went to art school, not Davis, and I never had a burning desire to become a winemaker. It was an evolutionary creative process.
If you weren’t making wine for a living, what would you be doing?
I would be making wine without making a living, or making something else.
David White
contributor
David White, a wine writer, is the founder and editor of Terroirist.com. His columns are housed at Wines.com, the fastest growing wine portal on the Internet.
