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Anthony Truchard, Truchard Vineyards
Anthony Truchard of Truchard Vineyards in the Los Carneros area of southern Napa is one of my favorite people in Napa, and it was a pleasure to have him on the show.
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Truchard Vineyards is a family-owned winery that has been operating for over 40 years. It started when Anthony\\u2019s parents Tony and JoAnn were about to head to Korea for a two-year tour with the US Army (of which Tony was part). After Tony completed his medical residency in Texas, where the couple was from JoAnn, who was very pregnant, fortuitously slipped on a grape in a grocery store, broke her knee and the Army sent the family to a base in CA near the Nevada border.\\xa0
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Upon exploring the beauty of California, Tony got a wild hair to buy a vineyard in Napa and the rest is history. Truchard started out as a growing operation in the 1970s but in 1989 they decided to take some of their favorite blocks and start their own winery. Although they are still a major supplier of grapes to very prestigious properties up-valley in Napa, their winery is true to the land of Carneros and one of the purest expressions of this unique area in the North Coast of California.
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Anthony Truchard was one of six of the Truchard children who grew up commuting between the family vineyard in Carneros and spending his weeks at school in Reno, NV and his weekends in Napa -- he was working in the fields with his father, Tony, by age 12.\\xa0Anthony has degrees in Philosophy and Biology from UC Santa Barbara and worked in local wine shops and restaurants, learning how normal people interact with and buy wine. He also got a law degree from Cardozo School of Law in New York City and practiced intellectual property law before returning to Napa to become the GM of Truchard Vineyards, where he works hard to maintain the integrity of his family\\u2019s wines.
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Here are the topics we cover in the show:
Truchard\'s barn in Texas, still stands today!
Anthony gives us a full education on Carneros. We discuss:
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We discuss the main grapes that thrive here \\u2013 Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Merlot, and how Cabernet Sauvignon is growing in plantings as the climate warms. Anthony also talks about the major cultural differences between Carneros and other parts of the Napa Valley.
The Cave at Truchard Vineyards in Carneros
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We cover the viability of organics in a cool climate with major fog, like Carneros and what becoming organic does for the grapes
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Anthony talks about the collaboration of Tony Truchard, his dad who still manages is the vineyards, and the winemaker, Sal de Ianni. He discusses the goal of the team at Truchard Vineyards\\xa0 \\u2013 to express the land and the vintage in each bottle, to stay traditional (not chase trends), \\xa0and to stay true to the farming roots.
Truchard Winemaker Sal de Ianni
Anthony gives us some thoughts about market trends and what he sees for the future of Carneros and Truchard.
These are spectacular wines and are available in the US and the UK at a reasonable price. They are meant to enjoy and to pair with food.
Photos all from Truchardvineyards.com
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