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411:, but it was never much of a focus. Elsewhere, in California the grape was also drawing little interest from "serious" winemakers. Remembering the lessons he learned in Europe about the benefits of "old vines", particularly with keeping low yields, he went looking for some of the oldest vines of Zinfandel that he could find and found several vineyards with plantings from the 1880s-1900s. Over the course of his career he would uncover other "ideal" spots for Zinfandel including
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While Ridge had some success with
Cabernet, the mission that Draper was charged with was to make Ridge "respectable". One of the first tasks that he set about was in modernizing the facilities of a winery that was first built in 1886. He then went to focus on Ridge's Cabernet Sauvignon and became an
231:, a fellow volunteer and friend from Stanford. Using Cabernet vines from local vineyards, Draper got first hand experience with winemaking in a very low-tech environment. During this time he also read many books on winemaking to expand his knowledge of the field. In 1968, he traveled to
364:. The wine was expected to hit its peak after 6 years in the bottle. Prior to the tasting, Spurrier expected the Ridge Monte Bello to be the best performing American red. In the final results it ended up being the fifth best overall red wine (and second best American wine) after
387:, the 1971 Ridge was the highest ranked red wine beating out the 1973 Stag's tastings of the same vintage wine as the original competition. A second tasting was held of more recent vintage wine in which the 2000 Monte Bello red wine came in second place behind a 2000
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110:'s Joel Peterson, Draper is considered one of the most important figures in the history of Californian Zinfandel, rescuing the grape from obscurity and demonstrating its full potential as a serious wine. Draper was featured in a
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of his Monte Bello
Cabernet with a bottle of Château Latour to get feedback on the differences between the two. Draper retired as the CEO and Winemaker of Ridge Vineyards in 2016, but remained on as the chairman of the board.
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with the name of that vineyard. As the reputation of his wine grew, consumers soon began to recognize names such as Monte Bello, Picchetti
Vineyard, Jimsomare and Geyserville from their vineyard-designated bottlings.
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grape. Draper sensed the potential of the wine if grown in the right spot and with low yields. Prior to his arrival, Ridge had been making some
Zinfandel in small quantities, often blended with
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which is low even in comparison to
Bordeaux wines. Though his wines are often more of a French style, he has preferred to use American oak because they seem to perform better with his wines.
443:. While many of these areas had long histories of Zinfandel production, most of these areas never received much recognition until Draper and Ridge began using them and touting their
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in their emphasis of more "industrial winemaking" versus the traditional methods that he prefers. In contrast to other
California Cabernets, Draper's wines are normally around 13%
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The style of Draper's Ridge
Cabernets are often compared to more Old World styles like Bordeaux and have been reviewed by critics in favorable comparisons to the wines of the
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to take part in his 1976 blind tasting that would pit the best of
California wines against the best of France's wines. On the tasting notes, Draper describes the 1971
479:. He has also been a critic of high wine prices and consumers who purchase wine for speculating purposes rather than to enjoy them. He has been a harsh critic of the
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as the first vintage that they were able to achieve balance in the wine with less sugar in the grapes prior to harvest and the benefit of small amounts of
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An assortment of early Ridge wines made by the MonteBello winery that preceded the establishment of Ridge
Vineyards.
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Over the years Paul Draper has influenced a number of winemakers, both in
California and abroad, with such notable
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in California since 1969. Without any formal training in winemaking, Draper first gained recognition for his 1971
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through his pioneering work in popularizing "vineyard-designated" wines as well as instigating the resurgence of
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and highly alcoholic wines made from excessively ripe fruit, preferring his wines to be more about finesse and
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An assortment of Ridge wines made by Paul Draper, each with a distinctive "no frills" style wine label.
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created a cooler climate that was distinctly different from that found in Napa Valley or
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without over intrusiveness by man. He has been a critic of overly-powerful, over
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titled Terroir and directed by Christopher McGilvray which was shown at the 2017
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Draper is an advocate of natural winemaking, though Ridge is not a certified
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and first became aware of Ridge Vineyard, which was then owned by a group of
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advocate of the potential of cool climate Cabernet in contrast to the
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and accept the chief winemaking position at Ridge Vineyards in 1969.
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and began producing single-vineyard wine that was designated on the
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The 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon was selected by organizer
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In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Zinfandel was primarily a
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Paul Draper thieving wine from a barrel at Ridge Monte Bello.
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counting him as among his favorite non-European winemakers.
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Angels' Visits: An Inquiry into the Mystery of Zinfandel
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styles that came out of warmer climates. Located in the
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engineers. After graduation in 1959, Draper joined the
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of Ridge's vineyards as well as its proximity to the
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Charts used during wine making at Ridge Monte Bello.
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in 1936, Draper was raised on a farm and exposed to
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685:"Paul Draper of Ridge Vineyards to Retire"
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720:"Winemaker of the Year: Paul Draper"
650:Gelico, Jessica (January 25, 2017).
522:Lifetime Achievement Award, Germany
142:at an early age. He graduated from
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395:Influence on California Zinfandel
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754:Winemaker Talk: Jean-Luc Colombo
569:pg 181-182 Simon & Schuster
447:with vineyard-designated wines.
633:pg 287-291 Harcourt Books 2001
360:and aged in small American oak
204:as a cellar assistant with the
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513:Distinguished Service Award
290:. Draper also embraced the
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69:(born March 10, 1936) is a
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890:Stanford University alumni
810:. Henry Holt and Company.
806:Darlington, David (1991).
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166:where he was stationed at
97:history of California wine
370:Château Mouton Rothschild
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366:Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
276:Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
148:Wallingford, Connecticut
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83:Monte Bello
67:Paul Draper
23:Paul Draper
864:Categories
750:E. Arnold
629:Oz Clarke
599:Laube, J.
548:References
302:wine label
156:philosophy
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55:Occupation
789:cite news
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565:G. Taber
425:Mendocino
405:Carignane
347:fermented
272:alcoholic
270:, highly
268:very ripe
190:nutrition
184:studying
173:La strada
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851:Archived
694:March 8,
668:March 8,
536:See also
401:jug wine
280:altitude
233:Bordeaux
182:Sorbonne
134:Born in
101:old vine
516:2005:
477:balance
469:terroir
445:terroir
383:In the
362:barrels
331:vintage
297:terroir
206:harvest
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502:Honors
335:Merlot
221:leased
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213:Chile
168:Italy
812:ISBN
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696:2017
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617:2007
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439:and
429:Lodi
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