Peoples Wine Revolution at the Cricket.

We recently had the pleasure to taste a number of small producers at The Wines of Danger tasting event, at the Press Club in San Francisco. One that caught our attention was PWR (Peoples Wine Revolution). Having done the usual exchange of information, and hope to see you soons, we were thrilled when Matt called and took us up on our request to get together for a chat. Dropping everything to put a time and place together before the madness of harvest, we came to an agreed upon schedule and place. To shine a little light on the kind of person Matt is, knowing our southern hemisphere upbringing he arranged to meet at the Calistoga Fair Grounds. What does that have to do with your southern hemisphere upbringing you ask? Well, there just happened to be a cricket match occurring that day.

Think someone just bowled a wobbly...

There we were, sitting under the shade of a tree watching some entertaining cricket between the NVCC vs Caribbean All-Stars complete with music and dancing cricketers, and enjoying good wine and conversation. Thoughtful addition to our wine related chat and a general nice touch Matt (he even brought some almonds to snack on).

Some background -Husband and Wife team Matt Reid and Marcy Webb conceived The People’s Wine Revolution with a goal of bringing great wines to all at reasonable prices. At first, their goal was to make wines every bit as good as those they made during their day jobs, but at a fraction of the price. PWR is now their full-time pursuit.

They are also the proud parents of a four-year-old daughter, Beatrix.
Matt completed the UC-Davis Viticulture & Enology M.S. program in 2003. He has been the winemaker at Seavey Vineyard and Quixote Winery, and the Custom Crush Winemaker at Failla Wines, where he was the hands-on winemaker for brands such as Drinkward-Peschon, Gallica and Bello Family. He has just now taken a position as interim winemaker at Benessere Winery. Matt also does consulting for Burgess Cellars and Greggarious among others (so if you need some consulting, give him a call).
Marcy’s background is public health (epidemiology), but her quick, scientific mind has led to positions at The Napa Wine Company, Franciscan and Chalk Hill.

With a cricket match in the background, we chat with Matt Reid of PWR.

WW- What is your quest?

MR- We believe that everybody deserves to drink good wine. We are striving to make great wine that is affordable for all. Ruling class wine at working class prices!

WW- When did you first have an interest in wine and how did that manifest itself?

MR- As a child I was introduced to wine by my father. He was into wine's from all over the world and if I was good I got a taste. At first, he would water it down but over time I advocated for smaller volumes without water. I always looked forward to what the next time would bring. Tasting all those different wines at an early age planted seeds that carry over to today in that I am not afraid of different varieties and styles.

WW- How did you get started?

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MR- I read a book called ' Step-by-Step Homemade Wine by Judith Irwin. It really engaged the journey. I made a lot of the recipes from the book. Some were not so good but some were, and those good ones lead to even more attempts.

WW- What separates you from other winemakers?

MR- I'm not sure that I am much different. As winemakers, we are all trying to do exciting great things. Perhaps my willingness to do what it takes for each individual vintage rather than just follow a previously used recipe.

WW- We all have quirks. What would your co-workers say yours is?

MR- They would laugh and say 'he thinks he likes to clean out tanks'. Which I have done and enjoyed, but possibly not if it was my primary job. But generally I do enjoy almost everything about the process. 

WW- If you were not doing this what would you be doing?

MR- I love working outdoors. I would probably be working towards rehabilitating and restoring some tidal flats and estuaries or a beach head. 

WW-What is your favorite color?

MR- Red

We want to thank Matt for his time, for his thoughtful selection of meeting location and for sharing his PWR 2012 The Peoples Grenache as we had a nice little chin wag.

With production at about 750 cases, finding PWR wines is not easy, but one sure way is to go to the website and order a case. 

Happy Tasting Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala