Force Majeure Vineyards has raised the bar for Washington wines. With its world class Bordeaux and Rhone varietals from the upper slopes of the Red Mountain, Force Majeure has made quite a name for itself by those who know outstanding wine. Just recently, I met Todd Alexander, Winemaker at Force Majeure, and his lovely wife, Carrie, who also works at the winery, for lunch at Naha in Chicago. This lunch was the last planned media event of Todd’s four days in the city and I was eager to learn more about Force Majeure, its wines, and, of course, Todd.
Photo Credit: Force Majeure Vineyards
Todd Alexander has been the winemaker for two years after having been introduced to the vineyard/brand owner by a mutual winemaking friend in Washington while still working for Bryant Family Vineyard in Napa Valley. He was a part of Force Majeure’s Collaboration Series line of wines and Todd “was looking for a good opportunity in the region”. Todd explained “it was a good fit for me as it’s an estate project that I can really focus on. I wasn’t going to leave Bryant or Napa for just anything – this project had real potential”.
As soon as we sat down, however, I recognized that both Todd and Carrie were ready to simply relax during lunch, to “dial it down” a bit after several days of work . Yes, Todd was eager to share his story, but in a more conversational way, which frankly, I prefer. My pen and notebook were tucked away and we talked, listened, and were able to learn in a casual, engaging way. I promised to send Todd the questions that I had wanted to cover at our lunch – he was very appreciative.
Following are Todd’s responses. All confirm my feeling that he will be crucial in taking the wines of Force Majeure Vineyards to an even higher level.
GE: What is your background in winemaking?
Todd: I have made wine in Texas, California and Washington state. Education includes a Bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field, undergraduate study in winemaking at a community college, and the UC Davis Winemaking Certificate, as well as numerous professional seminars at UC Davis and other institutions. More importantly, I worked on amazing teams with great, highly knowledgeable and intelligent people who mentored me, allowed me to open my eyes and ears, engage my brain and challenged me. It was important to me to really push myself beyond my comfort zone, and to take risks, and that’s something I continue to do and something that took me to the Pacific Northwest and to more of an entrepreneurial role. I’ve also done a good amount of traveling to wine growing regions, especially in France, my biggest inspiration, to further study and learn. My goal when I started making wine was to always put quality first, I wanted to make something profound, something that would make a mark, something that would last. I wanted to work with the best and I wanted to strive to create the best. That’s a moving target and difficult to achieve, but why strive for anything else?
GE: How has your background influenced your wine making at FM?
Todd: My time at Bryant Family Vineyard in Napa Valley, specifically, taught me how much work it takes to really pursue excellence, what it truly means to have high standards and to maintain them, how compromising often leads to mediocrity, how every step and every detail matters. In a more practical sense, I have learned certain techniques, philosophies and skills that I feel lead to better wine quality, both in the vineyard and cellar. I also came to really value site-specific winemaking – I feel that single vineyard wines are the most compelling wines around, and that’s what I most like to make. It’s even more special when the vineyard is one that you own, so you have full control from vineyard to bottle. I also believe in being in the vineyard as much as possible.
GE: What are you trying to accomplish in relation to producing wines at Force Majeure?
Todd: I would like to elevate the quality of the wines Force Majeure produces. At the same time, we are transitioning to a 100% estate winemaking format, which didn’t exist before I came in 2014. The wines have a great track record, but I know there is room to do better, and we are doing better already. For one, I am the first full-time, dedicated winemaker that FM has ever had. Previously, with the Collaboration Series wines, all the winemakers had other gigs that were their main gigs, Force Majeure was a side project for them, so there might have been a lack of attention at times. The vineyard is such a cool site that it needed someone to come in and really start guiding it. I am happy that I’m at FM and able to do that.
GE: Do you have any favorite moments or highlights so far at Force Majeure?
Todd: One thing I like about Force Majeure is that it has never gotten stale. We are constantly moving, we are looking at ways to improve. Since I arrived at Force Majeure, we have been continuing to develop exciting vineyard parcels at our estate. We are looking at land elsewhere too. Also, we have been making wine in a warehouse, which is okay – but we really want to build our own facility, and we are hoping to do that very soon, possibly being in our new building for crush of 2017. The property is in Walla Walla and we’re still doing a feasibility study. It’s an old school house that we are hoping to convert into a winery. I would say that the willingness of everyone to push things forward has been good to be a part of, because I definitely want to push things and continue to move forward, and having people who share that desire is a great thing.
GE: What are the challenges of the job?
Todd: One thing I think makes Force Majeure challenging (and interesting) is that the vineyard is very intense. There are lots of micro-blocks that were designed around soil types, so some blocks are as small as .3 acres. Logistically, it is complicated, but I’m learning how to dial it in, it takes time. I think it takes 5 years to really start to know a piece of land and what it can do, how it responds. The only other real challenge is really just trying to push ourselves as hard and far as we can, to try and elevate winemaking both for our winery and for the region.
GE: Which vintages have been most difficult to work with? Why? What did you do?
Todd: I haven’t been at Force Majeure long enough to have a really difficult vintage, but we did have really hot years in both 2014 and 2015, and you have to work very carefully in the vineyard to manage that. Detailed canopy management and nutrition are extra important in hot years. In 2011, at Bryant, we had a notoriously cool and wet vintage, which made for really low phenolics and some botrytis in some areas – not something we are used to the US, but in France they deal with it all the time. So, we definitely had to make some adjustments to what we would normally do, in order to make the best wines we could make. You just have to be able to adapt and realize that you can’t do things the same way every vintage.
GE: How is Carrie involved in Force Majeure? What is it like to work with a spouse?
Todd: Carrie handles our mailing list, sales and marketing. Like any small operation, we all have to wear a number of hats, so she chips in wherever else necessary. She also handles distribution relationships. Working with a spouse is great! It can be stressful at times but we are pretty good at separating professional and personal lives!
GE: What wines do you enjoy the most?
Todd: For me, I enjoy a range of styles, it just depends on what I feel like drinking. I enjoy wines from California, Washington, Oregon, France, Spain, Italy… I would say that my first love was Chateauneuf du Pape, southern Rhone. From there, I went to Bordeaux and northern Rhone, Loire, and finally Burgundy. I’ve had some wines that stopped me in my tracks, like the 2000 Chateau Ausone, 1982 Latour, 1955 Latour, and a few DRC (Domaine de la Romanée-
GE: Do you have any particular food and wine pairings you love?
Todd: It’s simple, but I love Chenin Blanc with oysters. It just works.
GE: What other hobbies or passions do you have when you’re not working?
Todd: I’ve been working on my pilot’s license for quite a while. Harvest always gets in the way and I have to stop for a few months, then it’s hard to get back in the saddle. So, I’ve been working on that. I also draw — I take classes in Classical Realism from time to time, which is rooted in 19th century French ateliers, similar to what was taught at the École des Beaux-Arts. I play guitar and piano, I love music, go to concerts a lot, and I like to travel.
GE: Where are your favorite areas for travel?
Todd: I always look for an excuse to get to France. But I love all of Europe. I haven’t been to Russia, would love to go there, and I have never been to Japan or the Far East. India has always been fascinating to me as well but I haven’t been there yet. And I did really enjoy Iceland too. I need to make it to Argentina one of these days, as well.
GE: Any humorous anecdotes you can share?
Todd: Last year we entertained ourselves by naming our tanks. In 2014 they were just known as “Tank 1, Tank 2”, etc. Last year we let whatever hit us at the moment inspire us with names – so we ended up with tank names such as Flavor Flav, L. Ron Hubbard, Xenu, Barry Manilow, David Hasslehoff, and some others…it was all over the place, good for a laugh, which is nice when you’re in the middle of long days working harvest.
Once lunch was finished, Todd and Carrie left for the airport for their return to Seattle. I felt that I had met some wonderful new friends. I hope that after reading more about Todd, who is clearly a driving force at Force Majeure, you’ll feel the same way.
Cheers! ~ Cindy
