Fourth & Washington

Missouri Athletic Club Connections highlights the foremost private club in St. Louis known for attracting exceptional people and enriching lives for generations.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:21

Hi, and welcome to Missouri Athletic Club Connections, a podcast highlighting Missouri's only premier athletic club. The MAC is recognized as the foremost private club in St. Louis, known for attracting exceptional people and enriching lives for generations. I'm Greg Gerber, Director of Operations at MAC Clayton, and I'm joined today by MAC member Ann Spence, Vineyards wine owner Dave Spence, as well as chair of the MAC Wine Society, Governor Kurt Witzel. Gentlemen, welcome. Glad to have you here. Thank you. Of course. So today we'll explore the story behind the Forth and Washington wines and how the partnership between MAC and Dave and uh Spence Vineyards came together. Uh, what makes these bottles so special? And later in the episode, we'll have a chance to taste, look at each wine, and discuss what members can expect when they order a glass at any one of the clubhouses here. So, Mr. Spence, I'd love to start with you. Please tell us a little bit about Spence Vineyards and how it came to be.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Well, I we our family got involved and we purchased it from my first cousin Alan Spence and Jackie Spence. Uh, they moved out there in 1996 and bought a weekend place in the Bay Area. Uh, it happened to be on Howe Mountain in Napa, and uh, which is right above like St. Elena, if you're looking for a landmark. And uh they fixed it up over time and they went to a charity auction and bought a package how to make your own grapes or how to make their own wine. And uh it turns out the guy that was teaching it was a guy named Randy Dunn, who was kind of the we always refer to him as the godfather of Howell Mountain. And so Howell Mountain at that point wasn't really known as that uh special place for Cabernet, but it turned out shortly thereafter. And so they planted uh three clones of Cabernet on their property, and their first saleable vintage was 2004. And so how Dave and Susie Spence and our family got involved was we have four kids, and Alan and Jackie don't have any. And uh we on a ski lift in Park City, Utah, I leaned over to Alan and I said, What are you gonna do with a winery? And he, you know, he looked at me like I was getting in his business. And uh he said, I don't know, well, you want to buy it for me? And I said, Yeah, I said, You we have four kids, you don't have any. It would make sense, you know. And Susie always jokes, is like, when did you become his estate advisor? And so one thing came that was 19 I don't know, ninety-nine or something like that. We ended up purchasing it in 2000. And uh I would love to tell you the rest is history, but like in any business, it it's a little bit of pushing a boulder uphill. And uh so we had to learn the business pretty quickly. We thought we knew it because we own a restaurant in Park City, Utah. But uh there's a lot involved in it. There's a lot of technical that I may never get, but that's you hire people that surround you that know that sort of thing. Like you have a vineyard manager, you have a winemaker, people that really do the deep dive.

SPEAKER_03 3:20

I'm sure. And and there's this connection between between Spence Vineyards and St. Louis and MAC as well. Could you tell the audience about that?

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Yeah, we're uh the Spence family, we're seventh generation Missourian, not that that means anything, but uh it means we've been here a long time. It's uh but we uh are lifelong St. Louis residents. I've been a member of the MAC for 43 years, which that's a lot of dues. And uh it's so uh Thank you for that. Appreciate it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Appreciate that. Change out those windows. Um but uh no, it's so we've really enjoyed it. Uh our kids have been down here. It's a very special place and a special club for us. Uh we're thrilled about the Clayton opening. Uh, it's right around the corner from where we live in Clayton. And uh we are thrilled uh to start this relationship. And you know, a lot of people say, Well, what's special about your wines? And we we like to simplify it. And some people some people can go a mile deep on technical this and technical that, and we're pretty simple. We make wines that we like and we think that people will enjoy. You know, it's not about all this pedigree and all this. We simply we say, Well, we really like this wine. What makes that special and kind of learn from that genesis is to then come up with a Cabernet or a red wine that people will be smooth, will like it uh with food, and then also the same thing with the white. Uh there's a lot of people that say ABC, anything but Chardonnay. They haven't tasted ours.

SPEAKER_03 4:57

Sure. Sure. So before we get into the wines, actually, I just want to know that and Governor Whitson, you were involved in how we got the name of of Fourth in Washington. Could you uh tell the audience a little bit about where that came from?

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Well, yeah. I mean, the the genesis of this thing started with uh well, I actually we had been looking for, I had been looking for as wine society chair, a wine for the MAC for decades, actually. And and when Chip came, um, you know, I found a a soul who was deep into wines and loved the wine culture and society and whatnot. And so I brought it up again after having tried multiple times, and he said, Yeah, that's a good idea. We should really do that. And uh, and I had been to Dave's house, and I've known Dave Venusi for like 15 years, had been to Dave's house, and and I'm a wine guy, so I was seeing what they were pouring, and I'm like, Spence wines, what's this? And he's like, Oh, yeah, we own a we own a vineyard out in Napa. And I'm like, Okay, so the connection was made, and Chip was like, I don't know who we can partner with. And it's it's it was really hard because a lot of the a lot of the vineyards, a lot of wineries that we had thought about really didn't match sort of where we at. We wanted something that was quality, we something that was prestigious. And when, you know, I I thought, gee, David, this would be a you know, a big slam dunk for the club if we could do this. We had lunch and started talking about it. And then Dave and Chip had lunch a week or two later, and it sort of came about from the genesis of that. Uh, the actual name, uh, forth in Washington, uh, and in Dave's son-in-law Charlie, we went back and forth. I'm a marketing guy, Charlie's a marketing guy. We were trying to come up with something that was unique, prestigious, and told, told the people it's a MAC affiliated wine without saying MAC. So the and Charlie actually came up with the location for it in Washington. You know, this building's been here for around 100 years, and you know, it's it's a for the sort of the anchor of downtown business and social life, and it was the perfect name.

SPEAKER_03 7:12

Love that.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Yeah, it was an epiphany when he came up with it. We all said, that's it. You know, it it it seemed very natural at that point.

SPEAKER_03 7:19

Aaron Powell Well, so much about wine is about place, right? And climate and and region. So certainly seems to speak to that, right, with Forth and Washington. Pending any sinkholes, of course, right? Yeah. Yes, yes. Well, and so uh what was the moment that you found when we were going through this conversation that said, oh, this is it.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

This is how well I think uh being a member for 43 years, you know, always you always have a special place in your heart for something you've dedicated that much time and effort to over the years. And I think with Clayton coming on, uh it kind of it elevates all three locations. And I think you're the clientele is looking for something unique, high quality, uh not overpriced. Uh, and so when we got this, it's like, okay, we got our team together at the at the vineyard and we came up with different formulas, and we had a heck of a good time tasting them. We they shipped in uh three or four different samples and we tasted them and uh kind of narrowed in, and you kind of have to extrapolate what it will taste like at the next phase of of fermentation and storage. And so we came up with both of these, and uh I think the the membership will hopefully latch onto it and they'll find it a uh great opportunity. Aaron Powell I think they definitely will.

SPEAKER_03 8:38

And and so you know, as we bring this on board, because now it's here at St. Louis, right? Both both the Chardonnay and the red wine blend that we have in front of us, and we'll taste a little bit more later on. But how can members uh enjoy this, you know, uh at the different clubhouses?

SPEAKER_00 8:53

Aaron Powell It'll be available at all three clubhouses. Um it'll be available. We're gonna try to do a tasting sometime later in July or early August uh at each one of the clubhouses to let the members sort of get a feel for what it is. Um, you can you can buy it by the bottle, you can buy it by the glass. Uh and and the the theory is if you're, you know, if if your only daughter's having a wedding and and you want to put something really special in the glasses of the people that are attending that wedding, this is the wine that you would pick. It's sort of the premier wine for a banquet, you know, event, uh, you know, especially downtown with the with the ballroom and whatnot. Um, but but we, you know, and we've had all kinds of ideas who talked about Christmas presents, uh businesses downtown that, you know, the management is a member of the MAC. What a great gift. Have a gift uh box, uh, hand out a uh a wine bottle to every employee for Christmas. Um so there's a lot of different uh Chip had mentioned new members coming onto the club. What a great presentation for a new member. Say, you know, welcome to the club, here's a bottle of wine. Um so there's a lot of applications for it. And uh and it'll be, I mean, we've as Dave sort of said, we tasted uh the red blends like two months ago and and sort of came up with what we thought would be great. I think it's it's gonna be a hit and and it's gonna go pretty quick, to tell you the truth.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Aaron Powell And also uh the membership will be able to buy cases if they want. So if they want to have it at home or for event or whatever, it that's available as well. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Yeah, and we and we thought, you know, the good part is is you know, the fourth in Washington name, not to say anything about, you know, Jay-Z or the Stiefle people, but you know, if it would be a great Christmas present for all the employees at Stiefle, they would get a bottle of Fourth in Washington. Where is Stiefel located? Fourth in Washington.

SPEAKER_03 10:53

I love it. And so uh well, I mean we but we have a limited amount. You know, what is it, four barrels of the red?

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Yes, four barrels, which uh is I think a hundred, I believe a hundred and four cases of the red, and I think we're at sixty-two, I think, or sixty-one cases of the white. And for those who don't know, it's it's uh cases twelve bottles.

SPEAKER_03 11:14

Fantastic. So for our first wine today, uh, we've poured the Sonoma Coast Chardonnay in front of us. This is a 2025. Uh we call are calling that the fourth and Washington Couvet. Uh the uh there are only two barrels, I believe that that Charlie uh and Kaylee made, right? Uh for this production.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

So this is a hundred percent Chardonnay, uh like you said, Sonoma Coast. Uh our philosophy is there's very few vineyards anywhere that do 100% alone grapes when they have a number of varietals, varietals meaning like a Pinot Noir or Zenfidel or Chardonnay or whatever. So we go to where it grows the best. And we feel like Sonoma Coast, uh with the breeze off the coast and just the whole terroir, which is the combination of the soil, the climate, whatever, uh you go. And so our winemakers have relationships. There's kind of a fraternity of winemakers out there, like who has the best, you know, and so uh we taste it, we we bought it uh from a very I can't sworn to secrecy on who we bought it from, but trust me, it's a from a very great pedigree. And so one of the things that you always say, like, what was your what was your target? And our target is pretty simple. We pick out wines we like, and we say, Okay, give it to our winemakers and say, What are they doing? And so for on this, we said, we really like Peter Michael, and we really like Paul Hobbs. What are they doing? And they're they're putting it in very little new French, and they're using uh conditioned barrels, which means they've been used before, so it's not emitting over oaky. And that's kind of the nap of Sonoma, over oaky, over buttery. It sells, it's just I think people are on the w the tail end of that, and they're looking that's why Savion Blanc has gotten so popular. So they're going into things that are a little bit more crisp, is a little bit uh it doesn't overpower your taste buds, and it's what I call is a very drinkable wine.

SPEAKER_03 13:30

It is very drinkable. And in in some ways, you know, you talk about that neutral oak, right? That you know what is that what does that do to the wine?

SPEAKER_01 13:40

Well, it's just like anything else. If you had a teabag, okay, think about that. If you put a the second cup of tea, that tea is gonna be a lot lighter on that same teabag. Same thing on barrels. So the first use of a barrel is gonna be very strong oak. The second use is gonna be less, the third oak is gonna be less. And so when you're trying to get this taste profile of not over oaky, that's what you do. A lot of people use steel, or they a lot of people use uh uh concrete casks that are really popular right now. I'd like to have one of those, actually. But uh that's not in the budget. Uh maybe round two of the end. There you go. Uh but anyway, so we also, in addition to using neutral barrels, which means it's not over oaky, we don't let the wine go past a certain point in malolactic fermentation, which gives the wine that buttery taste. And like I was saying, we think we think trends are on the waning end of the typical Napa Chardonnay or Sonoma Chardonnay. So we really like uh white burgundy, okay? The world does too. Once they taste it, it's like, wow, that's a whole new I've not tasted that. So we say we can't say legally, oh, it's a burgund Burgundian white, but that's what we're trying to emulate. Okay. So uh we we think that that's a taste that people like, and the sales of our Spence Chardonnay have proven that. People really like it.

SPEAKER_03 15:12

Well, and interestingly, Chardonnay is of such a neutral grape. It's a nice, medium body, but it's very round and very neutral. So it really becomes something that the winemaker has a chance to really put their mark on.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

They do, and I think some people have gone overboard on you know, making it over buttery, over oaky. Um I don't want to name uh, but there's a lot of names that sell for twenty eight, thirty dollars a glass and uh that are just so overpowered. Uh and we've simplified this a little bit so you can actually taste the wine. And also the other thing is, and Kurt, you and I were talking about is uh to me, uh below room below room temperature, but certainly not an ice, is the best way to actually taste what this wine is all about.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

The cold will cloud it so you don't get the full taste. It sort of makes it it it restricts the taste that you're getting. And and reds and whites of both people that that make them too cold. It is.

SPEAKER_03 16:13

We've poured we poured this half an hour ago, right? So now it's opened up in the glass really nicely. Yeah, you can you can taste the change.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

Yeah. And and the, you know, Dave was talking about the malelectic acid. I mean, that is was so predominant in California wines five years ago. And and I think the the wineries that are progressing are slowly sort of walking away from that more and more because it it it is overpowering. And and one of the goals that I had when we started talking about all this was a drinkable red and a drinkable white, so that you didn't have one glass and go, wow, that was way too much for me. I'd never have another glass. You know, it's it's too overpowering for me. Something that is that is drinkable, you can have two glasses at night or with dinner or whatever. Um, and and the Howell Mountain thing is, you know, you've got Dunn Vineyards, you've got, you know, Shaughnessy, you've got all these CAD, CAD, yes, all these really nice wine right around Howell, you know, on Howell Mountain, Napa Valley AVA, which Howell Mount is part of that. I mean, it's it's really the best of the best in that that California, you know, winery system. And, you know, we I I almost feel like I fell into you know a pot of gold, you know, when this thing whole came about. You got somebody from St. Louis, you know, who owns the winery, you have somebody that's an MAC member for 43 years, 143 years. And and and in it's at Hollow Mountain, which is, you know, the the upcoming area in Napa Valley. And it's like, how could how can you lose on all three of those?

SPEAKER_03 17:53

And and we've talked about how members can enjoy it, right, coming in this month, do tastings and purchase some wines as well. But there's something coming up with the Missouri Athletic Club Wine Society in September.

SPEAKER_00 18:05

Tell a little bit about that. We're gonna have a uh our our our first uh you know, it'll be a first wine society event in Clayton, uh, four wine society members. And there's there'll be a a compensation sort of deal with uh with people that are not part of the Clayton uh membership, that this will be a one-time shot that they get to come into Clayton and experience the Spence wines. We'll have four or five wines along. And we've got, since we just got the wine in and a couple days ago, now the chef uh out in Clayton is is putting together the menu. So we will shortly, probably in the next week or so, uh come out with uh the flyer talking about what the menu will be, what the wines will be, uh, and then we'll open reservations. And there's only a hundred reservations, and and those will go really quick. So uh when that happens, uh I hope uh I hope the people who are very interested get there early, because if you get there late, you'll be watching from the outside.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

I think the other thing is we'll be uh adding to the fourth in Washington uh white and red with other Spence uh bottles. And I think we're gonna be doing a Zinfandel, a rose of Grenache, and uh which is more of a Provence style of rose. We we nickname it the porch pounder because you open that baby up and it is gone like that. I mean to tell you those bottles just disappear. That's perfect for summer, right? Yeah, they're right. And I think there is uh Pinot Noir. And also, you know, on the Pinot Noir, uh not that it's enforced in Washington, but you know, people are gonna our target was another single list family, uh Deerberg, who have a beautiful, beautiful property in Santa Barbara. And we've always liked their Pinot Noir because it's a little bit smokier, uh more flavorable. It's not one of those real kind of looking Kool-Aid type Pinot Noirs.

SPEAKER_03 20:00

Right.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

And so that was our target on our Pinot Noir.

SPEAKER_03 20:03

Well, they have a good uh Starlane Cabernet as well, too.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

Yeah.

unknown 20:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:07

Although your Howland Mountain Cabernet. That's some good stuff. Yeah, yeah, that's great.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

Honestly, you just kind of go into it and you learn as you go. And uh so we've done some things over time to make the wines even better. Uh we've done uh little nuances. Uh we're at 1900 feet elevation, and our soil uh goes about 12 feet deep. So we want to stress the grapes. Stressing a cabernet makes it more bold flavor. So we try not to over-irrigate, and we want the roots to chase the spring rains that are trapped in the soil. And what that does is uh that really brings out the flavor in the grapes. And then also uh we're what where we are is above the fog line. And so we get the morning and evening sun. So it really stresses those grapes, which gives that great flavor. And then we've done some other things over time. The canopy, the growth that grows in a vine, we do a second cut so that the sun evenly hits all those clusters. And then we also do what's called a green harvest. About this time, we go through and cut off the clusters that are not as good or plentiful as the best. So it takes all that energy and puts it in towards the best clusters. And we think uh we started that in 22, and we think uh starting, you know, that we right now uh we think we're producing the best wines that property has ever produced.

SPEAKER_03 21:34

Wow. Well and Napa's gone through some pretty interesting summers, right? Uh some droughts, some well, definitely high temperatures.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Nobody in Napa had a crop.

SPEAKER_03 21:43

Trevor Burrus, Jr. Right. Right.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

How how has Spence uh adjusted to that or made it been able to Well, I think uh if you read the headlines, you know, the wine industry is in trouble, this and that. I think that's more the people who uh bet everything on distribution and doing mass markets. Uh but we've got a lot of. We're we do about eighty five percent direct to consumer. So for instance, one one of the things we're real excited about the MAC, not just serving the wines at on location for people to enjoy them at their homes or wherever, but also you gotta think a s high percentage will go out to Napa at some point or Sonoma. And we want to have them come visit us. We're building a brand new tasting room. Wow. Uh my son-in-law Charlie Jensen, uh, who is married to our youngest daughter, Keely, is doing the hospitality out there. He's great. He has he's Midwest friendly. And, you know, it makes a difference.

SPEAKER_03 22:32

Yeah. And congratulations. They just got newly married, right? In October. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:36

I'm still I still in PTSD about that. Every time I think I've seen the last invoice, another one.

SPEAKER_00 22:43

You know, Greg, what's what's fun for me is listening to Dave talk about sort of the, you know, the cultivation of the vineyards and the tiroir and whatnot, as Celeste and I were in Burgundy a year ago, and went through and and this is like I'm hearing a repeat of basically what the same thing they do in Burgundy. We went to did the Rue de Grand Cru and stopped at some of the finest, you know, French vineyards. And uh and they they take the same approach, which is sort of And to me, this is not work.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

This is you know, when you're passionate about something, it's not work. And this is fun. I mean, you know, have you ever had a bad conversation about when you're drinking wine? No. I mean, you know, uh this is a subject that people feel good about. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:27

You make friends fast, right? Absolutely. Yes, yes. Beautiful. Well, gentlemen, uh, would you like to let's let's go to the red wine. This is I'm excited to taste this here. So uh as we start to taste this. Uh Suspense, what was sort of the strategy or the blueprint for this red?

SPEAKER_01 23:47

Um Well, uh we we wanted to uh both the question was not asked, but it would be an interesting why are you calling the white the cuve and this is a nap of red? Is we didn't want to be pigeon-holed into a single variety vrital, uh, because some people say, Well, I don't like Chardonnay. Well, just trust try it. So we did Cuvé to kind of uh maybe make it a little more uh generic sounding. And I think once they get past the you won't even recognize the people, it's Chardonnay. With the red, we uh we're trying to have a smooth finish. So in other words, this is not 100% Cabernet, this is a mixture of Merlot with a splash of Petit Verdeaux at the end. And what that gives you is that very smooth finish. First of all, it has a great nose. And then since it's opened up about a half an hour now, it even will taste different. But it it's just a very drinkable, you could have anything from a lamb chop to a pork chop to a steak to you name it, or I I'm not one of these purists. I'll eat it, I'll drink it with fish. You know, who cares? Or a salad. And but this is one of those ones you could have a couple glasses at dinner, doesn't overtake your body, you know, and some of those 100% caps do.

unknown 25:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

You're right. Yeah, no, they can be.

SPEAKER_03 25:06

Governor Whistle, what do you think? Yeah, what's your first impression?

SPEAKER_00 25:08

The drinkability, uh, and Dave's right, the nose is spectacular. I mean, and it and it's it's not overpowering, which is what you don't want in a wine being overpowering. You want it to be crisp, you want it to be robust, you want it to be fruit forward, uh, and and it's it's got it all the all the pieces to it. Um and this, you know, since we tasted it whenever that was two or three months ago off the barrel uh when we were trying to figure out what the blend is, I think it's matured great. And I I'm I I can only imagine when it'll be a year from now or two years from now.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

I stand corrected. It is 74 percent cab, 21 percent Merlot, 2 percent cab franc, and 2 percent Petite Furdeaux, and 1 per 1 percent Petite Syrah. Boy, that is you grop you got them all in there, yeah. I don't know anything we missed. But uh it's all a matter of what taste pro what it adds to the taste profile.

SPEAKER_03 26:02

Yes. And that's traditional Bordeaux blend. Yeah, right. It really does touch on the yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:07

Just like you say white burgundy, you cannot say Bordeaux blend, just because you even you can't say champagne in the United States. Yes. You have to say sparkling wine.

SPEAKER_03 26:16

Yes. Actually, I think I think the United States is one of the few that didn't sign that treaty.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02 26:20

Yeah. So but out of respect, we will be able to do that. We still do that.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

They did help us out during the Revolutionary War. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, where's laf yet when you need him, right?

SPEAKER_01 26:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 26:30

He's actually above the mantle on plates. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:35

Okay, so on the red, uh we went with 75 percent new, so it's four barrels. Uh and that makes up the 100 cases. So basically, rule of thumb is 25 cases per barrel. So it's three new barrels, one neutral barrel, and then you blend it and then bottle it.

unknown 26:52

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

Yeah, so you put it all together. So this was strictly made for taste. And you know, it's it's kind of i interesting, is when you look at like the prisoner, and which is Orange Swift wines, and Dave Finney is I love this guy, is he was a great marketer and he had a great palate. So he wasn't concerned about this varietal or that varietal. He just made wines that people liked. And that's kind of what our target is on these things. Let's give I always say give the people what they want. You can think on a menu at your restaurant that a pork chop's gonna sell, and if it doesn't, that means people don't want it. And on wines, same thing. You know, you can say, well, that's my that's my taste, and you should like it. Well, either it sells or it doesn't.

SPEAKER_03 27:39

So you when you mentioned Paul Hobbes and uh you know and Peter Michaels for the Chardonnay inspiration. What did you find for the red? What was some of the inspiration?

SPEAKER_01 27:48

Well, you know, when you first get in the wine business, you go to about 90 different uh wineries to see what what everybody's doing, and then you join wine clubs and everything else, and you finally say, Okay, gotta I don't need all that wine. Um I would say there were certain again, Paul Hobbes, I think, is on top of their game uh in Sonoma. Uh I would also uh I've gotten away from some of the big names that people like. You know, actually Opus does a pretty good job of of uh giving that taste Opus One. And uh not that I want to spend that kind of money on Opus One, but that's they they are going strictly for what they think the consumer wants.

unknown 28:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

And and you said before, you know, that is that is your goal. Your goal is to to to make a wine that people like the taste of. Yeah, absolutely. And I think you have you have oversucceeded in this respect in in these wines.

SPEAKER_01 28:42

Well, my cousin Alan and his wife would made, you know, Cabernet, and that was their deal. Is either you like it or you don't. Well, you know, as you find, couples are gonna come up to the winery or you know, whatever, and it's gotta be a shared taste. So we needed to expand the offerings so that if if he wanted six bottles of cab, that's great, but she wants four bottles of rose or two bottles of cabernet, or I really like the zen or whatever. And so you have to have for us, it's the basket, you know, that you have to have for people.

unknown 29:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:10

You know, there's a lot of hundred percent cab purists, and that's God love them. But that's the exception rather than norm. You know, people like variety.

SPEAKER_03 29:20

Oh, and and you can enjoy this so many ways. I mean, you've already mentioned some of them, but uh whether you're having you know a burger at the bar with this, this is beautiful, whether you're just having a few drinks after work, or whether you're having them for dinner, yeah. And uh, you know, I know plenty of people actually who enjoy fish with red wine. You know, we we learn a lot about red wine and red meat, but hey, who are we to get in the way of a good time, right? Yes, especially when the wine's this good.

SPEAKER_01 29:43

So it uh it's interesting. The uh white two winemakers and Charlie put together all these tasting notes, and they went about a mile deep. And I don't even know what some of these meat is like, but what I taste is is a little bit of cherry, not camus cherry, but cherry and uh with a just a really deep finish. So I get moch on the back end as well, too. Yeah, I this with so their tasting notes were like freshly cracked black pepper. I don't get that. But anyway, uh straw I don't know. I guess they have an aggressive pharmacist or something, but uh blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, I get all that. And then uh then you have different sections of your tasting. So you have the front, the middle, and the back. And then there's different, it's a long, creamy finish, and then they and it almost is like dessert at the end with vanilla, cinnamon. Uh they say roasted sage. I'm not sure I get that, but you know, uh and this wine is should be served uh about 60 degrees. Uh again, uh making it too cold will mask the flavor.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

And so to me, this is I think this is exquisite. And I I I I think out of respect, if nothing else, um we should at least mention John uh who is the winemaker. Oh yeah, John Jones.

SPEAKER_01 31:12

John Jones and Ted Osborne, who uh when we took over the winery, uh, you know, you don't know them, and but they make have made great wines. And I and I basically went to them and said, What do you want to do? You know, what what everybody has their talents. And so it turns out that Ted Osborne was one of the uh premier Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc makers in Sonoma and Napa. I said, Well, let's unleash it, let's go. Wow. And John Jones is one of our neighbors, and he has his own label as well. And he he makes his wines at our our vineyard and or at in our uh fermentation tanks and and uh crush pad. And so he's become a great part of the family, and we trust him implicitly. And uh so being right down what's good for them is good for us. And that's the thing you'd notice about the wine industry. Everybody's pulling for each other because you know, everybody had smoke taint in 2020, nobody, you know, and and yet, you know, we I don't wake up any day and say, Oh, we need to sell more than so-and-so over there. No, I hope everybody does well. And I think all the big distributors, all the big houses like um oh constellation and uh archery and uh all these are treasury, I'm sorry, uh treasure wines. Uh they've been big consolidators. Well those people are all ailing right now. I mean, they they bought too much.

SPEAKER_04 32:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

And then the market started to recede a little bit. But we're up. I mean, we're we're you have to, you know, an opportunity to not gonna knock on your door, you gotta go out and find it. So when people travel to Napa, we want them to come see us.

SPEAKER_03 32:46

And there's this genuine connection that you find with you know working with wine making wine wineries like like Spence wineries that are very genuine, have a fantastic story, and great wine too. I mean, that's that's something that you feel and you taste when you get when you uh get it poured out of glass and to be able to enjoy. So that's what I find here a lot.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

Aaron Powell Yeah, some some of the, you know, especially uh we've we've we've traveled to Bordeaux and Burgundy the last two years, and and some of the some of the vintners are so over the top. Uh and and it, you know, you sort of walk away saying, it's like the the good part about you know about Dave and and some of the a lot of the Howl Mountain guys are they're very real. They're not trying to put on airs, not trying to say, you know, although the wines are unbelievably good. They don't, you know, they're not, you know, prestigious in in in their uh their thoughts about it. You know, they're they're very down to earth and and it's all about the wine and the taste.

SPEAKER_01 33:43

Yeah, I don't I think people are past all the fluff and they just want wines they want to buy and keep, you know, and and serve to their friends and family. And our our whole family is really proud of this. I mean, we we've we went in kind of not knowing what to expect. And all four of our kids and our our family is they're they're all excited about it.

SPEAKER_03 34:05

Fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 34:06

Yeah, so uh I don't know, we we just you know, what's the future? We just want to see how this goes the first year. And if we sell out, that's a wonderful problem to have. And next year maybe we'll do more. So we're we hope it's well received. Uh say something if you see us. I mean, we're looking for feedback. Uh I always say you can't fix something you don't know about, so but if there's something we can do differently, and also one of the other things we did on branding going to this is uh the MAC logo is on the cork and on the back of the label.

SPEAKER_03 34:38

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

So I don't know if that's that one.

SPEAKER_03 34:40

Yeah, no, that it actually is. But that's fantastic. MAC's on here, and then also on the back of these labels, too, you'll see the MAC.

SPEAKER_01 34:51

So be proud of it. I mean, you know, uh, we all have a lot invested in the club, and so drink it with a smile on your face, share it with friends. Let's make it a success and we'll see what round two has to has to offer.

SPEAKER_03 35:02

That sounds great. And if members are like, this one's fantastic, we'd love to come visit you in Napa.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

Please do. Yeah, we've got an op open for business sign, and also we'll come, you know, it within reason. Um this is probably the wrong we'll come to your house and do tastings for your friends if you want. Wow. That's a deal.

unknown 35:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:22

Looking forward to it. That's great. Yeah. Let us know where to be invited to.

SPEAKER_01 35:25

So you can see them open now? Uh it'll be open at the end of August. Okay, good. Yeah. So by the time anybody would start making plans, we'll be open. Excellent. Beautiful. Now the other thing is uh I always joke and say, you know, the business part of me says uh wine sitting in a warehouse don't pay the bills. And uh we got to keep it moving, you know, because there's a certain shelf life to to wines. Probably four years, five years on Chardonnay uh or white cuve, and then probably you know, these reds will stand up for 10 or 15 years.

SPEAKER_00 35:58

Yeah. I'm I'm I'm looking forward to having getting like, you know, a case or six bottles every year and then just holding on to one or two over each year and sort of seeing how they grow and how they progress in the bottle over time.

SPEAKER_03 36:12

Yeah, we may have to hold a few cases off the side, or else uh I think this will be gone before the end of the year. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 36:17

So well again, that would be a wonderful problem to have. Also, uh when we do these tastings at downtown uh Clayton and West, you know, uh I'll be there. Uh my wife Susie will be there. Ask us questions. You know, we're we're we love to interact with people, you know. So uh there's other wines you can buy online, and uh they're in addition to these. So if you like these, the caliber of the ones you can buy online are great as well.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

Yeah. Actually, and just to make a mention, uh shameless plug, but that Zinfandel, wow, and that's a 15.6%. But that thing is fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

It's we buy it from a neighbor up on How Mountain who's who uh the two Vridals that grow well up there are Cabernet and Zinn. Little known fact, Missouri makes the most wine barrels in the country. Uh it's mainly for bourbon, but the one uh varietal that we use Missouri barrels is Zinfantel. For some reason, Missouri white oak and zinfantel go together. So that's why it's so good. Exactly. Oh, and the the other thing I didn't mention is we use um 100% French oak. And we buy from five different cooperages. Cooperages is people who make barrels. Uh and so we over time we found five that work well with us. And you know, the flavor profile is great. And so, you know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Wow. And how how how many times do you use those French barrels? Well, it depends. Uh, you know, they we certainly, you know, the condition barrels are ones that we have. Right. There's hardly any resale market to a French barrel, which is amazing to me because somewhere I've got to come up with something. Because the entrepreneur of me is it's killing me that we can't reuse a lot of those barrels after a couple times. Yeah. I mean, the landscapers love it, but they don't need French barrels. No, you're not getting much for it as well, too, from landscapers. Somebody has an I ID out there, bring it on. And do you char your barrels at all? Pardon? Do you char your barrels? Yeah, everybody does. Yeah. Uh it's uh I in Missouri, I went through uh during previous life, I went to two different barrel makers, one in Lebanon and one in uh Paris, Missouri, which is up in the northeast. And uh so if you see all those trucks uh call hauling logs on you know mid-Missouri, those potentially are probably gonna be barrels. Yeah. And don't uh one little don't overpick a fight with a guy that works in a barrel factory because those people are jacked. You walk in a bar, you see a guy, you say I work at the barrel factory. I'm I'm on your side.

SPEAKER_03 38:52

I'm on your side. Fantastic. Well, gentlemen, any last words that you want to say to the audience?

SPEAKER_01 38:58

No, I just uh I I can't thank uh Governor Whitzel uh for believing in us, and we're thrilled. We are very honored to do this, and we hope it's a tremendous success. Well, we know it's share your experience. If you're out there and you're having our wines, share your experience. We love it.

SPEAKER_03 39:15

Fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 39:15

Governor Whitzel? Yeah, I I just I I said it earlier, and I just feel like like you know, I I fell into something by accident that's like so wonderful, it's hard to believe that it out all sort of came together. And uh, and thank Dave for uh for working with us through this uh what seemed very natural on the way.

SPEAKER_01 39:34

We got the idea going, we got samples, we got the label approved. Charlie had some great input, John and Ted had some great input from the winery. You guys were all enthusiastic about it. Uh and you know, we'll we'll see how it goes, but if we're so far, so good.

SPEAKER_03 39:49

Can't wait to hear the feedback. Oh, well, thank you for tuning in to another episode of Missouri Athletic Club Connections. Stay connected with us through the events calendar, the MAC app, and social media. And we'll see you soon.