JWM - Volume 2, Issue 1 - (Page 92)

MY PASSION Peter Gago eter Gago is more than a winemaker. In 1991, he helped launch the now-legendary Penfolds Re-corking Clinics. During these global road shows, he and other Penfolds winemakers examine vintage wines brought to them—in the manner of an art restorer mending a Rembrandt. They assess via tasting, and if the wine is deemed to be a good example of that vintage, reﬁll, re-cork and certify, attesting to the quality. “Let’s say you have a Penfolds Grange 1981, and you’re unsure whether it will go the distance to your 50th wedding anniversary,” Gago says. “Bring it to us, we test it, re-cork and recertify, and advise you when best to drink it. Sadly, if we open a wine that isn’t as it should be for that vintage, we can only replace it with a plain cork, and can’t certify. You try telling someone their $50,000 bottle of Grange 1951 has spoiled.” The service is little-known for a reason: Several Bordeaux châteaux offer re-corking, but only Penfolds does it in an interactional way. “We’re improving the gene pool of our wines all the time,” Gago says, “and we do it for free, much like Rolls Royce ﬁxes their cars for free. It’s the ultimate in after-sales service.” The process is not quite as simple as swirling, sampling and popping the cork back in. First, Gago assesses whether the wine needs to be re-corked (and don’t take your three-year-old bottle to a clinic; they only re-cork Penfolds reds that are 15 years or older). If the wine is as it should be for that given vintage, it’s reﬁlled with the current release of the same wine. Then it’s re-corked using a state-of-the-art, stainless-steel vacuum corking machine. Four such units travel across the globe, especially for these clinics. But the question on everyone’s lips is usually this: “Forget corking—are you ever tempted to just drink the wine?” The answer is, naturally, “Yes!” says Gago. “Over the years I’ve got to taste the Grange 1952 and 1953, which is a privilege. We only re-cork Penfolds wines, but that doesn’t mean we don’t drink other wines at our clinics.” When one guest came to an event with a bottle of Château d’Yquem, a French dessert wine from the mid-1800s, Gago told him the team couldn’t re-cork it. “He said, ‘We’re not recorking this, we’re drinking it!’ It was beautiful.” All In Good Time A winemaker assesses and restores vintages to keep them available for wine lovers—and sometimes, he drinks them. AN INTERVIEW WITH DOUGLAS ROGERS Penfolds, one of Australia’s oldest and most iconic wineries, has joined (RED) to contribute a portion of proceeds on its Thomas Hyland and Koonunga Hill wines to the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. With every purchase of (PENFOLDS)RED-designated products, Penfolds will contribute 15 percent of the proceeds to the Global Fund to support the ﬁght against HIV/AIDS. For more information, please visit penfoldsred.com. He examines vintage wines brought to him—in the manner of an art restorer mending a Rembrandt. J WM MAGAZINE 92 J W M A R R I O T T. C O M © 2011 CARLTON DAVIS/TRUNKARCHIVE.COM (WINE DECANTER) Red, Red Wine http://www.penfoldsred.com http://www.JWMARRIOTT.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JWM - Volume 2, Issue 1

JWM - Volume 2, Issue 1
Contents
Contributors
Editor's Letter
JW Experts
Distinctive Products, People, Ideas & Style
The Pop-Up Chef
Spa-nthropology
Welcome Back, Bolshoi
The Portal
Behind the Scenes
From Pour to Pair
Space, Redefined
Greatest Show on Earth
JW Experience
My Passion

JWM - Volume 2, Issue 1