Tor Kenward.Photo: Courtesy Tor Kenward
Since the mid-1970s, Tor Kenward has been at the heart of the Napa Valley wine industry.
In his new book,Reflections of a Vintner, he revisits some of his favorite memories, including his longtime connections with icons like Julia Child and Robert Mondavi over impeccable food and, of course, wine. He also gives some fun tips about tasting wine, which may “sound sacrilegious,” but simplify the process.
“Julia, I think she liked short men or something because I’m not a big guy, and her husband wasn’t either,” he jokes to PEOPLE.
“But she really enjoyed talking about a lot of things, other than just wine and food,” adds Kenward who spent almost 30 years helping build up Beringer Vineyards, before starting TOR Kenward Family Wines in 2001.
Kenward would often join the beloved American chef for meals. If it was past noon, he says she could be found with a glass of wine — or if later in the day, a cocktail — in hand. “We became pretty good friends talking about politics,” he says.
Julia Child and husband, Paul Child.Lee Lockwood/Getty
Child was a regular visitor to Napa Valley, but Kenward also traveled with her.
“She just loved life. She was so much fun. She lit up the room,” he says. “And she genuinely loved people, liked being around people.”
Kenward says that when they were at a restaurant together, Child always went to visit the chefs in the kitchen. “She wanted to meet the chef, she wanted to meet the people behind it,” he remembers. “And she wanted to find out what they were interested in.”
The vintner is equally interested in people. In fact, it’s the memorable characters he’s met over the past 50 years that are at the center of his memoir.
“I really wrote the book for people that love wine, want to know a little bit more, and are interested in some of the people that made Napa Valley famous,” he says.
One of the most iconic figures who dominates many of the book’s pages is Robert Mondavi, the late winemaking pioneer who founded his eponymous label. He was determined to prove that Napa Valley could make world-class wines, says Kenward. The Robert Mondavi Winery grew exponentially under his leadership and the winery itself, built in 1966,set the tone for wineries in the region, according to theNew York Times. The winemaker was forced to sell his business in 2004, following declining sales and family division over the running of the company, per the paper. But his legacy still stands.
“[Bob] was a real force of nature. There’s no way around it. He had a huge ego,” says Kenward. “He was a presence when he walked into a room, but he was highly focused on the success, his success obviously, and his winery.”
RELATED VIDEO: Here’s How The Julia Child Challenge Paid Homage to the Culinary Icon in Each Episode!
Kenward delves into the “very complicated” man behind the persona in his book. He also writes in tribute to Mondavi.
“I think a lot of people that saw the big ego side of Bob maybe didn’t see how much he supported the entire industry and people just getting into it,” he says. “He had pretty much an open door, especially in the early years when he was just starting his own winery.”
Kenward, who was on some of the same boards as Mondavi and Child, explains that Mondavi would help people with whatever they needed, whether it was to borrow a tractor or advise on winemaking.
People in the wine industry would be “shocked” to know the number of big-named people that got their start because of Mondavi. “It was the training ground,” Kenward says. “If you wanted to get into the business, you tried to get a job at Robert Mondavi Winery.”
Beyond reflections on friends and icons, Kenward tells Napa Valley’s “coming of age” story. InReflections of a Vintner, the region is as much a pivotal character as Child or Kenward himself. Since Kenward moved to Napa Valley in the ’70s, the region has exploded from 50 to about 800 wineries.
“Back in those days, it was just a magical period where we felt we were indestructible, we could do anything,” he says. “We were making wines that were on par with the greatest wines in the world.”
Kenward with his young son.Courtesy Tor Kenward
Kenward explains that the industry is spending millions of dollars to mitigate such issues. He also thinks people are totally missing the mark when they’ve said that “in 10 or 20 years Napa Valley’s going to be completely changed. Cabernet’s not going to be the king.”
“I think that’s absolute insanity,” he says, “because in the last 10 or 20 years, we’ve possibly had some of the greatest vintages in the history of Napa Valley.”
Whether you’re dedicated to California cabs or another varietal, Kenward has advice for readers in hopes of demystifying the drinking of wine.
“Anybody that likes food, enjoys food, and enjoys opening a bottle of wine now and then, is not a novice if they’ve been doing it for quite a few years,” he explains. “You’ve formed opinions, you’ve formed good opinions, they’re your opinions.”
For those wondering if they need to decant their wine, Kenward explains that it isn’t always necessary. “The one [rule] on decanting is, you don’t have to put every wine in a decanter,” he says. “A glass can serve, over a period of time, as a wonderful decanter.”
Kenward also wants to dismantle the myths surrounding what foods should be paired with what types of wine.
“You can have a decent, fairly powerful red wine — this is going to sound sacrilegious — with lobster if you want to,” he explains. “And you can have a really nice, bold white wine with the richest, fattiest steak on the menu there, with your rib eye. They work.”
He says the most important thing is to make a slight adjustment “with the basic elements that you’re working with, which is salt, whatever fat you’re using in your dish, and the acidity.”
To make a dinner party even more entertaining, Kenward suggests bringing out black glasses, so guests don’t know if they’re drinking red or white wine.
“You can take some big white wines, like bone dry, but larger Chardonnays, for instance. And maybe some medium red wines,” he says. “Put two or three of them in front of your friends and I bet you they make some mistakes.”
Reflections of a Vintneris on sale now.
source: people.com
