So what does a 25-year-old know about wine? Barrels full

By Janet Eastman

DREW Gibbs has made wine a large part of his career because he loves it and because he admires his mom and dad. His parents are Laurie and Michael Gibbs, who threw their heart, soul and work ethic into opening the Winchester Inn in Ashland two years before Drew was born.

Now 25, Drew is the Winchester Inn’s general manager and a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers.

“I learned a lot by working in the restaurant here and from structured courses and seminars on wine across the country,” Gibbs said, while standing inside the Winchester Inn’s year-old wine cellar. It is in this tasteful, Tuscan-style subterranean space that Gibbs and Wine Bar Manager Andy Phillips present almost weekly wine tastings, parties and private wine dinners attended by winemakers. (See calendar). “Wine is a passion of mine and it’s part of the legacy of high-quality hospitality my parents started.”

Gibbs taught a class on Wine Education yesterday and today as part of the Ashland Food and Wine Classic weekend, in which a $15 day pass granted access to a Chef Showdown competition, food and wine tastings, and workshops, from cooking demonstrations to Gibbs’ wine class.

Participates in today’s wine class were treated to Gibbs’ insights accompanied by tastings of Oregon wines and a 20-page handout on key aspects that sommeliers pay attention to in wine: clarity, brightness, color, concentration, rim variation, viscosity, aromas, body, alcohol, acidity and flaws.

“As in poker, everything has its tell, and it’s especially true with wine,” Gibbs said. “And as with cheese, beer and coffee, there are 10,000 things you can taste in wine.”

The reason behind offering the Wine Education class: “If people have a strong grasp on how to actually break apart the components in wine then they will better understand and enjoy what they are drinking,” said Gibbs, whose coursework to earn his certification included retaining an encyclopedia knowledge of the telling flavors of specific varietals.

The session started at 9:45 a.m. with the pop of the cork from a bottle of 2006 Blanquette de Limoux Cuvee Berlene from France, which Gibbs described as “a crisp, wake-up wine to get rid of the coffee and muffin taste in your mouth.” Then Gibbs focused on his Oregon roots with wines he likes that retail from $14-$25 because, he confessed, “I’m a big proponent of good, cheap wine.”

The wine flowed, followed by his comments:

• Agate Ridge Vineyard 2007 Sauvignon Blanc: “It’s a wild wine that if not kept in check can taste like canned asparagus or cat pee. Sauvignon means ‘savage’ in French.”

• Chehalem  2007 Inox Chardonnay: Made in a Burgundy style in stainless-steel, so it’s not oaky.

• Jovino 2007 Pinot Noir: The thinned-skin grape really reacts to the terroir and Oregon Pinots are much lighter than California ones.

• Brandborg Winery 2005 Syrah: Riper than the French; you can really smell the land: earth, herbs and spices, particularly pepper.

About 60% of the wines on the Winchester Inn’s list are local because the Gibbs family and the Winchester staff are big believers that Southern Oregon is an exciting, wine-rich region.

Gibbs is often asked by students attending wine conferences or instructors in classes he’s taking to advance two more levels to the Court of Master Sommeliers why he lives in Southern Oregon. He explains, “There is a nice breadth to what’s produced here. We don’t do everything perfectly, but there are examples of high caliber wine and we’re on the right road to improve everything.”

This year he’s specifically excited about the 2007 Domaine Paradox and EdenVale Tempranillo.

Would this young sommelier want to make his own wines someday? “I’m tempted. I already make beer,” he said. “And as they say, ‘It takes a lot of good beer making to make wine.’ I’m interested in the process, but I’m not sure I have the patience.”

Besides, he seems busy enough as it is.

For more info: The Winchester Inn, 35 S. 2nd St., Ashland, OR 97520, (541) 488-1113, www.winchesterinn.com