True story behind a line of wines

Two Thumbs Way Up

Floral, sweet citrus fruit aromas with an unexpected note that hints of bananas Foster. Bright and clean flavors of sweet and tart citrus fruits, green apple, and it finishes with a creamy tangerine note.

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Hardy Wallace wanted to make the most popular wine ever. He pulled up his roots in Atlanta, cashed in his tech industry millions and set out to take over Napa Valley with the most amazing chardonnays and cabernets Northern California has ever seen!

“Uh, Gil. This is Hardy Wallace. That’s not what happened.”

Well, what about the dream where the Lady of the Lake told you to go west and ferment great things?

“Gil, there was no dream or ladies or lakes.”

Well, what about the video?

“There was a video. That’s true.”

Well, if you know so much, why don’t you tell “your version” of how Dirty & Rowdy Family Wines got started?

“OK, I will. Last fall, we finished our sixth vintage. And, though the wine business moves at a geological pace, a lot has happened in my short time as a winemaker. Your readers’ lives are too short for the blow by blow, so I’ll give you the milestones.

“The seed was unknowingly planted around 2007 when Rowdy (aka Matt Richardson) and I would get together weekly at his house in Atlanta. He’d make his famous hot fried chicken. I’d bring wine. The wines were usually light in body, high in acid and almost always European. At the time, there were not a lot of similar California wines to the ones we enjoyed from Chablis, Jura and Beaujolais. As much as I loved to nerd out on these wines, to be honest, I was just there for the chicken.

“Fast-forward a year to the economic crash of 2008. I was laid off from a 12-year career in tech sales, and surprisingly relieved. I spent my professional life doing something that didn’t make me happy and felt like I was given a ‘get out of jail free’ card. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do. I just knew it would be in wine.

“In 2009, with the help and support of thousands of people in Atlanta, I won a contest to be the digital voice of Murphy-Goode Winery in Sonoma, Calif.”

Wait, that’s the video, right?

“Right. With the help of Matt, we made an interesting video, essentially extolling the virtues of Murphy-Goode.”

I knew there was a video.

“You are the intrepid reporter, Gil. Many thousands of Atlantans voted for our video over the other finalists and we won. Or, I should say, we won, but I took the prize: a six-month gig doing the winery’s social media.

“Once out there, I quickly discovered I loved the work of making wine, getting my hands dirty, not just tweeting about it. In 2010, when my six months were up, I went to work for Salinia in Sonoma, a tiny, three-person winery. They made wines that Rowdy and I liked to drink. I went from daydreaming about high-paid media consulting opportunities and private jets to scrubbing toilets, but I was happy.

“When the 2010 vintage came along, I reached out to Rowdy to see if he’d be interested in trying to make a small amount of wine together. Nothing serious. Just a couple barrels. My girlfriend (now wife, Kate Graham, also previously from Atlanta) thought it was a ‘cute’ project.

“Rowdy and I found a vineyard growing Mourvèdre grapes. Against almost everyone’s advice, we decided to make it in a light style, almost like our beloved Cru Beaujolais. Somehow, we didn’t mess it up, and it was exactly what we were looking for — fresh, soil-driven and lively. Maybe we could do this thing. Maybe the lesser known Mourvèdre grape was our Seabiscuit.

“With Rowdy and his family still in Atlanta, I spent the next few years working for great winemakers and growers in California — Kevin Kelley, Ann Kraemer, Ehren Jordan and Cathy Corison. Rowdy and I kept growing Dirty & Rowdy on the side, adding a new Mourvèdre vineyard or two each year. We added some interesting and compelling whites, too. In what seemed to be a flash, the mainstream wine press discovered us and we had developed a following that stretched across the U.S. to the U.K., Denmark, France, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Mostly due to digital word of mouth.

“Today, the Rowdys (Matt and Amy) and the Dirtys probably produce more different Mourvèdre wines than anyone on the planet. The wines are made in tiny quantities. Some are geekishly esoteric and others are nothing but pure pleasure.

“I’m now staring at a cellar with over 100 barrels and more orders than we can fill. And it all started with some good wines shared with a friend, the support of many Atlanta wine lovers and two barrels of wine that we shouldn’t have made … oh, and the fried chicken. Can’t forget Matt’s hot fried chicken.”

That’s a great story, Hardy, but it will never sell any newspapers.