The Best Summer Read

'Reflections of a Vintner' by Tor Kenward

“...a life surrounded by colorful people, big dreamers, mighty madmen, and dastardly villains…It is Napa’s coming-of-age story.” — Tor Kenward

“Never did a great man hate a good wine” — François Rabelais (1494-1553)

Summer has arrived, a midyear moment to take stock, cross the fingers, and bury one’s head in a page-turner of a book on a lazy afternoon. Earlier in June, Tor Kenward commented to Cultured Vine about current 2022 conditions. “In the vineyards, we are completing fruit set under ideal conditions. Early predictions are for not a large harvest, more along the lines of 2021. All fingers are crossed.”

Not Like Any Other Wine Book

In the new book, “Reflections of a Vintner” by Tor Kenward, compelling stories and deep seasonal wisdom are shared based on a lifetime in Napa Valley. Kenward recounts true tales from a nearly 50-year journey beginning in the mid-seventies when there were fewer than 50 wineries throughout the valley. Footnote: “Sunset magazine listed 18 wineries on its 1968 map.”

Early reader reviews are coming in. “This book is not like any other wine book,” said Angela Duerr, Cultured VIne. “This book has real stories, humor and interesting facts. I have purchased countless wine books and this one is a page turner. The author takes you through Napa's history through his eyes to current day when his wine won the Judgment of Napa, a nod to Judgment of Paris, but this time the best of Napa wines took on the best in the world. BRAVO on this wonderful book.”

Easy-on-the-eye, the book’s 200 pages are generously sprinkled with thought-provoking wine-related quotations. There are classic black-and-white photos of the author’s friendships from an American legacy of food and wine, including Julia Child, André Tchelistcheff, Andy Beckstoffer, and Robert Mondavi, among others.

One doesn’t earn a place at the epicenter of California winemaking and viticulture on a whim. As Robert M. Parker Jr. describes, Tor Kenward has had “a front-row, then center-stage, seat” during the dramatic events and extraordinary success that shaped Napa into one of the world’s greatest wine producing regions.

Typically, the hardworking, iconic winemaker and founder of TOR Wines, doesn’t pause for long. When asked about the motivation for sitting down and putting pen to paper, Tor replied, “The pandemic.”

Tor Kenward’s hard work as a vintner was recently acknowledged and celebrated. At the Judgment of Napa, 45 years after the historic Judgment of Paris, TOR Cabernet scored first place, above legendary Bordeaux châteaux, Napa Valley, and international peers in a blind tasting by a panel of leading critics and sommeliers.

Month by month, Kenward describes the challenges and opportunities winemakers face as he rolls out the year in chapters. Well before the reader reaches the midpoint of June, one is reminded of two inescapable winemaker ingredients that no one can control: time and weather. Yet, muses Kenward, “Optimism is important in winemaking; the glass better be half full, not half empty, to get through a difficult harvest, and I’ve had many.”

Summertime Bites From Chapters in Wine

JUNE: Looking back now to June 2011, Kenward is able to describe—with a modicum of humor— a freak torrential downpour that caused him to lose 90 percent of his crop in Beckstoffer To Kalon vineyard.

JULY: On being asked frequently about vintage predictions at this time, Kenward writes “July is way too early for anyone but a fortune teller to do this.” However, he explains that July is a good time for housekeeping—keeping the lights on, paying bills, see wine buyers, sell wine.

AUGUST: Every kind of Napa fruit bearing plant is bursting in abundance and locals enjoy a cornucopia of freshness. Kenward explains that veraison is here and why it is critical that an experienced winemaker performs acts of true balance in the vineyard at this moment before all-consuming harvest begins.