January 2025: Issue 49
Notes from the Cellar Lights, Camera Setting Sail Cellar Chat Real Men Do Eat Quiche
by Joey Wolosz | Published January 5, 2025
A Note from Joey Wolosz
A new year, a fresh horizon. Here’s what’s on the calendar for the next six months.
This marks my 49th month writing these monthly missives. Every so often, I gather ideas from these writings, reshape them, and send them off to print in our magazine. Our fourth edition—124 pages of new content—is currently at the printer and will be in hand within weeks.
In August, we teamed up with a Los Angeles production company for a YouTube web series. Filming begins at the end of February. Season One, Episodes One through Five. The title is still in the works, Jeff wants to call it, “Jeff and Friends.” We will see. Expect episodes to drop in June. Stay tuned—I’ll share the YouTube channel soon.
Come June, we’ll be hosting a two-week journey aboard an expedition yacht, sailing from Lisbon through Morocco, Spain, France, and Italy. Many of our wine club members will be joining us, along with new friends we’ve yet to meet. Jeff and I will be hosting market visits, cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, and plenty of time to linger over long meals at sea. We will be eating and drinking well.
And before all that, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. We have two intimate seatings at the Bungalow—one at noon, the other at 6:00 PM—with only 14 seats available. Reply if you’d like to join us.
Joey Wolosz
Vintner, Cook, Cupid
Photo credit: Leigh-Ann Beverley
Grape Expectations
Jérôme Chéry is more than our winemaker—he’s a craftsman with a deep-rooted passion for wine and the table. Raised in France’s Loire Valley, he grew up with wine in his glass and a respect for tradition. Though he first studied agronomy, a course in viticulture set him on his true path, leading to a degree in Enology from l’Université de Bourgogne in Dijon.
His winemaking blends intuition with precision, shaped by harvests across France, Australia, and California. When he’s not in the cellar, you’ll find him in the kitchen perfecting laminated pastries, tending his garden, or working on his home in downtown Napa. I shared a glass of wine with Jérôme to talk about wine, food, and the joys of a well-made meal.
You can follow him @jeromechery
Photo credit: Leigh-Ann Beverley
What’s your background, and what inspired you to pursue winemaking?
I grew up in Central Loire Valley. Wine was always on the table as far back as I can remember. My late dad was an inspiration, always talking eloquently about Pommard and wines from Burgundy. Being in the center of France, the wines I enjoyed growing up were from the Loire. I studied agronomy, a little bit by accident following my elder brother Bruno. The fields I was studying were vast, but the long story short, cattle science and the diet of cows and pigs was not my cup of tea. At all. I got hooked when viticulture and oenology was taught. That was my a-ha moment in college. I have to thank Bruno! I love making wines, I just do. It’s a nice feeling to add harvest experience year after year and to learn to be very proficient in the vineyard as well.
What does your perfect day look like?
It depends when! In the winter and early spring, it’s the slow season. Plenty of time to work on spreadsheets and ordering bottling supplies and barrels. As the harvest looms, the schedule gets very busy. I really like that pace. Organisation skills come in handy. A perfect day for me is to make amazing wines during the harvest.
Who is your favorite artist, composer, or creator, and why?
I like Dali and Picasso. I’m more of a contemporary and surrealist fan. Leonardo Da Vinci was quite amazing, aside from painting. I love all sorts of music so my list is very long.
What was your first meaningful connection to wine and food?
Aside from family dinner or reunions, discovering late harvest Chenin blanc in Anjou, such as Coteaux du Layon, was really eye opening.
What are your favorite creative outlets outside of winemaking?
I love to cook and bake. Croissants anyone? I can cook any kind of cuisine, and I enjoy food from all over the world. Currently I’m refining a Kouign-amann recipe (a butter laminated pastry from Brittany). I also like to garden and work on my house in downtown Napa.
If you could share a lingering meal with two people (excluding friends and family), who would they be, and what would you serve?
Well they are no longer with us, but if I could go back in time, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.
What is your personal motto or guiding principle?
Keep pushing, keep making wine. Be a good person. And make amazing wines.
A quiche is an experiment in balance. Rich but not heavy, indulgent yet elegant. The buttery and flakey crust cradles a silky, custard-like filling of eggs, cream, smoky bacon, and just enough nutmeg to whisper rather than shout. The French may serve it at any hour, but I find it especially suited for a lingering lunch, ideally with our crisp Napa Valley Chardonnay. After all, quiche is a good excuse to drink wine before sundown.
This recipe is not the time for half-measures. Use good eggs, thick-cut bacon, and a proper blind-baked crust. Don’t think about skimping on the cream, whole milk, or Gruyère. Pour a glass of Gentleman Farmer Chardonnay, let the toasty notes play off the richness of the quiche, and enjoy the great pleasure of simplicity done well.
