Life With Maggie
Let’s assume you’ve worked with Manfred Krankl at Sine Qua Non for the last eight years. What could you possibly do for an encore? Well, if you’re Maggie Harrison, you would become part of a venture to work with Oregon Pinot Noir. And then, you’d get to work on your own label as well.
The recent history of Oregon’s Antica Terra winery began when a group of four individuals, including winemaker Maggie Harrison, purchased the winery in 2005 and two years later planted additional acres of Pinot noir, with more planting planned for 2008. The new winery should come on-line in 2009. For her own label, Maggie is sourcing Syrah from Santa Maria Valley for her own, Lillian label, a small lot collection named for her grandmother.
Join us as we talk with Maggie Harrison, about her past experiences with the iconic SQN, and her current projects in Oregon and with California Syrah.
Sponsor- The Office of Champagne USA: www.champagne.us
Click Below to Play the Show:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
(1:09:37 min 50MB)
Really enjoyed this episode of GR… one of the best to date, IMO. A question- Did Maggie mention anything about sourcing Syrah from southern Oregon? I seem to recall reading that somewhere.
Great episode, looking forward to more interviews with Oregon winemakers. Keep up the good work.
I signed a contract with Somm Journal two weeks ago to write about my take on the new generation of cult winemakers. Maggie Harrison was my first pick! She is a gracious, soft-spoken dynamo, who makes killer wines!
Grape Radio has had a run of real technical, almost professorial shows lately, so this came as a lively change of pace. I sent you an email, Maggie, hope you get a chance to write back!
That was a great show. I am new to the wine world and hadn’t heard of Maggie or Sine Qua Non. I am looking forward to trying to find Antica Terra & Lillian wines. By the sound of it “I think the world is a better place because of Maggie not just the wine world”.
Great job again, guys! I’ve got to blog about that exploding barrel! Good they didn’t get hurt.
Your interviews get better and better. My guess is very few of your listeners would ever get a chance to talk to someone like Maggie. This is our chance to be a fly on the wall and listen to some well thought out questions and answers. Kudos to all.
Jay….I finally got around to listen to this podcast. That was very sweet and I have to tell you that I got actually choked up listening to it. That gal is smart, isn’t she?
And I felt like a real schmuck for feeding you that question about the rotary fermenter. I meant it as a joke of course, but sometimes my obnoxious humor really doesn’t come off well or as intended. And this was one of these times, as I most certainly did not intend to embarrass Maggie or make her remember a less than terrific time. She was far less responsible for the darn thing exploding than I was, she just happened to be the one there.
Anyway…she was just terrific I thought and you guys did a grand job interviewing her. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it brought back many, MANY fond memories working with that wonderful lady.
Thanks for that,
Manfred
I must say this gal is getting a lot of deserved attention these days. Really enjoyed listening to the show. I’m on both lists and this just made me grateful I got in early. The obvious love and respect Maggie and Manfred and Elaine have is nice to hear about. Thanks again Maggie and GR.
The most interesting aspect of Maggie’s journey to me is that winemaking, for all its balancing of science and art, has more control freaks than most other crafts I’ve seen. So her nerves and indecisiveness at various times adds a new wrinkle. But if the wines are truly that good, she has never to fear. Her husband sounds like a saint.
BTW, I know some amateur winemakers who source some of the “lesser” fruit from White Hawk and it is terrific stuff.
It was a great show. Maggie is a human dynamo,so it makes our job real easy. I got to say, I love being part of GR.
Paul, you are right, we need to do more on Oregon.
Jay
Great interview! I enjoyed it from the start w/ the Chicago connection, to the travel aspect (brought back memories of my days backpacking Egypt), mentoring from M&E, and finally coming into her own as a winemaker…
What an endearing, honest, energetic and passionate woman! Thanks for bringing us a little glimpse of Maggie’s personality and charm. I loved listening to her talk about her experiences and challenges in the wine world. It’s clear that her Oregon wine venture will be a great success.
By far my favorite GR interview! And even better than that, is to see Manfred chiming in here. My wife and I absolutely love what Maggie is doing with wine these days, and wish her the best in all that she does! Manfred and Elaine: thank you for giving her the opportunity to work with you for so many years, and for the awesome values you instilled in here! The wine world is very lucky indeed! Cheers! -mJ
Great interview with a wonderful person. It was refreshing, candid and fun. Thanks Jay and the GR crew.
Great show guys. Oregon pinot rocks!
Cheers!