Lunch With Donald Hess

A few weeks ago I had a chance to have lunch with the owner of The Hess Collection family of wines, Donald Hess. The almost three hour lunch at the Capital Grill in the Inner Harbor included around 30 other people in the wine industry and though the lunch was set in a medium sized dining room, I was fortunate enough to be seated directly next to Mr. Hess. I took advantage of this rare opportunity by asking tons of questions and just listening to his stories. By the end of the meal I was more impressed with the Hess philosophy and culture than the wines he introduced us to (which were great).

Born in Switzerland, Donald Hess entered the international wine industry more than 45 years ago. The Hess Collection is very well known for both both quality and value, yet these wines were not the topic of discussion for this lunch. Instead we spent 15 minutes watching a presentation, discussing and tasting wines from Mr. Hess’ most recent project in Argentina. Located in the northwest in an area called Salta, Bodega Colome (named for the town in which the vineyards are located) brings to the Hess portfolio an array of great wines built around a story of Colome.

Vines were first planted in Colome in the early 1800’s by Nicolas Severo de Isasmendi y Echalar, the Spanish governor of the Salta region. In the 1850’s his daughter married a Frenchman who then brought the Cabernet and Malbec grapes to the region and planted what is thought to have been about 10 acres. The Hess Group took interest in the property in late 2002 and today, Mr. Hess serves as Charmain of Bodega Colome. Today approximately 1 in 3 natives of the area work in the Hess vineyard or winery. To give back to those in Colome, Mr. Hess built the town a new church, hotel, restaurant, and gave money for other community projects. Hess even constructed a water turbine for clean energy to the region.

You might be wondering why go through all the trouble to make wine in Colome? Why deal with the long commute from the nearest airport, the windy, narrow mountain roads, the high elevation, and the fight to win over the locals? Why not just plant in Mendoza, the most famous wine-growing region in Argentina? Why Salta?

“I’m not a sheep.” Hess explained. He is not one to follow the crowds and just do what everyone else is doing. Where is the excitement in that, he asks? “It’s very important for a winery to have a good story.”

It is fair to say that Bodega Colome is a great story considering its location, philosophy, and commitment to the land and its people. Colome is a two hour plane ride, followed by a four hour drive from Mendoza. This trek leads one to the highest vineyard in the world, with vines at 7000 feet all the way up to 10080 feet. Hess explained that this is important for the prized Malbec grape in that these conditions provide very cool nights following hot days which help with ripening. But more importantly, the ozone is thinner up here and the grapes at 10000 feet are getting hit with much more UV light. This leads to thicker skins on the grapes (which evolve to protect the seeds from UV damage) resulting in not only rich, beautifully concentrated and dark wines, but also to wines higher in tannins. These tannins are a component of the skins and stems of the grape which contribute to the amount of resveratrol in the wines (which is an antioxidant that has been shown to have potential health benefits in high concentrations).

Colome also employs the principles of “anthroposophy”, a philosophy designed by research Rudulf Steiner in the 1800’s which focuses on preserving the land. By gaining an understanding of natural biological cycles, this philosophy allows one to control these cycles and get the most out of the environment while keeping the ecosystem in tact. Colome uses only natural fertilizers and all organic feed for their animals. Further, the focus and philosophy is to produce the most outstanding, pure fruit possible and keeping the wine making simple.

The passion for wine, care for the earth, and optimal vineyard conditions, combined with a great winemakers (Randle Johnson, Thibaut Delmotte) results in a small portfolio of very good to great wines. At this particular lunch we tasted 4 wines from Bodega Colome of which the tasting notes are below. The 2005 Malbec Estate Reserve was outstanding (92 pts) and should improve with a few more years in the bottle while the 2006 Bodega Colome Malbec Estate is young and very tight at this point, but is also very good (90 pts). I enjoyed the wines so much that the 2007 Torrontes has found its way on the new wine list at Sotto Sopra, as has the ‘06 Malbec Estate (both at great prices!).

But to me, the Donald Hess story doesn’t end with his wines. It continues with his love and passion for art, travel, and culture. Mr. Hess talked about his love for traveling Europe, South America and North America and reflected upon some of his recent trips to Asia as well. He went on to speak with great excitement about his museums which are located at each of his wineries and his love for contemporary artwork. When choosing a new piece of artwork, he will often consider it for a week to a month prior to purchasing it as he wants “his artwork to move him.” He’ll know if it’s a piece he truly loves if in a year he is still moved by it. Hess looks for the same thing from his wines, an “experience.”

In tasting the wines of Bodega Colome, I’m convinced that there is a great experience waiting under each cork and after you have an initial taste, it takes only seconds to decide to buy more!