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Doug was born and raised in Detroit and attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Those two things explain a lot about him. After graduating, he returned to Detroit and got bit by both the restaurant and wine bug. Working in a downtown French Bistro, he tasted a white Graves, and "the lightbulb went off."
His restaurant career took him across the country and back again. In Santa Fe, he owned his own place, E.K. Mas. He moved to Oakland and worked at San Francisco's iconic Zuni Café, and then opened and managed Rubicon with Chef Traci des Jardins and Sommelier Larry Stone.
Next stop was Washington D.C., where he worked at Vidalia with Chef Jeff Buben. He became Vidalia's sommelier and for several years ran one of DC's top wine programs. Importantly, it was here he first met Roy and began his relationship with the V59 family of growers.
After Vidalia, he became a portfolio manager for Henry Wine Group, East Coast, and then moved into sales with The Country Vintner (now Winebow), where he first managed the DC Team and eventually Maryland and Delaware as well.
Doug is thrilled to be part of Vintage 59 and to represent producers and families he has been fortunate enough to get to know over years of visiting and tasting with them in DC and in France. He lives in southern Maryland, just outside of the District. His joys are his three children, Isabella, Nicholas and Elias, food and wine, and all good things—and there are many—Detroit and Michigan.
Doug will pour:
2020 Violin Chardonnay, Willamette Valley
Notes: In 2005 Will Hamilton moved from the DC area to Oregon to explore and pursue his interest in the production side of wine. Will worked his first harvest at Erath Winery in Dundee before spells with Laurent Montalieu's NW Wine Company ('06-'11), Evening Land Vineyards ('11 and '12), and Ken Pahlow and Erica Landon's Walter Scott Wines ('13-'17). This gave Will the opportunity to vinify fruit from more than 25 vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills, and more than 100 total in the Willamette Valley as well as other regions in Oregon. In 2013 will founded Violin and made his first vintage at the Walter Scott
The 2020 Willamette Chardonnay is a 50/50 blend from Black Walnut in Dundee and Sojeau in the Eola-Amity Hills. The two play well together again; the more austere and salty Black Walnut provides a focused and taught structure that anchors the ripe and flamboyant aromatic spectrum of Sojeau. Both lots were fermented and aged in barrel then racked to stainless steel before final blending and filtration a week before bottling on January 26th of 2022. 200 Cases Produced.
| Sale $26.99 |
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2022 Samuel Louis Smith "Spear Vineyard" Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills
Notes: Samuel Louis Smith functions as a micro-négociant based in Salinas, California. Organic viticulture, mountainous sites, and minimal intervention in the cellar are tenets of these wines. SLS presents a compelling cross-section of the Central Coast, focusing on Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay, Monterey Pinot Noir, and Santa Cruz Mountains cool-climate Syrah. The wines are made in a neoclassical style where light handling, wild fermentations, and stem inclusion in the reds create wines of place and purity, aroma and structure.
The future vision of SLS is a program focused on estate grown grapes. For now, Sam is dedicated to sourcing fruit from the most distinctive sustainably and organically farmed vineyards, highlighting the best of the Central Coast's mountainous terroirs.
Sam's Spear Chardonnay comes from a very exciting site in the heart of the Sta. Rita Hills. Farmed organically by Ofer Shepher, its northern border and steep north-facing slopes reach elevations of 900 feet and soils are comprised of marine sedimentary clay and sand. The wine undergoes 50% malolactic fermentation and spends 10 months elevage in 17% new oak, 17% second fill and 66% neutral/older barrel. Alcohol is 12.9%. 144 cases produced.
| Sale $43.99 |
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2021 Violin Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Notes: For Will's Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, over three-quarters of the wine comes from acclaimed sites scattered about the Eola-Amity hills, with a dollop from the Tualatin Hills AVA (in some years, the Tualatin portion of the blend is under the 5% cap, meaning that Will could label this as Eola-Amity rather than Willamette Valley). Typically, the élevage goes for about 14 months in barrel on the lees, then close to two months in steel. No fining or additives of any kind save for a bit of SO2. Bottled with a light filtration. 800 Cases prodcuced
| Sale $26.99 |
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2020 Deovlet "Zotovich Family Vineyard" Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills
Notes: For the Zotovich Pinot Noir he works with clones 114 and 115. The Pinot Noir sees 30% whole cluster during fermentation for structure. The barrels are made by Billon from Jura oak. Ferments for the Pinot are spontaneous, aging regiment is around 15 months in 228-liter barrels, 25% new. No fining or filtration. Production ranges from 125-150 cases.
| Sale $58.99 |
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2022 Samuel Louis Smith "Sandstone Terraces" Syrah, Santa Cruz Mtns
Notes: His Sandstone Terrace is a blend of primarily SCM cool-climate Syrah sites with the common thread of sandstone-derived soils. The two vineyards are….
Nelson Vineyard, located in the Summit district of the SCM. At 1700 ft, the vines grow in sandy loam and chunky sandstone, surrounded by redwoods and firs. Organically farmed.
Gali Vineyard, located in the Corralitos district of the southern SCM. At the low elevation of 400 ft and approximately six miles from the ocean, this is one of the coldest sites in Sam's lineup. Soils are clay loam weathered from sandstone and shale, formed on ancient submarine terraces. In conversion to organics.
The wine is made 84% whole cluster fermentation. Native fermentation is started by a pied de cuve from the vineyard. There is ten months élévage in 21% second-fill and 79% neutral French oak barrels. 264 cases produced
| Sale $32.99 |
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