Amy Aiken

Last updated
Amy Aiken
Born
Nationality American
CitizenshipUnited States
Education Horticulture, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis
Occupation(s) Winemaker
Entrepreneur
Years active2000-present
EmployerMeander Wines Conspire Wines
Known forCabernet Sauvignon wine
SpouseJoel Aiken
ChildrenMichael Aiken, Andrew Aiken

Amy Aiken is an American entrepreneur and winemaker. She focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon wines and owns her own wine labels: Meander and Conspire. [1]

Contents

Personal life and education

Aiken grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and her first job was at a plant nursery. [2] She first started studying engineering when she went to college. [2] She instead earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Horticulture. After graduation, she moved to California. She attended the University of California, Davis for Plant Pathology. She graduated in 1989. [3] She is married to winemaker Joel Aiken. [4] They have two sons and live in St. Helena, California. [5]

Career

Aiken's first wine industry job after obtaining her Master's degree was at Joseph Phelps Vineyards. She worked during the crush season, working in the labs making Cabernet Sauvignon wine. [3] [5] She made Joseph Phelps wines such as Backus, Eisele, and Insignia. [3] She has also made sparkling at Domaine Chandon and Pinot noir and Chardonnay wines. [3] [6] She also worked for Viader Vineyards, Oakville Ranch, and Anomaly Vineyards. [3]

Meander and Conspire Wines

Aiken founded her own wine brand in 2000, called Meander Wines. [7] The wine is named after her sons, Mitchell and Andrew. Her wines are made from Napa Valley fruit, with a focus on Cabernet Sauvignon. [3] When she started Meander, she had to wait three years before she was able to acquire fruit. She received a phone call from vintner Gary Morisoli in 2003. She paid $8,200 for a ton of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Morisoli. The grapes came from the Rutherford AVA. Those grapes were blended with additional Cabernet Sauvignon fruit from a St. Helena based vineyard called Lewelling. She makes her wine at various locations in the Napa Valley. The wine is aged for 18 months in 100 percent French Oak barrels that are made of 65 percent new wood. The first vintage was the 2003 Meander Cabernet Sauvignon. [6]

She also makes Conspire, which focuses on non-Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Conspire wines include a Sauvignon blanc. The 2009 Sauvignon blanc used a Musqué clone from the Rutherford AVA. It was then blended with another Sauvignon Blanc from Whitehall Lane, also in the Rutherford AVA. The wine is aged for five months in a stainless steel tank before being cold stabilized before bottling. Conspire also sells a Pinot noir. The 2008 Pinot noir used fruit from a vineyard called Du-Nah in Sebastopol. The Pinot is fermented with wild yeast. It gets aged in 33 percent new, 100 percent French Oak barrels for sixteen months. [6]

Amy and her husband Joel are partners in Palisades Wine Company in Calistoga where they make their wines. [8]

Related Research Articles

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Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness," combined with its earlier ripening, make Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.

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Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon became internationally recognized through its prominence in Bordeaux wines, where it is often blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. From France and Spain, the grape spread across Europe and to the New World where it found new homes in places like California's Napa Valley, New Zealand's Hawke's Bay, South Africa's Stellenbosch region, Australia's Margaret River, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra regions, and Chile's Maipo Valley and Colchagua. For most of the 20th century, it was the world's most widely planted premium red-wine grape until it was surpassed by Merlot in the 1990s. However, by 2015, Cabernet Sauvignon had once again become the most widely planted wine grape, with a total of 341,000 hectares (3,410 km2) under vine worldwide.

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References

  1. Lucia and John, Gilbert. "Women Winemakers of California |Amy Aiken". Santa Clara University. Archived from the original on 2017-08-11. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  2. 1 2 Caputo, Tina. "Keeping it Real in Napa Valley". Wine Review Online. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Amy Aiken". Winemakers. Women Winemakers of California. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  4. Franson, Paul. "Winemaker Joel Aiken Steps Out". Wines & Vines. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  5. 1 2 Carson, L. Pierce (27 April 2007). "Meander more". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 Boyd, Gerald D. "Meandering with Amy Aiken". Columns. Wine Review Online. Archived from the original on 14 June 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  7. HAYLEY, HAMILTON COGILL (2016-03-26). "What To Drink Now: Wine from Women". Dallas Magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  8. CARSON, L. PIERCE. "Joel Aiken launches new ventures". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved 2017-08-11.