Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/113109
PHOTO COURTESY OF BILTMORE WINES Going National Biltmore is not just sourcing from the West, but also proactively selling its wines back to Californians, as well as to consumers in many other states in the country. Biltmore Wines rolled out a full-scale march toward national distribution in 2010. Such aggressive initiatives can be credited to the forward thinking President of Biltmore Wines Jerome B. ���Jerry��� Douglas, who oversees Biltmore Wines on-property and throughout the country. ���Our desire is to provide guests who visit, and even those who have not yet visited us here at Biltmore, with a wine that���s easy to like or one that���s complex���whatever will satisfy that customer���s particular wine preferences,��� says Douglas. ���Such diversity in our portfolio relies fully on our relationships with growers, whom we consider the most critical and valued aspect of the company���s vast expansion.��� Delille adds that California wine drinkers have an adventurous spirit and a proven curiosity for trying Biltmore wines. That Biltmore remains a family-owned winery also makes it unique for a winery of its size. ���We���ve been around for more than 25 years, The large Biltmore wine portfolio is designed to appeal to a wide range of palates. so we do have loyal customers in the Southeast and between the two coasts. We remain excited about those relationships,��� he says. ���Biltmore is about quality and authenticity, and it���s that level of trust in our brand and in the relationships we���ve developed that helps drive our success.��� Ultimately, says Douglas, the range of wine offerings should meet various taste proiles and keep Biltmore competitive. ���The goal of Biltmore���s bi-coastal wine program is to adapt to our customers,��� Douglas says, ���inding the right product, the right place and the right price.��� PHOTO: KELLY MERRITT Being Biltmore Biltmore Vineyard Director Dennis Wynne. 1 18 / the tasting panel / march 2013 Biltmore and Biltmore Wines exist as a result of the vision of George Washington Vanderbilt III��(1862���1914), a lifelong aicionado of ine dining and wine. His land in Asheville,��North Carolina��is home to Biltmore House, the largest privately owned mansion in America. The 250-room home is modeled after the French��ch��teaux of the Loire Valley. The idea to grow grapes on the estate followed the end of the Biltmore Dairy business. For many years, it had been one of the largest and most successful dairy operations in the Southeast and helped support Biltmore as a privately owned, working estate. A winery was a natural extension of Biltmore���s agricultural legacy. William A. V. Cecil, George Vanderbilt���s grandson, initially teamed up with the University of California, Davis for help with American viticulture, recruiting sixth-generation winemaster Philippe Jourdain to produce Biltmore Wines. In 1983, Biltmore Estate��Wine Company facilitated construction of a new winery in the old estate dairy; it opened in 1985. French native Bernard Delille assisted Jourdain until he retired, at which time, Delille assumed the winemaker mantle. Army veteran and winemaker Sharon Fenchak joined Biltmore and Delille in 1999. Dennis Wynne is the Biltmore Vineyard Director, managing Biltmore���s 94-acre vineyard. Biltmore is the most visited winery in the United States and has a growing portfolio of 15 varietals and nearly 50 different wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Riesling, Chardonnay and Viognier.