Thomas Jefferson: President, Wine Geek, Failed Winemaker

Thomas Jefferson knew his Bordeaux, traveled through European wine regions taking meticulous notes, ordered Château Lafite directly from the source, and spent years trying - mostly unsuccessfully - to grow European grapes at Monticello. In this episode of The Wine Lab, we follow Jefferson from the vineyards of France and Italy to his own stubbornly uncooperative vines in Virginia. Along the way, we explore his surprisingly modern ideas about wine provenance, his legendary presidential cellar, wine as a tool of diplomacy, and why calling him the “father of American wine” may be giving him a little too much credit.

Glossary

Château Lafite — The Bordeaux estate now known as Château Lafite Rothschild, one of the most famous wine properties in the world. Jefferson visited Bordeaux and later ordered its wine directly from the estate.

Provenance — The documented origin and history of a wine, including where it was produced, bottled, stored and handled. Provenance is especially important for valuable and collectible wines.

Estate bottling — Wine bottled by the producer associated with the vineyard or estate rather than being transported in bulk and bottled later by a merchant or other intermediary.

Cask — A wooden vessel used for storing or transporting wine. Historically, large quantities of wine were shipped in casks rather than individual bottles.

Nebbiolo — A red grape variety from northwestern Italy, best known today for Barolo and Barbaresco. Jefferson encountered Nebbiolo in Piedmont and was particularly impressed by it.

Madeira — A fortified wine produced on the Portuguese island of Madeira. Jefferson used Madeira as one of his sensory reference points when describing Nebbiolo.

Champagne — Sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France. Jefferson was an enthusiastic buyer of Champagne, although eighteenth-century Champagne styles were not necessarily identical to those we know today.

Chambertin — A prestigious Burgundy vineyard associated with Pinot Noir. Jefferson purchased Chambertin among other important French wines.

Sauternes — A Bordeaux wine region famous for sweet white wines, traditionally produced from grapes affected by noble rot.

Hermitage — A historic wine appellation in France’s northern Rhône Valley, particularly famous for Syrah.

Tokay — An older English spelling associated with Tokaji, the celebrated wines of Hungary. Tokaji wines appeared at Jefferson’s presidential dinners.

Vitis vinifera — The European grapevine species responsible for most of the world's classic wine grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Nebbiolo.

Phylloxera — A tiny insect native to North America that attacks grapevine roots. European Vitis vinifera is particularly susceptible to it.

Black rot — A fungal grapevine disease native to North America that became one of the major challenges facing early attempts to establish European grape varieties in the eastern United States.

Philip Mazzei — An Italian physician, merchant and agriculturalist who settled near Monticello in 1773 and worked with Jefferson on early attempts to establish European grapevines and wine production in Virginia.