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Log inYear of the Rat
Year of the Rat
by Outspoken on Sat Jun 21, 2008 6:57 am
Year of the Rat
He had to endure a crushingly difficult week of blisters and grape stains, but Paul 'Rat' Carr can now officially call himself a winemaker.
By MEREDITH GOAD
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Every so often, Paul Carr wonders what would have happened if he'd headed out to California in the 1970s after graduating from college to start his own winery.
He dreams, like many wine lovers, of what it would be like to age his own blends in his own barrels. Would his wine be any good? What would it taste like?
There's one big difference, though, between Paul Carr and everyone else. Carr got the chance, with the help of California winemaker Jed Steele, to live his dream -- if only for a week. He made his own Santa Barbara County pinot noir, which he is now selling in about a half-dozen Kennebunkport-area restaurants.
''It's still sort of like a baby because it's still evolving,'' said Carr, 55, who is director of wine sales at Nappi Distributors in Gorham. ''But right now, it's silky soft. I'd say it's got cherry, raspberry, plum, cola and vanilla flavors to it. And it has a long finish to it. But it's very smooth; it's easy to drink.''
The wine arrived in Maine this spring after being aged in French and Hungarian oak for 15 months and in the bottle another three or four. There are just 120 cases of ''Rat's Reserve,'' which would sell for $20.99 a bottle if it were being sold in stores. On the label, there's a rat in a tuxedo holding a tray of wine glasses.
''Rat'' is the nickname bestowed on a teenage Carr when he worked summers at the Shawmut Inn. (Actually, it started out as Rat Dog, then evolved into Rat Boy and then Rat Man. Now, it's just plain Rat.) The rat's wearing a tuxedo because that's what Carr used to wear when greeting customers at Forefathers Tavern, a rock 'n' roll restaurant he owned in the 1980s.
Carr (whose license plate reads ''Chards'') met Jed Steele a few years ago at a wine dinner in Maine. Steele is something of a hero to Carr because he's the winemaker who helped Kendall-Jackson develop its chardonnay. He now owns Steele Wines in Kelseyville, Calif., about 45 minutes outside Napa Valley.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=194601&ac=Food
Photos by John Patriquin/Staff Photographer
He had to endure a crushingly difficult week of blisters and grape stains, but Paul 'Rat' Carr can now officially call himself a winemaker.
By MEREDITH GOAD
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Every so often, Paul Carr wonders what would have happened if he'd headed out to California in the 1970s after graduating from college to start his own winery.
He dreams, like many wine lovers, of what it would be like to age his own blends in his own barrels. Would his wine be any good? What would it taste like?
There's one big difference, though, between Paul Carr and everyone else. Carr got the chance, with the help of California winemaker Jed Steele, to live his dream -- if only for a week. He made his own Santa Barbara County pinot noir, which he is now selling in about a half-dozen Kennebunkport-area restaurants.
''It's still sort of like a baby because it's still evolving,'' said Carr, 55, who is director of wine sales at Nappi Distributors in Gorham. ''But right now, it's silky soft. I'd say it's got cherry, raspberry, plum, cola and vanilla flavors to it. And it has a long finish to it. But it's very smooth; it's easy to drink.''
The wine arrived in Maine this spring after being aged in French and Hungarian oak for 15 months and in the bottle another three or four. There are just 120 cases of ''Rat's Reserve,'' which would sell for $20.99 a bottle if it were being sold in stores. On the label, there's a rat in a tuxedo holding a tray of wine glasses.
''Rat'' is the nickname bestowed on a teenage Carr when he worked summers at the Shawmut Inn. (Actually, it started out as Rat Dog, then evolved into Rat Boy and then Rat Man. Now, it's just plain Rat.) The rat's wearing a tuxedo because that's what Carr used to wear when greeting customers at Forefathers Tavern, a rock 'n' roll restaurant he owned in the 1980s.
Carr (whose license plate reads ''Chards'') met Jed Steele a few years ago at a wine dinner in Maine. Steele is something of a hero to Carr because he's the winemaker who helped Kendall-Jackson develop its chardonnay. He now owns Steele Wines in Kelseyville, Calif., about 45 minutes outside Napa Valley.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=194601&ac=Food
Photos by John Patriquin/Staff Photographer
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
