David Ramey and Aaron Pott: A brief comparison of the career trajectories of these American winemakers

David Ramey and Aaron Pott are numbered among the most respected American winemakers and both craft some of the most sought-after domestic wines (primarily Chardonnays for Ramey and Cabernet Sauvignons for Aaron). I recently wrote a post based on a tasting of Ramey wines here in Orlando and, in that document, presented a timeline of developments in his career. I recently had the pleasure of attending a tasting of Aaron Pott wines -- led by him -- and constructed a similar timeline as part of my reporting.

Author with David Ramey (left block) and Aaron Pott

A few common threads caught my attention, leading to me stacking the two timelines up for comparison purposes. The result is shown below.

Some observations:

• Both men did collegiate work at UC Davis, David gained a graduate degree in Enology in 1979 and Aaron an undergraduate degree in 1990
• Aaron did eventually gain a graduate degree, circa 1997, but in Viticulture and from a University in Burgundy
• Early experience to French powerhouse winemakers: Moueix in the case of Ramey and Rolland and Lafon for Pott while he was Assistant Winemaker at Newton Vineyard
• They both did stints on the Right Bank of Bordeaux: Ramey two short spells with Moueix in 1979 and 1989; Pott six years as the winemaker at Tropolong-Mondot and then La Tour Figeac.
• Ramey has much more domestic winemaking experience in the part of his career that preceded ownership of his own shop while Pott added to his international experience (France, Italy, Chile) by becoming Beringer's "Flying Winemaker."
• Ramey has now owned his own business for 24 years. He primarily uses purchased fruit. Pott has been crafting his own wines for 13 years and uses a mix of estate and purchased fruit. In addition, Aaron helms a flourishing and well respected consulting business (Huis Clos; see below).
• Both of their winemaking philosophies and practices draw heavily on their French experience.

Table 1. Partial list of Huis Clos former and current consulting clients

Fisher Vineyards	Seven Stones	Perliss
Krupp Brothers	St Helena Winery	Somnium
Quixote Winery	Adler Deutsch Vineyard	AErena Wines
Blackbird Winery	Greer Wine	Resolute Wines
Bello Family Vineyard	Martin Estate	¿Como No?

©Wine -- Mise en abyme