Clark Smith

I've been making and selling wine in California ever since dropping out of MIT in 1972. I have found this fabulous fluid to be nature's mirror to the human soul. I enjoy teaching, writing and singing about wine, so I wear a lot of hats.

In the 1990s I became involved in a lot of innovative work in wine production. I founded a company called Vinovation to commercialize the use of reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, micro-oxygenation and other new tools, the use of which is poorly understood, even by many professionals. The clumsiness with which these new tools have come to the public consciousness has raised concerns among many wine lovers, particularly in the Natural Wine Movement.

Some of my writing addresses what these tools are and their appropriate use, in order to facilitate the openness which exists between winemakers and consumers around more seriously invasive technologies such as electricity and stainless steel. A rethinking of how science can serve our aesthetic work is has given birth to the postmodern view of winemaking, the subject of my column and book.

Besides making my own wines, I consult for other wineries in technical matters, shepherd start-ups, and coach winemakers on the use of music in their work. I conduct winemaking classes throughout the world and lecture at CSU Fresno and at Florida International University, where I also direct research in cognitive enology and conduct educational tours.

Today, less than 2% of wines are sold in shops, and large corporate national brands dominate traditional distribution. Interesting wine is no longer available in stores - at all! My consuming passion is spreading the word about the other 98% of wines available only in tasting rooms and online.

The technical quality of wine today far surpasses its condition in the 1970s, when half the wines on the shelf possessed some serious technical defect. Today most wine is competently made, and the challenge has shifted to grasping its vast multiplicity. Since 2008 I have been chronicling the regional flavor profiles of America's 300+ viticultural areas (AVAs) as Director of the Best-of-Appellation panel at AppellationAmerica.com.

Links to my various websites and activities are at WhoIsClarkSmith.com