Saintsbury co-founder dies

Richard Ward, the co-founder of one of the leading Pinot Noir producers in the US, Saintsbury, has died aged 67.

Ward died late last week from complications related to a bone marrow transplant. He had been fighting a blood cancer which itself had been caused by radiation treatment he was receiving for prostate cancer.

Born in North Carolina, Ward moved to California to study oenology at UC Davis. There, in 1977, he met David Graves (in a brewing class funnily enough) and together they would go on to found Saintsbury in Carneros in 1981.

When they did they decided not to make Cabernet Sauvignon, which was king of Napa Valley but Pinot Noir and Chardonnay instead, when neither variety was particularly popular.

Both men though were already smitten with Burgundy (Domaine Dujac was a favourite), and as they tasted the fruit being grown in the Heiniman Vineyard on the Sonoma side of Carneros and down towards the coast, the pair were inspired to make their own Burgundy style wines. ‘Beaune in the USA’ as they punningly called it later.

Having formed partnerships with a number of Carneros growers, Ward and Graves released a light-bodied and affordable Pinot called ‘Garnet’ in 1983.

Although the label would later be sold (in 2011) as they delved ever deeper into single vineyard wines, Garnet did much to broaden Pinot Noir’s appeal in the US and is considered an iconic brand in the nation’s wine history.

In an interview with the drinks business last year Ward remarked that Pinot Noir was almost too popular, jokingly saying: “I thought I had a deal with Cabernet producers in Napa: I didn’t make Cabernet and they didn’t make Pinot Noir – but they are all making Pinot now.”

In addition to wine and winemaking, Ward was an avid gardener, with a taste for music that spanned Wagner to Neil Young and beyond and a keen interest in everything from history and politics, architecture, old Madeira and chicken breeds.

He is survived by his wife, Linda, and two children Philippa and Trent.