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Billy Weiss and Bruno Gaspard with Andy Chabot
July 28, 2020
Blackberry’s Vice President of Food and Beverage Andy Chabot sat down with importer Billy Weiss and winemaker Bruno Gaspard, who poured an incredible selection of wines at our Big Flavor event at Blackberry Farm. They wind through all things wine, and chat about their personal journeys in the industry.
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Guest
Billy Weiss
Owner and Importer of North Berkeley Imports
Billy Weiss for more than three decades has been a steadfast presence in fine wine retail and European wine imports. After many successful years as a fine wine retailer in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Billy in 1999 purchased North Berkeley Wine, based in Berkeley, California. Established in 1979, North Berkeley Wine was a founding name in Berkeley’s gourmet scene, with a retail shop located just a few doors down from Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse on Shattuck Avenue. Billy expanded North Berkeley’s import portfolio to include select French producers and grower Champagnes, as well as fine Italian wines from leading wine regions. At the same time, he strategically grew the company’s national wholesale network, which today encompasses 25 states. Billy’s guiding philosophy has remained constant over the years: the company’s grower-partners are the foundation of North Berkeley’s success. He maintains that people are an importer’s most important asset, and the trust built over years of partnership is what keeps a business such as North Berkeley thriving. Now celebrating 40 years in the fine wine business, North Berkeley Imports, with its retail division North Berkeley Wine, represents more than 100 dynamic, talented growers from France and Italy. Billy divides his time between Memphis, Tennessee where he lives with his wife, Jean, and Europe, visiting producers personally in France and Italy.
Guest
Bruno Gaspard
Vintner of Le Clos du Caillou
Bruno Gaspard is the enologist and winemaker at Le Clos du Caillou, one of southern France’s leading organic winemaking estates. Bruno began his adventure in the world of wine in the 1980s after completing his enology studies, focusing on vine growing and winemaking in the south of France. After posts in Corbières (Languedoc) and Bandol (Provence), he worked as cellar master at Château du Trignon in Gigondas—not far from Châteauneuf-du-Pape—until 2002, when he left to join the team at Le Clos du Caillou. Since then, Caillou’s wines—certified organic as of 2010, with a focus on biodynamic practices—have gone from strength to strength. Bruno says his focus is in making “wines with elegance and finesse, that are typical of their beautiful terroirs." Le Clos du Caillou is located in the northeast corner of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, near Courthézon. The estate’s portfolio includes white, rose. and red wines from both the Côtes du Rhône and Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellations. Under Bruno’s leadership, Caillou has unquestionably become one of the greatest estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, earning 100-point scores for their top cuvées from leading critics such as Jeb Dunnuck and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
Host
Andy Chabot
Blackberry Vice President of Food and Beverage
At the helm of the Food and Beverage programs for Blackberry Farm and Blackberry Mountain, Andy Chabot focuses on creating experiences of taste like no other. As the Food and Beverage Director since 2007, Andy has overseen the growth of Blackberry’s legendary wine program and led the opening of multiple restaurants and concepts. In 2014 The Barn at Blackberry Farm, under Andy’s direction, received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Program. Andy’s features include Imbibe Magazine, Wine Spectator Magazine, Food and Wine Magazine, The TODAY Show and more. Andy has exceeded the advanced level of the Court of Master Sommeliers Exam, received the Michael Bonaccorsi Scholarship and is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. Today, Andy is responsible for all aspects of managing Blackberry’s award-winning wine program and the food and beverage programs of both Blackberry Mountain and Blackberry Farm.
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