Educated Guess- equal parts art and science
No, that is not the name of this blog, that’s the name of the wine. And the name is where the story starts, but before you learn the story, you need to learn about the man behind the story; Mark Albrecht. He’s the founder of Roots Run Deep, the company behind Educated Guess. He is a former national VP and buyer for Cost Plus/World Market, and is also the “brains trust” behind some very familiar and great success stories in the wine industry. In his former position Mark co-created some labels with wineries that later became national “phenoms” in the industry. Have you ever heard of Blackstone, Red Truck, or even Chandon Etoile? They were all Mark’s creations; need I say more. Well, he is at it again, this time it’s his company, Roots Run Deep, creating the wines.
In 2005, Mark started out with a mission to create his own success story. He wanted to make a Napa Cab that was both Award winning and affordable. He researched the fruit sources in Napa, developed the relationships with the growers in the valley and then set out to take grapes from these growers and produce his own wines right in Napa Valley….but what name to call it?
Sitting in Mark’s office on Zinfandel lane in St Helena, I listened as he fondly recalled how he came up with the name Educated Guess. He brainstormed about 30 potential names and then polled sommeliers in San Francisco on which names were favorites. The winner was clear; the name Educated Guess was born and he turned his attention to the label. He came up with 15 label ideas and polled the same Sommeliers, and the clear winner with 95% of the vote was the current label; an illustration that shows the chemical formulas in the production of wine, obtained from UC Davis and Cornell. The label was created from a photo of formulas written on a chalkboard.
So what does Educated Guess mean? The best one liner I have heard yet is “equal parts Art and Science”
Any winemaker will tell you that they make a lot of decisions when formulating a wine. Which grapes? Which grape sources? Which oak? Stainless versus barrel, stir the lees, don’t stir the lees, etc…. Well, some of those decisions are yes, “an Educated Guess. ”
Mark works closely with renowned winemaker Barry Gnekow. Together they are making Educated Guess wines with high quality fruit sourced from Oak Knoll, Yountville, St. Helena, Mount Veeder, Carneros and Rutherford wine districts. Educated Guess produces a Napa Cabernet, which is actually more of a Bordeaux style blend with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot in the blend. Try the Napa Chardonnay made from 50% Barrel fermented and 50% Stainless juice (delish!) and a very nice Carneros Pinot Noir. Expect high quality wines with unmatched value.
We took a tour of the warehouse and tasted barrel samples. Mark is truly the custodian for these wines – you can tell they are truly his children. From selecting the fruit from the growers, to making his “educated guesses” with Barry in the winery, to monitoring the development of the wines in barrel – this is truly his creation and passion. We are excited to represent them and look forward to helping Mark build his very creative brand along the way.
