Swanson: Grandfather Knows Best
If you grew up in the 50’s or 60’s, the name Swanson was fairly synonymous with frozen food. Most Americans gathered in front of their televisions, with their “TV” trays and their Swanson frozen dinners. The only thing missing was a glass of wine. Well, fast forward to the mid 1980’s. W. Clarke Swanson, Jr. has an idea to take care of that. Buy some vineyards in Napa Valley and make wine.
The family had actually started in the agriculture business back in 1896 in Omaha, Nebraska when Grandpa Carl Swanson, a Swedish immigrant built a small food distribution business. That business parlayed into an agriculture empire, first a poultry business then prepared and frozen foods.
But Carl’s grandson, Clarke, as he is known, didn’t follow in his family’s footsteps. Instead he enjoyed a successful media career and later, banking before he got his hands dirty in the wine business. But it turns out Grandpa knew best. Agriculture was in the family blood and what some called a crazy idea to produce a “stand alone” merlot was a good one. Merlot quickly became “the” wine and once again the Swanson family name was one to be reckoned with. Perhaps not yet a household name, but definitely a recognized name in the budding wine industry.
Of course, Clarke Swanson had a little help. His wife Elizabeth, the heart and soul of the winery and a highly pedigreed consultant; Clarke was able to convince the legendary winemaker, André Tchelistcheff, to oversee Swanson’s future wine-making program. He also found a promising young winemaker, Marco Cappelli.
The dense, structured, powerfully extracted, yet silky merlot Swanson produced was in the right place at the right time. Known as a “cab lovers” merlot, the wine put the Swanson name back on everyone’s tongue. Today, the winery is still one of Napa’s largest producers of merlot, but they also make other wines including cabernet sauvignon and pinot grigio.
Christian Mouieux prodigy, Chris Phelps has been winemaker since 2003 and it’s been a perfect match for the self-professed Bordeaux loving winemaker. And other things have changed as well. The winery itself has enjoyed a huge makeover and they now have an entire management team, including Clarke’s daughter Alexis who is in charge of all the marketing.
The winery also engages in sustainable farming. As keepers of the land, in this case, 100 acres in the Oakville district of the Napa Valley, Swanson is keenly aware of its responsibility and obligation to be environmentally correct. Swanson understands the importance of “being green” in the vineyards, which means everything from maintaining healthy soils, protecting and nurturing native plant and animal species to hand pruning and composting.
Besides producing the right grape at the right time, Swanson has always had something else going for it; location, location, location. The climate and quality of soil can be tasted in every bottle.
The Swanson Pinot Grigio can definitely play with the big boys, as in the big, bold chardonnays that live next door and the next town over. Vibrant aromas and flavors of ripe peach, pear and honeyed almonds may just leave you speechless. The Swanson Alexis Cabernet Sauvignon is voluptuous and rich, classic and elegant. The wonderfully aromatic wine is loaded with beautiful dark fruit and lovely, structured tannins. Of course, it’s the Swanson Merlot that has always enjoyed the limelight and for good reason. It’s a true acknowledgement to Right Bank of Bordeaux; firm, silky tannins with hints of mocha, black cherry and licorice.
