Tank Talk with Arnaud Weyrich, VP of Production & Winemaker, Roederer Estate

I began my wine career as an intern at Roederer Estate after graduating in 1993 from the Montpellier school, ​"Ecole Supérieure d'Oenologie" with a Master of Science in Viticulture and Enology. The internship was a great experience, and I returned to the company in 2000. Today I'm Winemaker and Vice President of Production for Roederer Estate.

I was born and raised in Alsace, which is white-wine country. Growing up there I developed a love of being outdoors, although here I am at my computer.

They were not in the wine business. My father was an engineer, and my mother was a homemaker. She helped my grandparents manage property part-time.

I wanted to do a job that involved the outdoors. Farming, growing grapes, making wine seemed to cover that option.

There wasn't one specific moment when I turned "legal." There was lots of exposure to wine early on. There was always wine on my parents' table, and they drank good wine. I was first exposed to Champagne at the age of 5 or 6. My parents had been entertaining and there were leftover glasses on a table, which of course I had to taste.

I do remember one wine very vividly. It was Champagne Philipponnat, Clos des Goisses. I was on a date with my wife, Floriane, at a very good restaurant, 2-star Michelin. Maybe it wasn't the perfect bottle, but it was the perfect person, the perfect time, the perfect place. The wine felt extraordinary.

We met in college.

It was college, a small college. I had good friends, a tightknit group. There were 26 of us, and we all majored in wine. We visited wineries, tasted wine. I remember it as being fun.

I have a lot of memories of that time, but there is one that sticks with me. One of the first projects I was given was to scout the vineyard and do sampling to confirm we didn't have phylloxera, but I had to confirm that we did. Here I was a harvest intern, not even seven days on the job, and now the bearer of bad news. The winery was founded in 1982, and this was 1993, so it was a young winery, and it was a major problem. Jean-Claude Rouzaud was very involved, as this was a major investment for him and a major problem to fix. I was an intern and working with the CEO and owner, talking about options. Talking with him and the vineyard team. Being in the mix was exciting. I was very proud to be involved in that.

When I was there in 1993, the company was practically a start-up. Now, in 2000, we were established, the winery had proven itself. The turning point came in 1996 or 1997, when sales picked up, critical acclaim was coming in, and we were making excellent wine.

Yes, I did. My internship was extended twice and ended in August 1995. In October 1995, I started working for a very large retail company. For my summer vacation in 1996, I came back to California and while I was there, I did a scouting job for Roederer. They paid my airfare and hotel, but I worked for free other than that. I still felt involved in what was going on, even though I wasn't an employee. Roederer Estate was a very interesting place because it was small enough so that you could be involved, but large enough that it was never boring. I didn't know I was going to return, but that was my benchmark. Suddenly I had the option to do that, so I did.

Yes. I was working in retail. The company was huge, more than 145,000 employees, not really what I wanted to do. It was interesting, but too big, you get lost. After five years, I was ready to leave and come back to California. The weather and the right job were a winning combination.

We care. We care about our farming and vineyards, our workers, the wine we put out. We are careful, thoughtful, and this arises from the company's family mentality. It's a family business.

The diversity of everything I have to accomplish in a day. From people to wine to equipment to vineyards. Every day I speak 3 languages. I use my brain, my feet, my hands.

Blending the wines, putting the wines together. It's an interesting mix of chemistry and art. You need to have the base of chemistry to give you direction, but the final decisions are not based on science, but on taste. It's not something you can measure. It's not based on numbers or what's on paper. I am still amazed at how something comes together that's not expected. I think that's unique, very artistic. It's discovery.

Pinot is what I work with and what I like. I also like Chenin Blanc, but don't work with it.

It all started in the vineyard in 1993 -- my studies and degree. I'm convinced and aware that everything starts in the vineyard, all the correct decisions, plantings. The first two years of my internship were very vineyard driven and that's when I learned how important it was. I walked 250 miles in the vineyard during my internship.

First, we are both French-owned, and family-owned, as well as all estate grown. We apply the philosophy of Champagne Louis Roederer in our winemaking. Our reserve program really sets us apart, just like we do in France, Roederer Estate wines have aged wine in every bottle. We use oak in a transparent way. It's there but not overwhelming.

The soil is very different. There's no lime stone in Anderson Valley. The latitude makes it warmer than Champagne, by comparison. France is working to pick the grapes at the right time, which varies. In California, if we don't pick early enough, they become overripe because we have the pressure of a warmer climate. We have to be reactive.

Making wine on the North Coast of California, I've seen hot, wet, smoky vintages and normal vintages as well. Every one of those vintages brings more knowledge to your block of experience. Until you are facing the challenge, you don't know how you are going to deal with it, but you do it.

Living on the edge of the world. It's super diverse. The landscape. I still don't know everything about the area. You can hike all day without seeing anyone else. You come across very interesting people: highly educated coming here to retire, old rednecks, hippies and everyone in between. There are many layers here, and it seems to me to be a microcosm of San Francisco. There is nothing snobby about Anderson Valley. It's a small community, so people know one another.

I always say the best thing to drink wine with, is friends! I drink sparkling with appetizers, canapes, rillettes, as an aperitif. A main dish would be dover sole with butter. Cheese and sparkling wine work really well. Aged cheeses work the best, nutty, buttery, salty. Pizza and pasta are great with sparkling. Even potato chips.

I like skiing, so I like to go to the mountains. I'm from Alsace. I'll choose mountains over a boat any day. I love Lake Tahoe, but I love anywhere there are mountains. I like riding motorcycles, building and fixing things, taking care of the garden, planting vegetables, taking care of the trees and other plantings.

We have two boys.

Ha! When you have kids it's difficult. Skiing.

There is usually a bottle of wine on the table. It's OK to take a sip. The children are not being encouraged to drink alcohol, but to taste the flavor and learn its place at the table. It is a drop on your tongue or a taste from your finger in the bottle. In our family, we are encouraged to learn about wine.

That's a tough question to ask a French guy. I have embraced all sorts of cuisines. I love fresh food. There is so much in California. I love fresh fish, crab. I love French food, but a lot of it is meat-based. We eat a lot more fish and vegetables than we used to, and there is so much here that is fresh.

My wife is from Normandy. When we get very fresh fish she will pan-sear it in butter and sprinkle on some salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. That's it. We have this with sparkling wine. It has to be local fish.

My pleasure. Thank you.