Wine Enthusiast and Napa Valley Entrepreneur: Supreme Knight Joanne Dickenson DePuy

Wine Enthusiast

and Napa Valley Entrepreneur

The Grand Council is proud to announce is proud to announce the elevation of Napa Valley entrepreneur and wine enthusiast Joanne Dickenson DePuy to Supreme Knight. DePuy is a lifelong Californian and a resident of Napa since 1951.

DePuy, now 95, has literally grown up with the Napa Valley wine industry. In 1973, she founded Wine Tours International as a bridge between Napa Valley and other wine regions in the world. That year, she created her first international tour to Argentina led by vintner Lee Stewart. Through her tours, she developed friendships with Napa Valley icons including André Tchelistcheff, Robert Mondavi and Warren Winiarski. When British wine merchant Steven Spurrier visited Napa Valley seeking wines for the famous Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, he reached out to DePuy for a tour. It was on this tour that Steven and his wife Bella were introduced to Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Chateau Montelena, the big winners at the tasting.

As the date for the tasting approached, Spurrier discovered that his shipment of American wines might not clear customs, and he called upon DePuy again. Coincidentally, she was bringing a group of California winemakers (led by Tchelistcheff) on a wine tour of France, and Spurrier asked if the group could bring the bottles over on the plane. DePuy, who used TWA for her tours, negotiated with the airline to transport the wine as a personal allowance. It’s thanks to DePuy that the American wines made it to Paris. Following what became known as the “The Judgement of Paris,” DePuy was able to witness first-hand the recognition and growth that Napa Valley enjoyed after the victory. In 1981, she founded the Napa Valley Wine Symposium, an annual event featuring tours, tastings, and lectures by prominent figures in the world of wine held at the Silverado Country Club and designed to promote wines of the area to the hospitality industry. The first chairman was Robert Mondavi who accepted the position at the invitation of DePuy. She served as the event's director from the ‘80s into the ‘90s. Her other contributions to the world of wine include serving on the Board of Directors for the Stags Leap Wine District from 1979-2001 and establishing a modest vineyard in Yountville with her late husband, Newell DePuy, Jr.

Joanne DePuy remains active in the Napa Valley community. She is closely involved with local healthcare organizations, including the creation of a lecture series on integrative health at Queen of the Valley Hospital and serving on the Board of Trustees of the Napa Valley Medical Center Research Foundation.

By Nan McCreary

continued >>>

Orange County Orange County Supreme Knight Joanne Dickenson DePuy

The Arbor is honored to have had the opportunity to visit with this distinguished lady and congratulate her on her elevation to Supreme Knight.

The Arbor (TA): What sparked your interest in wine? Joanne DePuy (JD): We always had wine at the table for special occasions when I was growing up. When we moved to Napa (1951) I thought wine was a subject of interest to be investigated. We started a wine tasting group where we would go to each other’s homes and enjoy wines. It was the first tasting group that I had ever heard of. I remember that Jack and Mary Novak of Spottswoode Estate were in our group.

TA: This was in 1951, long before Napa became what it is today. What was it like then?

JD: Back then, few people knew that Napa even had grapes. As Napa began to grow, I wrote an article for an industry publication based on a common conversation that Napa was more important than Disneyland. Of course it wasn’t, but at the end of the article I said, “If you keep saying this, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy and it will eventually be that.” And here we are. It’s incredible. It’s totally unbelievable.

TA: When did you start Wine Tours International?

JD: I started it in 1973. I was divorced and had to find a way to support myself. In college (at the University of California at Berkley) I had majored in international relations, so I decided to start what I called a wine bridge from countries that grew wine to Napa and from Napa to countries that grew wine. I talked to Louis Martini— he was head of the Napa Valley Vintners — and he suggested I visit with André Tchelistcheff (who is widely considered the most influential winemaker in Napa Valley history). I remember going to André’s house and sitting on a low couch, with him looking down at me from a high stool with his arms crossed. He said “Now, young lady, what do you have to tell me?” I talked and talked and talked — he never said a word — and finally I decided to just stop talking. After a minute or two of silence, he said “You have the nucleus of great promise and I will now answer your questions.” He then talked for about 30 minutes. He told me he wouldn’t lead my wine tours, but suggested I call Lee Stewart, who had just retired from Souverain, and was the most important winemaker in Napa Valley. I had three tours lined up, and Lee agreed to lead them all.

TA: André Tchelistcheff finally agreed to lead one of your tours. Tell us about that.

JD: The year was 1975 and our grocery carts literally bumped into each other at the store where we both shopped. I asked him when he’d be ready to lead a tour and he said, “I am ready.” I was so excited, I went home immediately having left the basket of groceries and called Louis Martini, and he said, “Sign us up.” This was to be a vintner’s tour only and was in great demand. Everybody loved André — he was very selfdeprecating and never tried to promote himself — so we filled up the tour easily, just by word of mouth.

TA: Back in those days, how did you find wineries to visit?

JD: We didn’t have computers then, so it was difficult getting in touch with people I had to deal with: wineries, hotels, and bus companies. I found some of my connections through “The World Atlas of Wine” by Hugh Johnson. I also had some good contacts, including Claude Rouas, a leading San Francisco restauranteur (who later founded the famed Auberge Du Soleil restaurant in Napa Valley). I remember that we were entertained royally by Domaine Chandon in Champagne. By the way, when Apple came out with computers in the early 1980s, I was the first person in Napa Valley to use one and I used it extensively in my searches!

TA: How did you become acquainted with Steven Spurrier, the British wine merchant who organized the Paris Tasting of 1976?

JD: He was such a wonderful person. Patricia Gallagher, who worked in the wine shop Steven founded in Paris, had heard about me through some Napa people who were studying in the city. She called me, then came to Napa to visit wineries. Later, Steven called and asked if I would take he and his wife Bella on a tour of Napa. I took them to Chateau Montelena and Stags Leap Wine Cellars, among other wineries, as these were places where I’d take my premiere guests.

TA: How did you actually get involved in the tasting itself?

JD: Steven called me from England and said he’d been unable to take the wine with him because he couldn’t get it through customs. He knew I was planning the vintner’s tour (led by Tchelistcheff) around the same time as the tasting and asked if I could help him get three cases of wine to Paris. I talked to my TWA friend and he was originally going to travel with us as far as Boston to be sure the wine was transported, but at the last minute he had a family situation that prevented him from going. He suggested I ask the vintners on the tour to help carry the wines, including Jim Barrett, Andy Beckstoffer and Louis Martini. I said, “No, I couldn’t ask one vintner to carry another vintner’s wine,” so TWA helped me arrange the transfer. I remember meeting Steven at Charles de Gaulle Airport and seeing one of our cases coming down the luggage rack with a big red stain on it. Actually, I could smell it before I saw it. Clearly, there had been some breakage. I was so disappointed, but Steven was very gracious and assured me all was well because he had brought two bottles of each wine. (Of the 36 bottles, only 1 was broken.) TA: So you were in France when the tasting occurred?

JD: Yes, we traveled to Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne. This was the first-ever American vintner’s tour of France, so we were very popular. And, because everyone adored André, we were treated royally. The day before I left, we were having lunch with 30 or 40 winemakers at Château Lascombes (the famed winery in the Margaux appellation) when Jim Barrett was called to the telephone. Jim had five children, so I was naturally concerned that something had happened to one of them. When he returned to the table, he whispered that both Chateau Montelena and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars had won Steven’s tasting. I was flabbergasted! I whispered the news to André, and he said, “Don’t tell a soul, don’t say anything. We are guests of the French.” During lunch, our host Alexis Lichine — who knew nothing of this news — welcomed us and graciously complimented us on Napa Valley and California wines. I was sitting to his right, André was sitting on his left, and all we could do was just politely sit there. But once we got on the bus, after we turned the corner from the chateau, we all erupted. Everyone was so excited.

continued >>> Miljenko “Mike” Grgich with Joanne Dickenson DePuy

TA: What are your thoughts on the Tasting and the impact it had on the world of wine?

JD: I think it was a confluence of energies that all came together. It was truly the perfect storm. We just all happened to be there at the right time. George Tabor was walking through Paris that day and attended the tasting because he had nothing else to do. If he hadn’t written the book, “Judgement of Paris,” it wouldn’t have been the same thing. It was like something that was meant to be. The impact on the wine industry has been amazing, not just in Napa but in other countries as well. TA: Have you stayed in the wine industry since that event?

JD: I continued to lead wine tours until the late 90s. I also led private tennis tours around the world until 9/11. In 1979, the Stags Leap District asked me to serve on their Board, and I held that position for 12 years. Later I created the Napa Valley Wine Symposium at the Silverado Country Club where I was a member. The new manager of SCC asked me to work for him to bring SCC into the wine scene. I agreed, but only if I would be allowed to create an international event featuring Napa Valley wines. He agreed and I was hired. I asked Louis Martini to be the chairman. He was unable to serve in that capacity but did agree to head up the Educational Sessions of the Symposium. I then asked Bob Mondavi to be the chairman and he accepted the role. The events were very successful, and very important to the wine industry. We got lots of press, and attracted people from all over, including the head of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Paul Kovi, who flew in from New York City to attend and Marvin Shanken of the Wine Spectator.

TA: Congratulations on becoming a Supreme Knight of the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Vine. This is a great honor.

JD: Thank you. I was originally inducted in 1978 or 1979, and it’s great to be back. I believe that KOV is an organization that can help the wine industry in Napa Valley and elsewhere. I’ve always found wine to be something you study like any subject matter. I’ve always wondered why so many medical people are involved with wine, and I think it’s because wine is something you can study forever. You never know it all.

TA: Joanne, thank you for giving us your time. It has been great visiting with you.

JD: Thank you. I look forward to seeing you in Napa.