California winery creates a wine that captures the spirit of the turn
Eric is the head winegrower at Radio-Coteau—a winery in Sebastopol, CA—but that doesn’t explain why I reached out to him. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a glass of wine every now and again when I try to act sophisticated, but I am no aficionado. What really interested me was a wine label picturing a man making a telemark turn with a barrel of wine on his shoulder. The wine is called Pinhead Red. To understand a wine for telemark skiers, you have to understand the telemark skiing winegrower behind it.
Sussman grew up in New York State and became passionate about wine growing while studying agriculture at Cornell. After learning wine growing techniques at vineyards in Washington State and France, he settled in Northern California and started Radio-Coteau. Though refining his craft has been Sussman’s top priority, he has remained an avid telemark skier the whole time. And if you had to venture a guess what type of snow-sliding Sussman was into when you listen to him talk about his wines, you would absolutely guess telemarking. Sussman will expound about the connections between people, land and the wine that results. His passion is palpable; when he explicates wine growing, it is like not unlike hearing about the passion many of us have for telemark skiing. Sussman describes the old-world wine growing techniques he uses in connection with the new-world grapes of Northern California. The synergy of the old and the new is what drives so many us as we try to modernize telemark skiing while still respecting the tradition and history of the telemark turn.
Clearly, few understand the abstract connections between tradition and innovation better than Sussman. Simultaneously, he maintains a profound respect for the land we all make our home. His website for Radio-Coteau describes Pinhead Red, “Inspired by the traditional yet endangered telemark ski turn and free-heelin’ backcountry access, Orfin Lott’s Pinhead Red was born. This red is a hearty yet refined mountain wine that was handcrafted for the express purpose of returning the bounty of the land to the communities and causes that inspire us.” Sussman’s passion for the mountains and the environment is evident in the fact that a portion of all of Radio-Coteau’s Orfin Lott proceeds—a satellite project of Radio-Coteau—goes to land and marine conservation causes. The Orfin Lott wines include Pinhead Red—supporting landbased causes—and an unfiltered chardonnay called sub14—supporting marine-based causes. Sussman also gives back directly to the ski community; he has taken Pinhead Red around the country in support of telemark ski festivals including the Pinhead Fest in Bozeman, Montana, the U.S. Telemark Championships in Steamboat, Colorado, and the NWAC Snow Ball and Vertfest in Washington State.
Sussman’s work results in a unique wine that mirrors the creative winegrower and the community he is a part of. Though anyone can try Pinhead Red, make no mistake; it is a wine for telemark skiers. For more information check out Pinhead at www.pinheadred.com.
Pinhead Red is available for purchase directly from the winery at 707-823-2578 and email info@pinheadred.com, or in select restaurants and retailers in California, Colorado, Montana and Washington State.
Label Art for Pinhead Red by Aaron Quinones.
*Originally appeared in TS #18