The Winemaker Connection
Brandon Dixon - Noboleis Vineyards
How long have you been making wine? "I have been making wine for 9 years. All of which have been in Augusta, MO." How and where did you learn to make wine? "I first became interested in the process of winemaking as a kid while visiting my grandparents during the summer. My uncle is a winemaker and we would visit him at his winery to see how he made wine. Fast forward fifteen years and I started working side-by-side with my uncle and began to learn the process from him." What did you do before becoming a winemaker? "That's a long list. It took me a while to find what I really wanted to do for a career. The other job I had that I really enjoyed was in biomedical research." Describe yourself in three words. "Husband, Father, Christian" What is your favorite wine to make? "Norton. Our state grape is a tricky one. It poses many challenges from the vineyard to the bottle to produce a full-flavored, balanced wine. I love the challenge of producing a wine that doesn't just make itself." What is the toughest challenge about winemaking in Missouri? "Winemaker's tend to be an opinionated bunch, but I think we can all agree that our climate is one of the biggest challenges to making wine in Missouri. From the possible extreme temperatures in the summer and winter, to the high disease pressure from our humid, wet climate, growing high-quality wine grapes is always a challenge from year to year." Is winemaking an art or a science? Or both? "It is definitely both. The fusion of art and science found in winemaking is why I love this profession so much. It really fits my personality. Chemistry is very important for producing stable, consistent wines, but just because your chemistry looks good doesn't mean the wine is going to taste good. That's where the art comes in. "Tweaking" a wine through blending, barrel aging, or adding a touch of this and that is how a winemaker puts his signature on each wine. That is the art side of winemaking." What is your favorite food and wine pairing? "I like surprising people with unexpected pairings. Being able to pair a red wine and a salad usually surprises people. We paired our Baril de Blanc (barrel-fermented white wine) with a tomato basil bisque. At first you wouldn't think tomato would pair with the fruity, buttery, toasted oak qualities of the Baril de Blanc, but at your first taste you can tell it is a food and wine marriage. The creamy textures really play off of each other." If you didn't make wine, what would you do? "I would probably be a youth minister." | 
