Florent-Pierre Merlier, Winemaker at Van Duzer Vineyards in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, sent me one of the most gracious emails I have ever received – he thanked me for my positive review of his Van Duzer Rose 2013 after I attended Pinot Days 2014 in Chicago. I was impressed by this kind and thoughtful gesture and I have kept that email as a reminder that yes, some winemakers actually do read reviews of their wines!
Called “Flo” by those who know him well, Merlier and I follow each other on social media. He was the winner of a raffle I conducted on my site this past January (all legal I assure you!). And through casual conversation, we realized that we were in France at around the same time this spring; he was in Burgundy while I visited Chamonix. At that point I knew that I must learn more about this man whose life seems just as interesting as the wines he crafts at Van Duzer Vineyards.
Growing up in Escolives Ste. Camille, an old village around Auxerre where Romans imported grapes in the third century BC, Merlier learned about wine at a very young age. His playground of sorts was the barrel room and underground wine cellar belonging to the family of one of his childhood friends. As time went by, Merlier attended the Sorbonne in Paris with the intention of studying film. However he fell in love with the wine business after working at wineries in Burgundy and Switzerland; he changed career paths, receiving a Diploma in Viticulture from the University of Dijon. Merlier shared that he learned an incredible amount from his work in Switzerland. Its “weather, terrain, variation from one site to another, and disease create one of the most challenging endeavors for any winemaker” explained Merlier who quickly added that he is always “pushing himself to do better and deal with hurdles. If it’s too easy, you don’t learn.”
Merlier moved to Oregon in 2009 and interned for a winery while “looking for the right job”, a “tough proposition” in his words. He became a staff member at Van Duzer Vineyards in 2010; by 2013 he was promoted to Winemaker and is now producing wines that have helped put Oregon firmly on the wine map. With coastal winds from the Pacific Ocean, cool nights, and warm breezes during the day, the vineyards of Van Duzer are located in the most beautiful area of the Willamette Valley…in Merlier’s humble opinion.
Merlier wants to craft wines with vibrancy, texture and depth with silky tannins and a chalky mouthfeel depending on the clone of course. One of the many highlights of the job is tasting the first bottle of the vintage. But of course.
Challenges? Florent Merlier thrives on them. “You see what you get, react, and do your best” could be his mantra. Merlier’s viticultural work in Switzerland with its difficult terrain and more, his search to find a job that would be the best fit for him, the “stressful 2013 vintage year” when there was plenty of rain, the “inconsistencies of the wine business”, and more continue to test this on-the-go winemaker.
If Merlier isn’t tending to his winemaking duties at Van Duzer, gardening, cooking, or spending time with his wife and two children, you may find him enjoying a glass of Chardonnay or Pinot Noir (he is from Burgundy after all!) or one from the Gigondas in the southern Rhone wine region of France. Merlier even loves “wine that challenges. Finding a new wine gives me such pleasure.” Now that’s a challenge I’m guessing all of us would accept.
Cheers~ Cindy
Note: I was sent as samples wines from Van Duzer Vineyards. I will continue to update this post with links to my reviews as they are written.
2012 Van Duzer Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
