Seeking Community for Alumni in the Wine Industry

It was a great pleasure to read about a rising young star in the world’s wine industry, Katy Andersen Keating ’08 (“A Taste for Connection,” October issue). From her spot in London, Ms. Keating is well positioned to witness a great expansion in new wines and likely new wine grape cultivars, especially in England. As a pinot noir fan, I would never suggest that France is tiring out, but other areas of the world are showing new energy. 

When I entered the wine industry in 2005 in Oregon, I was a part of the explosion of fine pinots coming from the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S., and that explosion now also includes remarkable sparkling wines. At that time, I asked the Princeton alumni office if it could point me to other Princetonians who were active in the wine industry and the response was that that metric was not tracked. I knew, of course about John W. Haeger ’66, a noted author on pinot noir, and Gary Mount ’66, who made fruit wines in Princeton(!), but there were only a few others on whom I stumbled over the years.   

Ms. Keating will appear in such searches in the future as a result of her impressive success in wine marketing and her PAW coverage, but I would urge the alumni office to add a field in its records for members of the worldwide wine industry.

By the way, I appreciated the mention of Princeton Corkscrew wine shop in the article. I found Laurent Chapuis a deeply discerning connoisseur. When I was attending my 50th reunion, I had the opportunity to pour one afternoon wine made from grapes from my vineyard at the Corkscrew.