Christine Barbe () is a French

winemaker A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to deter ...

based in Napa Valley, California. She is known for producing wine from

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

grapes in the

Pessac-Léognan Pessac-Léognan () is a wine growing area and Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, in the northern part of the Graves region of Bordeaux. Unlike most Bordeaux appellations, Pessac-Léognan is equally famous for both red and (dry) white wines, altho ...

style.

Personal life and education

Christine Barbe was born in

Bordeaux, France Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

. She attended the Bordeaux Institute of Enology, where she received her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1996 in

Enology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

and

Viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

. She relocated, after graduation, to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Career

Barbe first started working in the wine industry in 1991 in France, while getting her Ph.D. She worked at Château Carbonnieux and Château La Louvière.

Denis Dubourdieu Denis Dubourdieu (July 1, 1949 – July 26, 2016) was a French winemaker and professor of oenology at the University of Bordeaux. He managed or co-managed several properties in Bordeaux, including Château Reynon, Château Doisy Daëne, Château ...

was a mentor for Barbe, who taught her about

wine. Upon relocating to California, Barbe was hired by

E & J Gallo Winery E & J Gallo Winery is a winery and distributor headquartered in Modesto, California. It was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo, and is the largest exporter of California wines. E & J Gallo Winery is the largest family-owned wi ...

. She also worked at

Robert Mondavi Robert Gerald Mondavi (June 18, 1913 – May 16, 2008) was an American winemaker. His technical and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi promoted label ...

and Trinchero Family Estates. In 2006, she became winemaker for Cockerell Family Wine Estates. In 2009, she took on a larger management role at the company, but still retaining her winemaker title. At Cockerell, Barbe grows Sauvignon Blanc, Verdelho, Petite Sirah, and Tempranillo. She is best known for producing Sauvignon blanc wines in a style reminiscent of Bordeaux. Barbe's own wine label, Toquade Wines, makes Sauvignon blanc wine. The word ''toquade,'' means "infatuation" or "craze" in French. She named the label Toquade as a tribute to her early experiences in the wine industry in France. Toquade's first vintage was in 2006 and consisted of 100 cases. The 2007 vintage produced 200 cases. The 2008 wine was made from fruit from a dry farmed single block

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

Yountville, California Yountville ( or ) is a city in Napa County, in the Wine Country of California, United States. Located in the North Bay region of the Bay Area, the population was 3,436 at the 2020 census. Almost a third of the town's population lives at the Ve ...

. The wine was

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

and aged in

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

tanks. It was aged for seven months. The 2010 production produced 450 cases.

References

External links

Official website for Toquade WinesInterview with Christine Barbe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbe, Christine Businesspeople from Bordeaux Oenologists French viticulturists French winemakers French women scientists French emigrants to the United States Living people Year of birth missing (living people)