Jean-Luc Colombo () is a

French wine French wine is produced throughout all of France in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to th ...

producer and ''

negociant 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 dete ...

'' in the

Rhône Valley The Rhône ( , ; Occitan: ''Ròse''; Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea ( Gu ...

. While Colombo produces several ''

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

'' (AOC)

wines Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

in the Rhône, such as

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The village lies about to the east of the Rhône and north of the town of Avignon. A ruined medieval castle s ...

and Hermitage, he is most noted for being a pioneer in the revitalization of the Cornas wine region.H. Karis ''The Chateauneuf-du-Pape Wine Book'' pg 173, 228, 299 First Edition Kavino Publishing 2009 In reference to a

Remington Norman Remington Norman is a wine merchant and author who has written books on Burgundy wine, Burgundy and Rhone Valley, Rhone style wine. He became a Master of Wine in 1984 and resigned from this Institute in 2004. He is a two-time winner of the Andre ...

quote about the need for a "media star" to bring attention to the Cornas region, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wine writer

Frank Prial Frank J. Prial (November 4, 1930 – November 6, 2012) was a journalist and author, and the wine columnist for ''The New York Times'' for 25 years, writing the weekly "Wine Talk" column largely since 1972 until his retirement in 2004.Asimov, Eric ...

noted that Jean-Luc Colombo has done much to fill that need.F. Prial '
Wine Talk; A Passionate Presence in the Rhone Valley
'' ''The New York Times'' April 1st, 1998 The winery's founder, Jean-Luc Colombo, has become a notable wine personality due to his strong and outspoken opinions on the future of the French wine industry and on such

winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...

topics as extended maceration and organic viticulture. Since opening up his

Cornas Cornas (; ) is a commune in the département of Ardèche in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southern France. The name is Celtic for "burnt land." Population Economy The region is famous for wine, which is designated Cornas AOC. See a ...

-based wine-consulting firm in 1984, Colombo has worked with over 100 estates in the Rhône Valley including such notable producers as Domaine de la Janasse,

Chapoutier Chapoutier, or ''Maison M. Chapoutier'', is a winery and négociant business situated in Tain-l'Hermitage in the Rhône region of France. Chapoutier produces wine from appellations across the Rhône region, but it is typically their Hermitage ...

and

Château Fortia Château Fortia is a French wine producing estate in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape (AOC), Châteauneuf-du-Pape region of the Rhône Valley (wine), Rhône Valley. With a history dating back to the eighteenth century (on land that has been producing wi ...

. He has also influenced many young Rhône winemakers of the late 20th and early 21st century including

Jacques Grange Jacques Grange (born 27 June 1944) is a French interior designer. Biography After completing his training at the École Boulle and the École Camondo, Grange made a career as a decorator in France and abroad from the 1970s. His main customers in ...

of the

Louis Roederer Louis Roederer is a producer of champagne based in Reims, France. Founded in 1776, the business was inherited and renamed by Louis Roederer in 1833. It remains as one of the few independent and family-run ''maisons de champagne'' (champagne hous ...

-owned estate

Delas Frères Delas (, , from ) is a city in Beni Suef Governorate of Egypt, situated on the left bank of the Nile. In Ptolemaic Kingdom, Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, Byzantine Egypt it was known as Tilothis () or Nilopolis (). It was an episcopal see that a su ...

and

André Brunel André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal, ...

of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate Les Cailloux.C. Kissack '
Jean-Luc Colombo
"'' The Wine Doctor. Accessed: February 24th, 2010

History

A native of

Marseilles Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean S ...

, Jean-Luc Colombo first studied

pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

before developing an interest in winemaking.E. Arnold '
Winemaker Talk: Jean-Luc Colombo
'' ''Wine Spectator'' April 26, 2007 After earning degrees in both pharmacology and

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 ' ...

from the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

Colombo opened up a part-time wine consulting firm with his wife, Anne, in 1984. Despite having strong, and sometimes contrarian opinions that rankled the traditionalist winemakers of the region, Colombo's wine consulting firm blossomed and he began devoting himself full-time to wine. In 1987, the Colombos purchased an 8

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

plot of vineyard land in Cornas and by 1994 was producing wine under their own label. In 1998, they further expanded as a ''negociant'' selling wines from across the Rhône Valley including the

Côtes du Rhône AOC Côtes du Rhône () is a wine-growing ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) for the Rhône wine region of France, which may be used throughout the region, also in those areas which are covered by other AOCs. In a limited part of the regio ...

and ''vin de pays'' from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France. Jean is an avid Paint Baller and enjoys finger-painting. After discovering an abandoned vineyard of

old vines Old vine (, ), a common description on wine labels, indicates that a wine is the product of grape vines that are notably old. There is a general belief that older vines, when properly handled, will give a better wine. There is no legal or general ...

in a state park near his hometown of Marseilles, Colombo began producing

Provence wine Provence wine or Provençal wine (, ) comes from the French wine-producing region of Provence in southeast France. The Romans called the area ''provincia nostra'' ("our province"), giving the region its name. Just south of the Alps, it was the fi ...

under his Côte Bleue

wine label Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it. Certain information is ordinarily inclu ...

Winemaking philosophy

Jean-Luc Colombo counts

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

-based consultant

Michel Rolland Michel Rolland (born December 24, 1947) is a Bordeaux-based oenologist, with hundreds of clients across 13 countries and influencing wine style around the world. "It is his consultancies outside France that have set him apart from all but a handf ...

and French enologist

Émile Peynaud Émile Peynaud (29 June 1912 – 18 July 2004) was a French oenologist and researcher who has been credited with revolutionizing winemaking in the latter half of the 20th century, and has been called "the forefather of modern oenology". Biogr ...

as major influences on his views. Growing up in a family of

chefs A chef is a professional cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the director or head of a kitchen. Chefs can receive f ...

has encouraged him to put "food-friendliness" in wine pairing as an important consideration in winemaking. In 2001, Colombo openly lamented the rising competition from

New World wines New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional winegrowing areas of Europe and the Middle East, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Japan (primarily Tokachi), Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the ...

, particularly those from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, describing the situation as ''"losing civilisation and vulgarising wine"''.T. Grange '
Holy Trinity
'' ''Decanter Magazine'' July 1st, 2001 Colombo is an outspoken advocate of organic

viticultural Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing 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, ...

practices as well as green harvesting and extended hang-time for more

physiological ripeness In viticulture, ripeness is the completion of the ripening process of wine grapes on the vine which signals the beginning of harvest. What exactly constitutes ripeness will vary depending on what style of wine is being produced ( sparkling, still, ...

.J. Gordon (ed) ''Opus Vino'' pg 437, DK Publishing New York 2010, He also believes firming in destemming clusters prior to

fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

with the

must Must is freshly crushed Juice, fruit juice (usually grape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace and typically makes up 7–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must ...

going through an extended maceration on the skins. Colombo wines are typically aged 12–14 months in large ''foudres''

oak barrels Oak is used in winemaking to vary the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of wine. It can be introduced in the form of a barrel during the fermentation or aging periods, or as free-floating chips or staves added to wine fermented in a vess ...

that hold up to 120

hectoliters The litre (Commonwealth English, Commonwealth spelling) or liter (American English, American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric units, metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic c ...

before spending an additional 1–3 years in standard 225-228 liter ''barriques'' of neutral oak. Wine writers, such as Jim Gordon, describe Colombo as an "Arch Modernizer" due to his advocacy of using modern viticulture and winemaking techniques to compete on the global wine market. With parts of the Rhône, particularly the northern regions of Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie, steeped in tradition, Colombo's view came across as controversial in the 1980s but slowly became accepted by a new wave of younger winemakers. About his reputation, Colombo has joked that he is ''"the most hated and loved winemaker in the Rhône''.

Wines

Jean-Luc Colombo produces a number of wines from AOC regions across the northern and southern Rhône including a Hermitage, Cornas, Châteauneuf-du-Pape,

Condrieu Condrieu () is a Communes of France, commune in the Rhône (department), Rhône Departments of France, department in eastern France. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhône, some south of Vienne, Isère, Vienne and 44 km south of Ly ...

Crozes-Hermitage Crozes-Hermitage (; ) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population Wine Wine is produced under the Crozes-Hermitage AOC designation. See also *Communes of the Drôme department A commune is an alternative ter ...

, Saint-Joseph,

Saint-Péray Saint-Péray (; ) is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southern France. Historically part of the royal province of Vivarais, it has been a significant settlement since the 15th century when inhabita ...

, Tavel and Côtes du Rhône. Additionally they produce several labels of ''vin de pays'' and ''negociant'' wines from the Rhône and Languedoc-Roussillon and a separate Provence wine label, Côte Bleue.

References

External links

Official site
{{Coord, 44.9611, 4.8499, display=title Wineries of France