Rhone rogues: Like father, like son

Growing up near the headwaters of the Rhone, Philippe Girardet was frustrated by the rules, regulations, and stodgy traditions of European winemaking. So, after a chance visit to the Umpqua Valley on vacation, he came back to Oregon and founded Girardet Cellars in 1971. Oregon was a place where experimentation and new ideas were welcome, so it’s no surprise that Philippe was the first winemaker in Oregon to grow Baco Noir (more on that in the tasting notes.)

Today, you’ll still run into Phillippe in the tasting room outside Roseburg, but the winemaking duties now belong to his son, Marc. The youngest winemaker in Oregon when he started, just 24 years old, Marc’s also made a name for himself. In wine, but also because he made headlines when a light plane he was piloting lost power.

Marc managed to safely guide the plane and his sole passenger to safety by cleanly landing the crippled plane right on Interstate 5. He dodged the power lines, avoided the cars, landed on the highway, and pulled the plane onto the median.

So, if you’re visiting Girardet, toast his skill as a pilot and a winemaker with a taste of their Touchdown Red!