Paul Draper

Paul Draper (born March 10, 1936) is a California winemaker, and has been the chief winemaker at Ridge Vineyards in California since 1969. Without any formal training in winemaking, Draper first gained notice for his 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon when it placed fifth at the Judgment of Paris wine tasting. Draper played a role in the history of California wine through his work in popularizing "vineyard-designated" wines, as well as instigating the resurgence of old vine Zinfandel. Along with Ravenswood Winery's Joel Peterson, Draper is considered one of the more notable figures in the history of Californian Zinfandel. Draper was featured in a short film, Terroir, and directed by Christopher McGilvray which was shown at the 2017 Cinequest Film Festival.

Early history An assortment of early Ridge wines made by the MonteBello winery that preceded the establishment of Ridge Vineyards. Born in Evanston, Illinois in 1936, Draper was raised on a farm and exposed to agriculture at an early age. He graduated from The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) in Wallingford, Connecticut and Stanford University, where he majored in philosophy and became aware of Ridge Vineyard, which was owned by a group of Stanford Research Institute engineers. After graduation in 1959, Draper joined the United States Army, where he was stationed at Italy. During that time, Draper rode through the Italian countryside on a motorcycle, learning about the local culture, cuisine and wine. Following his release from the Army, he spent some time at Sorbonne studying French cuisine and nutrition. On his return to the United States, Draper went to work for at Chateau Souverain in Napa Valley as a cellar assistant with the harvest.

Judgement of Paris The 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon was selected by organizer Steven Spurrier to take part in his 1976 blind tasting that would pit the best of California wines against the best of France's wines. On the tasting notes, Draper describes the 1971 vintage as the first vintage that they were able to achieve balance in the wine with less sugar in the grapes prior to harvest and the benefit of small amounts of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet franc. The wine was fermented dry with extended skin contact and then put through malolactic fermentation and aged in small American oak barrels. The wine was expected to hit its peak after 6 years in the bottle. Prior to the tasting, Spurrier expected the Ridge Monte Bello to be the best performing American red. In the final results it ended up being the fifth best overall red wine (and second best American wine) after Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Montrose and Château Haut-Brion. 2006: San Francisco Chronicle Winemaker of the Year