When I meet winemakers, I always want to look at their hands. Winemaking is literally a “hands-on” profession, and I find that the calluses, the stains, the rawness of their hands speaks wonders about their craft.
These are the hands of Chris Ritzcovan, assistant winemaker at Jefferson Vineyards in Virginia, photographed at Peter Chang’s China Grill during our dinner pairing Virginia wines with Szechuan cuisine.
Not all winemakers are farmers, though, and so don’t necessarily have hands that look like these. The Vacqueyras producer I import from, Cecile Dusserre of Domaine de Montvac is the winemaker, but her husband tends the vines. (As a former ballet dancer, there’s never a hair out of place on her, so I have no doubt she wants her hands to stay lovely and soft, too).