Joel Aiken's guest appearances

Joel Aiken

The Stories Behind Wine

California Wine Country

Wine Soundtrack - USA

Pairs With Life

The Vine Guy

Remi Cohen

David Ramey

Justin Seidenfeld

Nicole Salengo

Erica Stancliff

Robert Larsen

Laura Diaz

Joseph Phelps

Eileen Crane

Merry Edwards

Jeff Pisoni

Bill Nachbaur

Ross Halleck

Laura Diaz Munoz

Stu Smith

OwlTail

Scattered Peaks is an elevated spin on Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon carefully curated and elegantly crafted by wine industry icon, Derek Benham and legendary Napa Valley Winemaker, Joel Aiken.Leveraging their deep passion for – and long history within – the California wine industry, Derek and Joel curate superior fruit from coveted regions throughout Napa Valley. Their plunder is then aged in carefully curated oak barrels and artfully blended to achieve the high levels of quality and experience.Scattered Peaks is a creative marriage of Derek’s greatest loves: surfing, skiing and wine. A powerful triple-entendre, the term ‘Scattered Peaks’ refers to a surfing condition when waves approaching the shore split, creating different wave peaks. Secondly, the term signifies the many snowy peaks around the world that Benham has conquered with unmatched enthusiasm. Finally, ‘Scattered Peaks’ refers to our vineyards dotted across the world-renowned Napa Valley.

Scattered Peaks is an elevated spin on Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon carefully curated and elegantly crafted by wine industry icon, Derek Benham and legendary Napa Valley Winemaker, Joel Aiken. Leveraging their deep passion for – and long history within – the California wine industry, Derek and Joel curate superior fruit from coveted regions throughout Napa Valley. Their plunder is then aged in carefully curated oak barrels and artfully blended to achieve the high levels of quality and experience. Scattered Peaks is a creative marriage of Derek’s greatest loves: surfing, skiing and wine. A powerful triple-entendre, the term ‘Scattered Peaks’ refers to a surfing condition when waves approaching the shore split, creating different wave peaks. Secondly, the term signifies the many snowy peaks around the world that Benham has conquered with unmatched enthusiasm. Finally, ‘Scattered Peaks’ refers to our vineyards dotted across the world-renowned Napa Valley.

Scattered Peaks - Joel Aiken

Joel Aiken, winemaker of Scattered Peaks is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Barry Herbst and his daughter Emily Herbst are also in the studio today. Joel Aiken was winemaker at Beaulieu Vineyard for many years. Beaulieu Vineyard, also known as BV, was founded in 1900 by George de la Tour and his wife Fernande. George de la Tour bought some great vineyards in Napa Valley for $100 or $200 an acre, around the turn of the 1900s that are spectacular now. Joel started in 1982 so he was there for their 50th vintage was in 1986. By the time he retired, he was spending more time doing management work rather than making wine and he is happy to be back to making wine. Joel Aiken and his partner Derek Benham founded Scattered Peaks in 2017 after Joel retired from BV. They begin with the first of two Scattered Peaks wines, a 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Joel Aiken talks about how they started by working with the vineyards and getting the right barrels. Dan Berger has also brought a 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon from BV, made by Joel Aiken back then. It has spent 26 years at the lowest level of Dan’s already cold cellar, at about 60 degrees, year-round. The two Scattered Peaks wines bear description. The name Scattered Peaks comes from surfing, a favorite activity of Derek Benham, who is Joel Aiken’s partner in the winery. In surfing, it means when the waves are coming in and going in different directions. It reflects his desire to use fruit from different mountain peaks in Napa Valley. One is more for the cellar.  The small lot needs another 6-10 years. The other one can go maybe 3 to 10, but either could bear 25. Dan says it hasn’t become Cabernet yet, it is so young. It is also smooth and silky, says Steve, and Dan agrees. That is the quality that made BV wines famous. André Tchelistcheff controlled the tannins enough that you didn’t have roughness. It sells for about $40 per bottle. Joel Aiken wants to produce wines that are age-worthy, and does not want to make any ordinary wine. Joel remembers working with André Tchelistcheff at BV. He became the first BV winemaker to introduce barrels that were not only American oak, which had been a BV tradition. When Joel Aiken started at BV it was the early 1980s and there were not so many wineries around as there are today. Dan remembers that André was very sharp and insightful, as well as humble. There are lots of BV wines at Bottle Barn. They have single varietals and blends. There are lots of BV wines at Bottle Barn Scattered Peaks produces only Cabernet Sauvignon, at least for now. He uses fruit chosen from some of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley, including Morisoli vineyard, which Dan says is one of the best in the valley. The second of the Scattered Peaks bottles seems more full-bodied than the other one and Dan says it needs more time in the bottle. Dan says that Joel respects the acidity of these wines, which is critical to making them age well. Joel says they won’t be soft and silky from day one, but they will be rewarded later. And speaking of well-aged wines, the 1994 BV Cabernet that Joel Aiken made 26 years ago has aged beautifully and Steve says, “WOW!” The subject of Merlot comes up late in the show, about 25 minutes in and Dan Berger gives his summary of the Merlot boom and bust and return.

<a href="https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.148/a1j.e4a.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/scattered-peaks-label.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a>Joel Aiken, winemaker of <a href="https://scatteredpeaks.com/?gPremiseType=All%20Retailers&amp;gProdNM=Scattered%20Peaks%20Cabernet%20Sauvignon" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Scattered Peaks</a> is our guest on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger today. Barry Herbst and his daughter Emily Herbst are also in the studio today. Joel Aiken was winemaker at <a href="https://www.bvwines.com/en-us" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Beaulieu Vineyard</a> for many years. Beaulieu Vineyard, also known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaulieu_Vineyard" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">BV</a>, was founded in 1900 by George de la Tour and his wife Fernande. George de la Tour bought some great vineyards in Napa Valley for $100 or $200 an acre, around the turn of the 1900s that are spectacular now. Joel started in 1982 so he was there for their 50th vintage was in 1986. By the time he retired, he was spending more time doing management work rather than making wine and he is happy to be back to making wine. Joel Aiken and his partner Derek Benham founded Scattered Peaks in 2017 after Joel retired from BV. They begin with the first of two Scattered Peaks wines, a 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Joel Aiken talks about how they started by working with the vineyards and getting the right barrels. Dan Berger has also brought a 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon from BV, made by Joel Aiken back then. It has spent 26 years at the lowest level of Dan’s already cold cellar, at about 60 degrees, year-round. The two Scattered Peaks wines bear description. The name Scattered Peaks comes from surfing, a favorite activity of Derek Benham, who is Joel Aiken’s partner in the winery. In surfing, it means when the waves are coming in and going in different directions. It reflects his desire to use fruit from different mountain peaks in Napa Valley. One is more for the cellar.  The small lot needs another 6-10 years. The other one can go maybe 3 to 10, but either could bear 25. Dan says it hasn’t become Cabernet yet, it is so young. It is also smooth and silky, says Steve, and Dan agrees. That is the quality that made BV wines famous. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Tchelistcheff" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">André Tchelistcheff</a> controlled the tannins enough that you didn’t have roughness. It sells for about $40 per bottle. Joel Aiken wants to produce wines that are age-worthy, and does not want to make any ordinary wine. Joel remembers working with André Tchelistcheff at BV. He became the first BV winemaker to introduce barrels that were not only American oak, which had been a BV tradition. When Joel Aiken started at BV it was the early 1980s and there were not so many wineries around as there are today. Dan remembers that André was very sharp and insightful, as well as humble. There are lots of BV wines at <a href="https://bottlebarn.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Bottle Barn</a>. They have single varietals and blends. <a href="https://bottlebarn.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a>There are lots of BV wines at Bottle Barn Scattered Peaks produces only Cabernet Sauvignon, at least for now. He uses fruit chosen from some of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley, including Morisoli vineyard, which Dan says is one of the best in the valley. The second of the Scattered Peaks bottles seems more full-bodied than the other one and Dan says it needs more time in the bottle. Dan says that Joel respects the acidity of these wines, which is critical to making them age well. Joel says they won’t be soft and silky from day one, but they will be rewarded later. And speaking of well-aged wines, the 1994 BV Cabernet that Joel Aiken made 26 years ago has aged beautifully and Steve says, “WOW!” The subject of Merlot comes up late in the show, about 25 minutes in and Dan Berger gives his summary of the Merlot boom and bust and return.

Joel Aiken from Scattered Peaks

As the former head winemaker at Beaulieu Vineyards (BV) in Napa Valley, Joel Aiken liked to experiment with a lot of clonal varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon. During his tenure at BV, Joel was responsible for making some of the most storied wines in the history of the century-plus old estate and oversaw some of the most significant changes at the winery. Today, Joel is not resting on his proverbial laurels. His consulting firm is helping several brands make wines that are both stunning and affordable. I invite you to drink in this episode with the legendary Joel Aiken.  Wines tasted in this episode: 2017 Scattered Peaks Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 Scattered Peaks Small Lots Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Beaulieu Vineyards BV1 Cabernet Sauvignon

As the former head winemaker at Beaulieu Vineyards (BV) in Napa Valley, Joel Aiken liked to experiment with a lot of clonal varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon. During his tenure at BV, Joel was responsible for making some of the most storied wines in the history of the century-plus old estate and oversaw some of the most significant changes at the winery. Today, Joel is not resting on his proverbial laurels. His consulting firm is helping several brands make wines that are both stunning and affordable. I invite you to drink in this episode with the legendary Joel Aiken. Wines tasted in this episode: 2017 Scattered Peaks Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 Scattered Peaks Small Lots Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Beaulieu Vineyards BV1 Cabernet Sauvignon

Joel Aiken likes to blend clones, not varieties, when he makes his other-worldly Cabernet Sauvignon wines