Winemakers Team Up to Help Feed Ukraine

July 8, 2022 – Three winemakers with long ties to the Central Coast have teamed up to create a wine that will benefit the Ukrainian aid mission of World Central Kitchen. The winemakers are Scott Shapley of Flywheel Wines, who is also the winemaker for ROAR, Adam Lee of Clarice Wine Co. and his former wife, Dianna Novy of Flaunt Wine Co. The three first worked together when Lee and Novy had Siduri Wines, and Shapley became their very first employee in 1998. 

At that time Shapley and his wife Laura Hoover were living in Kyiv, where she was working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which led to lots of conversations about their life there. Many years later, Siduri hired a Ukrainian intern, and memories of those conversations came back.

And then Putin invaded Ukraine. 

When I spoke with Lee at the Santa Lucia Highlands Gala earlier this year, he mentioned that it had been a long time since they all collaborated, and with the war in Ukraine showing no swift end, they decided to create a wine that could provide some needed cash to chef José Andrés and his never-ending quest to feed people impacted by the abject and endless horror of war. The idea was to create three barrels of wine that would sell for $80/bottle, potentially raising a total of $65k.

“We decided to get the band back together,” Lee told me. Shapley happened to show up just then and the two couldn’t wait to share their news.

The project is called Tryzub, the symbol of Ukraine that combines a cross and anchor, reflecting the unique combination of sacrifice and strength. The wine label shows a trident, which not only symbolizes the resilience of Ukraine, but it is also a symbol of the three of them coming together to help make a difference.

Lee had met chef José Andrés several times at the Wine Spectator Experience and was impressed by the man’s dedication to feeding those impacted by disasters, natural and otherwise. It seemed fitting to make WCK the beneficiary of the Tryzub project.

For Shapley, the horrors of the war have been front and center, as he and Laura have many friends from their time in Kyiv. 

“We have been in touch with an artist and musician I was in a band with when I lived there. He’s a Kyiv resident and says he is staying there as a patriot, and is trying to make a difference wherever he can. We also have a Harkiev friend who shifted into refugee support at his restaurant. It’s been hit pretty hard. He says there are three things that Americans can do to help Ukraine: send money to feed people, support organizations that directly aid Ukraine, and call your Congress people to make sure we don’t suffer from war fatigue,” he says, adding it’s also important to broadcast on social media so Russian citizens know this is real.

It’s critical to counter the propaganda they are fed every day. 

Shapley told me that it just made sense to do a Pinot Noir, since all three love to make it. They decided to make a Central Coast blend that pulls three different regions together, showing off a unique terroir that was meaningful to them. 

For Shapley, he chose a Flywheel barrel from the Boer Vineyard, which is in Chalone. Lee chose a Clarice barrel from the Santa Lucia Highlands and Novy went with a lot from Sta. Rita Hills. 

“For Flywheel, we carved out one barrel’s worth of Boer Vineyard, which is somewhere between full bodied and elegant, which I felt would compliment the Clarice wine, which is even more elegant than Siduri, and Diana’s, which is very fruit forward,” he says. The wine will be bottled in August and 100% of proceeds will be donated to World Central Kitchen.

Shapley says the Boer Pinot Noir, which is clone 115, presents a “good funky teenageness, but it has great round fruit with some leather. It’s very smooth, and I really like where it is going: it’s lush without being OTT. It has some chaparral qualities, including those herbal elements that add complexity.”

An interesting story about the Boer Vineyard. “We like working with Richard Boer, who has been the vineyard manager at Chalone for a long time. He lives in the winemaker’s residence there and bought that part of the vineyard, which was all Cabernet Sauvignon, in 1981. He grafted it over to Grenache, Mourvedre, and Pinot Noir in 2006. He also planted a few rows of Mourvèdre for us (Flywheel) in 2016.”

Shapley says that Chalone is an interesting place for Pinot Noir because it gets hot in the day and cool at night. It’s almost always an early pick. It might be an early again this year. 

Meanwhile, the misery in Ukraine continues. “We have a friend in San Diego whose parents live in Kyiv and are older and can’t leave,” he says. “We were sisters and brothers with Russia and happy neighbors. It was fine until the invasion, but we will never ever forgive them. We are horrified and betrayed and very angry. Everyone is talking about peace, but Russia will just take over if we stop fighting.’”

Bleak news.

Yet, Shapley says the Ukrainians have lots of spirit and drive and resilience. “They are just trying to keep their country: trying to retain their sovereignty. What is happening in the world is a bad trend—we’ve got wine, at least!!”

Working with Adam and Dianna again is a treat for Shapley, and for a cause close to all their hearts. 

“We won’t be able to stop a war but at least we can help those impacted,” he says. “We had hoped it would have been over by now, but the refugee crisis will go on for a long time. Rebuilding will take years and years. World Central Kitchen is dong a great job of feeding those displaced.” 

Will they make more wine if they sell out quickly? Shapley says they do have more wine they could bottle.

“We do every bit we can do to help solve the world’s problems. At least we can share some wine with the world! We are just happy to be part of the solution.” To purchase, visit: TryzubPinotNoir