5 Questions for Those Who Make

In 25 words or less describe who you are, where you’re located and what you make.

I am Kent Fortner; originally from Kansas. I now craft an annual batch of Road 31 Pinot Noir in Napa, CA. I’m a one man band. 

What made you want to be a maker?

My grandparents were Kansas farmers. My dad makes frames. My mother paints. My sister is a woodworker. I like to work with my hands. Science, math, and storytelling were very much a part of my upbringing. I suffer from extreme wanderlust. Wine is an awesome intersection of culture, adventure, story, science, craft, my heritage, and driving a tractor. It’s a dream to make a living this way.

Why should people support your business/products?

The beauty of wine, particularly Pinot Noir, is that it tells a story. It speaks of soil, climate, vintage, fermentation, cellar and barrel. But, it also tells the story of farmer and winemaker. In a world trending towards increased industrial production, I spend time confirming there is an artist behind the art, and I hope others do the same.

Favorite product that you make?

For a guy who only makes one wine a year, the answer is pretty obvious. I guess each vintage is different, but the wines are alive and change over the years, so I have shifting favorites depending on how any one vintage is developing. If I had to pick one vintage experience, it would be 2011, which was such a tough harvest that it was basically the Judgement Day (but I feel like the wine I made got invited to the pearly gates).

List five of your favorite tools.

1. My Green ‘66 F100 Twin I-Beam Ford Truck : it was willed to me by my grandparents, who lived on Road 31 in Kansas. It’s on the label, and it is indispensable to my work and identity.

2. Refractometer : pulling it out of the drawer, cleaning it, calibrating it, and putting it on the dash of my truck signals the beginning of the excitement of harvest….

3. Bulldog’s Pup : an ingenious way to gently and quietly move wine out of a barrel. It requires a calm hand to monitor and takes about 4 minutes per barrel, which is very zen.

4. Leatherman Wingman Multitool : 90% of life’s problems can be solved with it and a roll of duct tape.

5. A Kadar Oak Barrel from the Tokaj Forest of Hungary : not only is it very important for the flavor of my Pinot Noir, but it’s inspiring to craft using a “tool” that is itself an incredible work of craftsmanship and heritage.

(photographs from Kent Fortner)

5 Questions for Those Who Make

In 25 words or less describe who you are, where you’re located and what you make.

My name is Ian Clark, I’m a chef and the brewer of BRU handbuilt ales in Boulder, CO. I build small batch “chef beers,” unique takes on classic styles from my garage nano-brewery.

What made you want to be a maker?

I’ve always had this uncontrollable desire to build things with my hands. Cooking started at the age of 14, but before that I was building skateboard ramps for me and my friends, cars with my father, sheds, dirt bikes, the list goes on. There is so much more gratification when you use, eat, look at something that you have made. Something that you spent the time and care to create. It really makes it worth it.  

Why should people support your business/products?

Our beers aren’t just beer, it is an expression of who we are. Our craft, our passion, and our love captured in a bottle (or a glass) for you to enjoy. It starts with writing the recipes and the thoughtful selection of the ingredients that go in them. I choose ingredients that I know, as a chef, that will build on the flavors that are already present in the styles of beer I am creating. Our beer also takes time and patience. We don’t believe that great beer can be created without allowing for natural carbonation so we bottle and keg condition all of our beer. We also don’t filter and pasteurize our beer because after we put in all of that good stuff, why would we take anything out? Last our beer has our values in it; like using wind power and eco-friendly cleaners, as well as composting, recycling, and donating 1% to the planet. We hope that all of that passion, joy, creativity, technique, and sleepless nights makes our beer taste that much better for you. 

Favorite product that you make?

This depends on the season, but right now with Spring coming I’m really enjoying Citrum, our IPA handbuilt with lemon zest and juniper.  

List five of your favorite tools.

1. chef’s knife (there is no knife more useful)
2. hydrometer (tells me when my beer is done)
3. spoon (might be the most perfect tool) 
4. google (research, questions, I’m a geek!) 
5. pint glass (for enjoying what I created) 

(photographs from Bryce Clark)