Obit courtesy Marie Gewirtz.

WINEMAKER MCDONALD D. BLACKBURN

OBITUARY

JANUARY 22, 1954 - APRIL 23, 2009

Winemaker, philosopher, ballet dancer, social critic, craftsman, frontiersman, resource conservationist, skydiver, musicologist, writer, surfer, Scottish Presbyterian and devoted husband and father " Don Blackburn died after a valiant battle with cancer in the early hours of the morning on Thursday, April 23 at 54 years of age.

A man of insatiable curiosity, eccentric, noble and endearing with an impish sense of fun, Don lived his life with boundless passion. As a Norwegian-born, French-trained American winemaker, he leaves a legacy as one of the finest creators of Pinot Noir in the world.

Armed with a BS degree in Resource Conservation from the University of Montana, with a minor in French, Don returned to France where he had spent his senior year abroad. In Beaune he gained a BTS with honors in viticulture and enology from the University of Montpelier, and interned in the vineyards and cellars of famous Bordeaux and Burgundian wine estates to further his education. In Margaux, St. Emilion, Mersault, Alsace, Monthelie, and Vosne-Romanee, Don's passion for wine grew. Always the scholar, he studied texts dating back to the 17th century to uncover the roots of the practical aspects of winemaking, learning techniques that we are now rediscovering with the help of technology. While in France, Don also became the first foreign correspondent for the Wine Spectator.

His 25-year winemaking career in America includes winemaking positions at Elliston Vineyards, Bernardus Vineyards, Byington Winery and David Bruce Winery. His career culminated with the crafting of his finest Pinot Noirs at Emeritus Vineyards in the Russian River Valley, where his favorite vineyard has been renamed in his honor as McDonald Mountain.

One of Don's many protégés described him as the Plato of winemaking, although in actuality he preferred Aristotle. Don believed the finest quality a wine could aspire to was charm, not concentration, and while appreciating technology, in the final analysis he relied upon his intuition. Don never made wine "by the numbers," instead he used intuitive metaphors, often from music and poetry, when describing his wines. For Don, a wine might be like a Vivaldi concerto or perhaps a California bikini girl. His most cherished Pinot Noirs took on characteristics of Edvard Grieg, one of his favorite composers from the romantic period " who, like Don, had Norwegian roots.

As an avid social critic, Don cared deeply about cultural responsibility and education and enjoyed speaking about these things to whoever was willing to listen. Perhaps the person who listened most carefully was his son, Devon, who remembers his father as "a loving, caring father who did everything he could to teach me the right lessons in life." Don, in turn, learned the discipline of his life from his own father, a Brigadier General who helped establish the Army's elite Special Operations Forces, yet according to Don, "his whole life was dedicated to saving lives."

A celebration of Don's life will be held at Emeritus Vineyards on June 5 from 12:00 noon until (like his wines) the character of this charming man has been fully revealed, and his family and friends are left with an ineffable sense of well being.

Emeritus Vineyards is located at 2500 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472. Please RSVP at (707) 823-4464, though all are welcome, with or without notice.