As a vintner and lifelong drummer drawn to the arts and culture, Matt Frazier says he had a revelation about wine during a visit to Chicago’s Art Institute. He stood gazing at a stunning Impressionist painting by Renoir and realized that great wine was akin to fine art in the sense both could be appreciated by the masses, not just those with deep intellect on the subject matter. At the same moment he found himself repeating, “Pinot Renoir.” That juxtaposition led to a spinoff of other “artist” labels for Drum Roll winery such as Chardonnay Monet, Cabernet Manet and Seurat Syrah.
Matt’s mission is to make wine more accessible. “Easy to enjoy, never simple or too serious,” he states. Part of his business plan is aimed towards dispelling stuffy attitudes often associated with wine. When it comes to compiling technical data on his releases for the media: “I admit to being a bit lazy about tech sheets because our customers don’t care about them. Honestly, even I don’t most of the time,” he says nonchalantly. “I’d much rather have a chat about our wines [rather] than send them to a lab to determine the TA or whatever.”
The wines are appealing with solid merit, and the wallet-friendly prices offer values worth seeking out.
Matt and his wife Sundee operate sans a tasting room but their wines can be purchased online. “Without a tasting room, we put our energy into getting out to meet wine enthusiasts at events and seasonal markets. With two teenagers at home, we’ve made the lifestyle choice to simplify our business model to give us time to spend with our kids before they’re gone,” says Matt. “In a few years, maybe we’ll start getting serious about a more permanent ‘home’ for our venture. In the meantime, we like being on-the-go and staying nimble.”
Look for them on social media or online at www.drumrollwine.com. For readers who are fans of music and family bands, check out Drum Roll’s music videos found on their website here.
Below are three releases we recently reviewed:
Drum Roll 2019 Seurat Syrah
91 pts.
Appealing, offering balanced acidity and dark fruit flavors of blackberry, boysenberry and plum skin. Fine tannins glide through the midpalate with moderate spice. The presence of oak is hardly discernable on the open-textured finish. Columbia Valley AVA. $16
Drum Roll 2019 Red Wine
91 pts.
Fruity and bold, this is 100% Barbera sourced from the Ancient Lakes AVA, revealing underlying peppercorn notes weaving through core flavors of currants, sour pie cherry and fresh strawberry. Food friendly in so many ways, with soft tannins, bright acidity and persistent spice notes that mark the finish. $16
Drum Roll 2020 White Wine
90 pts.
Crisp and jazzy, with upbeat expressions of Fuji apple, white peach, pink grapefruit and honeysuckle. Lime and lychee notes carry through on the finish. Columbia Valley AVA. $14