Jacqueline Friedrich: The Wine Humanist WINE BY PEOPLE, FOR PEOPLE; WINE FROM THE HEART

This annotated playbill is, by definition, a list in progress. I'll add and subtract as life goes on. Often the entry here will be the text written for the first appearance of the character in question.(Lest you take me for a pie-eyed Pollyanna, know that I’m a case-hardened misanthrope. These people are actually more wonderful than I’ve made them sound.)

The list is alphabetical, by family name. As I'm getting started, some of the entries will consist of the name alone. Know, however, that I'll eventually fill in every entry.

THE CAST

( NB Currently in semi-hiatus.)

Annie Bossard
Guy Bossard
Jean-Francois Dubreuil
Virginia Gift
Agnes Hatt
Charles Joguet
Monique Joguet
Mary McKinley
Abel Osorio de Castro:Abel was born in Portugal and has taken over the winemaking at Freres Nau. He’s small, sinewy and possessed of a wit so wry and so subtle he’s a natural foil for the plainspoken humor of his best friend, Francois. Together they form one of a number of odd wine couples I know. (Others include Guy and Mark Angeli (Ferme de la Sansonniere, Bonnezeaux), and Charles Hours (Clos Uroulat/​Jurancon) and Francois Laplace (Chateau d'Aydie/​Madiran).
Dominique Osorio de Castro: Dominique, nee Nau, is the daughter of a producer of Bourgueil whose wines were bistro favorites in the 70s and 80s. Calm, kind and intelligent, Dominique is a nurse in one of the largest hospitals in Tours.Believe me, if you ever get sick in the Loire, Dominique is the nurse you want to see walking into your room: she’s practically got TLC written across her forehead.

Francois Pinon
Odile Pinon:Odile, the wife of Vouvray winemaker Francois Pinon, has the greenest thumb I’ve ever encountered. She’s bearing a commercial plant today but my home and garden are filled with horticultural oddities she’s grown from cuttings. My favorite is the charmingly named “On mama’s lap” but there’s also dwarf sedum, “perpetual” celery (which invades the garden like an imperialist) and many others.
Karen Odessa Piper: a gifted and intuitive chef, food philosopher, champion of small growers, the former owner of L’Etoile in Madison, Wisconsin and truly one of the Angels in America. Married to wine importer and rieslingwacko Terry Theise (qv).
Mylaine Remy
Ahmed Rhazaoui
Lena Rhazaoui
Mike Spingler
Sharon Sutcliffe
Terry Theise: aka rieslingwacko, legend-in-his-own-time importer of small wine producers in Germany, Austria and Champagne (eg Gimmonet, Pierre Peters, Vilmart, Margaine), major league schmoozer, and the fortunate husband of Karen Odessa Piper (qv).
Ilona Uskalis