Featured User: Manny Abascal

Manny Abascal is an attorney. He has been married to Jane for 27 years and is a father of three teenagers from great vintages – Mateo (1999), Juliana (2001) and Helen (2002). The latter two were adopted three years ago from Colombia. He is founding chairman of a nonprofit safety-net hospital in South Los Angeles (MLK Community Hospital), which is his passion outside of family, work and wine. He lives in Altadena, California. Delectable: What sparked your passion for wine? Manny Abascal: Many years ago I was in a several months-long trial out of town that forced me to go out to dinner every night. At one of the first dinners, we had a bottle of Donnafugata Mille e Una Notte at a family run, Italian restaurant, and I just got hooked – the wine, pairing and setting changed the way I thought of meals and wine. From there I started tasting, collecting and researching. The more I learned, the more I realized how little I knew. The complexity of it all – the regions, makers, vintages – is fascinating but what has kept me passionate is seeing the passion that many winemakers put into their craft. I have had the privilege of meeting some of my favorite makers - Lafarge , Mascarello , Matthiasson , Corison – and knowing the effort they put into their craft makes their wines more than just a beverage for me. D: What wine region are you wild about right now? MA: Volnay in Burgundy has been my favorite region for years - floral, complex, balanced. Lately, I have also been chasing Pinot Meunier based champagnes, like Prevost , Brochet and Goutourbe-Boillot - linear, nice acidity and minerality. But truly, I am focusing on getting deeper in my collection with certain winemakers I love than any given region. D: What is the most unusual wine you’ve ever tried? MA: I had an Algerian Carignan. I appreciate what they are doing and the long history of winemaking there, but it was not for me. D: What is your golden rule for wine? MA: Balance. I don’t enjoy too much extraction or alcohol and want something that will pair with a meal. D: Say you’re not allowed to have wine, what is your second option? MA: I would commence litigation against the person who told me I was not allowed to have wine. That is my only option because I do not drink any other alcohol, except maybe Saki , but then again, that is a rice wine, so I may still be in trouble. D: Choose a movie, book, quote, or song and pair it with a wine. MA: I would pair Forrest Gump with an aged Burgundy because life is like an aged Burgundy, you never know what you are going to get. The Princess Bride with a bottle of Champagne would be a close second. D: If you were a wine, what wine would you be? MA: Most days I feel like something corked, but aspirationally I would like to be something from Santa Cruz, like a Ridge Monte Bello or a Rhys Chardonnay . The region is interesting, not as famous as others, has some well-established class (Ridge) but also relatively new innovators (Rhys), and the quality is there.