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W i n e s & V i n e s J U LY 2 0 1 4 21 J U L Y N E W S S an Rafael, Calif.—Tim Pat- terson, the author of Wines & Vines' long-running "In- quiring Winemaker" column, died May 17, several weeks after undergoing surgery for a brain tumor. The witty and irrepress- ibly curious writer lived in Berkeley, Calif., and also was a regular contributor to Wine- Maker magazine, author of Home Winemak- ing for Dummies and co-author of Concannon: The First One Hundred and Twenty-five Years. Patterson was an easy person to spot at wine industry events, regularly wearing his signature Panama hat and squinting through a special spyglass that helped him overcome severe vision impairment. Patterson's eyesight didn't stop him from collaring winemakers to probe them for information and cornering publication editors to pitch them story ideas. As a writer he was an editor's delight, applying a combination of liberal arts erudi- tion with a high- level layman's expertise in wine production and a relentless pursuit of wry humor to keep his articles light while firmly educational. His approach as the "Inquiring Winemaker" col- umnist since 2003 was to scout out per- plexing issues in grape or wine production, and then reach out to professional winemakers and academics for their insights. Patterson took up amateur winemaking in 1997 and soon filled his garage with micro fermentations of dozens of grape varieties, enlisting friends and neighbors to help in the process and learn about winemaking. In the 2000s Patterson began a second ca- reer as a wine writer in earnest, after many years of working for Wells Fargo as a pro- grammer and technical writer. His wife, Nancy Freeman, said they both worked at jobs they didn't love for many years to sup- port the equivalent of half-time jobs for causes they believed in. "I broke away from my job first and be- came a freelance food writer," Freeman said. "A couple years later he realized I was having a whole lot more fun than he was, and (he) left his job to become a freelance wine writer." Patterson's articles appeared in Wines & Vines and other books and periodicals including Wine Enthusi- ast, Adventures in Wine, Diablo, the Livermore Independent, Central Coast Adventures, The Vine and Opus Vino, an in- ternational wine encyclopedia. With veteran California winemaker and educator John Buechsenstein, Patterson had been compiling and editing a book about the science behind the concept of terroir. Born in 1946, Patterson earned a bach- elor's degree from Reed College in Port- land, Ore., and a master's degree from Stanford University. He worked toward a doctorate at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. —Jim Gordon © 2013 StaVin Inc. StaVın Inc, P.O.Box 1693, Sausalito,CA 94966 (415) 331-7849 f (415) 331-0516 stavin.com For over twenty years we've searched the world to source the very fi nest oak known to wine. Our hikes through numerous forests in countries on two continents have yielded fi ndings some winemakers consider treasure. Such travels have shown us the rewards of perseverance, and the importance of variety. Because even the most delicious wines don't always taste the same. ® Tim Patterson's 'Inquiring Winemaker' column debuted in Wines & Vines in 2003. Remembering Columnist Tim Patterson