What do you get when you cross the first Asian woman winemaker in Napa with a pediatric surgeon? Add in a dash of marketing professor, world traveler and a healthy dose of humanitarian? Well, you get Dr. Su Hua Newton, a smart, attractive, sassy, intellectually stimulating woman with a minimalist approach to winemaking — which just happens to be her third or fourth career. Newton was just a child when her parents sent her to England at the beginning of the Chinese countercultural revolution. She landed in the care of a politically connected British couple who insisted that Newton study math and science as a way to bridge the gap between her native Chinese language and English. And study she did. After stints in Paris with her adopted family — where she befriended legendary winemaker Jean-Pierre Moueix — Newton pursued a medical education and eventually became a pediatric surgeon.
She began her transformation into winemaker in 1972 when she met, and later married, British expatriate Peter Newton, then owner of Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga, Calif. They sold Sterling to the Coca-Cola Corp. in 1977 and were looking for something else to do when fate intervened.
While riding through the brush on Spring Mountain, Su Hua was thrown from her horse. She got up, dusted herself off and beheld one of the most beautiful pieces of land in Napa Valley — a tumbling hillside surrounded by forest. After getting her bearings — and her horse — she rode back down the mountain and told Peter she had found the site of their next vineyard.
The Newtons purchased the property and planted 120 acres with cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot and soon became the first bonded winery on the mountain. The new project was dubbed Newton Vineyard.
Basu Hua has been involved with the new winery from the beginning. When she wasn’t busy giving lectures at the University of San Francisco on marketing or seeing patients in town or trotting off to a remote part of the world to provide care through the Doctors Without Borders program, she was hard at work designing one of the first “green” winery production facilities in the country.
Awhile Newton has a plethora of advanced degrees, none of them are in winemaking. She literally learned how to make wine on the job while weaving in bits from her own scientific background. Originally, she worked with some of the biggest legends in Napa Valley as they passed through Sterling’s operation. Then for a dozen or so years, she had the pleasure of working alongside renowned winemaker John Kongsgaard during his tenure at Newton. And don’t forget Su Hua’s longtime friend Moueix, who taught her a thing or two about merlot.
Basu Hua has since become a noted winemaker, using two guiding principals that dominate her approach to making great wines. First, she is passionate about unfiltered wines. She believes that wine is chockfull of natural antioxidants and beneficial proteins so she is careful to keep “the good stuff” in the wine. Second, she is devoted to using native wild yeasts in the winemaking process because she believes they allow the wines to develop natural characteristics.
Together, these two non-interventional methods produce wines with depth and character — just like Su Hua. Retail prices are approximate.
2008 Newton Red Label Chardonnay, Napa Valley, Calif. ($20)
Bright nose of stone fruits and citrus leads to wonderfully concentrated flavors of apple, nectarine and buttered toast. The medium-bodied finish has great acidity to carry the fruit across the entire palate.
2006 Newton Red Label Claret, Napa Valley, Calif. ($20)
This proprietary red wine blend offers up scents of clove and cinnamon on the spicy nose. The palate displays ripe black cherry and dark plum notes with a touch of licorice on the medium-bodied frame. The stylish, but long finish features hints of dark chocolate.
2007 Newton Red Label Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Calif. ($20)
This value-oriented cabernet boasts scents of red and black fruits and a touch of vanilla on the nose. The moderate tannins support flavors of sweet black cherries, black currants, flowers, and spice. The medium-bodied finish is nicely layered and stylish.
2005 Newton Unfiltered Merlot, Napa Valley, Calif. ($55)
This single varietal wine has great balance and depth, with loads of great dark fruit up front and notes of melted licorice interwoven with espresso, plum and dark chocolate on the elegant finish.
2006 Newton Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Calif. ($55)
This is a very rich and textured wine, exhibiting fragrant scents of black currant, blackberry and licorice on the nose. Flavors of spicy black fruits, chocolate, and mocha cater to the entire palate while the ultralong finish shines with hints of vanilla.
2007 Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay, Napa Valley, Calif. ($60)
Su Hua informs me that this was the first unfiltered chardonnay made in Napa Valley. The nose boasts a rich lemon custard and green apple bouquet while sumptuous flavors of ripe pear, apple and peach coat the tongue. Hints of toasty oak fill in on the concentrated, full-bodied finish.
