Page 40 - SHARP Summer 2024

FINDING CONNECTIONS
RODNEY STRONG VINEYARDS WINEMAKER JUSTIN SEIDENFELD PICKS HIS FAVOURITE WINES AND WATCHES
E VER SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING OF HIS CAREER, JUSTIN SEIDENFELD
has been driven by the pursuit of excellence. From starting his tenure at Robert Mondavi tossed in the deep end (when he was tasked with managing the lead-up to harvest), to being recruited as lead winemaker at Rodney Strong, Seidenfeld is always fiercely focused on crafting the best wines he possibly can.
This ambition and dedication pulls a similar thread to his interest in fine watchmaking — an area with which he’s been enamoured since speaking with a former AT&T CEO in his late teens. The exec had mentioned that, when interviewing candidates for a role, he would always sneak a glance at their watch. For, whether they were wearing a mechanical watch, a calculator watch, or a watch covered in diamonds, he believed that a person’s timepiece offered a subtle insight into their character and values. The insight stuck with Seidenfeld and laid the groundwork for his collecting journey.
With this in mind, SHARP asked the winemaker to share his twin passions with us, by choosing his three favourite watches, and his three favourite wines.
OMEGA SEAMASTER (FROM GOLDENEYE)
This was my first real watch and a wedding gift from my wife, so it’s a watch I’ll always love. I’m a big James Bond fan, so that connection is great, and it’s also a watch that fostered the whole passion for watchmaking for me.
ROLEX GMT-MASTER II PEPSI
It’s the most all-encompassing watch that I own and one that I can wear to satisfy the many reasons you would wear a watch from one day to the next. I’ll wear it in the vineyard and when I travel. The history and the guiding principles of Rolex really align with my passions and my guiding principles.
A. LANGE & SÖHNE ZEITWERK HONEYGOLD
This is the real grail watch for me, and one I’ve promised myself based on a milestone goal. If one of my wines ever achieves a 100-point rating, the Zeitwerk is the watch I’ll buy to commemorate the occasion. I had the opportunity to try one on years ago at Wempe Jewelers in New York, and it’s been on my mind ever since.
2001 TENUTA DELL’ORNELLAIA MASSETO
This is a wine that changed my life. I always say there are lifestyle wines, celebration wines, and then wines that change the way you see wines; after drinking them, you don’t ever see wine the same way again. This is one of those wines, and I’ve wanted to try it again ever since that first sip.
RODNEY STRONG ALEXANDER’S CROWN CABERNET SAUVIGNON
The vineyard site where we grow this wine speaks to me in a very special way, and the history of the wine adds to its allure. The way the ripening happens, and the way the wine comes out in the bottle, it’s by far the most elegant and complex Cabernet we make.
ROWEN WINE COMPANY 600L
This wine is a passion project and the wine I hope to make as impactful as that Masseto. We’re only making 800 bottles a year, produced in six specially made 600-litre barrels, and I do all of the vineyard management and cellar work myself. It has a beautiful complexity and depth to it that I hope others will enjoy as much as I do.
40 GUIDE • SUMMER 2024
SHARPMAGAZINE.COM
RODNEY STRONG × SHARP
TEXT BY JUSTIN MASTINE-FROST