www.globalgolfpost.com
MARCH 19, 2012
Bill Terlato and
Top Chef
judge Gail Simmons
JOHN STEINBREDER
E-MAIL JOHN
Bill Terlato understands just how well
wine and golf go together from a couple of
perspectives. One comes from his being a
fervent mid-amateur who appreciates the
ways a fine wine can be as pleasurable as
a fine round – and how enjoyable it is to
have one after the other. He also appreci-
ates how the camaraderie of a well-as-
sembled dinner table can be as gratifying
as that of a deftly matched foursome.
“Sharing food and wine is a great way
of bringing people together, and so is
golf,” says Terlato, who plays much of his
at Bob O’Link in Chicago and The Bear’s
Club in Jupiter, Fla.
And that fact has been demonstrated
on countless buddy trips where restaurant
choices at night can be as important as
course selection by day. Terlato also points
out that each of the men’s major tourna-
ments organizes a champions’ dinner,
showing that the urge to bond over food
and drink extends to the highest levels of
the royal and ancient game.
Terlato’s view of the relationship
between golf and wine only gets deeper
when you consider his work. As CEO of the
Terlato Wine Group, a leading importer,
marketer and producer of wine operating
out of the old Armour Mansion in Lake
Bluff, Ill., he oversees a privately held
concern that has a global portfolio of more
than 50 brands – and sells more bottles of
wine with 90-plus ratings than any other
wine concern in the world. Chimney Rock
is one of his family’s labels, and Ruther-
ford Hill, too. In addition, Terlato is also
the sole U.S. agent for the wines of Angelo
Gaja, one of Italy’s premier vintners.
“I was not into the celebrity wine thing
when I met Ernie,” he says. “But then I
tasted his wines and was extremely im-
pressed by their quality. He owned his own
vineyards and was very serious about what
he brought to market.”
As for his involvement with Nicklaus,
Terlato saw that development out of
friendship as well, much like his wine
partnership with Donald. Terlato knew
Jack from The Bear’s Club, which Nick-
laus had founded and where Terlato was a
former club champion.
“Jack is a long-time wine collector
and had been approached by a number of
people over the years about coming out
with his own wine,” Terlato recalls. “But
he never did it. After Jack and I had gotten
to know each other, he asked me about
one of those proposals. I gave him my
opinion, and about an hour later, I received
a call from one of Jack’s people saying he
wanted to do a wine with us.
“We talked for hours about that, and
Jack and his sons Jackie and Gary came
out to visit some of our Napa vineyards,”
Terlato adds. “It was so clear how dedi-
cated to excellence they all are, and how
much Jack wanted whatever he put his
name on to be of the highest quality. Our
families connected, too, and it was inter-
esting to see what common interests we
had in agronomy and agriculture, which no
doubt came on his part from all his time
designing courses.”
The result was the release nearly two
years ago of a pair of Napa reds under the
Nicklaus name – a 2007 vintage Cabernet
Sauvignon and a 2007 Private Reserve
Bordeaux-style blend. The first bottles
were uncorked at a private event at the
Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. An-
drews. They made their public debut dur-
ing the 2010 Memorial Tournament.
Later this year, Terlato is bringing out
a third Nicklaus wine, a Bordeaux-style
white, as well as another white under the
Donald name, in this case a Viognier.
Golf and wine. Working well together
once again. l
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