Growing up in a pretty backwater town in Washington State,
there
was little to link a youthful wannabe actor to any sort of oenophile
pursuits.
Yakima wasnt much of a wine town back then,
MacLachlan says,
talking from his Manhattan home where he spends much of his
time now.
There were keggers, I think they were called. Theyd
get hold of a keg
of beer, open it up, and then wed all get plastic cups
and fill up and sit
around, as you did back then. But Id just be stuck with
this one beer
getting warmer all night long; one glass would last that long.
But Yakima was a lovely little place to grow up in, and
it was where I
probably had my first real connection with wine.
Id go over to my girlfriends at the time
and wed have dinner. Wed
get a small glass of wine and it seemed grown up, it was where
I kind of
understood what the point of it was.
New world
After finishing school, his drinking habits settled on new horizons.
MacLachlan
moved to study at college in Seattle, where his dislike of beer
continued to push
his desire for wine, particularly of the more robust red variety.
As he moved further south to set up shop among the aspiring
writers
and down-and-out actors in Hollywood, his career continued a
steady
trajectory and resulted in several minor film and stage parts.
And then the break came, and his future received the giant
shot in the
arm it required. Aged just 25, he met director extraordinaire
David Lynch.
I first met David when auditioning for Dune, he
explains. I did my
screen tests and afterwards we found we both had an interest
in wine.
Id done my audition and once Id finished
he sent me a bottle of Lynch Bages as his sign of saying Id
got the part, which was a very nice thing to do.
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We still trade a bottle every so often, for a birthday
or some celebration perhaps, he says. And the 1995
is drinking nicely now, he adds reflectively. It
really is very good.
Although his appearance as Paul Atreides in Lynchs Dune
was wellreceived, it now simply acts as the precursor to a character
who many still believe defines his career.
His appearance as special agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks,
another Lynch masterpiece, packaged up as a TV series which
has gone on to achieve cult status despite consisting of only
two series, projected MacLachlan to the masses as a talented
actor with a canny ability to play complex characters. And his
passion for wines of a similar nature was beginning to develop.
My interest in wine led me to start exploring the Napa
Valley during the mid-1980s, he says. Wed
take trips out and spend time on the vineyards tasting the wines.
And then we got to know some of the growers and producers and
the production side became more interesting to me.
Mysterious characters continued to be handed to MacLachlan
throughout the 1990s, including that of Josef in Franz Kafkas
The Trial, though perhaps less so with his ill-fated decision
to star in Paul Verhoevens Showgirls. But elsewhere the
versatile actor continued to impress, expanding his expertise
on Broadway in The Caretaker and more recently in Sex and the
City and Desperate Housewives, with roles that ensured his fame
for a new, post-Lynch generation.
As MacLachlans career ballooned on an international scale,
his work took him further and further from home, and his visits
home became less frequent.
Good legs
That was until his wedding to producer Desiree Gruber. Burdened
with the task of finding wines for the upcoming celebration,
he headed back home where his father still lived, and in nearby
Walla Walla he found that a small revolution had begun. Vineyards
had sprung up, with surprisingly good results
It was around the early 2000s when I first noticed that
each time Id return home Id find my sleepy little
home state had all these new people and a new interest in wine,
he says. One of the most respected vineyards was to be found
at Eric Dunhams set-up and, after picking a desert wine
for the wedding meal from Dunhams Cellars, he proceeded
to tie the knot and to produce his own wine.
I met Eric and immediately liked his personality and
the fact that
he could make very good wines and knew what he was doing,
MacLachlan explains.
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It also felt like I was returning home, and it was a
reason to go back and visit my father and involve him. Both
my brothers live in Seattle so Id swing by and say hello
to them too. I also liked Erics family. I felt very
comfortable there.
It just seemed like the place to go. And its by no means
a one-man project, Eric is the wine maker. It is definitely
a collaboration between us. MacLachlan set out on his
project with a blend of Cabernet and Merlot grapes from the
Lewis vineyard, a touch of Syrah, a steady rest in oak barrels
and an increasing sense of enthusiasm.
Dunhams expertise and the MacLachlans increasing
confidence in his abilities ensured the project got off to a
good start, and resulted in regular visits to see how the product
was coming together.
Bear essentials
After a meal with friends inspired the brands name, ...pursued
by bear, was born. Named after a Shakespeare stage direction
in The Winters Tale, MacLachlans wine hit the shelves
in September 2008 and was immediately well received, receiving
a 91 from Wine Enthusiast.
I still go up there every couple of months, certainly
for harvest, sorting the grapes and the crush. I also go for
the tasting, blending and bottling. Im absolutely involved
in the process.
And its a great wine. Its got the qualities
that Washington State wines are famed for: blackberry, blueberry
and cherry components, a bit of minerality and that brightness
and slight acidity, which is so important.
The structure is also a very distinguishing factor I
think; it all hangs on those tannins, nothing harsh and not
flabby. Its not too oaked and not too sweet either,
he says, his enthusiasm infectious.
MacLachlan still tries to immerse himself in his oenophile
pursuits, with ...pursued by bear now offering three separate
years, albeit still in equally small quantities of around 300
cases.
Well keep the project going for as long as we can,
he adds. The 2007 is in the bottle, Id like to leave
it there for another year but you know how it is. Then theres
the 2008 still in the barrel, which well probably bottle
this fall, or perhaps early winter.
MacLachlan will return to his roots again in the autumn, when
the years grapes are ready for harvest. Despite his highprofile
city life in Los Angeles and New York, he can still visit Walla
Walla with minimum fuss, and this is extended to the wine brand
of his creation; precious little suggests MacLachlan's involvement
with ...pursued by bear, unlike many celebritybacked consumer
products.
The promotion side of things has been easier for me,
thats true, MacLachlan adds. But I wanted
it to be something that was definitely not a vanity project.
I wanted people to buy it for the quality of the product, and
perhaps afterwards, they might discover whos behind it.
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