Lightning Round: Getting Personal with David Baird, head winemaker at Folktale Winery & Vineyards
by Lisa Malin
About David:
David Baird is the head winemaker at Folktale Winery and Vineyards located in California’s gorgeous Carmel Valley. He earned his wine-making degree at Cal Poly and made wine at Halter Ranch, Edna Valley, Justin Winery and Fess Parker before returning home to the Monterey peninsula in 2015 to team up with entrepreneur Gregory Ahn and open Folktale Winery & Vineyards.
Folktale was born out of Baird and Ahn’s mission to create high quality, innovative, sustainably farmed, organic wines that express “the beautiful acid and minerality of Monterey’s cool climate and rocky soil.”
Behind every great bottle of wine, is a great story and an equally great winemaker. I was lucky enough to sit down with this charming, award-winning winemaker and discuss wine, sustainability, organics, cookbooks and the special role wine plays in a healthy lifestyle.
My name is:
David Baird
I knew I wanted to be a winemaker when:
I had my first sip of Condrieu - I was amazed.
My non-negotiable wellness habits are:
I update my wellness habits all the time, but right now my non-negotiables are 15 minutes of meditation first thing, writing a checklist for the day in my journal, 7-minute arms in the middle of the day, and reading before bed!
Most days I’m out of bed by:
6:00 am
My morning routine goes something like this:
I get woken up by my 5 year old who brings me two bananas, one for him and one for his younger brother. I get up and let them eat their bananas while I get ready and we all go eat breakfast together.
Morning beverage of choice is:
a home-made flat white.
For me, wellness means:
staying as active as possible, no matter my time schedule.
My non-negotiable health/wellness habits include:
only buying organic food.
To de-stress, I:
love to go running.
The thing I love most about my work is:
getting to share my craft and knowledge with others. People are so stoked to learn about wine, and that enthusiasm is contagious.
Most challenging part of my work is:
needing to be at too many places at once during the harvest season.
Go-to wine:
Oregon Pinot Noir.
Favorite wine or vintage I’ve made is:
probably our Orange wine solera. It is a wine truly born out of spontaneity and continues to amaze me with its ability to pair with so many foods.
When not drinking wine, you can find me:
enjoying a glass of either water or coffee. No time in my life for any extras :)
Favorite cookbooks:
anything by Ottolenghi. He is truly an exceptional chef, and all his meals have been amazing.
On my day off, you can find me:
with my kids - fishing, riding bikes, or just plain goofing off.
Perfect Sunday includes:
sleeping in, a run and sunshine.
THANK YOU, DAVID, FOR GIVING US A SNEAK PEAK INTO YOUR WELLNESS ROUTINE.