Marc Mondavi is the eldest son of Peter Mondavi so winemaking is in his blood, so to speak, but what about this water witch thing. Marc got introduced to water witching while in high school. Yes, his high school girlfriend's father introduced him to it. What began out of a curiosity evolved into an art.
Water witching which is also called "Dowsing" is a type of divination employed to locate ground water without the use of scientific apparatus. An L shaped rod called a dowsing rod is used. You hold one rod in each hand parallel to each other straight out. Then you begin to walk. When the sense water they begin to twitch and when water is found the rods will cross over each other. It made a believe our of me.
When I received the samples from the winery, it included a pair of dowsing rods. I was at my house at the shore and thought I'd try it out. I live a half a mile from the nearest body of water. No kidding, the rods took me there. I was impressed.
Today Marc practices water witching and helps family and friends locate strategic water sources to irrigate their vineyards.
Marc created The Diving Rod wines to honor this art. I had the opportunity to open the 2010 Chardonnay.
The grapes for this Chardonnay come from the Santa Lucia Highlands. Aromas of lemon zest, pineapple and Bartlett pears. Although unoaked I still got a little butter on the nose. Bartlett pears dominating the palate along with some lemon zest and hints of stone fruit in the foreground, this wine will pair nicely with seafood.