Poppy Tooker has spent her life devoted to the cultural essence that food brings to Louisiana, a topic she explores weekly on her NPR-affiliated radio show, Louisiana Eats! From farmers markets to the homes and restaurants where our culinary traditions are revered and renewed, Poppy lends the voice of an insider to interested readers everywhere.
Louisiana has never been a state known for producing fine wines, but Monica Bourgeois and Neil Gernon — owners of Vending Machine Wines and the new owners of Pontchartrain Vineyards — are out to change that. The homegrown oenophiles met almost 20 years ago when Bourgeois was a bartender at Mr. B’s and Gernon was the wine buyer at the nearby Bourbon House.
“I had been drinking inexpensive wines, choosing mostly from good labels and sticker bios,” Bourgeois said. Once Gernon introduced her to “Barolos and high-end, beautiful wines” she said she was “no longer a cheap date!”
The duo’s life work followed their wine passion as Gernon became a rep while Bourgeois managed bottle shops. By 2009, the pair had developed so many great relationships both in Napa and Oregon that they began to imagine a business of their own in a category they felt was lacking, specifically, “special blends with artistic and fun packaging offering great juice at reasonable prices.”
They found their perfect winemaking partner in White Rock Vineyard’s Christopher Vandendriessche, who just happened to be married to a New Orleanian. The Vandendrissche family have owned White Rock in Napa’s Stag’s Leap foothills for more than 40 of its 150-year history.
“Chris was making great, very Burgundian French-style wines,” Gernon said. “His Cabs are like Bordeauxs; his Chardonnays like Burgundies.”
Over an intimate New Year’s Eve dinner of blini with caviar and champagne, Vandendriessche and his wife, Sarah, agreed to Bourgeois and Gernon’s experiment and set out to make “unique blends with a Louisiana flair.”
The name they decided upon, Vending Machine Wines, reflected their desire for the freedom to experiment.
“You can get anything out of a vending machine,” Gernon said. “Our labels all say ‘Hey, look at me!’, like candy wrappers in a vending machine.” Gernon’s brother-in-law is Grant Schexnider, an artist and native of Arnaudville, Louisiana. Some of his work can be seen on Vending Machine’s earliest labels, “Loula’s Revenge” and “Crooked Mayor.” Schexnider remains the company artist.
Every angle of Vending Machine is designed to reflect its Louisiana home. “Loula” plays on two of Louisiana’s abbreviations, while “Shotgun” is a nod to our architectural style and was also their first blend.
After almost a decade of success with Vending Machine, in the summer of 2021, Bourgeois and Gernon heard Pontchartrain Vineyards in Bush, Louisiana, was for sale. They toured the 23-year-old property, but a return visit for the vineyard’s annual “Jazz’n The Vines” series sold them. That night, Charmaine Neville sang as stars twinkled overhead entertaining a field full of picnicking diners complete with candelabra. The sale was completed in November 2021.
Unfortunately, Pontchartrain’s old Meritage vines are no longer viable, but Bourgeois and Gernon have big plans for what is now known as Wild Bush Farm + Vineyard. This spring, they planted 1,800 native rabbit-eye blueberries with a goal of crafting a sparkling blueberry wine in a dry style. Firmly believing that fruit wines are the future, they intend to experiment with natives like pawpaws, mayhaws, persimmons, pears and apples. Muscadines are a must, along with blanc de bois and other grape hybrids that can grow in Louisiana.
“Wild Bush is going to push the envelope of what wine is — blending fruit and grape wines with no sugar added,” Gernon said. “We’re putting in hives so when we want a little sweetness, we’ll have our own honey.” His No. 1 credo is, “No rules, except to make some tasty adult beverages that go well with how we eat in Louisiana — like an adult Capri Sun.” Gernon said he imagines “fun fruit boxes with a little ‘hey-ho’ in there to make you feel good.”
Much is happening at Wild Bush this fall with the release of new house wines in white, sweet white, rosé and red. Also arriving is the vineyard’s first sparkling wine, “Hot Biscuits in Love,” which borrows its name from a song written by Gernon and performed by guitarist Alex McMurray.
Jazz’n the Vines will also return for fall Saturday evenings with artists like Christian Serpas and Grammy-winner Buckwheat Zydeco, Jr. on the schedule. There will also be a new regular event, “Friday Night Frights” where classic horror movies will be shown on a huge, inflatavle screen in the field. Bourgeois and Gernon are urging visitors to bring tents and sleeping bags to sleep under the stars.
Whether you visit for the wine, the music, or the stars, once you discover this Louisiana gem, you’re sure to return again and again.
Catch Poppy Tooker on her radio show, “Louisiana Eats!” Saturdays at 3 p.m. and Mondays at 8 p.m. on WWNO 89.9 FM.
