Devo Frontman Is Whipped by Wine
If a wine comes along, Jerry Casale must sip it
Tina Benitez
Posted: September 14, 2010
Gerald “Jerry” Casale is the co-founder and frontman of the cult new wave
group Devo, perhaps best known for their hit song “Whip It.” When the Akron,
Ohio, native started touring the world with his band in the 1970s, his pursuit of
the perfect wine began. Casale immersed himself in tasting wine and visiting
vineyards and eventually, when the band took a hiatus, he ended up teaching
wine classes for three years. Today, Casale, 62, is back on the road with
Devo, currently supporting the band’s ninth studio album, Something for
Everybody. On a tour bus headed to Chicago for the Lollapalooza festival,
Casale talked about why he loves Burgundy, what he taught his students and
why he may go to Napa to make wine.
Wine Spectator: How did you learn so much about wine?
Jerry Casale: When we signed with Warner Bros. Records
and moved to California [in the late 1970s], a world opened up to me. We
hit California not only when there was an explosion in the music scene, but
there was a revolution in cuisine. All the restaurateurs were now famous
and had cookbooks out and were new and young and were stretching food
consciousness. It stretched from Alice Waters, in San Francisco to Bruce Marder,
Sam Clark and Michael McCarty. I met them all, and they were Devo fans! I got
to eat and drink in their restaurants and ask a lot of questions. I started from zero
and learned and learned and learned. Touring completed the picture. In Europe,
I was able to visit vineyards. It was a revelation. I was so into it that I taught wine
[at the Wine House in Los Angeles].
WS: How long did you teach wine classes?
JC: It was in the years that Devo were in some kind of
suspended animation, when there was no activity—sometime between 1992 and
1995. [The Wine House] was a serious operation: 1,000 feet of retail space, plus
a restaurant and a classroom. I wanted people to strip away all the assumptions
they’ve made and things they’ve learned that were wrong like sniffing corks
[laughs]. Wine represented some kind of hoity-toity frightening thing to them.
WS: What is your favorite wine region?
JC: Burgundy. Then after that I would say Willamette
Valley in Oregon; the way they grow Pinot [Noir] there comes close to Burgundy.
I still do like a good Barolo or a Brunello from Italy. I’m just not a big Cabernet
guy, though I appreciate it when someone opens one from a great vintage.
When you get a great bottle of Burgundy, it blows away a great bottle of
anything else. You can drink your way through mediocre Burgundies in the pursuit of the ultimate one, so it’s a holy grail quest. What I love about Burgundy
is that the wine is so friendly when you get a good one, and it doesn’t leave you
beat up. It’s so personal with the food—anything from grilled salmon to lamb
chops to duck. You can even have it with some pizza.
WS: How do you think music and wine complement one
another?
JC: To me, they’re a perfect match. Wine is half science
and craft and half labor of love. It’s a great lifestyle to be a winemaker, because
you’re a farmer and artist. When you’re a musician, there are mechanics to it, a
history to it, and then there’s the inspiration and creativity that can’t be quantified.
It’s an organic, living breathing thing, and so is wine.
WS: Would you ever consider making your own wine?
JC: Yes. That’s my dream. A friend of mine recently
acquired a nice piece of property in Napa Valley. He spoke with winemaker Chris
Cooney [at Provenance in Rutherford] and has already done some soil samples
on the property. It’s really well-suited for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, so I might
be trying to grow wine up there. My dream may become reality in the next couple
of years. Of course it will take a while before it will taste any good, but I still relish
in the chance to jump in and get started. It gives me a good reason to stay alive.
The real trick is drinking wine WHILE dancing to Devo.