American wine maker Mr. Joseph Phelps' passion for wine was so great that in the early 1970s he sold his Colorado-based construction company to its employees and moved to Napa Valley to build his own winery.

Wine aficionados got the chance to sample some of the results of Mr. Phelps' endeavours at a component wine tasting last Wednesday at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and at a vintner's dinner in the garden at Fourways held on Friday.

Both events were sponsored by Phelps Vineyards and Cosmopolitan Liquors Ltd.

Among the selection of wines at the latter was Phelps Vineyards Rhone varietal blend, Les Mistral.

Mr. Phelps, with a passion for the Rhone varietal wines of southern France, wanted to produce a Rhone-style wine in California but the syrah cuttings needed for such a project, he thought, would be difficult to find, said Phelps Vineyards vice president of sales and marketing Mr. Tom Shelton.

With some direction from the University of California at Davis, an internationally recognised viticultural school, and with some test cuttings from a neighbouring winery, Phelps Vineyards would soon produce the first syrah -- a single grape variety -- in California, he said.

"The idea of Rhone varietal changed and influenced the marketing of wines,'' said Mr. Shelton.

"We are just introducing this Rhone-type wine,'' said Cosmopolitan Liquors president Mr. Michael Robinson.

"It is new and unique to Bermuda and we are testing the waters,'' he said. As well as Les Mistral 1993, the Rhone varietal blend, the vintner's dinner showcased vin du Mistral grenache rose 1994, Phelps Vineyards sauvignon blanc 1972, Los Carneros chardonnay 1993, cabernet sauvignon `Backus Vineyard' 1992, Les Mistral, the Rhone varietal blend 1993, Insignia 1982 and a late harvest reisling 1994.

The component tasting guided wine lovers through a tasting tour of the grape varieties and vineyards that are integral to Insignia, California's first proprietary blend considered to be Napa Valleys equal to the great first growths of Bordeaux.

But to make Insignia, it would take the fortune generated by Mr. Phelps' contracting company.

"In the wine business, it has been said to make a small fortune you have to start with a big one,'' said Mr. Shelton.

Prior to building his winery in California's Napa Valley, Mr. Phelps was a very successful contractor in Greeley, Colorado, near Denver.

His father started a small remodelling business which Mr. Phelps would build on.

The company became involved with state highway building, university projects and even associated with the construction of the space shuttle launch pad, said Mr. Shelton.

"Mr. Phelps' love of wine dates back to his college years when he bought a Chilean Reisling.

"He become a collector of wines and today his cellar is considered one of the greatest private collections in the US,'' said Mr. Shelton.

In the 1970s, Phelps contracting was tapped to build two wineries in California, Souverain and Rutherford Hill.

Mr. Phelps went to California to oversee the building of these two wineries and these projects were the driving force behind his decision to change his lifestyle, said Mr. Shelton.

Then, in 1973, he sold the contracting company to its employees and decided to build his own winery.

Phelps Vineyards, operational in 1974, is located on 600 acres of land on what was the Connally Ranch in Napa Valley.

The wine maker also has properties at Rutherford Bench, Stag's Leap and Los Carneros and this year purchased vineyards outside Napa in the Monterey area.

But with the successes, notably the rhone varietal and proprietary Insignia, Phelps Vineyards, like many other California wineries, has not been immune to an ailment hurting much of California's wine makers -- phylloxera.

Phylloxera is a plant-louse which attacks the vine's roots destroying the ability of the plant to ripen.

In the late 1800s this scourge stormed through Europe's root stock. The only way to combat phylloxera is to replant and Phelps Vineyards is two-thirds complete in this endeavour, said Mr. Shelton.

Over the long term, the redevelopment move has cost around $9 million for Phelps Vineyards, he said.

When the winery returns to full wine production in 1996 it is estimated it will produce 100,000 to 110,000 cases, he said.

The operation has yielded about 80,000 cases last year and 95,000 cases are anticipated to be produced by the end of this year, said Mr. Shelton who joined Phelps Vineyards three years ago.

His experience includes marketing two vineyards then working as national sales manager for a group of 14 small vintage wine merchants in California.

A TASTE OF CALIFORNIA -- Joseph Phelps Vineyards vice president of sales and marketing Mr. Tom Shelton (left) in connection with Cosmopolitan Liquors Ltd.

president Mr. Michael Robinson, brought a group of the Napa Valley vineyards' wines to Bermuda.