[3] He has built many successful brands, consults on five continents, judges wines at several competitions[4] and teaches winemaking in six universities.
[10] Clark attended MIT briefly, declined program completion, and went on to graduate as a top student and memorable pupil at U. C. Davis (1977–1983).
He implemented night time harvesting and published ground-breaking research on vineyard variables affecting wine quality.
In the 1990s, Smith went on to patent[12] reverse osmosis[13] methods for alcohol removal and volatile acidity correction,[14] founding the world's largest wine technology provider, Vinovation, and pioneering the implementation in American winemaking of micro-oxygenation,[15] ultrafiltration, tartrate stabilization through electrodialysis, alternatives to sterile filtration.
[17] Smith has been busy writing on postmodern winemaking,[18] which rejects the solution chemistry model of winemaking and the reductionist approach to sensory evaluation, instead centering on structural integrity,[19] aromatic integration, graceful longevity and soulful resonance with the environment in which wine is consumed.
Clark is a contributing Writer, Columnist and Editor for Appellation America,[23] Wine and Vines Magazine "The Postmodern Winemaker".
[27] In recent years, Smith has become increasingly interested in the study of the relationship of wine and music cognition.