NorthBay biz - 2014 Special Wine Issue

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Davis Bynum Westside Road's Pinot Pioneer

INSIDE: TALES OF HARVESTS PAST WINERY GROUPS s GREAT TASTES SMALL INDEPENDENT WINEMAKERS 2014 HARVEST FAIR GUIDE (PG.39) SPECIAL WINE ISSUE 2014

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39 YEARS OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE Special Wine Issue 2014 s Volume 39 s Number 14

LEAD STORY 18

Westside Road’s Pinot Pioneer

Jean Saylor Doppenberg

After five decades in the business, famed wine producer Davis Bynum has few regrets.

WORK/LIFE

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11 13 15 17

PEOPLE WINE WINE WINE

FEATURE STORIES 26

Stories in the Glass

Bonnie Durrance

When you’ve been in the wine business this long, you have a few tales to tell.

44

Liquid Art

Stephanie Derammelaere

Small, independent winemakers are doing it their way.

72

All in Good Fun NorthBay biz seeks out interesting moments in the tasting room.

26

80

One for All

Stephen Ferry

Winery alliances build brand awareness and enhance customer experience.

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Vineyard Vignettes Christina Julian, Julie Fadda Powers, Alexandra Russell

NorthBay biz visits Tedeschi Family Winery, Desmond Estate Vineyards, William Cole Vineyards and Frostwatch Vineyard & Winery

100 Drink Up! NorthBay biz asks for some true confessions.

44 4 Northbaybiz

Helping grow your business isn’t just something we do... it’s all we do!

Special Wine Issue 2014

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COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 6

LETTERS

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PUBLISHER’S FORUM

Norman Rosinski

Wine Along with Me

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VINE WISE Richard L. Thomas Sonoma County’s Agricultural Roots

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GREAT TASTES

Christina Julian

Hamel Family Wines, Sonoma

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2014 HARVEST FAIR GUIDE

39

Your source for Harvest Fair fun

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GREAT TASTES

Julie Fadda Powers

Hall, St. Helena

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GREAT TASTES

Alexandra Russell

Dutch Henry Winery, Calistoga

111 BIZ SCENE Love of the Land, NorthBay biz Harvest Party at Balletto Vineyards, Taste of Sonoma

114 BEYOND THE BOARDROOM

Alexandra Russell Karissa Kruse, president of Sonoma County Winegrowers

Printed by Hudson Printing Company, an FSC Certified printer.

Please recycle this magazine.

Special Wine Issue 2014

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NorthBay biz (ISSN No. 1542-3549: USPS 097-770) is owned and published monthly (plus three bonus issues annually) by Gammon, LLC. Editorial offices are at 3565 Airway Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403: (707) 575-8282. Subscription price is $30.00 per year. Periodicals Postage Paid at Santa Rosa, CA 95402 and at additional mailing offices. Copyright 2014, NorthBay biz. Reproduction of this issue in whole or in part is strictly forbidden without written permission by the publisher. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NorthBay biz, 3565 Airway Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403.

Northbaybiz 5

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Letters

Great Response Julie, Thank you so much for writing a lovely article about the law firm [“Hidden Heroes: Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren & Emery,” Sept. 2014]!

I’m so proud and honored by it! My inbox is full from responses. Wow! Nancy Birkedal Hide Your Wallet Editor, Mike Runyan’s article, “The Many Faces of Identity theft” (Readers Speak Out, October 2014) was unsettling, to say the least. We’ve all been jumping into the technology arena head first, without taking time to understand its vulnerabilities. If we’re really all so at-risk, maybe it’s time to go back to cash, snail mail, photographic film and landlines.

Michael J. Patterson American Canyon That Was Fun Alex, I just wanted to let you know we received our NorthBay biz magazine today. Thank you so much for thinking of us—it was really fun, and I’m so glad we did it together [“Beyond the Boardroom: Heidi Rickerd-Rizzo and Bill Facendini,” Sept. 2014]. Our marketing/ media consultant was the first one yesterday to go nuts...so funny! I’d never said anything to him. He loved it!

Heidi Rickerd-Rizzo Vice President/Principal Terra Firma Global Partners

Tagged on Facebook I have to say, as a very small business, when I work with other companies, it’s pretty awesome when I feel like they “have my back” as in double-checking an unusual order that may have been a typo. The email tagline for NorthBay biz magazine and Alexandra Russell is: “Helping you grow your business isn’t just something we do... It’s all we do.” Well, it’s spot on. They really were paying attention and made sure I represented myself—as they know me to be—in an article. Cool.

Stephanie Trotter-Zacharia Tedeschi Family Winery Trotter 1/16

6 Northbaybiz

Far Reaching Information Hello Joni and Norm, Last week, a foundation based in Chicago reached out to SAY to get a tour of the Dream Center. I gave them a tour and they’re very interested in supporting our youth.

When I asked them how they heard about SAY’s Dream Center, they said they read about it in NorthBay biz. I was so pleased, and wanted to share with you how grateful Matt [Martin] and I are about being featured so prominently in your magazine earlier this year. Thank you. We’re in this together!

Cat Cvengros, MBA Development Director Social Advocates for Youth North Bay Betrayed?

Editor, I can’t believe NorthBay biz, our “local source for business news and information,” just printed an article encouraging companies to relocate outside the country to take advantage of tax breaks! [“Leveraging International Tax Benefits,” What Works, October 2014] Jonah Franks Santa Rosa Good Eats Hi Julie, I just saw the article [“The Farmer & the Fox,” Dine Wise, Sept. 2014]. On behalf of Stacia and her team, thank you very much for the fun review.

Warm best wishes, Julie Ann Kodmur I Need a Hero Editor, I’m loving the new look of NorthBay biz! I especially like the new Work/Life pages. I go there first to see who the next Hidden Hero will be, and I’m always delighted with their stories. It does my heart good to know the North Bay truly is full of people willing to help others with no expectation of reward.

Thanks for spotlighting these individuals.

Marcy Shoemaker Petaluma

[Editor’s note: We’re so happy about the great responses we’ve been getting regarding the North Bay’s hidden heroes. If you know of someone you think is doing something exceptional in this regard, please contact us at editor@northbaybiz.com.]

Publisher

Norman Rosinski

Chief Operating Officer

John Dennis

Vice President Sales

Joni Rosinski

Editor

Julie Fadda Powers

Managing Editor

Alexandra Russell

Contributing Editor

Bill Meagher

Design Director

David Brawley

Senior Graphic Designer

Anne Schenk

Administrative Assistant

Tori Goldman

Advertising Executives

Teena Hardee Lori Rooney Ryan Shubin

Writers Stephanie Derammelaere Jean Saylor Doppenberg Bonnie Durrance Stephen Ferry Christina Julian Julie Fadda Powers Alexandra Russell Columnist Richard L. Thomas Photographer Duncan Garrett

Helping grow your business isn’t just something we do ....it’s all we do!

Letters to the editor can be emailed to: editor@north baybiz.com, faxed to (707) 546-7368 or mailed to: Editor, NorthBay biz, 3565 Airway Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. Please include name, address and phone number. Letters will be edited for length and clarity.

Special Wine Issue 2014

Local financing fuels Inc.500 growth “When we started VinoPRO in 2008 it was a terrible time to get bank financing. I’d done start-ups, public IPOs, all venture capital funded. This time Lori and I wanted to own the business and we needed bank financing to make that happen. Trouble was, no one believed in us until we met Steve Herron at Exchange Bank. Steve knows the wine business. He understood how our direct to consumer sales program could boost wine club revenue and build brand value. He got the Bank to take the risk and it’s been good for everyone. We’ve made the 2013 Inc. 500 list at #236, we’re selling millions of dollars of wine for our partners and, thanks to the Bank, have an SBA loan to help fuel growth.”

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Publisher’s Forum

A “cork-tease” is someone who constantly talks about the wine he or she will open, but never does.

Wine Along with Me

By Norm Rosinski

W

elcome to the annual Wine/Harvest Fair issue of NorthBay biz magazine. This special issue is one of our favorites. That’s probably not too surprising, as it’s a sentiment that’s long been echoed by both our readers and advertisers. This is the 16th year that NorthBay biz has been the official print publication of the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. Beginning on page 39, you’ll find the 2014 Harvest Fair schedule and guide of events to help you navigate your way around the fun. If you’ve never attended or haven’t gone in a while, make sure to attend this year. It’s a guaranteed good time.

As is our habit, this Wine/Harvest Fair issue is filled with fun, facts, figures and fancy. Beginning with the cover story profile of Davis Bynum through a romp in the fields in Vineyard Vignettes and reviews of outstanding wineries in Great Tastes, you’ll be informed while being entertained. Taken together, this issue explores both the lighter and more serious sides of growing grapes and making world-class wines right here in our own backyard. So, sit back, relax, pour yourself a glass of your favorite local wine and enjoy this special issue of NorthBay biz. Then go out and enjoy the Sonoma County Harvest Fair.

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iven that this issue is dedicated to all things wine, I thought it appropriate to share some random facts on the subject. As I think back to when I was a kid, I remember enjoying delicious meals made from scratch by all my Italian aunts. I didn’t trust my memory, thinking not every meal could have been that great, until I recalled my favorite Aunt Gabriella sharing her ultimate cooking secret with me. She whispered, “I always cook with wine.” Thinking back now, I believe that sometimes she even put some in the food.

Real wine facts 1. The smell of a young wine is called an “aroma,” while a mature wine offers a “bouquet.”

2. In ancient Greece, a dinner host would take the first sip of wine to assure guests the wine wasn’t poisoned, hence the phrase, “drinking to one’s health.”

3. A newly minted term: a “cork-tease” is someone who constantly talks about the wine he or she will open, but never does.

4. There is increasing scientific evidence that moderate, regular wine consumption can reduce the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and gum disease.

5. Red wine, typically more than white wine, has effective antioxidant properties.

Special Wine Issue 2014

6. California is the fourth-largest wine producer in the world, lagging behind only France, Italy and Spain.

7. Winegrapes rank number one among the world’s fruit crops in terms of acres planted.

8. When tasting wine, hold the wine in your mouth for a moment or two and then swallow it. A really good wine will have a long, lingering aftertaste, while an inferior wine will have a short aftertaste.

9. When wine and food are paired together, they have “synergy,” or a third flavor, beyond what either the food or wine offered alone.

10. The most common mistake made by people serving wine is that it’s served either too warm or too cold. Optimum serving temperature for white wine should be between 45 and 50 degrees, while red wines should be served between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Facts and fiction Myth—Alcohol destroys brain cells.

Fact—The moderate consumption of alcohol does not destroy brain cells. In fact, it’s often associated with improved cognitive skills.

Myth—White wine is a good choice for a person who wants a light drink with less alcohol.

Fact—A glass of white or red wine, a bottle of beer and a shot of whiskey all contain equivalent amounts of alcohol: a 5-ounce glass of wine, a 12-ounce bottle of beer or 1.5 ounces of whiskey are all the same to a breathalyzer.

Myth—Switching between wine, beer and spirits will lead to intoxication more quickly than sticking to one type of alcoholic beverage.

Fact—Blood alcohol content is what determines intoxication. Since standard drinks contain equivalent amounts of alcohol, a drink is a drink.

Myth—People in the United States are generally heavy consumers of alcohol.

Fact—The United States isn’t even in the top 10 worldwide (ranking 32nd on the list).

That’s it for now. Please enjoy this special issue of NorthBay biz.

Northbaybiz 9

Providing sophisticated legal services to businesses and individuals in the North Bay for over 40 Years.

Areas of Practice: * Alcohol Beverage * Business * Environmental Compliance * Intellectual Property * Labor & Employment * Land Use Regulation * Litigation * Real Property * Trusts & Estates

Napa County

Sonoma County

1455 First StreetStreet 809 Coombs Suite 301 Napa, CA 94559 Napa, CA 94559 T: 707.252.7122 T: F: 707.252.7122 707.255.6876 F: 707.255.6876 www.dpf-law.com

Old Courthouse 50 Old Courthouse Square, Suite Square, Suite200 200 Santa Rosa, 95404 Santa Rosa,CA CA 95404

T: 707.524.7000 707.524.7000 F: 707.546.6800 707.546.6800

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Work/Life/People Best. Class. Ever.

S

chool just got cool. In July, Governor Brown signed legislation that makes it legal for students, who are enrolled in winemaking or brewery science programs and at least 18 years old, to taste alcoholic beverages and be exempt from prosecution.

The legislation, meant to aid those enrolled in university, college and trade school programs focused on oenology, viticulture, brewing and hospitality, has been

dubbed “sip and spit,” because students are allowed to taste the beverages (for evaluation and learning purposes) but not drink them. Twelve other states, including Oregon, Washington and New York, already have “sip and spit” exemptions for students.

Milestones: 100 Years Peter Mondavi

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here’s a very special birthday on Napa Valley’s horizon. On November 8, 2014, Peter Mondavi Sr., president/CEO and lead ambassador for C. Mondavi & Family and Charles Krug Winery, will turn 100. And while this living legend has accomplished so much professionally over his esteemed lifetime, this is a milestone that’s to be celebrated on a more personal level.

So to what does he attribute his longevity? Mondavi says he keeps mentally active through his continuing involvement in his family wine business; he keeps physically active by walking and climbing stairs to his office every day (you can see him demonstrate this at https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=OlUyeCw7Zsk)—and that drinking Charles Krug wine daily, in moderation, doesn’t hurt, either.

Happy birthday, Peter, it’s an honor to have you in our presence.

Peter Mondavi, Sr. Timeline 1914: Born in Virginia, Minn., to Cesare and Rosa Mondavi 1937: Earned an economics degree from Stanford University 1946: Returned from the Army following World War II to join his family’s business, Charles Krug Winery, which was purchased in 1943. Introduced cold fermentation techniques learned at UC Berkeley (graduate school) to the winery 1963: Introduced French oak barrels to the winery 1965: Named president of Charles Krug Winery 1989: Named one of the 12 Living Legends in Napa Valley wine history by Napa Valley Vintners 1999: Led the effort to replant Charles Krug’s vineyards; following the 10-year effort, now all 850 acres are farmed sustainably 2009: Received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Napa Valley vintners from the California State Fair 2011: Honored by Governor Jerry Brown, along with the legacy of Charles Krug Winery, with a proclamation for his contributions to the wine industry; honored by congress (along with his winery) in the Congressional Record 2014: Reaches age 100

Special Wine Issue 2014

Northbaybiz 11

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Work/Life/Wine The Wineseum Is on Its Way

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bout four years ago, I was on the board of the Sonoma County Museum when it was looking to expand,” remembers Kings Hill Cellars’ Lindsay Austin. “We met with [developer] Hugh Futrell, who offered us space in the AT&T building downtown. But permits were too slow and we couldn’t take advantage of the space.

“At about the same time, the museum was contacted by long-time collector and antique dealer, Jim McCormick, who had a large amount of wine memorabilia that he wanted to donate. We looked around and realized there was no museum in the state dedicated to our rich wine culture. It was a golden opportunity.”

With McCormick’s vast collection as a starting point and Futrell’s promise of a home, Austin took on the California Wine Museum project and began enlisting a board of directors to guide the vision. Today, the Wineseum (as it’s recently been rebranded) is on track for a 2015 opening, with Austin serving as board president.

“It became clear, in our discussions with business and community leaders, local schools and universities, as well as

the wine industry, that we needed to become more than just an exhibits-and-history museum. Today, people want things to be more experiential and hands-on,” he continues. “So that’s our new goal.”

Moving forward, with a capital campaign to begin in early 2015, the Wineseum plans to offer multiple ways for visitors to interact and learn, including classes, events, tours and, of course, tastings and pairings. “I envision it like an Exploratorium for Wine,” says Austin. “There’ll always be something new to see, taste or do—so locals will want to be part of it. Plus it will explain the rich history of the whole state’s wine culture, so visitors can use it as a jumping off point for their explorations of the area.” wineseum.org

Napa Valley Rocks

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y the time your read this, Napa Valley will have rocked the last weekend of September with events that ran Thursday through Sunday and featured top chefs and vintners, community gatherings, a half marathon and a concert at Napa Valley Expo dubbed “Napa Rocks!” that featured Michael Franti and Spearhead, Afrolicious and Grass Child. It was all made possible by the community coming together to offer their time, talent and resources to support those affected by the August 24 earthquake via the Napa Valley Community Relief Fund. A true example of what being part of a community is all about.

The Giving Tree The Whistler Tree is the most productive cork oak tree on record.

It grows in the Alentejo region of Portugal and is more than 230 years old. Harvested on a nine-year cycle, in 2009, it’s last harvest yielded enough cork for 100,000 bottles. As a comparison, the average cork oak produces material for about 4,000 bottles per harvest.

Named for the countless songbirds that occupy its dense canopy, the Whistler Tree is in excellent condition and is well on its way to produce a total lifetime Source: thehill.com production of more than 1 million corks.

Special Wine Issue 2014

Northbaybiz 13

San Rafael – June 2000 Anderson Dr.

Petaluma – April 2001

San Rafael – March 2007 Mill St.

Santa Rosa – January 1994

We Listen. We Promise. We Deliver.

Windsor – November 2010

G&C Auto Body has been owned and operated by the Crozat family since 1972, but founder Gene Crozat started repairing cars in the US Air Force in 1961. Gene and his wife, Teri, attribute much of their success to their four children, sons Shawn, Josh and Patrick, and daughter Jamie. “Between them, they run the overall operation and live the business,” says Gene. “We are all in the people pleasing business and it shows; G&C Auto Body has grown from the one location to ten (five of them opening in the last three years)”.

At G&C Auto Body, we believe in world-class quality, world-class image, world-class equipment and better than world-class employees. G&C stores are open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and Saturday 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. We have more than 125 replacement vehicles, so you can get a late model or new rental car plus half the rental reimbursement in cash paid back to you. Customer appreciation cash rebates are also available if you make arrangements in writing prior to repair.

If we can’t give you a top-quality paint match, we’ll paint your entire car for free. All repairs— body and paint—are guaranteed for 100 years or until you sell the car. We guarantee that if we can’t get your car back to factory specs or better, G&C Auto Body will buy your car back for high book plus tax and license.

That’s why more smushed cars are repaired at G&C Auto Body than at any other shop in Northern California. G&C Auto Body has been selected as one of the top ten shops in the United States by Auto Body Repair News, a national trade magazine, for three years running. We look forward to serving you at one of our 10 locations in the North Bay.

G&C Auto Body is an ABRN 2011 s 2012 s 2013 Top Ten Shop

Novato – February 2011

Rohnert Park – October 2011

Ukiah – May 2012

Fairfield– June 2012

Santa Rosa 707-525-3520 San Rafael 415-455-8880

Petaluma 707-762-7556 Windsor 707-473-9620

Rohnert Park 707-585-8400 Ukiah 707-468-9375

Novato 415-883-2666 Fairfield 707-425-1600

San Rafael 415-457-7855 Vacaville 707-449-9358

Vacaville – June 24th

Work/Life/Wine Wine into Water

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hen Dave Stare, founder of Dry Creek Vineyard and current president of Rohnert Park’s Global Partners for Development (GPFD), developed Vineyards to Villages a little more than a year ago, he first reached out to large wineries like Korbel and Gallo. His goal was to bring clean, accessible water, sanitation facilities and hygiene education to children in a dry, poor area of Kenya. More recently, GPFD’s Associate Director Amy Holter worked with him to reach out to smaller wineries by creating the V2V Wine Trail.

Through this effort, 10 high-end wineries in northern Sonoma County each offer a V2V wine, where 50 percent of proceeds are directly donated to fund water systems in the Kabando Constituency (KC) of Kenya. Winery participants include Dom Whitney Wines, Deux Amis Winery, Merriam Vineyards, Christopher Creek Winery, Viszlay Vineyards, de La Montanya Winery, Williamson Wines, Hawley Winery, Wilson Winery and Fritz Underground Winery.

Participants can follow this self-guided wine trail (tasting fees are often waived for V2V tasters) to support the cause, called KC WASH, and gather some excellent wine at the same time. “We even have some die-hards who’ve made it their goal to visit all 10 wineries and go to a few every time they come to Wine Country,” says Holter. You can contact her at aholter@gpfd.org or (252) 717-3874 to set up tastings or get further information on the project. And if you don’t want to drive yourself along the trail, GPFD has partnered with Tesla Tours & Transportation to help you get around for a good cause. gpfd.org/vineyards-to-villages

Special Wine Issue 2014

Getting into The Spirit

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It hasn’t gone unnoticed at NorthBay biz that there seems to be a growing trend of wineries getting into the spirits production game. And why not? With all the specialty spirits producers’ recent success, it’s a smart move.

We all know E&J Gallo has been making brandy for years, but did you know the same company offers gin, tequila and vodka as well? Charbay has also led the pack with its many kinds of vodkas, and now rum, brandy, whiskey and tequila are on the menu. Lancaster Estate makes Roth vodka (from grapes) and Guy Davis of Davis Family Vineyards has been producing his Appleation brandy for years. J Vineyards & Winery makes delicious pear liqueur, and Foley Family Wines purchased Lighthouse gin this past June, the same month Trinchero Family Estates launched its Ménage à Trois line of vodkas. Word’s out that there are others with spirits up their sleeves—we can hardly wait to see what turns up next.

Peju Says Congratulations!

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ooking for a special way to congratulate your LinkedIn colleagues and friends when they reach a special milestone?

Peju Winery and Attention Span’s “The Congratulator,” the first business-gifting platform that leverages LinkedIn’s Developer Platform, have partnered to make it easy.

The application (http://peju.congrats.li) shows who’s marked a special occasion and, once you choose the recipient, offers a curated set of gift options. The first is a choice of three different Peju wines. Then with just a few clicks, the gift is on its way and you’ll feel great knowing you’ll be a part of the moment in a memorable way.

Says Attention Span CEO Josh McHugh, “Peju Winery’s adventurous and innovative approach to the wine business makes it the perfect launch partner.”

Payment is accepted via Bitcoin and major credit cards, and 10 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief efforts. Visit attentionspan.com or www.peju.com for more information.

Northbaybiz 15

We’re here to meet key business needs: yours.

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Put our knowledge to work for you. Because while your wines ǡ ϐ ǯ Ǥ Napa (707) 255-1059 | Santa Rosa (707) 527-0800 W W W. M O S S A D A M S . C O M / W I N E

Work/Life/Wine Sonoma County Sustainability Initiative

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n January 2014, Sonoma County Winegrowers (SCW), in partnership with Sonoma County Vintners (SCV), announced an ambitious goal to make Sonoma County the first 100 percent sustainable winegrowing region in the United States by 2019. “Sustainability has been an important part of our winegrowers’ vineyard practices for generations, and we felt strongly about putting a stake in the ground to show our

commitment to preserving agriculture in Sonoma County,” says Karissa Kruse, SCW president.

As an early step, SCW hired longtime winegrowing veteran Robert LaVine as sustainability manager to oversee its efforts and work side-by-side with growers to become certified. “We’re taking a triplebottom line approach to sustainability that considers impact on the environment, people

Support for SSU

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onoma State University’s Wine Business Institute (WBI) has, since its founding in 1996, carved a niche as the first academic program in the United States to offer degrees focused exclusively on the business aspects of the wine industry. Last year, more than 600 people from around the country studied at the institute, and professionals from a dozen countries have participated in its online programs.

Local businesses tied to the wine industry have long supported WBI, but a few recent donations are making it possible for the longterm vision of a dedicated facility on the SSU campus to move closer to reality. In July, Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator magazine, announced a $3 million gift to the university, through the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation, to support construction of WBI’s new on-campus home, which will be named the Wine Spectator Learning Center.

In September, Young’s Market Company, a fine wine and spirits distributor based in California, made a $250,000 gift that will support completion of the Industry Boardroom at the new Wine Spectator Learning Center.

Construction of the entire facility is expected to begin in late 2015, with completion projected for 2016.

Robert LaVine and the economic viability of the business,” he says. “Transparency is vital to our success, which is why we’re only accepting programs that include third party certification, such as the Code of Sustainable Winegrowing.”

Since making the announcement, SCW has garnered national attention and built tremendous momentum. Most of the county’s AVAs have committed resources toward ensuring they reach this goal. This fall, SCW will roll out a groundbreaking national advertising campaign to educate consumers on what it means to farm sustainably.

Everything in Moderation

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he ancient Greeks had a wine glass to ensure the drinker’s moderation.

If wine was poured above a certain level, the cup spilled its entire contents out of the bottom. It’s most often known as a “Pythagoras cup,” because its invention is credited to the great Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras of Samos, best known for the Pythagorean theorem, which I’m sure we all remember from high school Source: skullsinthestars.com algebra.

Special Wine Issue 2014

Northbaybiz 17

Silverado Resort and Spa’s mansion, built in the late 1800s, is the resort’s centerpiece.

18 Northbaybiz

Special Wine Issue 2014

Westside Road’s Pinot Pioneer After five decades in the business, famed wine producer Davis Bynum has few regrets.

By Jean Saylor Doppenberg

“I

Davis Bynum (left) with winemaker Greg Morthole, who oversees Davis Bynum wines (now produced at Rodney Strong Vineyards), tasting the 2013 Davis Bynum Chardonnay from the River West vineyard, as it was being readied for bottling. [Duncan Garrett Photography]

Special Wine Issue 2014

t’s hard to believe that my next birthday will be my 90th,” says Davis Bynum, shaking his head.

“I can think back about 50 years ago, wondering whether I’d even make it to the millennium or not. Now I begin to wonder if I’ll make it to the next millennium.”

The man whose name became synonymous with premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Russian River Valley retired in 2007 after five decades of making wine, when he sold his label to the Klein family, owner of Rodney Strong Vineyards. Six months later, the Westside Road property Bynum had purchased in 1973 was acquired by another family, the Bakers. They renamed the property Thomas George Estates and made significant upgrades to the facilities.

Yet the Davis Bynum label continues to thrive, with three varietals––Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc–– produced and bottled by Rodney Strong under the watchful eye of winemaker Greg Morthole.

Over a recent lunch of salmon cakes washed down with the crisp, citrusy Sauvignon Blanc that bears his name, Bynum reminisced about his adventures in the wine business and how his pioneering moxie brought fame and fortune to Sonoma County’s Westside Road, a place he once humorously dubbed “the Rodeo Drive of Pinot Noir.”

Northbaybiz 19

Home winemaking Bynum grew up in Southern California, the son of a California historian who was also a wine writer and wine judge. “I learned about wine mainly through my father,” he says.

“Then, when I became interested in making wine on my own, I learned by reading some university extension pamphlets.” But before entering the wine business full-time, Bynum attended Stanford University, served his country in World War II, earned a degree from UC Berkeley and became a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle.

With their shared interest in wine, Bynum and his father frequently traveled to Northern California wineries, and Bynum’s first winery visit was to Charles Krug in St. Helena in 1950. A year later, he returned to Krug to see about buying some grapes—and came face-to-face with Robert Mondavi.

“I had a friend named Rogers whose family owned a wonderful old winery on Spring Mountain, and I was up there with him one day when we decided we wanted to make wine, even though we’d never done it,” recalls Bynum with a smile. “My friend

said, ‘Let’s go see Bob Mondavi, I know him.’

So off we went to Charles Krug, and we arrived right as a truck pulled in with boxes of Petite Sirah grapes stacked five high.”

Robert Mondavi, who was running Krug at the time, walked out to the truck to record the delivery, and Bynum and his friend approached him about buying some of the grapes. “Mondavi told us to just a grab a box off the truck and he’d figure out the price,” says Bynum. “He was gone for 10 or 15 minutes and came back and said, ‘You owe me $1.80. Anything else?’ We said, ‘Yeah, how do you make wine?’ He said, ‘Talk to the guy in the truck, he’s a home winemaker.’”

“Mondavi told us to just a grab a box off the truck and he’d figure out the price.”

—Davis Bynum While working for the Chronicle a few years later, Bynum visited Sebastiani Vineyards around harvest time to research an article. “I was having lunch with August Sebastiani and told him I was a home winemaker and that I’d run short of Cabernet to fill my barrels. He asked how much I needed, and I said about three more

20 Northbaybiz

Special Wine Issue 2014

boxes. He told me to come back the next day when their Cabernet was being picked.

So I took my kids along the next morning, but there were no grapes. August said, ‘Oh, my goodness, they’ve crushed them already.

Let’s go get some.’ So August went with us into the vineyards and he helped us pick.”

Bynum recalls being impressed that large winery owners such as Mondavi and Sebastiani would take the time to personally him help out. “I can’t see that happening today, especially at the big places,” he says.

“When I had my winery, I never would have had the time to do that—and I didn’t run a big winery.”

From Albany to St. Helena Bynum made the leap beyond home winemaking in 1965, when he started a winery in a warehouse in Albany, not far from Berkeley, where he was living at the time. “I used to get bulk wine from the Pedroncellis and others back then,” he says.

“The first Chardonnay I produced was from three or four barrels I bought from them, took back to Albany and bottled. But I’d buy grapes from all over.”

Inspectors with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were a thorn in Bynum’s side in Albany, dropping by the winery at least twice per year to scrutinize his records. “They had a lot fewer wineries to inspect back then, and they could make it miserable for you,” he says, referring to the late 1960s.

“One day, this was probably 1968, I’d been at Pedroncelli to buy grapes and came back to Albany. I was driving past my winery and there was a car that I recognized as the BATF inspector’s. I knew I wasn’t ready for an inspection so I just kept on going,” he laughs. “I came back about an hour later and he was gone. So I spent the rest of the day making sure my records were in order, because I knew he’d be back the next day.”

In 1971, Bynum purchased a 26-acre vineyard in St. Helena. “It was right on Highway 29, where Whitehall Lane Winery is now. I bought it for $120,000 from an interesting guy named Lou who’d been in the [Napa] valley forever. It didn’t have very distinguished grapes, just some Veltliner and some Petite Sirah, and about three acres of Charbono, which I really liked. Lou told me I should sell the Charbono as Barbera, because I’d get more money for it.”

When Bynum bought the St. Helena vineyard, he’d maxed out capacity at the Special Wine Issue 2014

A Vintage Life January 2, 1925

: Davis Bynum is born in Southern California. “I missed the new year by one hour and 20 minutes,” he says with a laugh.

1940-1950:

Bynum attended Stanford University before joining the Army during World War II and serving in Europe. He met his future wife, Dorothy, in 1943, then enrolled at UC Berkeley, where she was a student. After the war, Bynum went to work as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. Accompanied by his father, Bynum visited his first winery, Charles Krug in St. Helena, in 1950.

1951: To make his first batch of homemade wine, Bynum bought a box of Petite Sirah grapes directly from Robert Mondavi, who was running Charles Krug Winery at the time.

1955:

Bynum crushed one ton of bulk winegrapes for his first significant bottling. He continued working at his “day job” in journalism while perfecting home winemaking skills in his spare time.

1965:

Bynum turned a warehouse space in Albany into a small winery and began buying bulk winegrapes from growers throughout Northern California.

1971: Outgrowing and overtaxing his Albany facility after crushing 40 tons of grapes, Bynum bought a 26-acre vineyard along Highway 29 south of St. Helena for $120,000, and made plans to rehabilitate an abandoned winery in downtown St. Helena on Railroad Avenue. He eventually decided both projects were a poor fit for his goals and began looking for a place to start a winery in Sonoma County.

1973:

When an 84-acre property along Sonoma County’s Westside Road came on the market, Bynum snatched it up for a reported $115,000. He converted a hop kiln and a hops processing room onsite into a winery and began renovating the property.

1973:

Using grapes grown by Joe Rochioli, Bynum bottled a single-vineyard designated Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, the first vintner to do so. Russian River Valley, which was quickly becoming renowned for its cool microclimates that produce excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, would not be recognized as an official American Viticultural Area (AVA) for another 10 years.

1974:

Gary Farrell joined Davis Bynum Winery as an intern and was named winemaker six years later. He eventually went on to open his own winery.

1980s-1990s: Davis Bynum Winery distinguished itself as a highend producer of fine Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines, eventually ramping up production to approximately 30,000 cases per year.

2007:

Davis Bynum announced his intention to retire and sell both his brand and his Westside Road property. Tom Klein, the owner of Rodney Strong Vineyards, purchased the brand with plans to continue bottling Pinot Noir and Chardonnay under the Davis Bynum label.

2008: The Davis Bynum Winery property on Westside Road was sold to the Baker family of Canada, who embarked on a major upgrade of the winery’s facilities and vineyards.

2014: Rodney Strong’s production of Davis Bynum wines averages 23,000 cases.

Northbaybiz 21

Albany facility and had begun looking for a larger place. “I tried to rehabilitate an old winery in downtown St. Helena on Railroad Avenue,� he remembers. “I spent a lot of time and money working on it, but the St. Helena city council shot me down for a use permit because they said they didn’t want all those grape trucks going through town.�

Then he tried to get a permit for the vineyard itself, but was pressured to pay for an environmental impact report ďŹ rst. “I didn’t have enough money for an EIR; they’re expensive,â€? says Bynum. “So then there was a petition [for an EIR] going around, signed by something like 200 people. I swear, if I’d climbed the highest tree and looked around, I couldn’t see 200 people from our vineyard, so I just thought, ‘To hell with it.’ My friend Howard Allen said, ‘Why don’t you come over here [to Sonoma County]?’ Coincidentally, a realtor called me a month later and said he had a place on Westside Road we might be interested in. So we looked at it and bought it.â€?

Taking a chance on Pinot Bynum found the Westside Road neighborhood much friendlier than St.

Meeting Ansel Adams

I

n 1943, Davis Bynum met his future wife, Dorothy, when he was on a furlough from the Army recovering from pneumonia. “She worked summers for Ansel Adams at his photography studio in Yosemite while going to college,� says Bynum, whose father was a friend of Adams’.

That summer, Bynum lived with the Adams family for a week. “Ansel’s wife, Virginia, was very anxious for Dorothy and me to get together, and she played matchmaker.� Bynum then enrolled at Berkeley, “because that’s where Dorothy lived and where she was going to school.�

Helena, mostly by default. “Nobody wanted us to leave Westside Road, because there were no people there to complain,â€? he chuckles. “Davis Bynum was the ďŹ rst winery on Westside [in 1972], then I think Mill Creek was the next one, and then Hop Kiln. There was a building already on our property, even though it was in terrible shape. It had been the most modern hop kiln in the county, built just about the time the hops business went bottoms up. The main problem was the physical condition of the property and getting it ready to crush fresh grapes.

Meeting payroll was also a challenge.�

In the early 1970s, Bynum says, not many winegrapes were being planted in west Sonoma County, because it was considered too cold. “There were some grapes, but usually the wrong kind for the climate, so they were high in acid. My friend Howie Allen was very interested in Pinot Noir and he thought the Russian River Valley climate was perfect for it. Joseph Swan planted Pinot in 1967, and Joe Rochioli did it in 1968. Joe planted a fair amount of it, but not a great amount.� Rochioli planted Chardonnay on the benchland and Pinot on the hills in the Allen Vineyard, according to Bynum.

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Special Wine Issue 2014

“Joe was selling his Pinot to Martini & Prati Winery to go into its bulk wine––what they called ‘mixed black’ then––and he was getting $150 per ton for these beautiful Pinot grapes,” Bynum remembers. “I told him we’d pay more, $350 per ton the first year. All of a sudden, there were a lot of Pinot grapes available, but nobody was making it into wine. So for a while, I got all of Joe’s Pinot and more, and then Williams-Selyem Winery came along and offered him more money. By the time we sold the property [in 2007], we were paying $4,500 per ton for Russian River Pinot.” (Winemaker Morthole says today’s price is closer to $6,000.)

In 1973, with Pinot Noir grapes grown

by Rochioli, Bynum became the first to bottle a single-vineyard Russian River Valleydesignated wine. “And in those early days, we started getting a lot of people coming in and asking if we had a tasting room, because they wanted to buy the wine,” recalls Bynum. “I’d say, ‘Sure!’ So we rigged up a tasting room.”

Guy Davis of Davis Family Vineyards in Healdsburg says Davis Bynum was a big influence on him.

farmed that way from the beginning. “We didn’t have any idea that was unusual at the time,” he says. “Then my son, Hampton,

“Davis [Bynum] knew early on that the best way to get the expression of Russian River Valley was by approaching the soil as the first living thing in the process, not just the vine.” —Guy Davis Bynum and Morthole understand what the late winemaking innovator André Tchelistcheff meant when he remarked, “Any fool can make Cabernet, but only a fool would attempt to make Pinot Noir,“ and “God made Cabernet Sauvignon, whereas the devil made Pinot Noir.“ “Yes, I think André was right,“says Bynum. “Cabernet has great big bunches that are easy to pick and you get a ton of grapes in no time at all. But Pinot grapes are smaller and in small bunches. Cabernet sort of makes itself, Pinot doesn’t.“ Morthole concurs: “I’d absolutely say you can neglect Cabernet in the vineyard a little, and even in the winery a little––but you don’t, of course. And if Cabernet gets a little too much air, it’s not a big deal. But Pinot, if it gets a little air, forget it.”

A quiet leader Bynum had been interested in organic farming and gardening since he was a young man, so the vineyards at his winery were Special Wine Issue 2014

went through the whole process of getting organic certification status, and we had to pay $1,200 per year for that. After three years of paying, I said, ‘What am I doing this for? I’ve always farmed this way.’ So we dropped the certification.”

Guy Davis, owner and winemaker at Davis Family Vineyards in Healdsburg, considers Bynum to be one of the five most influential people in his own career and his deep connection to Pinot Noir. “Davis always had a passion for the sense of place in Russian River Valley, emphasizing the unique microclimates and how the fog comes up the river,” he says. “That’s all common knowledge now, but Davis knew early on that the best way to get the expression of Russian River Valley was by approaching the soil as the first living thing in the process, not just the vine. I still borrow thoughts from Davis today when I’m talking to sommeliers and viticulture students. He has always been a quiet leader, just by the example of how he conducts himself.”

Northbaybiz 23

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A Simple Business Calculation

D

avis Bynum learned a simple calculation from Louis Martini many years ago. “Louis told me that the way to go about pricing wine is, if you pay $200 per ton for the grapes, charge $2 per gallon if sold in bulk, and $2 per bottle. That formula worked pretty well for me.

But today if you pay $5,000 for a ton, then you charge $50 for a gallon bulk and $50 per bottle.”

When he first started the Westside Road winery, “My whole concept was to produce a reasonably priced, better wine, ideally not charging more than $15 for a bottle,” says Bynum.

“But you couldn’t pay $5,000 for a ton of grapes and then sell the wine for $15. So we had a couple of Pinots we sold for $50 per bottle. I also got talked into charging $75 once for a limited edition. One day, when the tasting room was busy, I stopped to help out and I poured some of the limited edition for a guy. He wanted to know how much it was and I told him $75 per bottle. He said, ‘I’ll take two cases.’ I said, ‘You will?’ So, yes, we sold some $75 bottles at one time, but I still didn’t like it.”

At its peak, Davis Bynum Winery employed a staff of 12, along with seasonal part-timers. In the late 1980s, the winery was producing as many as 30,000 cases annually. By the time Bynum sold the brand seven years ago, production had decreased to between 12,000 and 14,000 cases.

Today, production is back up to around 23,000 cases, says Morthole, who was named winemaker for the Davis Bynum label in 2010. When they purchased the brand, the Kleins stated they’d focus on producing only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but Morthole lobbied to get Sauvignon Blanc added back into the Davis Bynum portfolio. “We now make about 10,000 cases of the Chardonnay, 10,000 cases of the Pinot Noir and about 1,500 cases of Sauvignon Blanc,” he adds.

Selling his namesake brand to the right buyer was vitally important to Bynum. “I’ve known some people who sold their winery and brand and later were really unhappy with what the new owners did to the wine.

On the other hand, I’m very happy with what the Kleins are doing to our wine. They’ve just been terrific. I was very glad to sell to a family and not to a big corporation. Greg has been kind enough to let me taste the wines, and I was really pleased with that first tank of Sauvignon Blanc he had. Greg was trying to figure out whether or not to bottle it, and I told him, ‘Bottle it!’”

In retirement, Bynum and his wife, Virginia, live near Healdsburg Plaza and enjoy strolling the square. “Thankfully, I’m in good shape and I walk into town usually every day,” he says. “I also do a lot of gardening. I grow vegetables and begonias, that’s mostly what I do. And I’ve been fortunate that the Kleins have wanted me to go on trips to help promote Davis Bynum wines, and also fortunate to taste the wines out of the tank with Greg.”

Returning to his home winemaking roots was an activity Bynum had intended to pursue when he retired. “I made some wine the first year I sold the winery, when we still lived out on Westside Road, but I don’t have space where I live now.”

Few regrets To start a winery today, doesn’t a person need to be very well capitalized? “I’m not sure that’s true, but you do have to be stupid,” Bynum answers with a laugh.

“People used to ask me how to get into the wine business and I’d tell them to keep their day jobs. But I didn’t. I think it’s still possible today to do what I did. I just started buying bulk wine from wineries and making my own blends and bottling.”

But if Bynum had to do it all over again, he’d do it differently. “Dick Hafner of Hafner Vineyards is an old friend of mine and was my next-door neighbor in Berkeley. He got into the wine business here with the idea that he’d do it all direct. He has a mailing list for retail sales, not a tasting room, and his son sells directly to restaurants. I think I’d go more in that direction, because when you get into the distribution of wine, it cuts your profits. Any profit I made was made in the tasting room.”

Still, Bynum feels lucky that he survived 43 years in the wine business. “I enjoyed farming grapes and making wine. It was a life choice I never regretted.”

Jean Saylor Doppenberg, CTA, is the author of three books: Food Lovers’ Guide to Sonoma, Food Lovers’ Guide to Napa Valley, and Insiders’ Guide to California’s Wine Country. X Please email comments to editor@northbaybiz.com

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When you’ve been in the wine business this long, you have a few tales to tell.

26 Northbaybiz

Special Wine Issue 2014

By Bonnie Durrance

T

oday, when you prepare to lift a glass of world-renowned Napa Valley Cabernet or Russian River Pinot Noir—or any of the other wines that have made this area famous—the image that comes to mind, while you stare at the glamorous label, probably isn’t that of a sweaty farmer with $20 in his pocket, holding a worried 4-year-old, pacing by the side of a broken down pick-up truck loaded with a ton of grapes, already late for his first big high-dollar sale of $125 for the lot.

Nor does your imagination likely conjure a vineyard owner working into the night, tearing out acres of vines to make way for an experimental new varietal his neighbors will laugh at.

Nor might you picture a rumpled, 1890s pioneer proceeding through customs with a precious cargo of dry twigs from a famous vineyard in France. Even less would you be imagining a set of cells, bubbling around in a Petri dish. Yet all of these images are part of the story behind the 2014 harvest, which is a tale of land, farming, community, science—and change.

The Bacigalupi family (John is on the far right) at their vineyard on Westside Road [Photo by Bonnie Durrance]

Special Wine Issue 2014

Northbaybiz 27

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The preferred crop was prunes “In the late 1960s, when I was six, seven, eight or 10 years old, there were children and families along this road,” says John Bacigalupi (the name means “kiss of the wolf,” in Italian). His vineyard, on Westside Road in Healdsburg, is a rich tapestry of vines curving over the hills and deep oak woods leading down to the Russian River.

His father, Charles, bought the ranch in 1956 with money he made as a local dentist.

They farmed a variety of things like apples and prunes, but the prime land went to the orchards; the vineyards were left to the hills.

Grapes weren’t that important at the time.

The hope was they’d pay for the property tax.

In the old days, says Bacigalupi, vineyard and winery practices were crude compared to today. “You’d be out there picking at two, three or four o’clock in the afternoon, sweat pouring down, the fruit hotter than hell, and dumping it into steel bins,” he remembers.

He shakes his head imagining the acid of the grapes eating into the steel. “I used to go to Seghesio’s winery with my dad [to deliver grapes]. It was very social. You went around back and they had a big building on the left side filled with tanks and it was cool. They had a little table and some chairs, and a jug of white and jug of red, so if you had to wait, you could have a glass of wine. It took time, because everybody had to dump their boxes on that conveyor.”

On a rare mid-morning break, he is relaxing on his tasting room patio, gazing at the vines on the hillside, smiling at the memory. “Everything was all either steel or wood. And you’d just dump the grapes in.

If you had reds on one truck they went into the red bin; whites all went into the white bin.” It all went to Gallo.

Quality calls In 1959, when he returned from the Army, Joe Rochioli, Jr., joined his dad farming the land on Westside Road that his father had bought 1937. “We had vineyards on the hills, hops on the bottom. I used to help prune the vines,” he says.

When it came time to attend college, he chose Cal Poly, where he could “learn by doing” everything involved with farming.

There, he became aware of the great French wines and how they were farmed for exclusiveness. Here, he remembers, everyone was going for volume. “I realized we couldn’t compete [in tonnage] with Special Wine Issue 2014

Sacramento Valley or San Joaquin Valley— they were getting 15 tons to the acre, and we were getting two. So I said, ‘If we’re going to survive in the grape industry, we have to go for quality.’”

In 1959, he took his father to UC Davis to study the experimental rows of Sauvignon Blanc. Rochioli’s dad liked them because they had a big crop and agreed to plant some. When Joe went back by himself to get the cuttings, the grapes were ripe; he tasted grapes from all 12 rows and found one that was outstanding: “They had a dried fig flavor. I didn’t know if it was good or bad, but I took all my cuttings from that one row.” He laughs thinking back.

“They’ve won us medals,” he says proudly. “Some of those vines are still in there.”

The Bacigalupi family has been farming grapes on Westside Road since 1956. [Photo by Bonnie Durrance]

In 1963, Joe Rochioli helped form the Northcoast Grape Growers Association, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, so grape growers could have a united voice against the monopoly of buyers.

The dream of fine wines In the mid-1960s, everything was still going to Gallo. But one harvest, Rochioli actually got a decent offer for his new French Columbard grapes from Carl Wente. “At that time, Gallo was paying $85 per ton and Wente offered me $125. So I said I’d sell him some.

“I had an old truck that I loaded with grapes and said I’d be in Livermore by 5:00. This was in 1962 or ’63, when my son was about three or four years old. So we took off, and I had $20 in my pocket.”

When they got to Bayshore Highway in Berkeley, “Boom, we blew

a tire. I had the jack and the spare, but the jack wouldn’t lift the truck. I looked across the fence and saw a Good Year tire place. So I climbed the eight-foot fence, asked if they could loan me a jack, and they said, ‘Oh no, we don’t know you from a bale of hay.’ I had to drive a mile down the freeway to the off-ramp and double back on a set of four dual rear tires—of which one was dead flat.”

He finally got to Wente, where they were mad because he was late. But 30 days later, they paid him $125 for the ton. He hauled eight tons in all to them that year.

Joe Rochioli first began farming grapes with his father, Joe Sr., and was instrumental in helping give grape growers a united voice against monopoly buyers. [Photo by Bonnie Durrance]

Special Wine Issue 2014

Open contracts The business model, at the time, was controlled by Gallo. This meant growers delivered grapes to wineries and then waited until the end of the year to discover what Gallo would pay for them. This was financially hard. One of the wineries Rochioli delivered to was Martini Prati Wines, a bulk operation owned by Elmo Martini, a friend of the Rochioli family. “One day, we were all sitting around talking and I said, ‘Elmo, you have six growers here—really upset, top growers—and we’re concerned that we’re hauling you all these grapes and we don’t have a clue what we’re getting for them.’

“And he says, ‘Joe, you know how Julio is, eh? That’s the way they do business!’ And I says, ‘OK, tell you what I’ll do. I’ll take 20 cases of your wine, bring it home and drink it. Then, when I get through, I’ll tell you Northbaybiz 29

how much I’m going to pay you.’ Elmo says, ‘Oh that’s different!’ And I says, ‘It’s not different! Call Julio and tell them who we are, and tell them we’re mad!”

Rochioli, a big, powerful man, made an imposing case.

“So Elmo calls Julio, and Julio says, ‘Well, maybe we’ll go $100 per ton this year—if the quality’s good.’” Rochioli was thinking to himself that if the crop was good, he should really be getting more, but Julio stuck to his word. “We had a beautiful crop of grapes, but we only got $100.”

In 1963, Rochioli helped form the Northcoast Grape Growers Association, encompassing Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino, so growers could have a united voice against the monopoly of buyers. It took years to get the “open contracts” practice changed.

Rochioli didn’t plant Pinot Noir until his dad died, in 1966. For a few years, watching his gorgeous grapes get dumped into the “red” bin with all the rest pained him, and he understood why his dad had resisted. But he held tight to his vision. “I used to brag about how nice and beautiful the grapes were, and they’d say, ‘You’re crazy! Why are

Masters of Clones

T

wo vineyards in Livermore, Wente and Concannon, both founded in

1833, supplied clones from France to Napa and Sonoma growers. Wente supplied Chardonnay and Concannon supplied Cabernet Sauvignon. The Wente Chardonnay clone formed the basis of the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that won the 1973 Paris Tasting, and a block of it stil grows in the Bacigalupe vineyards in Healdsburg.

The Concannon clone is a mainstay in Cabernet planting.

According to Professor M. Andrew Walker, Louis P. Martini Endowed Chair in Viticulture, “There are now more than 86,000 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon in California and the three forms of the ‘Concannon clone’ are likely to be the most widely planted.”

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Petaluma Office Ryan Cheda, Therese Avilla 1345 Redwood Way , Petaluma, CA 94954 ÇäÇ Ç { xäÊUÊÇäÇ Ç { ÇÎÊv>Ý Special Wine Issue 2014

you planting that stuff?’ And I’d say, ‘Some day it’ll work out.’” He smiles. “I knew I had beautiful grapes.”

Bazillionaire Buys Napa Property for Winery

made us victims of our own success. As my mother said, ‘There’s something good and not-so-good in everything that happens.’”

Before Napa Valley was Napa Valley Farming for distinction and health In Napa Valley’s awakening wine culture, If you should be so fortunate as to find Robert Mondavi was the pied piper of yourself in Carneros, in a Polaris Ranger 4x4, quality. bouncing through the Hyde Vineyards with “He mentored me, he mentored grower Larry Hyde, you may find that what everybody,” says Frank Farella, founder looks to the untrained eye like a sea of green of Farella Vineyards in Coombsville and is really a complex quilt of distinctive blocks o, this isn’t a story from today’s founding partner of Farella, Braun + Martel of deliberately laid out vines, all with different news about “big money” LLP, the San Francisco and Napa law firm that pedigrees, planted in different years, with threatening Napa Valley’s character. specializes in the wine business. “In ’76, it different preferences for sun and exposure, This is how the venerable Chateau was much different,” he says. “Very familyand all with different outcomes in the glass.

Montelena, which put Napa Valley on oriented and fraternal. I remember when I Hyde, who’s been farming his 200 gently the world’s wine map via the 1976 started making wine first as a hobby. I could hilly Carneros acres since 1979, has a story Judgment at Paris tasting, came to be. always find people like Mondavi or Phelps for each row—about its genetic identity, “It was built by a tycoon,” laughs when I needed something, like topping wine; when it was planted, why the row was laid Bo Barrett, with twinkling blue eyes, they’d give me a demijohn, or they would in a particular direction, why the plants are whose family has owned and operated provide lab help to analyze the wine. It was spaced the way they are. He’ll point out the chateau since the early ’70s. a very generous place, largely inhabited with which rows are planted with the vines too “Alfred Tubbs was a rope magnate families working the vineyards and making far apart, which are too close together, and in San Francisco. He was the guy their wines. which are just right. He’ll tell you this makes from outside of Napa Valley. He “The owner landscape is changing, with a difference in the vines and therefore the didn’t know anything about growing many of the wine assets owned by public grapes. “When you run the vines with the grapes or making wine. He put in all companies, lifestyle owners and a growing road, you have maximal solar exposure,” he these fancy vineyards, got a fancy number of financial firms,” he continues. says. “When the vines are laid east-west, you winemaker and he built this fancy “It’s become more similar to a business have minimal exposure to the afternoon sun. pants winery. That was 1882.” model. The wine business is no longer In Carneros, you want the maximum heat Barrett shrugs and asks, simple. It’s challenging and economically exposure to ripen the Cabernet. For Pinot rhetorically, how he can criticize new demanding because of the capital Noir and Chardonnay, you want something money coming in when that’s what requirements and the international character in between.” He motors his way through the built Chateau Montelena, more than of the industry.” rows and stops.

100 years ago.

Like many residents in the valley, Farella “This block, planted in 2000, was planted is disturbed about the announcements of with climate change in mind,” he says. “So many huge new incoming wineries. “Water shortages, the push to you see smaller vines and more solar exposure in the center of the expand winery infrastructure and the need to protect our agricultural vine. The row is planted compass north-south, which gives morning character are great concerns. The traffic situation in the valley has and afternoon sun evenly. The vines are smaller and closer together, which gives more solar exposure in the center of the vine.”

He says he’s been experimenting with spacing and direction since 1999, and it takes about 10 years to see if what he did is good.

You might wonder what kind of personality it takes to work that long-term. “It takes a lot of patience,” he says, barely audibly, over the sound of the motor, with ever so slight a smile.

He says he fights pests, like the European Grapevine Moth, which showed up in Napa County in 2009, by Larry Hyde patrols his Carneros vineyards with his German Shepherds (above); with his wife, Beta (right). introducing parasitic wasps and other beneficial insects.

N

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Siskel and Ebert talked about movies. Clark Wolf and Marcy Smothers talk about food. Clark, restaurant expert and consultant, banters with Marcy, food explorer and homecooker.

Marcy Sm others

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bacterial pathogens, and the end result in And he points to flowers, planted in between terms of physical quality. This knowledge every fourth row, which are there to help the continues to help increase the standard of bees. He’s curious to see which flowers give plant material. the best tasting honey.

“So originally, a client would call and say, Driving through the rows, he suddenly ‘James, I have 10,000 vines coming in, come stops, scrutinizes a row of vines, and then and take a look at them and tell me what fumbles through his stacks of dusty vineyard you think. And I’d do that.’ Whereas today, maps for his iPhone. He dials while his two the client will call and say, ‘James, we want German shepherds race on after real or to order 10,000 vines. Please place the order imaginary hares and tells his foreman these for us and do whatever testing is required vines look thirsty. “How do you know?” I to make sure we get the very best plants ask, thinking they look just fine. “They’re not possible.’ I think my involvement has elevated putting out little shoots,” he says. Ah. Of the standard of plant material. Nurseries course. know there’s someone out there with the He stops again at a new, clean row of qualification to make a judgment whether a Chardonnay. He says he gave all his favorite plant is good or bad.” selections to UC Davis to “clean up,” and get rid of the viruses. He says they use a Tightening up the business method called Meriston-tip culture. Early in Contractual documents are far more the year, they take a few cells from the tip, sophisticated now than they were in the which is growing faster than the virus travels, ’70s,” says Farella. “We have clients who’ve and culture the clean cells in a Petri dish.

Sebastopol viticulturist Dr. James Stamp examines been small growers and small wineries Then they propagate the cells and the cells vineyards to ensure new plantings are disease-free. since the early days, and a lot of them had become a plant and they grow the virus-free [Photo by Bonnie Durrance] ‘handshake’ grape purchase agreements. plant—which is identical to the plant from Now it’s far more complex and formal—but necessarily so. which the tip was taken.

Hyde says he still enjoys doing it the old way, when he can. “One A virus called Red Blotch is currently forcing many growers to of our most fun contracts is with Dave Ramey,” who was described in destroy whole blocks of vines. This is an expensive and onerous proposition, so Hyde and many growers and wineries from throughout an article in International Wine Review Blog, as “one of a small tribe of scholar-winemakers who systematically research and experiment California call on Sebastopol viticulturist Dr. James Stamp to examine how to make better wine.” Hyde’s relationship with Ramey goes way their vineyards and ensure any new plantings are disease-free. back. “I’ve been selling him grapes since he was the winemaker at Simi, in the early ’80s,” says Hyde. We have a ‘forever’ contract with New focus on viruses him. We sit down every year and taste the last year’s wines and talk “In the ’70s, there was much more diversity,” says Stamp, “which about how much we want to stay in business with each other, and we was advantageous in reducing problems. So instead of acres and come to an agreement. Advantage can cut either way. I like that.” acres of grapevines, Sonoma County, for example, grew plums and hops in addition to grapevines.” There was less density, which Keeping the brand helped, too. “In those days, it was more like 1,000 vines per acre,” Is it possible to keep the sense of the family vineyards and wineries— he says. “Today, the average density of vines in Napa and Sonoma like all of the multi-generation, family-run businesses in this article— averages closer to 2,000 vines per acre.” intact?

In the late 1990s, growers were concerned Nancy Sands “It definitely is,” says Farella, “as there with a fungal pathogen called YoungByVine are still many family-owned properties Decline. However, since then, it’s become and large winery owners dedicated to the apparent that the presence of economically preservation of the agricultural soul of important viruses in grapevine planting stock Napa and Sonoma. You come to our family has contributed significantly to premature vineyard and winery by appointment, and decline of newly planted vineyards. In studies lones are cuttings from a my son, Tom, the winemaker, will take you undertaken from 2000 to 2010 (and first mother vine, grafted onto first into the vineyard. People love his stories reported in Wine Business Monthly, August a root stock, which results in and his passion for the vines and the wines.

2010), Stamp found that 26 percent of CDFA a new plant with the identical The Napa Valley Vintners and the Napa and certified stock—which is supposed to be traits as the mother plant. There Sonoma grapegrowers have done a great job virus-free—was in fact, contaminated with are thousands of varieties of in preserving their appellations and some of economically important viruses. grapevines selected, named and nature’s treasures.” X Over the last 15 years, he’s been able cultivated in this way. to document the difference between Source: UC Davis high-quality and poor-quality vines and Please email comments to editor@northbaybiz.com the relationship between fungal, viral and

Clones & Rootstock

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Special Wine Issue 2014

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During this drought emergency

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VineWise

As we started to host programs and seminars with industry people, growers finally began to show some interest and thought maybe I wasn’t crazy after all.

Sonoma County’s Agricultural Roots

By Richard L. Thomas

O

ur harvest issue is always exciting. Everyone can feel the electricity in the air, see the fruit flies flying and smell pomace all around town—at least if you live in Healdsburg, since we’re a town full of wineries. I never did like history in school, but now that I’m becoming history myself, I have a greater appreciation for it.

What’s happened over the last 45 years to our wonderful county?

Back in the early ’70s, when I first started teaching at Santa Rosa Junior College, the agriculture department was just getting started.

In 1973, Charlie Belden (dean of vocational education) and Steve Olson (agriculture department chairman) had the foresight to see that viticulture might just be an up-and-coming field that should be added to the curriculum. As their luck—and mine—would have it, I’d just received my master’s degree in viticulture from UC Davis. (A big thank you to Ruth Waltenspeil, who pushed me back to Davis.) It looked like a good fit and, as history shows, by golly, it was!

A look at agriculture in the county in the early ’70s showed 8,900 acres of apples, 15,284 acres of prunes, and only 12,597 acres of grapes. The grapes were old varieties, except for Zinfandel, which was just another red grape then and went into bulk wine to be sold to the big boys for blending. Sonoma County could have been in Alaska in those days as far as wine drinkers were concerned. There were also 49,000 head of cattle and 69,500 head of sheep to round out the diversity of agricultural production. The changes are quite evident as you look around today and only see 2,155 acres of apples, 29 acres of prunes and nearly 60,000 acres of grapes along with 29,000 cattle and 33,000 sheep.

What happened? Well let’s see: Prunes developed a shitty image (literally as well as figuratively); and local apples were dominated by one variety, the Gravenstein, which has a shelf life of about 20 minutes in a market wanting long shelf life and storability. Apple growers, being very stubborn (like most farmers), refused to try and keep up with the times by putting in newer varieties, adapt spacing, switching to dwarf or semi-dwarf varieties to lessen the use of ladders (dangerous and costly) and look at irrigation techniques. I happen to know all about this, since I continued to host seminars introducing all of these newfangled ideas. Since they’d rather fight than switch, they just sat back and watched the state of Washington eat their fresh market alive, while the canneries locally continued to process the local apples at very low prices. (Processed fruit always commands far less of a price than the fresh market.)

Special Wine Issue 2014

The cattle and sheep markets continued to dwindle due to urban encroachment and a bumper sticker that proclaimed “Eat lamb, 10,000 coyotes can’t be wrong!” Meanwhile, the prune growers finally saw the handwriting on the wall and started pulling out trees and replacing them with grapevines. Since we were basically neophytes in this new viticultural world, we had a very steep learning curve, which we navigated with varying levels of success for several years. (We’re still actually on it, if you want to know the truth.)

To our good fortune, we had a couple of good teachers right next door in Napa Valley with a lot more experience than we had, so we did a lot of copying. In hindsight, I’m sure we’d all agree that we made a lot of mistakes and are still fixing them. Probably the biggest mistake is improper varietal placement in the various areas within the county: Cabernet Sauvignon in the lower Russian River Valley and Pinot Noir in Alexander Valley. Originally, we stayed with some of the traditional spacings of 8 x 8 feet to 8 x 12 feet and used either no trellis (head-trained) or the standard at that time, the California sprawl.

In the late ’70s and early ’80s, I began to question the use of overhead irrigation for a multitude of reasons, including its inefficiency. We (at our SRJC farm) began tinkering with the new concept of drip irrigation. The Israelis had been doing it for years and perhaps it was about time to look at our wasteful practices.

So the first drip block (five acres) was donated by the industry and installed by my students. They knew they were on the ground floor of something great and loved it. As we started to host programs and seminars with industry people, growers finally began to show some interest and thought maybe I wasn’t crazy after all. There’s continued to be new innovations in the use of water—and nothing better than our current drought to bring it to the forefront.

OK, my beautiful editor says I’m out of space, so consider this part one and we’ll continue next issue with other SRJC innovations that are finally being adapted and helping make Sonoma County the premium wine producer in the world—and, of course, our neighbor to the east. In turning water into wine, we’re only taking our lessons from the Bible. Homework time: This is great time of year to try the really wonderful dry rosés being produced.

Rich Thomas is professor emeritus, director of viticulture, at Santa Rosa Junior College. He’s also a vineyard consultant in the North Coast. You can reach him at rthomas@northbaybiz.com.

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Hamel FamilyWines

By Christina Julian

M

y first exposure to Sonoma County’s Hamel Family Wines was no picnic. It was summer camp for grownups.

At Camp Hamel, which will repeat annually for wine club members (and others), the emphasis was on fun above all else, which, I learn, is what the Hamels are all about. Managing director George Hamel III, who I saw again when I returned once the winery officially opened in June, says, “We wanted to create a hospitality experience that mimics the care and love we put into our farming and winemaking practices.”

While I wasn’t seduced by the sweet scent of burnt marshmallows and melted chocolate huddled around a s’more pit this time, I found the come-one-come-all camaraderie of summer camp still lingered.

“There are two things we’re very serious about: growing grapes and tasting wine. But we never want to not have fun doing those things.”

George Hamel, Jr., and wife, Pam, started making wine in 2006 as a way to bring the family together. But as so often happens, the wine bug bit and, in 2010, the 125-acre Sonoma property was purchased.

Sons George III and John II left their respective careers in finance and public relations to join the winery, the latter as winemaker. For George III, the mission is simple: “To become Sonoma’s premier boutique winery, producing the highest-quality, terroir-inspired wines the vineyards can produce.”

A ranch house welcome My tasting begins practically before I’m out of my car, as a greeter welcomes me to the winery. Not a Boy Scout in sight this time, but the hospitality is equally friendly. I’m offered a glass of Nordaq Fresh water, which is purified onsite and prepares the palate for tasting by removing specific minerals and leaving others behind. The “ranch” as George refers to the winery and estate house, was designed

by San Francisco firm Gould Evans in a way that’s both stunning and subliminal. It’s tucked against a slope of oak woodland and manzanita chaparral. The glass and open design offer a setting that’s ripe with country scenes and breezes. “We can have indoor-outdoor experiences with the doors opened. Visitors get a beautiful, framed view of the valley,” says George. “That’s what this whole thing has been designed around. We don’t need a bunch of art up on the walls because this is art.”

Intent on being stewards of the land, the Hamels made a point of reusing all the materials excavated while creating the expansive caves throughout the property. “We charged the firm to create a space that uses 25 percent less energy than a winery of comparable

36 Northbaybiz

size,” says George. The vineyards (30 plantable acres onsite, with another six just seven miles away) are farmed sustainably using organic and biodynamic methods. There’s even a protected wetland (manmade) along with pigmy goats, chickens, bees and Scottish highland cows.

(This page): The winery property is decked out for “Camp Hamel,” an annual event.

Tasting here, there and everywhere There are three options when it comes time to taste. While appointments are required, the winery has many lounge-worthy spaces, which encourage long and lingering stays. “We invite guests to come for a proper tasting and then stay,” says George. I liken the views to movie theater surround sound—every which way you turn, unobstructed views of the valley abound.

The most basic tasting, the estate experience, is anything but basic, given the panoramic views. It starts with a 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, which is vibrant and approachable with bright citrus notes.

Next is the 2013 rosé, classic in style, with a subtle spice finish. The 2012 Estate Zinfandel is soft, smooth and balanced, with bright fruit flavors without being too jammy.

The premier and reserve experiences each include a tasting and tour. The latter also features small bites, cheese and charcuterie and, oftentimes, barrel samples. My favorite wine of the day, usually offered as part of the reserve tasting (being a member of the media sometimes has its perks), was the 2010 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, which screams of right-bank Bordeaux, heavy on the nose with cherry, currant and subtle earthy notes. Tastings can occur in many different spots throughout the property including a special reserve room in the cave or the library, which offers one of the most simplistic yet striking views around.

Silver lining touches What sets this winery apart, beyond the wines and views, are the small touches. Much like my Camp Hamel experience, which was laden with silver lining touches (such as the make-your-own trail mix bar and trail maps), the wine tastings serve their own spin of special.

Whether it’s the warm welcome at your car, the pashminas on-hand at the entrance of the cave or even the glass bottle of estate purified water you’re left with as you hit the happy trail back home, you’re likely to feel just a little bit better when you leave. X Special Wine Issue 2014

Did You Know?

Badgers not only adorn every bottle of Hamel Family Wine, but the furry mascot can be found perched (and stuffed) in several places throughout the winery, due in part to George Hamel, Jr.’s encounter with a badger in his bathroom one Valentine’s Day. Hamel Family Wines’ tasting room showcases the surrounding area. [Photos by Bruce Damonte]

At a Glance Hamel Family Wines 15401 Sonoma Highway Sonoma, CA 95476 (707) 996-5800 hamelfamilywines.com Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last reservation 3 p.m.)

Tasting fees: $40-$100 Wines currently offered: Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, rosé, Isthmus (a Bordeaux-inspired red blend), Cabernet Sauvignon Appointment necessary: Yes Pets: No Picnics: Guests can purchase a prepared picnic at the winery or bring their own food.

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Northbaybiz 37

PHOTO: GEORGE ROSE PHOTOGRAPHY

SUSTAINABILITY IS OUR WAY OF LIFE. Sustainability matters. It’s been part of our family culture since 1927, when Vittorio Sangiacomo purchased a fruit tree ranch in Sonoma County. Today, three generations later, we grow premium grapes with sustainability as our guiding passion and principle.

There’s nothing new about sustainability; it’s just a relatively new word for something we, and most Sonoma County winegrowers, have been doing for generations — making better wine by taking care of the land and the people who live here.

Let’s make sure our land — our home — stays sustainable and preserved in agriculture for our children, their children and all the generations to come.

Join us as we turn Sonoma County into the nation’s first 100% sustainable wine region by 2019.

Steve Sangiacomo

Mike Pucci

3rd generation winegrower

1st generation winegrower

Mike Sangiacomo Angelo Sangiacomo 3rd generation winegrower

2nd generation winegrower

Buck Sangiacomo 2nd generation winegrower

Learn more about the Sangiacomos and their sustainable practices at sonomawinegrape.org

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4Oth Annual Sonoma County Harvest Fair Guide 2014

Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa "VÌ LiÀÊÎ]Ê{ÊEÊxÊÊUÊÊ À `>ÞÊUÊ->ÌÕÀ`>ÞÊUÊ-Õ `>Þ Grand Tasting All Three Days – “All-Inclusive Tasting” All Harvest Fair Award-Winning Wines & Foods + Local Craft Beers & Ciders 7 iÊ/>ÃÌ }ÊEÊ `Ê*> À }ÊUÊ V >ÌiÊEÊ* ÀÌÊ*> À }ÃÊUÊ iiÃÞÊ iiÀÊ-V Ê­-Õ `>Þ®ÊUÊ7 iÊ >À`i Ê vÊ >ÀÌ ÞÊ i } ÌÃÊUÊ ÌiÀ>VÌ ÛiÊ VÌ Û Ì iÃÊÌ Ê > ViÊ9 ÕÀÊ/>ÃÌ }Ê Ý«iÀ i ViÊUÊ/>ÃÌiÊÌ iÊ `ÃÊ

(707) 545-4200ÊÊUÊÊwww.harvestfair.org Follow Sonoma County Harvest Fair on Facebook!

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Northbaybiz 39

2014 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Celebrating Sonoma County’s Finest Food, Wine & Beer!

H

arvest is upon us in Sonoma County, and what better way to celebrate this year’s bounty than by visiting the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. For three full days, guests are invited to taste their way through world-class wines, locally crafted beers and ciders and culinary masterpieces served by celebrity chefs. This unique celebration will bring together the best of traditional favorites with many new, exciting features for an enhanced and tastier festival. With the addition of fun and educational demonstrations, a focus on local and artisan products and interactive tastings, the event is an exceptional celebration of Sonoma County’s finest.

For four decades, attending the Harvest Fair has been a tradition for both local and out-of-town guests. Wine and food lovers from as far abroad as South America, India and even Australia plan their visit to Santa Rosa each October to sample the county’s ample bounty and to participate in the wildly popular World Championship Grape Stomp.

This hilarious, action-packed competition can only be experienced at the Harvest Fair.

Grand Tasting tickets are $55 and include gate admission and en-

trance into the tasting pavilion featuring more than 150 wineries, breweries, cideries and food purveyors from this year’s professional competition. This all-inclusive tasting experience in the heart of Sonoma County’s Wine Country is not to be missed! As an added bonus, there are lots of expanded activities to enhance the tasting experience. Guests are invited to peruse the local artisan vendors, participate in a chef demonstration, learn about backyard farming, take in a wine seminar or stomp grapes in the World Championship Grape Stomp.

Returning this year on Sunday is the World Wrapped Cooking Competition. Creative chefs will be challenged to a tortilla throw down. Similar to the Food Network show, “Chopped,” contestants will be provided a mystery basket full of fresh, local ingredients and within one hour be asked to create a delicious recipe. Join the live audience and root for your favorite team along with a panel of celebrity judges who will be on hand to taste and critique each delicious creation.

Don’t miss this all-inclusive weekend of fun! For more information, please visit the website (www.harvestfair.org) and check out the complete schedule of events.

SONOMA COUNTY HARVEST FAIR 2014 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3: 4:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4: 10:30 A.M.-5:00 P.M. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5: 10:30 A.M.-5:00 P.M.

Special thanks to American AgCredit Moss Adams – Certified Public Accountants Moss Adams – Wealth Management for sponsoring this very special event.

ADMISSION AT THE GATE: $5 OR FREE WITH THE DONATION OF FOUR NONPERISHABLE FOOD ITEMS Gate admission permits entry into the Marketplace, Chef Demonstrations, Harvest Mini Workshops, Cheesy Beer School (Sunday), Wine Seminars, Grape Stomp Grandstands, World Wrapped Cooking Competition (Sunday) and other harvest-related grounds activities.

GRAND TASTING TICKETS (Grace Pavilion) $55 per ticket (includes gate admission) Please note that the Tasting Pavilion is open to adults 21 and over. Infants and children are not admitted. Designated driver tickets will be offered at the gate for $25.

THREE-DAY TASTING PACKAGE Season Package—Three-Day Tasting: $125 per person; non transferable (includes gate admission)

PORT & CHOCOLATE PAIRING (Wine Garden) Adults 21 and over: $5 per pairing

TASTE THE GOLDS (Wine Garden) Adults 21 and over: $20 for four tastes of 2014 Sonoma County Harvest Fair gold medal-winning wines PRE-SALE DISCOUNT THROUGH OCTOBER 2: Adults 21 and over: $100 for two single-day Grand Tasting tickets (may be used any day) *Tickets are available online at www.harvestfair.org and at the Harvest Fair Box Office at 1350 Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa.

NOTE: A valid picture ID will be required for entry into all tasting areas.

Parking Fees: $6-$8 40 Northbaybiz

Special Wine Issue 2014

2014 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3 4:00 p.m. Gates & Marketplace Open

NEW - Taste the Golds (Wine Garden) 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Cost: $20 (for four tastes) Guests looking to taste just a few of this year’s award-winning wines are in luck. New this year we are offering 20 best of class award-winning wines from this year’s professional wine competition to be tasted in the Wine Garden. Enjoy four tastes in a souvenir commemorative glass.

Marketplace (Hall of Flowers) Expanded Sonoma County Marketplace & Wine Country Shopping 4:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Retail Wine & Food Sales

Tasting Pavilion

Your chance to purchase the award-winning wines at great prices! Five percent off each bottle, 10 percent off six- to 11-bottle purchase, 15 percent off full case purchase (12 bottles). Start your Christmas shopping early by visiting the many artisan vendors. Taste samples of local food products like Sonoma County olive oils. Shop for gift baskets. Curbside pickup, carrying cases and onsite wine shipping is available.

5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Grand Tasting Enjoy all of the epicurean pleasures of a grand tasting paired with awardwinning wines, craft beers and ciders during this “all-inclusive tasting.” Be the first to taste award-winning wines and foods from this year’s professional competition and mingle with key winery and restaurant representatives. More than 150 wineries will be pouring. Tickets are $55 each or $100 for two in advance. NEW this year is a three-day tasting pass for one person, non transferable for $125 and a designated driver ticket available at the gate for $25. Tickets include gate admission and are available online at harvestfair.org and can be purchased the day of. Please note that the Tasting Pavilion is open to adults 21 and over. Infants or children are not admitted.

Free “Happy Hour” Chef Demonstration—includes food and wine tasting 4:30 p.m. Kendall-Jackson Chef Dirk Yeaton, Jackson Family Wines of Fulton

Free Wine Seminars 5:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Learn from the Experts For those interested in enhancing their wine tasting experience, two free wine seminars will be hosted by local experts, who will discuss “Everything you wanted to know about wine tasting but were afraid to ask” in shortcourse seminars. Tasting is included! Seminars are free and only open to guests 21 and over.

World Championship Grape Stomp (Grape Stomp Stage) 4:30 p.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp 6:30 p.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp 8:00 p.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp All ages ($40 team entry fee; includes four gate admission passes) This hilarious, action-packed competition will bring together hundreds of teams (one stomper and one swabby) over a three-day period, all vying for the”Grape Stomp Champion” title and a grand prize of $1,500. The object of the stomp is to produce as much juice as possible and get in it your jug.

Be sure to come early because each preliminary Grape Stomp starts with a costume competition!

Wine Garden of Earthly Delights The biodynamic wine garden will host live music daily as well as special wine tasting experiences like Port & Chocolate Pairing and Taste the Golds.

Visitors can experience the benefits of biodynamic farming and gardening in this beautiful, relaxing space.

Port & Chocolate Pairing (Wine Garden) 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. $5 (per paired taste) Take a break from the festivities to enjoy a relaxed Port & Chocolate Pairing located in the Wine Garden just outside the Marketplace.

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9:00 p.m. Buildings and Grounds Close Please note schedule is subject to change. Visit harvestfair.org for updates.

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Special Wine Issue 2014

Northbaybiz 41

2014 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4 10:30 a.m. Gates Open

Marketplace (Hall of Flowers) Expanded Sonoma County Marketplace & Wine Country Shopping 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Retail Wine & Food Sales Your chance to purchase the award-winning wines at great prices!

Five percent off each bottle, 10 percent off six- to 11-bottle purchase, 15 percent off full case purchase (12 bottles). Start your Christmas shopping early by visiting the many artisan vendors. Taste samples of local food products like Sonoma County olive oils. Shop for gift baskets. Curbside pickup, carrying cases and onsite wine shipping is available.

Free Chef Demonstrations— includes food and wine tasting 12:30 p.m. Dustin Valette, Executive Chef Dry Creek Kitchen of Healdsburg Join a hands-on demonstration.

3:30 p.m. Mark Kowolkowski, Executive Chef Oliver’s Markets of Santa Rosa Join a hands-on demonstration.

Free Wine Seminars 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. Learn from the Experts For those interested in enhancing their wine tasting experience, two free wine seminars will be hosted by local experts who will discuss “Everything you wanted to know about wine tasting but were afraid to ask” in shortcourse seminars. Tasting is included! Seminars are free and only open to guests 21 and over.

Harvest Seminar (Showcase Café) 11:30 a.m. Farm to Table Seminar—“Wine Pairing Flight Workshop” Located in Showcase Café (60 min) | Advance Registration Required (harvestfair.org) | Tickets $40 | Tasting Pavilion Ticket + Seminar = $80 ($15 savings) Enjoy a more intimate wine and food pairing seminar presented by renowned local chefs and next generation wine sommeliers Nicole Bacigalupi Dericco of Bacigalupi Vineyards in Healdsburg and Giovanni Balistreri of Russian River Vineyards. Taste wines, define characteristics and learn about food pairing that creates a perfectly balanced palate.

Harvest Workshops (Annex Building) 11:30 a.m. Vineyard to Bottle: Sonoma County Winegrowers Sustainability Overview and Tasting FREE! (60 min.) | Advance Registration Required (harvestfair.org) Learn about the history of winegrowing in Sonoma County and what makes this region special for growing and producing world class wines. Learn about Sonoma County’s bold commitment to become the nation’s first 100 percent sustainable winegrowing region by 2019 and taste a selection of wines that are grown and produced in a sustainable way.

1:00 p.m. Introduction to Home Brewing Workshop FREE! (30 min.) John Arends and Ron Slyh from the Sonoma Beerocrats Homebrew Club will take you through the art of home brewing, including samples of ingredients, equipment and the process of brewing to bottling great craft beer in your home.

2:00 p.m. How to De-bitter Olives with Don Landis FREE! (30 min.) Learn how to de-bitter the olive to make it edible without lye. Discussion of the many varieties of olives, when to pick and other important tips will be covered.

4:00 p.m. What’s Happening with the Honeybees?

FREE! (30 min.) Christine Kurtz and Thea Vierling, volunteers with SCBA (Sonoma County Beekeepers Association), will spend some time with folks who may be interested in learning about beekeeping.

42 Northbaybiz

Wine Garden of Earthly Delights The biodynamic wine garden will host live music daily as well as special wine tasting experiences like Port & Chocolate Pairing and Taste the Golds.

Visitors can experience the benefits biodynamic farming and gardening in this beautiful, relaxing space.

Port & Chocolate Pairing (Wine Garden) 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Cost: $5 (per paired taste) Take a break from the festivities to enjoy a relaxed Port & Chocolate Pairing located in the Wine Garden just outside the Marketplace.

NEW - Taste the Golds (Wine Garden) 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Cost: $20 (for four tastes) Guests looking to taste just a few of this year’s award-winning wines are in luck. New this year we are offering 20 best of class award-winning wines from this year’s professional wine competition to be tasted in the Wine Garden. Enjoy four tastes in a souvenir commemorative glass.

Tasting Pavilion 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Grand Tasting Enjoy all of the epicurean pleasures of a grand tasting paired with awardwinning wines, craft beers and ciders during this “all-inclusive tasting.”

Be the first to taste award-winning wines and foods from this year’s professional competition and mingle with key winery and restaurant representatives. More than 150 wineries will be pouring. Tickets are $55 each or $100 for two in advance. NEW this year is a three-day tasting pass for one person, non transferable for $125 and a designated driver ticket available at the gate for $25. Tickets include gate admission and are available online at harvestfair.org and can be purchased the day of. Please note that the Tasting Pavilion is open to adults 21 and over. Infants or children are not admitted.

Around the Grounds Enjoy interactive activities to enhance your tasting experience! Make sure to visit the Classic Car Show from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 pm on the lawn area and Llama Show in the livestock area.

World Championship Grape Stomp (Grape Stomp Stage) 11:00 a.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp 12:00 p.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp 1:30 p.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp 3:00 p.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp 4:30 p.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp All ages ($40 team entry fee; includes four gate admission passes) This hilarious, action-packed competition will bring together hundreds of teams (one stomper and one swabby) over a three-day period, all vying for the“Grape Stomp Champion” title and a grand prize of $1,500. The object of the stomp is to produce as much juice as possible and get in it your jug.

Be sure to come early because each preliminary Grape Stomp starts with a costume competition!

5:00 p.m. Buildings and Grounds Close Please note schedule is subject to change. Visit harvestfair.org for updates.

Special Wine Issue 2014

2014 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5 10:30 a.m. Gates Open

Marketplace (Hall of Flowers) Expanded Sonoma County Marketplace & Wine Country Shopping 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Retail Wine & Food Sales Your chance to purchase the award-winning wines at great prices!

Five percent off each bottle, 10 percent off six- to 11-bottle purchase, 15 percent off full case purchase (12 bottles). Start your Christmas shopping early by visiting the many artisan vendors. Taste samples of local food products like Sonoma County olive oils. Shop for gift baskets. Curbside pickup, carrying cases and onsite wine shipping is available.

Free Chef Demonstrations— includes food and wine tasting 12:30 p.m. Chef Thomas Schmidt, Executive Chef John Ash Restaurant, Santa Rosa Join a hands-on demonstration.

3:30 p.m. Christy Polley, Pastry Chef Costeaux Bakery of Healdsburg.

Join a hands-on demonstration.

Free Wine Seminars 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. Learn from the Experts For those interested in enhancing their wine tasting experience, two free wine seminars will be hosted by local experts who will discuss “Everything you wanted to know about wine tasting but were afraid to ask” in shortcourse seminars. Tasting is included! Seminars are free and only open to guests 21 and over.

Harvest Seminar (Showcase Café) 11:30 a.m. Farm to Table Seminar “So You Want to Be A Wine Judge?”

Located in Showcase Café (60 min) | Advance Registration Required (harvestfair.org) | Tickets $40 | Tasting Pavilion Ticket + Seminar = $80 ($15 savings) This seminar, hosted by Ben Pearson, general manager of Bottle Barn, and Larry Van Aalst, host of The Sonoma Wine Report, is designed to educate the general wine enthusiast on how to officially taste and judge wines. The wines to be judged will be select Harvest Fair wines anonymously distributed to participants.

Harvest Workshops (Annex Building) 11:30 a.m. “Cheesy Beer School” Sponsored by Lagunitas Brewing Co. FREE! Located in the Garden Building Annex (60 min) | Advance Registration Required (harvestfair.org) Sponsored by Lagunitas Brewing Company, attendees are invited to pair selected beers with various Sonoma County cheeses during a fun and educational sensory course on pairing.

1:00 p.m. What’s Happening with the Honeybees?

FREE! (30 min.) Christine Kurtz and Thea Vierling, volunteers with SCBA (Sonoma County Beekeepers Association), will spend some time with folks who may be interested in learning about beekeeping.

2:00 p.m. Vineyard to Bottle: A Crash Course in Sustainable Winegrowing in Sonoma County FREE! (30 min.) Learn about the history of grape growing in Sonoma County and the bold commitment to become the nation’s first 100 percent sustainable winegrowing region by 2019. Learn about the diverse soils, geography, microclimates and multigenerational farming families that have helped shape Sonoma County’s reputation as a world class wine region.

4:00 p.m. Harvest Mini Workshop FREE! (30 min.) Topic to be announced

Special Wine Issue 2014

Wine Garden of Earthly Delights The biodynamic wine garden will host live music daily as well as special wine tasting experiences like Port & Chocolate Pairing and Taste the Golds.

Visitors can experience the benefits biodynamic farming and gardening in this beautiful, relaxing space.

Port & Chocolate Pairing (Wine Garden) 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Cost: $5 (per paired taste) Take a break from the festivities to enjoy a relaxed Port & Chocolate Pairing located in the Wine Garden just outside the Marketplace.

NEW - Taste the Golds (Wine Garden) 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Cost: $20 (for four tastes) Guests looking to taste just a few of this year’s award-winning wines are in luck. New this year we are offering 20 best of class award-winning wines from this year’s professional wine competition to be tasted in the Wine Garden. Enjoy four tastes in a souvenir commemorative glass.

Tasting Pavilion 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Grand Tasting Enjoy all of the epicurean pleasures of a grand tasting paired with awardwinning wines, craft beers and ciders during this “all-inclusive tasting.” Be the first to taste award-winning wines and foods from this year’s professional competition and mingle with key winery and restaurant representatives. More than 150 wineries will be pouring. Tickets are $55 each or $100 for two in advance. NEW this year is a three-day tasting pass for one person, non transferable for $125 and a designated driver ticket available at the gate for $25. Tickets include gate admission and are available online at harvestfair.org and can be purchased the day of. Please note that the Tasting Pavilion is open to adults 21 and over. Infants or children are not admitted.

Around the Grounds Enjoy interactive activities to enhance your tasting experience! Make sure to visit the Classic Car Show from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 pm on the lawn area and Llama Show in the livestock area.

World Wrapped Cooking Competition 1:00 p.m. Shade Park Join Brent Farris from KZST Radio as he hosts The Second Annual World Wrapped Cooking Competition, sponsored by La Tortilla Factory, Clover Stornetta Farms, Oliver’s Market and Petaluma Poultry. Similar to the Food Network show, “Chopped,” three amateur chef finalists will each be paired with a Sonoma County professional chef mentor and will have 40 minutes to concoct a delicious recipe using a “mystery box” of locally sourced ingredients and tortillas from La Tortilla Factory. Chef mentors include: Clarke Katz, La Tortilla Factory; Laurie Figone, Cooking with Laurie; and Octavio Diaz, Agave Restaurant.

The final dishes will be tasted by a panel of esteemed judges including: John Ash, Marcy Smothers, Heather Irwin and last year’s World Wrapped winner, Jessica Bode. The winner will receive $1,000, cookware and lots of goodies!

World Championship Grape Stomp (Grape Stomp Stage) 11:00 a.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp 12:00 p.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp 1:30 p.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp 3:00 p.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp 4:30 p.m. Qualifying Grape Stomp All ages ($40 team entry fee; includes four gate admission passes) This hilarious, action-packed competition will bring together hundreds of teams (one stomper and one swabby) over a three-day period, all vying for the“Grape Stomp Champion” title and a grand prize of $1,500. The object of the stomp is to produce as much juice as possible and get in it your jug.

Be sure to come early because each preliminary Grape Stomp starts with a costume competition!

5:00 p.m. Buildings and Grounds Close Please note schedule is subject to change. Visit harvestfair.org for updates.

Northbaybiz 43

Small, independent winemakers are doing it their way.

By Stephanie Derammelaere

W

ith a nurturing touch, an enviable palate and a passion to deliver the best possible wines, small, independent winemakers across the North Bay (and beyond) have dedicated an innumerable amount of time, love and labor, to their vintners’ visions. For this story, NorthBay biz contacted a

44 Northbaybiz

handful of very small (often less than a few hundred cases per varietal), truly independent (no family connection to the industry or large fallback fund) winemakers who are chasing their dreams, one vintage at a time.

Special Wine Issue 2014

P.W. Scoggins at his new winery facility and tasting room in Penngrove [Duncan Garrett Photography]

Special Wine Issue 2014

Northbaybiz 45

Many have worked their way through the ranks, often winemaking for other wineries while nurturing a drive to produce their own wine under their own label. And while some have “made it,” in terms of producing enough to fund themselves and quit their day jobs, others are still working toward their dream. But while being a small wine producer has its challenges—funding being the most obvious one—there are many unique attributes that benefit both these artisans and their customers.

“We believe small, independent winemakers are the true artisans in this industry; the innovators and craftspeople,” says winemaker Steven Gower of Crux Winery, who, along with co-owner Brian Callahan, crafts small lots of Rhone varietals—Grenache, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Mourvedre and Viognier—as well as Winemaker Steven Gower and co-owner Brian Callahan of Crux Winery Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. “We’re able to explore lesser-known on a large scale with the added responsibility of employees’ varietals and winemaking styles without the pressure to fit a certain livelihoods at stake. Therefore, it’s often these independent market niche. To produce wines in such small quantities, every step is winemakers who produce the most unique and distinctive wines. hands-on. Each cluster, each barrel and each bottle is tended.”

“When you’re operating on a small scale, you can make the Because these small-scale wine producers are only making one or decisions,” says P.W. Scoggins of P.W. Scoggins Winery, who started a few barrels at a time, usually by themselves, there’s much less risk producing Zinfandel and Pinot Noir in 2012 with grapes from involved in trying an innovative technique than if it were attempted Russian River Valley and Healdsburg. “I think a lot of people make compromises because they have more on the line. I have less on the line, so it frees me up to take the risk I want to take.”

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“I think a lot of people make compromises because they have more on the line. I have less on the line, so it frees me up to take the risk I want to take.”

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A helping hand Even though the small, independent winemakers can often feel like a David against Goliath wineries, more often, the attitude and environment is one of mentorship, not competition. Instead of worrying about more players in the game, wineries that have already established themselves have been known to reach out to their upand-coming peers and offer support, assistance and advice. “[Supporting each other] comes very natural to us, because winemakers are really farmers at heart,” says Sarah Francis, vigneron and producer of Sarah Francis Wines, which produces 150 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay from Napa Valley grapes. “The majority are little people like me, and that’s how the valley started. It was a small farming Sarah Francis of Sarah community that slowly turned into a Francis Wines Special Wine Issue 2014

Stephanie Trotter-Zacharia and Pinoquicco of Trotter 1/16 wines next to the winery’s basket press

viticulture community. Farmers still operate on handshake contracts, and the majority of things we do is by looking at someone face-to-face and saying, ‘You can trust me.’ That’s how we get along. There’s a very big spirit of innovation here. There’s an attitude of ‘there’s plenty,’ and you look at the world

here from the vantage point of abundance, not of scarcity. Everyone has their niche.�

Stephanie Trotter-Zacharia of Trotter 1/16 wines, which produces Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, agrees and claims winemakers are producing “liquid art.â€? As artists, she explains, winemakers respect each other’s creativity and are willing to help each other, realizing that no two wines are the same. “Since I decided to make wine, there’s been a plethora of winemakers willing to help me,â€? she says. “People shared spreadsheets with me, licensing information, what they had to buy, what they did, shared their ďŹ nancial background with me. “Even now, if I had a question about interpreting lab reports or an analysis on the wine, I have 10 winemakers in my cell phone I could call. The industry is so amicable, it’s not competitive at all.â€?

The business side of winemaking That being said, being a small, independent winemaker isn’t without its challenges. As in most startup businesses, funding is always an issue, and when one considers the time it takes for wine to go from grape to glass (usually at least two years), the challenge is

increased exponentially. Most winemakers starting from scratch need to self-fund or gain the support of friends and family. “A big challenge in the beginning is paying off licensing fees and all the other fees associated with starting up a winery,� explains Scoggins. “There’s a lot of

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paperwork through the government and city council. It’s $1,000 here and $1,000 there, and you think, ‘Is this ever going to end?!’ I worked two jobs at wineries and used their equipment to get started, and every penny I’ve earned goes back into the grapes. I tried to get loans, but it’s nearly impossible.

You have to show cash ow and a certain amount of inventory. What has been helpful is that a lot of friends and family have put in for futures of the wine.�

Scoggins isn’t the only one to sell futures to help fund his venture. Other creative techniques include taking on grapes that a grower doesn’t want or taking on investor business partners. “The bartering system has worked for me so far,â€? explains winemaker Marty Paradise of Paradise Wines and Paradise Ports, who started in early 2007 bottling just a couple hundred bottles of Syrah rosĂŠ and now produces several barrels of ports, Petite Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon (from Yountville), Syrah and Charbono (St. Helena). “I paid for my labels, but all other supplies—bottles, corks, foils and equipment—has been on a barter or trade. My biggest challenge has been ďŹ nding grapes to pick for free or for trade. I usually just ask to pick three-quarters to one ton of grapes, enough for a barrel or two.â€?

Taking on what others didn’t want is how Trotter-Zacharia got started in the wine business. After 20 years working in the industry in many different capacities and for several different wineries in the Calistoga

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Eric BufďŹ ngton of Amelle Wines

Special Wine Issue 2014

Keeping It Legal

B area, she wanted some autonomy and a chance to create her own label. This drive, coupled with an opportunity in a bad growing season, gave her the chance she needed.

“2011 was such a terrible growing season, and the winery I was working for, which had a little Cabernet vineyard—just 125 vines— had so much mold in the vineyards that year because of the rains,” explains Trotter-Zacharia. “They said I could pick it and try making wine with it.

“They knew I wanted to have a shot at making wine, all on my own, rather than just being an apprentice winemaker, which I’d been for about 12 years. So they let me pick it, they sponsored it and bought the barrels. My friends and I had to hand-sort every berry.

When I left there, the next winery I worked with purchased the wine in bulk, bottled it under their license and sold the wine back to me after bottling.”

This inaugural release of the 2011 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has already been awarded a silver medal as a barrel sample submission and two more medals as a pre-release at the San Francisco Chronicle International Wine Competition and the Women’s International Wine Competition, just three months after bottling. What had started as a lot that would most likely have been thrown away turned into an award-winning wine under the guidance and nurturing of Trotter-Zacharia’s hand.

“Every business needs good marketing no matter how good their product is.”

esides needing to possess three very different and unique skills—vineyard farming, winemaking and sales and marketing—independent winemakers also need to sludge through the often overwhelming paperwork required to meet compliance and achieve licensing with local authorities such as the city or county planning departments, the state of California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Department (ABC) and, on the federal level, the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Licensing and compliance can be so complex that many producers (big and small) hire compliance consultants to assist them in sorting out the process.

“When somebody comes to me with an idea, I get to help them make their dreams become a reality,” says Andrea Anderson, president of Beer and Wine Services, Inc., which has been helping individuals in the alcoholic beverage industry obtain licensing and compliance with federal and state regulations since 1989. “I help them take care of the paperwork, because the important part isn’t just getting the license but also dealing with paperwork after the fact. I’m there as a partner to follow up and follow through after the initial process. It’s what I’m good at, just like they’re good at making and selling wine.”

According to Anderson, only the Type 02 license allows for the manufacture of wine (it’s also called a winegrowers license by the state or a bonded winery permit by the federal government). However, there are other options for businesses or individuals interested more in marketing wine or having wine custom crushed to their specifications (instead of actually producing the wine on a bonded wine premises).

“All the other licenses that are out there [other than Type 02] require you to contract with a winery to make the wine for you,” explains Anderson. “So you don’t really get to make it yourself. Rather, you get to instruct them on how to make it.

For a lot of people, control is a big issue. Most people believe that doing it themselves guarantees quality control.”

That being said, alternative licenses to the Type 02 can be a good way for a small player to get started selling wine under his or her own label, albeit it in a very limited way.

—Eric Buffington, Amelle Wines Getting the word out Earning awards or high Wine Spectator scores certainly helps smaller winemakers get their product out into the marketplace, but being small definitely makes marketing more challenging.

“Every business needs good marketing no matter how good their product is,” says Eric Buffington, winemaker and partner of Amelle Wines, which produces 250 cases per year of Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and Russian River Valley Zinfandel.

“Boutique wines are a tough market, and there’s a lot of good product out there.”

For most small, independent winemakers, even finding a distributor can be a challenge, since many distributors don’t want to work with a winery that can only supply a limited amount and Special Wine Issue 2014

Andrea Anderson, president of Beer and Wine Services, Inc.

Northbaybiz 49

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no marketing support. So for these small producers, word of mouth is key. And in cases where the winemaker doesn’t have a bonded winegrowers’ license, but rather one of the alternative licenses that only allows direct sales to consumers in California, word of mouth is practically the only option.

“The license I have is strictly a retail license,” explains TrotterZacharia. “So I have to make the wine in a custom crush situation.

For sales, I’m not allowed to pour the wine for sampling in a public venue. I can only share it in my home or a private setting. So I bring it to dinner when I’m invited somewhere, and people taste it. If they like it, they can go to my website to order it.”

Social media has also proven invaluable to many smaller-scale wineries, getting the word out on new releases, awards won and upcoming events.

From grape to bottle Many small wine producers truly need to be a “jack of all trades”— from farming and harvesting the grapes to making the wine and handling operations such as bottling, labeling and warehouse work, as well as marketing, sales and business administration.

After eight years working in almost every position in the wine industry, from cellar work to assistant winemaker, Scoggins felt the time was right to try his hand at producing wine. So when a farmer sold him a ton of grapes, P.W. Scoggins Wines was born; he ultimately purchased three more tons that same year.

“Originally, when I was making wine up in Healdsburg, I was buying grapes because I was making wine for other people,” explains Scoggins, who started leasing his own vineyard and winery space in Penngrove in spring 2014. “But now that I’ve been on my own, I try to farm all the wine I’m making.”

His pride in showing the vineyard, illustrating his dry farming technique and pointing out the intricacies of how the topography of the land affects the various grapes, is evident. The wine is literally tended from grape to bottle. It’s this level of detail and oversight of the whole process by hand that can set small, boutique wineries apart from the big players in the industry.

“There’s enough grand wineries out there,” says Scoggins. “I’m not going to be one of those—I can’t. I can’t outspend these huge wineries, but I can do all the work myself. To do all the farming, make all the wine, bottle and sell it…. I can do that.”

The future looks rosé While big wineries will continue to dominate retail shelves and restaurant wine lists, many of the independent winemakers interviewed for this story believe that the future of the wine industry here in Napa and Sonoma counties is going to depend on the individual—the passionate artist and winemaker. Those producers who take the risks, drive innovation and raise the bar to new levels.

“The wine-loving public should seek out these types of producers and support the ones they enjoy,” suggests Crux Winery’s Callahan.

“Like any consumer product, people should buy what they like. Wine as a product is fairly unique in that samples are available at no or low cost, so be adventurous.”

Now that’s advice one can drink to. X

Please email comments to editor@northbaybiz.com Special Wine Issue 2014

Premier Wineries, Vineyards and Wine Industry Providers of the North Bay

T

he N North Nor orrth Bay Bay y is is home ho om mee to some som omee of tthe he w world’s orld or ld’ss finest

wineries

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vineyards. With each

new harvest, they elevate the art and craft of winemaking.

Napa, Marin and Sonoma counties are also home to a number of companies

that

provide

the

equipment and services those vineyards and wineries depend on to remain in top form.

The

following

pages

spotlight

companies that work tirelessly to put fine wines on our tables—and bring international attention and praise to the region we call home.

PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

THE NORTH BAY’S LEADING COMPANIES

President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll Staff paralegal Holly Browne reviews client intakes with law student Matt Huffman.

Empire College Opens Clinic at Legal Aid of Sonoma County Empire College has made the national President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll over the last two years for a variety of reasons not the least of which is the formation of five law clinics, set up in Sonoma County to help residents who otherwise might not be able to afford the help of legal counsel when problems arise. These include an Elder Law Clinic, Disability Law Clinic, Self-Help Access Center, Small Claims and an Immigration Law Clinic. In keeping with the college’s belief that service and learning go hand in hand, each program is staffed by students, but most are located off campus, to better serve their clients.

The college has now opened a new clinic early this fall, at the Legal Aid of Sonoma County offices in downtown Santa Rosa. The Legal Aid Clinic will help at-risk children and families obtain safety and shelter, and will cover issues such as domestic and family violence, elder abuse, child guardianship and an array of housing issues. Empire College law students currently work in the offices as volunteers, interns and staff, but this clinic will give them a chance to earn law school credits while they are helping the community. Heading up the clinic is Empire College professor and Legal Aid Executive Director, Ronit Rubinoff.

“This program isn’t just an adjunct to our regular operations, it’s really at the core of how our organization works,” she said. “These students are integral to our success.”

“For us, it’s a complete education... coming full circle from beginning to the end of a case,” said Zack Agil, a 3rd year law student. It’s also a service model that has been the basis of operations at Legal Aid since its beginnings: that of one-on-one advocacy and partnership, with a profound respect for each client who walks in the door.

It’s a win/win situation for all concerned. “For the students, it tests the paradigms of who you are, and what you really want to do with your life,” according to Dean Robertson.

While doing so, the community receives free or affordable support from professional legal counsel, as well as from students who are passionate about supporting their clients. “We’re here for our clients, on a personal level.

If our services can’t help them, we’ll find a resource that can,” said Amy Woodruff, another 3rd year law student who interns at Legal Aid. And so the legacy of community involvement continues into the next generation of those who will be working in the legal profession.

“For us, it’s a complete education... coming full circle from beginning to the end of a case” Empowering individuals to make positive changes in their lives, careers, and communities since 1961.

NorthBay biz Special Advertising Feature

Mentor housing attorney, Barbara Sherrill, works with a housing client.

Legal Aid executive director, Ronit Rubinoff, reviews client files with law students Amy Woodruff and Zack Agil.

William A. Robertson, Dean, is proud to perpetuate the legacy of community involvement at Empire College School of Law.

Thinking About a Law Degree?

Call today or visit us on the Web.

800.705.0567 www.empcol.edu/school-of-law

THE NORTH BAY’S LEADING COMPANIES

Jacqueline Balletto today, pictured in our Burnside Vineyard. Inset, Jacqueline pictured when we first planted the vineyard in 1995.

Balletto Vineyards & Winery would like to welcome back Jacqueline Balletto.

Jacqueline is a recent graduate of Fresno State University, receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business.

Currently, you can find her in the vineyards taking field samples for harvest or in the lab at the winery running tests on all the grape and wine samples. She is learning the winemaking side of our business under the tutelage of winemaker, Anthony Beckman before heading back to college to pursue her MBA. While at Fresno State, Jacqueline became very involved on and off of campus serving as PanHellenic President; she was an Ag Ambassador for the Jordan School of Agriculture and the FFA Field Day Committee Treasurer and Senior Tabulations Chair, she was chosen to be a delegate for Alpha Zeta’s National Ag Leadership Conference at Cornell and a member of the six person Fresno State team at the National Grocers Association Case Study marketing competition in Las Vegas. Serving in the capacity of public relations for the Ag Business Club she arranged monthly industry speakers and semester field trips, she also handled the social media and coordinated the year-end Ag Business Department Banquet. In her spare time she volunteered at the Bulldog Pantry, for CASA, Ronald MacDonald House and the Fresno-Chaffee Zoo. During her four years at Fresno State she participated in two study abroad programs – one to China to learn about the Chinese culture & agriculture and the second program in Chile – learning about farming and the Chilean export business.

“I have never had the opportunity to work full time in our family business as my parents felt my education should come first. Being able to come back and work for Anthony has given me a chance to build a deeper connection with everyone working here and gain a better understanding of all the aspects and people it takes to have a successful business.”

—Jacqueline Balletto

www.BallettoVineyards.com 707-568-2455 x101 5700 Occidental Road U Santa Rosa, CA 95401 Tasting Room Open Daily 10 am – 5 pm NorthBay biz Special Advertising Feature

THE NORTH BAY’S LEADING COMPANIES

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CENTRAL VALLEY ENVIRONMENTAL Professional Abatement Services With Over 25 Years Experience Lic. #974852

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W

hen it comes to environmental abatement, safety and regulatory compliance are of paramount importance at Central Valley Environmental.

Improper handling of hazards can lead to serious consequences for clients, contractors and subcontractors. The laws that govern these materials are exhaustive and definite, leaving no margin for error.

Central Valley Environmental is a fully licensed, bonded and certified abatement contractor specializing in the removal of asbestos and lead from residential, commercial, industrial, hospital, governmental and educational facilities. CVE has established a solid reputation in the environmental industry.

Our company has assembled a remarkable pool of talented, professional environmental estimators, project managers, inspectors, demolition and deconstruction teams to meet your environmental abatement needs.

For information on our specific product offerings or the industries we serve, please visit our website or call us for a free site analysis!

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THE NORTH BAY’S LEADING COMPANIES

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THE NORTH BAY’S LEADING COMPANIES

William Miller Executive Vice President

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Eugene Burger Founder/CEO

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Stephen Burger President/COO

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William Gillis Corporate Counsel

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JORDAN & ASSOCIATES RETIREMENT SERVICES

The North Bay’s Largest and Most Experienced Retirement Plan Services Company Jordan & Associates Retirement Services provides qualiďŹ ed retirement plan consulting, plan design, documentation, in-house actuarial services and administration for a wide variety of employers in our North Bay communities. We are a local company that has been a part of this community for over 35 years, and we can help you and your business with your 401(k) Plan, ProďŹ t Sharing Plan or Pension Plan.

If your business already has a retirement plan we can help you to make sure your existing plan design continues to meet the needs of your company and your employees in planning for retirement.

When you’re in need of a new plan we can lend our expertise to the process from the very start, beginning with plan design consultation, working with your investment advisor and accountant, and continuing on to assist you with everything required for the annual administration of the plan.

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100 Stony Point Road, Suite 216 s Santa Rosa, CA 95401

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THE NORTH BAY’S LEADING COMPANIES

S

onoma Design, Apparel & Promotions, Inc. has been owned and operated by Eddie Brascia since 2003. Eddie, who began North Coast Clothing in 2000, has always prided himself in customer relations and a “do whatever it takes to get the job done� attitude.

Eddie brings over 14 years of knowledge in the apparel industry along with the values of family, commitment to his customers and longevity, all being the sources of his company’s success. Most of his employees have been with him over 10 years.

With the acquisition of Napa Valley Clothing in 2010, he can now service the entire Napa/Sonoma wine country region.

Sonoma Design, Apparel & Promotions, Inc. has two locations in the beautiful wine counties of Napa and Sonoma. They are considered one of the premier apparel decorators in the country. With over 14 years of experience in the apparel industry, Eddie’s goal is to turn your ideas into reality. Not only do they specialize in screen-printing and embroidery, but they also offer two of the latest engineering techniques in the apparel industry: In-Line Foil Stamping and Flextran. They not only provide these services but, more importantly, they provide a “family� atmosphere throughout the entire organization and a benchmark for excellence in consistency and customer responsiveness.

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3ANTA 2OSA 3510 Airway Dr., Santa Rosa, CA 95403 707-578-4739 .APA 61 Sheehy Court Napa, CA 94558

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THE NORTH BAY’S LEADING COMPANIES

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THENORTH NORTHBAY’S BAY’S LEADING LEADINGCOMPANIES COMPANIES THE

Your Success Is Our Priority

Owners Nicole Smartt and Lisa Shugarman

What better place to fulfill your staffing needs than a Best Job Placement Service winner!

Serving the Entire North Bay s www.starhr.com

NorthBay biz Special Advertising Feature

THENORTH NORTHBAY’S BAY’S LEADING LEADINGCOMPANIES COMPANIES THE

So what does Del Dotto Winery and Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors have in common? The answer is simple: Great people who are passionate about what they do. Incredible wine doesn’t make itself. It takes a team that truly cares about what they are doing. At Linkenheimer, we realize our people are our greatest asset. We focus on our people, community and company culture, which allows us to provide the best possible team approach to developing positive financial solutions. Our mission is to be a partner in our client’s success. And at the end of the day, just like a good bottle of wine, we hope that we can bring families closer and help everyone sleep a little bit better at night.

Culture. Care. Team. www.linkcpa.com

Create Your Dream Vineyard Garden UÊÊ > iÃÌ VÊ/ÀiiÃ]Ê-i>à > Ê7 `y ÜiÀà UÊÊ À>}À> Ì]Ê ÀvÕ Ê Ãà à UÊÊ ÕÌÌiÀy iÃ]Ê À`Ã]Ê iiÃÊEÊ Õ }L À`à UÊÊ"À}> VÊ ÀÕ ÌÃÊEÊ6i}iÌ>L ià UÊÊ i>ÕÌ vÕ Ê-Ì iÜ À UÊÊ Ìi}À> Ê ÀL ÀÃ]Ê/Ài Ãià UÊÊ ÕÃÌ Ê Àii Ê ÕÃià UÊÊ vwV i ÌÊ ÀÀ }>Ì UÊÊ-ÕÃÌ> >L i]Ê"À}> VÊ Û } See our gardens and vineyards, find your ideal garden: ÜÜÜ°>Û `}Àii °V ÊÊUÊÊ{£x {È£ n{ÇÇ Sustainable U Waterwise U Eco-Friendly

CA License No. 984424 | Certified Arborist WE-3225A | QAL 129078 NorthBay biz Special Advertising Feature

©2014 Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards®

THE NORTH BAY’S LEADING COMPANIES

The wines of Sonoma-Cutrer Cutrer express a partnership with nature, resulting in world class Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Discover why Sonoma-Cutrer has been A America's Most Requested 22 out off 24 years.* Visit our b beautiful d Chardonnay h d f l estate llocated d within the heart of the Russian River Valley and sample our artisan craftsmanship in every glass.

Tours and Tastings available: Thursday-Monday 10-4.

4401 Slusser Road · Windsor, California Appointments are recommended. Book online at www.sonoma-cutrer.com or call us at 707-237-3489 Please Share the Cutrer Responsibly.

*Wine & Spirits Magazine, 24th Annual Restaurant Poll April 2013

NorthBay biz Special Advertising Feature

THE NORTH BAY’S LEADING COMPANIES NG

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PLACE MATTERS Making and enjoying great wine is a hands-on experience. Join us for a taste of our Single Vineyard Cabernets. A wine experience made for you.

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For info or reservations, please call: 707.887.3344 or visit russianrivervineyards.com 5700 Hwy. 116 N. Forestville, CA 95436

SPOTLIGHT YOUR EXPERTISE and reinforce your professional image with your current customers and prospects as well!

Position your company as a leader in the North Bay with our special full page, full color ProďŹ le feature. s ProďŹ le your business in a unique editorial environment s Raise awarenss of your company s Serves as an invaluable tool to our readers seeking only the best companies, services or products

For More Information, Please Contact Joni Rosinski: 707.575.8282 x13

TH E NORT H

BAY’S

LEADING FINANCE , BANKING & INVESTM ENT FIRMS

T

he e North Bay B is i home to t many of the state ’s leading ďŹ nan ďŹ n nanccial ial and investme tment instit utions, serving clien ts on the local , regional and national levels. The following pages featu re some of th the region’s very best ďŹ nancial ďŹ rms rms,, providing a unique perspective of top-notch otc compani es that excel in both th the busin ess and consumer secto rs.

DECEMBER 2013

THE GROWTH / NO GROWTH DEBATE

CONTINUES

$4 4 95 4.95

95 9.95 $9

INSIDE: NEW HOTELS ss PLAN BAY AREA DRY CREEK RESTORATION ss B CELLARS SMALL PHARMACIES ss SENIOR FITNESS 2014 BEST OF THE NORTH BAY

READERS POLL BALLOT (PG 16)

NorthBay biz Special Advertising Feature

wine road tasting rooms

Founded in 1896 and specializing in Petite Sirah, Foppiano Vineyards is one of Sonoma County’s oldest continually-operated, family-owned wineries. We invite you to join us at our winery in the famed Russian River Valley to taste our award winning wines and see what 118 years of commitment yields.

Foppiano Vineyards 12707 Old Redwood Hwy. Healdsburg, CA 95448

707.433.7272 www.Foppiano.com

Wilson Winery, winner of several Sweepstakes, Best of Class, Double Gold and countless Gold Medals, invites you to taste for yourself why critics have given us top honors year after year. Our wines are hand-crafted by highly acclaimed winemaker, Diane Wilson.

Wilson Winery 1960 Dry Creek Rd. s Healdsburg, CA 95448 707-433-4355 s www.wilsonwinery.com

Our family has farmed in Sonoma County for three generations. In 2005 we established Trione Winery, designed specifically for crafting small lots of wine from our estate grapes grown in the Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations. Join us for tasting Thurs-Mon 10 am to 5 pm.

Trione Vineyards & Winery 19950 Geyserville Ave. Geyserville, CA 95441

707.814.8100 www.trionewinery.com

From vineyard to glass — come and experience the exceptional wines of Balletto. Voted best Pinot Noir by North Bay biz 2014.

Balletto Vineyards & Winery 5700 Occidental Rd. Santa Rosa, CA 95401

707.568.2455 www.BallettoVineyards.com

Carol Shelton is the most awarded winemaker in the US and has been honored as Winemaker of the Year several times. At our friendly tasting room in Pine Creek Business Park, you can taste a delicious bunch of premium Zinfandels, along with a few other limited-production varietals.

Come join us!

Please come visit us at the iconic Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards in the heart of the Russian River Valley. Famous for our Chardonnays we also make world class Pinot noir as well.

Sonoma-Cutrer tastingroom@sonomacutrer.com

707.237.3489 www.sonomacutrer.com

Domenico Jr. and his wife, Lynda, have lovingly nurtured a beautiful vineyard of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio in the Russian River Valley appellation of Sonoma County. Domenico’s father came to America in 1921. Today, this picture of the family’s church in Germasino, Italia, remains a symbol of the Carinalli heritage—commitment to tradition, quality workmanship, and love of the land. Salute A Tutti (Good Health to All).

D & L Carinalli Vineyards 4905 Gravenstein Hwy. South Sebastopol, CA 95472 NorthBay biz Special Advertising Feature

707.795.7052 www.dlcarinallivineyards.com

Carol Shelton Wines Winery & Tasting Room 3354-B Coffey Lane Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Open daily from 11-4 707-575-3441 www.carolshelton.com

Located in the lobby of the Main Stage West Theater, Hook & Ladder winery pours a selection of their wines crafted by the De Loach family for tasting and by the glass.

Hook & Ladder Winery at Main Stage West Theater

104 North Main Street Sebastopol, CA 95472

707.634.6249 www.hookandladderwinery.com

wine road tasting rooms

Twomey was established in 1999 by the Duncan family of Silver Oak, using the same philosophy: make exceptional, food-friendly wines that are deliciously drinkable upon release. We apply over 40 years of winemaking experience combined with a spirit of innovation to create our Merlot, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.

We feature small lot wines available only at the winery. Selected as BEST RED WINE at the East Meets West International Competition and voted BEST PINOT by North Bay biz readers in 2013.The tasting room, picnic area and bocce court are open everyday 10:00 am – 4:30 pm.

Twomey Cellars 3000 Westside Rd. Healdsburg, CA 95448

Graton Ridge Cellars 3561 Gravenstein Hwy. Sebastopol, CA 95472

J. Rickards Winery 707-483-0792

707.942.7122 www.twomey.com

707-526-9463 www.suncewinery.com 1839 Olivet Rd. Santa Rosa, CA 95401

707-795-7052 www.dlcarinallivineyards.com 4905 Gravenstein Hwy S. Sebastopol, CA 95472

707-857-3264 geyservilleinn/dining.com 21714 Geyserville Ave. Geyserville, CA 95441

Robert Rue Vineyard & Winery 1406 Wood Rd. s Fulton, CA 95439 707-578-1601 U www.robertruevineyard.com

707.823.3040 www.gratonridge.com

707-237-3489 U www.sonomacutrer.com Email: tastingroom@sonomacutrer.com

Pedroncelli Winery 707-857-3531 U www.pedroncelli.com 1220 Canyon Rd. s Geyserville, CA 95441

877-865-1655 www.northwood-lodge.com

19455 Highway 116 Monte Rio, CA 95462

Founded 1981

ÂŽ Vineyards & Winery

707-433-8429 www.whiteoakwinery.com 7505 Hwy 128 Healdsburg, CA 95448

NorthBay biz Special Advertising Feature NorthBay biz Special Advertising Feature

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WWW.SANTAROSAVINTNERSSQUARE.COM

•

1301 & 1305 CLEVELAND AVE. • SANTA ROSA CA 95401

Sheldon Micro-Winery is dedicated to producing sustainably farmed award winning wines that display character with elegance. Relax in the Sippy Lounge or jump in for a foot stomp in the cellar. You never know what kind of shenanigans may arise.

Sippy Lounge is open Thursday thru Sunday from noon to six, or by appointment. Cheers!

Discover D’Argenzio Winery, a hidden gem located in the beautiful wine region of Sonoma County. Santa Rosa’s urban boutique winery and tasting room offers wines from a wide array of Sonoma County appellations as well as Italian varietals for wine lovers to sample. Each of the D’Argenzio wines are vineyarddesignate, small-lot production.

D’Argenzio Winery

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707-546-2466 www.dargenziowine.com Open daily 11 to 5 s Sun – Wed 11 – 9 Thursday s 11 – 7 Fri & Sat

Krutz Family Cellars is a family-owned micro-winery dedicated to crafting the best wines from the most prestigious vineyards of Northern CA. Make an appointment or come visit during our normal tasting hours to hear our story, taste our highly allocated and acclaimed wines, and experience the difference.

Tobacconist since 1974 Davidoff Appointed Merchant Best inventory of premium cigars in Sonoma County New Davidoff Nicaraguan!

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ARE YOU ONE OF THE TOP 500 COMPANIES IN THE NORTH BAY? Submit your information online at www.northbaybiz.com/Bonus_issues/noerthbay_biz.com or call 707.575.8282 x10. Last year companies needed $3 millionin annual revenues to qualify.

NORTHBAY BIZ MAGAZINE s 3565 AIRWAY DRIVE, SANTA ROSA CA NorthBay biz Special Advertising Feature

THE NORTH BAY’S LEADING COMPANIES

D

al Poggetto & Company LLP specializes in accounting, tax, and consulting services for the wine industry. The firm’s partners have been accountants and consultants since 1975 and have worked with wine businesses of all sizes. For excellent service at a competitive cost, tailored to the needs of the wine industry, contact Dal Poggetto & Company LLP, CPAs.

WineDirect offers a full suite of technology and services to ensure your success in direct sales. Our services include an eCommerce platform, telesales services, POS, accounting, compliance and business management, and industry leading fulfillment technology.

707.545.3311 www.dalpoggetto.com

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CENTRAL VALLEY ENVIRONMENTAL Professional Abatement Services With Over 25 Years Experience

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or 25 years Bright Ideas has been owned and operated by twin sisters Janice Marzlin and Pati Oliver, whose shared goal is to exceed their clients expectations with unparalled Promotional Products and the best Customer Service . . . Twincerely. Give them a call for the latest and greatest in Promotional Products!

e became “Sonoma County’s Best Solar Provider” by treating homeowners and businesses as if they were our neighbors, because they are. Securing the best solar array is easier and more affordable than ever. If you want the gold standard for top quality solar installations in the North Bay, call today!

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NorthBay biz Special Advertising Feature

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s Signage & Banner Production. s Vinyl Lettering & numbering, Die cut stickers and decals. s Fast Production, Quality work, Excellent Prices. s Family owned and operated.

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nights’ Electric, Inc. is a full service electrical contractor building relationships with residential and commercial clients throughout the North Bay. Whether new construction, design/build, remodel or maintenance, Knights’ has you covered. Listening to our clients and planning ahead to save time and money is an essential part of our process.

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The North Bay’s leading Recruiting/Executive Search & Human Resources Consulting firm to the Wine Industry Serving the North Bay Since 1984

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“Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.”

—Aristophanes, comic playwright of ancient Athens

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All in Good Fun

NorthBay biz seeks out interesting moments in the tasting room.

You never know what someone might come up with when you ask, “What’s the most bizarre, memorable, funny or romantic moment you’ve witnessed in a tasting room?”

Here are some of the answers we received.

Special Wine Issue 2014

Northbaybiz 73

SOLAR KNOWLEDGE = Solar Power

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Twilight Zone On October 28, 2009, fans of the movie “Twilight” came to Ceja Vineyards’ wine tasting salon. They were all dressed in costume and had brought a lifesize picture of the vampire Edward Cullen—it was fun and bizarre at the same time.

My son, Ariel Ceja, was working that day and he had the guests take this picture.

Amelia Morán Ceja, president Ceja Vineyards Ariel Ceja poses with “Edward Cullen.”

Room with a View Our Fort Ross Vineyard tasting room [which overlooks the Sonoma Coast] was described as “lavishly Spartan”—a sly and poetic contrapuntal concept—and music to a minimalist’s ears.

Linda Schwartz Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery Popping Corks—and Questions Because we have such a phenomenal view—not to mention amazing wines—I’ve witnessed several proposals here at Sbragia Family Vineyards.

One time, while serving and pouring wines at the tasting bar, I greeted a group of about eight or 10 people that had an appointment with us early in the day. They were all very jovial and enjoying their visit. I’d just poured the second wine for the group when one of them handed me a camera so I could get a group shot.

Just as she did that, one of the gentlemen droped to his knee while opening a ring box. His girlfriend’s eyes flew open wide as he began to propose. I was thinking, “Oh, so sweet.” Then, I realized I had the camera! I started snapping pictures. It appeared everyone was surprised, not just the bride-to-be (who replied, “Yes, oh yes!” over and over). It was an honor to be a part of such a beautiful and memorable moment.

Another time, I’d watched as a couple were obviously enjoying themselves out at the peak of our terrace. The afternoon was perfect. They were getting closer in their respective seats—about as close as two chairs at a table can be.

Closing time (5 p.m.) came and went. We decided to close softly and let them have their moment. About 15 minutes or so later, I started to walk out toward the peak to give them a 10-minute warning. As I got about 15 feet away from them, down to his knee he went. Whoop—I turned around and went back in the building to give them privacy. When they came back inside, we all congratulated them and remarked at what a beautiful ring it was and how happy they looked.

Another time, one of the local hotels called to say that they were sending a couple up to visit who’d arrive with picnic basket and blanket in hand. (The plan was he was going to propose to her that Special Wine Issue 2014

day and wanted a romantic vineyard with a view to relax in while they picnicked and he proposed.)

They arrived, we welcomed them, sold them a bottle of wine and up into the vineyard they went. It was approaching 5 p.m. and they came back into the tasting room. She was beaming and crying; he was beaming, too.

Again, we all marveled at the moment. And, as usual, we presented them with a bottle of “La Promessa” Zinfandel with the date on it, and had it signed by the winemaker (La Promessa means “The Promise” in Italian).

Peggy Lord, wine club manager Sbragia Family Vineyards Promise Kept In spring 2009, I was working in the visitors center and hosted a group of five young Japanese men who were in Napa for two years studying to become pilots. They were so grateful and happy, they bought some Schramsberg to take home to share with their families in Japan. Then they asked if they could get a picture with me and, when they left, they made a promise to come back and visit me in five years when they’d become pilots.

To my surprise and delight, they returned in May 2014. We were hosting our annual spring Cellar Club party, themed “Hollywood Comes To Schramsberg,” so I was in costume dressed as Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra.

The now-pilots were greeted by our valet, Devon Fernandez.

They asked if I was working and if they could see me. Devon came in to tell me there were some young men in the parking lot asking

Sonoma County’s Premier Wine Barrel ReCoopering Since 1987

Kelly Duarte with three Japanese pilots who stick to their promises

to see me. To my surprise, there were three of the young men who’d made a promise to me five years before! To their surprise, here I was dressed as Cleopatra. They even brought me a beautiful, traditional Japanese flower vase. One of them was about to be married and said he’d be honored to serve Schramsberg at his wedding, so he took some back to Japan with him.

They kept their promise, and now have promised to visit me again in five more years.

Kelly Duarte, wine educator Schramsberg Vineyards

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BCS was the 1st Commercial Janitorial Company to be recognized and GREEN CERTIFIED in the Bay Area!

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Wineries Distilleries Breweries

707-829-7103

2010 Barlow Lane U Sebastopol, CA 95472 Special Wine Issue 2014

415.884.4484 s www.buildingcaresystems.com 20C Pimentel Ct. #3

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Novato, CA 94949 Northbaybiz 75

Thirsty?

While wine blending and barrel tasting at Judd’s Hill Winery, Verve Napa Valley owner, T Beller, got a lesson from winemaker Kenn Vigoda on how to siphon wine from a barrel.

As you can see, it went very smoothly. T has never been afraid to laugh at herself!

Verve is a curated Wine Country tour and Destination Management Company located in Napa (vervenapavalley.com).

Emma Kruch Morris EKM Creative Services

Meant to Be You just never know: Two separate couples visited the winery from Kansas City, Mo. One couple recently relocated from the Chicago area and was talking about their “new neighbors” and how they were very excited for the move. After chatting through the tasting, the other couple asked where in Kansas City they moved to, and the other couple said, “We just moved to XX street.”

The ones who asked looked astonished and said, “We live on that street, where exactly

She’ll never finish it!

are you?” The couples lived two doors down from each other! The group had a chuckle and someone else made a comment, “Good thing you didn’t say anything bad about your neighbors!”

The love for Jordan: A party of four I hosted was visiting for a library tasting. One couple was from Southern California and other was from Atlanta, Georgia. The couples had met two years prior when the California couple was trying to smuggle more wine than allowed onto a seven-day cruise. The Georgia couple heard the clinking and approached.

When they opened their bag, they saw they had six bottles of Jordan wine to bring on the cruise. So the Georgia couple said, “We love Jordan, we can help get that in!” They became fast friends from that trip and, two years later, came to Jordan Winery together.

Quick funnies: UÊ7iÊ >ÛiÊ ÃÌ Ê ÛÞÊ­«>ÀÌÊ vÊÌ iÊ}À>«iÊ family) growing on the side of the building.

A couple visiting Wine Country for the first time asked, “Is that how you grow and pick grapes?”

Uʺ ÊÞ ÕÊ>VÌÕ> ÞÊ>``ÊV iÀÀ iÃÊ> `Ê blackberries to your wines?”

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TRINITY For your next millwork project

Commercial Retail Hospitality Residential 707-585-2959 www.trinityengineering.com brian@trinityengineering.com Proven Quality and Service. Since 1980.

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right? So that means you pick the grapes before they turn red right?”

Uʺ7iÊÃ>ÜÊÞ Õ½ÀiÊ «i Ê by appointment only, but we can we make an appointment for right now?”

Lisa Mattson, marketing and communications director Jordan Vineyard & Winery Fine Feathered Friends The only really “appropriate” story we can Debra Mathy share is a woman walked in and asked if we were pet-friendly. We answered yes. She went outside and then returned with her bird on her shoulder.

Debra Mathy, proprietor Dutcher Crossing Winery Nice Tip I once poured a sample of wine for nice lady who then took a $1 bill from her purse and with a sincere “thank you,” tossed it in the dump bucket on the tasting room bar.

Amber Moshin Moshin Vineyards X

Please email comments to editor@northbaybiz.com

Amber Moshin

REALTORS YOU SHOULD KNOWou Raghda Zacharia REALTOR , SFR ®

SOLD—This was a was a difficult sale on vacant land. She was superb and understood the transaction. The best, Would use her again and recommend Raghda to all my friends.

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Promote yourselves to over 55,000 NorthBay biz readers every month.

For as little as $140 each issue you get your headshot, up to 50 words of copy, company logo and contact information.

Special Wine Issue 2014

Please call Joni Rosinski or your sales rep for further information.

707-575-8282 x13

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Hall Wines

By Julie Fadda Powers

W

hen Craig and Kathryn Walt Hall (U.S. ambassador to There’s also an organic vegetable and herb farm; an artistic Austria from 1997-2001) came to Napa Valley in 1995, installation of woven willow branches (by San Francisco artist their goal was to develop a great wine estate. Here we are, Patrick Dougherty) featuring several structures you can wander almost 20 years later—and they have not only one, but two estates into and around; a flower garden; a great lawn surrounded by (the original, in Rutherford, which is adjacent to the family home, inviting furnishings; a long, rectangular reflection pond by Jesus and the second, in St. Helena, each of which has its own tasting Morales, which is lined by Adirondack chairs facing the vineyard and room)—as well as a tasting room on Sonoma’s square under the mountains beyond; and a demonstration kitchen and workshop, couple’s second label, Walt. where you can sign up to work with Chef Corrie Beezley (and use Today we’ll focus on Hall St. Helena, which houses its state-ofitems from the garden) or explore the world of cheese with Janet the-art winemaking facility that was recently awarded LEED Gold Fletcher (the first Tuesday of each month). certification for the second time (the first time, in 2009, it was the Upstairs in the main facility, you can enjoy a flight of current first winery in California to obtain this certification). In addition, all releases in the Gallery 401 Tasting Salon (on your way there, check five Hall estate vineyards are CCOF certified organic. out the Mezzanine, where pop art meets gravity-flow winemaking).

Purchased in 2005, Hall St. Helena sits on the historic Bergfeld The salon has a large, central bar as well as tables surrounding and property, which sits at the base of the Mayacamas mountains. It’s a balcony where you can enjoy the wine outdoors. For an initial fee, a blend of old and new in several ways, in that the historic 1885 you can taste four of the eight wines offered that day (including Walt Bergfeld Winery building (the winery’s original winemaking facility) wines—don’t miss the lush La Brisa Chardonnay). The lineup when has been restored to its former glory, and its new winemaking facility, we visited was stellar. Other standouts for us were the approachable overseen by Steve Leveque, director of winemaking, uses Old World 2011 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (cocoa, leather, earth, spice), methods but with modern, sophisticated technology. It’s truly the the 2011 Jack’s Masterpiece Cabernet Sauvignon (dark fruit, leather, best of both worlds. hint of anise—a fine young buck of a Cabernet) and the not-to-beWhen you arrive, the first thing you’ll notice is the huge, metallic missed 2011 Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon (classic Rutherford “Bunny Foo-Foo” sculpture at the driveway Cabernet profile; dark and thick with an entrance. Next, you’ll be greeted by the elegant body and long finish). hospitality staff in the reception area, which Wine club members (there are more than is at the entrance to the modern building 8,000, including some in Hong Kong, Japan, where the wine is made and where the main Bulgaria and London) enjoy free tastings and tasting bar is located. You’ll also begin to tours as well as loyalty programs; their own see the more than 30 pieces of collected event space; custom-built shipments (sizes and commissioned artwork throughout and types of wine vary depending on what the property (Craig is an avid collector and people want); membership in “Gems of Napa supporter of the arts).

Valley” group, where people can visit other A tour of the property reveals all sorts of wineries (in Napa and Sonoma counties) and wonders. The Bergfeld building, now used get member benefits at each one; preferred for events, is a two-story, stone structure pricing at Senza Hotel (a Hall Wine Country with a cellar featuring a king’s table on the Inn); and, of course, all sorts of events and bottom, and an open space upstairs that parties. It’s one of the fastest-growing wine overlooks the property. The property as a clubs around and is truly personalized and whole can hold up to 1,500 people and focused on giving people a great experience. entertains 400 to 500 visitors per day on How could you go wrong? That’s right, you weekends. But don’t worry, it doesn’t feel couldn’t. Take some extra time and spend an crowded, as there’s plenty of space to move afternoon at Hall, where the wonders never Craig and Kathryn Walt Hall about. cease. X

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Did You Know?

The historic 1885 Bergfeld Winery building is rumored to be haunted.

At a Glance Hall Wines 401 St. Helena Hwy. South St. Helena, CA 94574 (707) 967-2626 www.hallwines.com Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily Fees: $30 and up (non-active military members get free tastings) Wines currently offered: Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the winery’s Walt label are also available) Appointment necessary: No for the St. Helena location (unless for groups of eight or more or for guided tours and tasting experiences); yes for Rutherford Picnics/pets: Yes; kid- and dogfriendly

Special Wine Issue 2014

The fermentation room has an installation called “Red Rain” above some of its tanks [Photo

by Brennen Powers]; (inset) Winemaker Steve Leveque

Northbaybiz 79

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One for All

Winery alliances build brand awareness and enhance customer experience.

By Stephen Ferry

R

ight now, no fewer than four new (or recently resurrected) winery alliance groups are working to promote awareness of their unique wines in Napa and Sonoma counties. They offer public outreach, wine and food events, and a variety of activities and services to generate interest in the wineries within their borders.

The Carneros District spans the southern ends of both Napa and Sonoma counties [Photo courtesy of the Carneros Wine Alliance]

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Carneros Wine Alliance “The Carneros Wine Alliance [CWA] is a grower and winery organization. It was founded in 1985 but has recently been rejuvenated,” says Anne Moller-Racke, vice chair of CWA and president of Donum Estate.

“We’re a like-minded group of quality producers that live and work in Carneros and want to share our passion for this area and its wines,” says TJ Evans, CWA board president and Pinot Noir winemaker at Domaine Carneros. “Carneros has a tremendous agricultural heritage. It sits right on the San Pablo Bay, is close to so many metro areas, but still has the wild and unspoiled feeling of open spaces. Being a part of Sonoma County and a part Napa County makes us both but Carneros Wine Alliance members Anne Moller-Racke, The Donum Estate; Brandon deLeuze, ZD Wines; Alison Crowe, Garnet Vineyards; Heidi Soldinger, Saintsbury; and TJ Evans, Domaine Carneros at their annual barrel neither, and we feel like we need to maintain tasting in March. [Photo by Ashley Teplin] our own voice.” supporting our Carneros community. Carneros is a spread-out region Evans goes on to describe the events CWA stages. “We do the defined by climate characteristics rather than political boundaries and Annual Barrel Tasting for CWA members, trade and media in March has Highway 121 as its main artery. Our Chardonnay barrel tasting at ZD Wines. We also do hospitality/tasting room networking nights for the benefit of our members, and we have a Carneros Chardonnay was a wonderful opportunity for us to share and connect. At the tasting, our Carneros American Viticultural Area (AVA) founders were Roundtable trade/media discussion of Carneros Chardonnay styles chatting and tasting with the newbies—our future is looking bright!” planned for later this fall.”

“In August, we hosted a hospitality social at Bouchaine, where Heidi Soldinger, marketing director at Saintsbury, adds, “Right we provided education about the Carneros AVA to tasting room now, the Carneros Wine Alliance is focused on education and

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personnel, as well as the opportunity to connect with neighboring wineries,” continues Soldinger. “As you can see, CWA is committed to cultivating the Carneros community and inviting everyone to experience it. Next year, CWA is celebrating 30 years, so we have more consumer-based initiatives for 2015.”

“Carneros is important to many Sonoma and Napa wineries,” says David Graves, coowner of Saintsbury and past CWA president.

“There are stand-alone wineries in the AVA; but also, wineries outside the AVA that rely on the high-quality fruit from Carneros, too, particularly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. To experience Carneros, I’d encourage visitors

Carneros Wine Alliance Area: Southern Napa and Sonoma counties www.carneros.com Contact: Heidi Soldinger, marketing director, Saintsbury (707) 252-0592 Heidi@saintsbury.com TJ Evans, president of the alliance board (707) 266-5111 TJEvans@domainecarneros.com

to call ahead and book a tasting experience at a Carneros winery. On the way to the winery appointment, enjoy the scenery—rolling hills, the vista to the San Pablo Bay, the cool breeze on a hot day, grazing horses and cows, fruit stands and diners and the vineyards.

Therein lies our story.”

The South Napa Wine Experience “Vic Bourassa was the driving force behing creation of the South Napa Wine Experience [SNWE],” says AnnaBelle Walter, director of marketing at Jamieson Ranch Vineyards and a subcommittee member of SNWE. “It was formed to Vic Bourassa (Bourassa Vineyards) of the South Napa Wine Experipromote this gateway region ence checks the brix of the Syrah in his Coombsville vineyard. of Napa Valley and the range Cellars, caves at Trinitas and more. One can of experiences one can find here, from enjoy all this, as well as exceptional wines, all expansive vineyard properties like Jamieson within a few-mile radius. It’s the perfect day Ranch to a historic Victorian tasting room trip from the Bay Area or stop en route to or at Rocca Family Winery, cozy barrel room departing from Napa Valley.” at Bourassa, a hip tasting room at Holman

South Napa Wine Experience Area: Gateway region of the south end of Napa Valley www.southnapawineexperience.com Contact: Vic Bourassa (707) 254-4922 vic@bourassavineyards.com John Taylor at Rocca Family (707) 2578467 AnnaBelle Walter (707) 254-8673 Crusher Wine District Area: The “industrial” area of south Napa, named for the famed statue there www.crusherwinedistrict.com Contact: Betsy Busch (925) 984-4568 betsy@pacifichospitality.com

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Bourassa adds, “Much like the Rutherford Dust Society, Stags Leap District Winegrowers Association and Carneros Wine Alliance, the goal is to educate people about what makes this region and the wineries found within it so special. There are no officers in SNWE, only leaders, a subcommittee of myself, AnnaBelle Walter from Jamieson Ranch Vineyards, John Taylor from Rocca Family Vineyards and Jason Holman of Holman Cellars.”

“Our SNWE debut event took place June 21 at Jamieson Ranch, “ says Bill Legion, president of Jamieson Ranch Vineyards. “We had a barbecue and tasting of wines from all eight SNWE wineries, with a portion of ticket sales and the proceeds of an instant cellar (consisting of two cases of member wines) benefiting Legal Aid of Napa Valley.”

“The goal of the group is to create strong awareness of the wineries in South Napa and the variety of our offerings,” continues Bourassa. “Our member wineries have their own winemaking styles and signature experiences. In addition to food and wine events, Jamieson Ranch has a culinary program and miniature horses onsite, Bourassa Vineyards offers barrel education and wine blending, Trinitas has library wines and caves, and Etude has its own Pinot Noir specialist. There are mega award-winning wines at Rocca Family Vineyards, and Holman Cellars is a family-owned micro-winery with mountainside fruit from the Coombsville

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Crusher Wine District members stand next to the iconic statue from which the group derives its name.

Special Wine Issue 2014

AVA. Humanitas donates money from the wines it sells to charity, and Mi Sueùo Winery is a business established by a humble dishwasher of long ago who’s become a world-class winemaker today. That’s a total of eight winery members at this time.�

Bourassa adds, “Members of our group pay no dues, and any winery in our geographical region can join with us. We’re planning our second event this year in November. We’ll welcome the public for a day of food and exceptional wine at these unique member properties.�

“We don’t necessarily own beautiful mansions and acres of historic estates, but all our members are passionate about making great wine, honest hospitality and having fun. —Betsy Busch Crusher Wine District Betsy Busch handles outreach for the newly formed Crusher Wine District. “We’re located in the ‘industrial’ area of south Napa,� says Busch. “Our area is bordered on the south by Highway 29, on the west by the Napa River, on the east by Soscol Ave./Hwy 221 and on the north by Basalt Road.� The group’s name refers to the area’s iconic statue. “We don’t necessarily own beautiful mansions and acres of historic estates, but all our members are passionate about making great wine, honest hospitality and having fun.

Our board of directors consists of founding member and board chairman Garrett Busch (Trinitas Cellars), with board members Janet Moss (J Moss Wines) and Kristen Spelletich (Spelletich Family Wine Company).� “The Crusher Wine District member wineries are represented by named representatives of those wineries. Each winery that meets the criteria outlined in our bylaws can join after approval by the board and payment of annual member dues. Members meet monthly to collaborate on marketing and promotion of our wineries as well as to plan events for the Crusher Wine District.� “Current membership is seven wineries,� continues Busch. “In addition to those I just Special Wine Issue 2014

At Y. Rousseau Wines, winemaker Yannick Rousseau challenged competitors in “The Crusher Games� to beat him in Petanque, the French version of Bocce ball. Home court advantage prevailed.

mentioned, we have Y. Rosseau, Humanitas and our newest members, Avinodos and The Wine Foundry. The Meritage Resort and Spa also supports our group’s mission and is an associate member.

D I G I T A L

“The Crusher Wine District was formed with the goal of promoting awareness and advancing the interests of wineries in the designated district area. We hope that by working together and promoting Napa

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Valley wineries as a group, we can attract more visitors to this area and provide better experiences for our guests by bringing the full Napa experience to them. Our focus is on honest, fun hospitality, and we look to show people a different Napa experience that’s genuine and unique. “We provide a network of wineries within walking distance for guests to come explore and avoid the hassle and danger of drinking and driving. Visit any of our seven member wineries and then maybe head over to the Meritage for dinner or some bowling at Crush lounge. We also look to host various events in the district that bring the member wineries together and attract people to the south end of Napa. “We’ve already scheduled a number of fun and informative events to promote our area,� continues Busch. “The Crusher Games took place on August 2, 2014 and will return again June 20, 2015. Also, a Speakeasy Event is planned for December 6 this year.

And we also stage local ‘industry nights’ every month or so t host our neighbors and colleagues in the hospitality industry and get to know them better.�

Busch notes, “The Crusher Wine District welcomes the membership of any other businesses in the same geographic area that may also beneďŹ t from the marketing and promotion of this region. These businesses may be featured as associate members listed on our marketing materials and website and may also customize their participation in our Special Wine Issue 2014

various events and industry nights. We’re happy to work with anyone to customize events or make it worth their while.�

The Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance The Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance (SVVGA) is a nonproďŹ t trade organization serving more than 500 members who share a mission to promote awareness of Sonoma Valley’s grapes, wine and history as the birthplace of the California wine industry.

They represent more than 100 Sonoma Valley wineries and 140 winegrowers. The organization has raised more than $8 million for local Sonoma charities.

The SVVGA launched a new, multifaceted marketing program in 2013 called the “Roots Run Deep� campaign to get the story out about Sonoma Valley. In developing this effort, it engaged the services of a strategically focused marketing team of grape, wine and tourism industry leaders that included BHC Consulting, Swig Studio and The Idea Cooperative. The new logo or “brand mark� for the campaign features the language: “Sonoma Valley Wine—Est. 1857� as well as iconic Sonoma Valley

The Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance members sporting their “Roots Run Deep� apparel at this year’s Taste of Sonoma at MacMurray Ranch [Photo by Brennen Powers]

symbols: a bear and a crescent moon.

Rabobank is a key sponsor. “When we developed the Roots Run Deep campaign, certain themes continually emerged about Sonoma Valley: history, family, authenticity, community and the friendly approachability of the people,� says Maureen Cottingham, SVVGA executive director.

“Some of the best ambassadors we have for Sonoma Valley wine are members of our local community,� says SVVGA marketing director, Scott Black. X

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Tedeschi Family Winery 2779 Grant Street, Calistoga, CA 94515 ­ÇäÇ®Êxä£ äÈÈnÊÊUÊÊwww.tedeschifamilywinery.com Case production: 1,000 Planted acres: 1.25 Grapes planted: Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah Wines produced: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Primitivo, Chardonnay, Petite Sirah, Viognier, rosé, late harvest Sauvignon Blanc Employees: 3 full-time, 1 part-time

By Christina Julian

A

t Tedeschi Family Winery in Calistoga, it’s as though time stands still. From the 1948 and ’65 Ford tractors parked at the head of the vineyard, to the extra-wide vineyard rows, which stand out in a valley cram-packed with tightly spaced rows to maximize sky-high price-per-acre rates.

While the vineyard looks like a throwback to an earlier time, it has evolved. As I perch at a picnic table beside the one-acre Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard with Emilio Tedeschi, general manager, I learn that when his grandfather, Eugene, originally purchased the property in the 1950s, it was orchards, not grapevines, that dominated this spot. When the time came to plant grapes (Cabernet, Zinfandel and Merlot), Eugene remained true to his Italian roots. “From the stories I’ve heard, they just put the vineyards in right between the trees. It’s an old style of farming, but inefficient by today’s standards,” says Emilio.

Special Wine Issue 2014

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When Emilio’s father, Emil, reestablished the vineyard in the early 1990s, he took a different tack, but more on that in a minute.

In 1974, Emil moved to Hawaii to co-found Tedeschi Vineyards on Maui, the island’s first and only winery. Emilio shares some of the not-so-subtle differences in vineyard management. “There, you’re constantly pruning, because there’s so much vigor. They typically harvest about two months earlier, so there’s not a lot of downtime. They need to spend a lot of time in the vineyard.”

Returning to your roots While Emil enjoyed the inherent challenges of growing grapes in Hawaii, he returned to Calistoga almost two decades later to actualize his dream of replanting his father’s vineyard. Today, the majority of fruit trees are gone, yet the extra-wide vineyard rows remain. In part to accommodate the classic tractors that are still in use and also to maintain the Old World approach to winemaking that Eugene established early on. “My dad is in tune with the plants,” says Emilio. “He inspects the vineyard as much as possible. Everything is maintained by hand— the suckering, cluster thinning and training

Mario Tedeschi mans one of the winery’s classic tractors.

the vines. He talks a lot about the balance of the vines and takes a very meticulous amount of care. Looking at the vineyard, it’s pretty immaculate.”

The Tedeschi vineyard is spaced six feet between vines and eight feet between rows, in contrast to the more typical four-by-four and four-by-six plantings often seen. “The

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wider spacing means fewer vines and more fruit on each one. You start off with a pretty good crop each year. You’re constantly thinning in accordance with the growing season, so the few clusters that remain at harvest have the best of everything. They’re the cream of the crop.”

The vineyard, which is dry-farmed, is

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w w w. a j p r i n t i n g . c o m Special Wine Issue 2014

predominantly clay with small amounts of volcanic ash. “The cool thing about the vineyard is the staggered orientation that points in a North-South direction. Because the rows are oriented this way, the vines get the full amount of sun in the morning and afternoon.”

Though decades have passed since Eugene originally comingled grapevines and fruit trees, the vineyard remains a family affair; Emil and Emilio are joined by Emil’s other son, Mario, who serves as the winemaker (a sister, Elaine, is a student at Cal Poly SLO).

A lot of love At a time when technology is becoming more and more prevalent in the wine business, Tedeschi prides itself on remaining The one-acre Tedeschi vineyard is lovingly maintained and harvested by hand. true to its roots, favoring a hands-on approach to just about everything. When asked how they compare that, with a smooth, long finish. The 2012 Primitivo from Russian River to other vineyards in the valley, Emilio shares, “You’re looking at a Valley is lush yet light. The 2013 Viogner from Alexander Valley is crisp vineyard that’s one acre. We spend every single day out here, we and full-bodied with hints of stone fruit. notice everything—step by step, day by day—how it changes and On my way out, I meet Eddy, the estate peacock, who’s a big fan how seasonal changes affect the vines. We spend quality time with of the grapes. As I give the vineyard and winery one last look, I’m left the vines. When it’s your backyard and you have so little, you want it with a true glimpse of what goes into running a small family winery. to do well. There’s a lot of nurturing that goes into it.”

Summed up best by Emilio: “This vineyard is our backyard. Our life.”

Calistoga has changed a lot since Emil made the first vintage of What a wonderful life, indeed. X 300 cases in 2003, yet for the Tedeschis, the Old World approach to winemaking lingers. “We’re not pushing 15 percent alcohol. We’re making food-friendly wines by picking at a lower brix content,” says ■ ■ Emilio. One taste of the 2009 estate Cabernet Sauvignon reveals just

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Mario Tedeschi works on winemaking while his father, Emil, talks with visitors.

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Desmond Estate Vineyards 6820 Starr Rd., Windsor, CA 95492 ­ÇäÇ®ÊÇ Ç{{ ÊÊUÊ www.desmondwines.com Case production: About 300 cases Planted acres: About four Grapes planted: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay Wines produced: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay Employees: One (plus seasonal) A view of the Desmond Estate vineyard from the back porch of the home.

By Julie Fadda Powers

B

ill Desmond Robbins has been living on the property where he grows grapes since he built his first home there in 1978. But putting in a vineyard was the farthest thing from his mind—at least at the time. That happened a little more than 20 years later, a serendipitous result of a conversation he had when working as a foreman and pouring concrete at Windsor High School in 1998. “The superintendent of the project knew where I lived and suggested I plant some grapes,” says Robbins.

“I then went to nearby wineries and asked what they’d be interested in buying. I met Susie Selby at Rabbit Ridge Winery, and she suggested which clones I should plant for Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. She also mentioned contacting John at Caldwell Nursery to help me get organized. John came out, helped me with

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soil samples and diagrammed the trellis system for the grapes. The vineyard was planted Fourth of July weekend in 2000.”

But it wasn’t because he’d originally planned on making wine.

“I wasn’t much of a wine drinker,” he says. “I figured I’d grow the grapes and sell them to pay my property taxes and buy some beer [he lists Lagunitas as a favorite]. I had no idea Pinot Noir would become so popular. It blows me away.”

It was 2003 before Robbins decided to make some wine. “I had enough grapes for one barrel, not enough for someone to purchase” he says. “So I made it myself in the garage. I took a class at The Beverage People and purchased an information booklet. I did a lot of reading and also took extension classes at UC Davis [all while still working full-time as a foreman for a Devincenzi Concrete Construction]. We were pleased, so Danette [who he’d marry the following year] took it to the Harvest Fair and it won a silver medal in the amateur competition.”

In 2004, Robbins married Danette and completed construction on their new home on the property, where they now live.

It’s a beautiful setting surrounded by vineyards as well as flowering plants and manicured gardens that Danette tends (and yes, Bill did all the concrete work). He also keeps a lovingly restored 1956 Ford pick-up in the garage.

In 2005, Robbins was able to harvest enough grapes to make three barrels and was still making his wine in the garage and giving most of it away as gifts. By 2006, he had his first contract with River Road Winery and sold 10 tons of grapes.

Since then, word got out and he now sells to a few others. In 2007, he became licensed and bonded and began to make wine commercially at Vinify Cellars (where he continues to make it now) and produced 80 cases.

His production increased each year Special Wine Issue 2014

and, by 2013, he focused on his vineyard and winemaking full-time.

His label is Desmond Estate Vineyards.

Desmond is Bills’ mother’s maiden name, his middle name and also his son, Phillip’s, middle name. In addition, Danette thought it would be beautiful in script.

The vineyard itself is vertically trellised and has four different soil types (Huichica, Sprekels, Felta and Zamora) and varies in slope from 2 to 9 percent. Different elevations and soil types produce varied flavors in the grapes. For example, the ones at a higher level have more jammy characteristics, while the lower ones lean more toward cherry. Robbins harvests the grapes over a two-week period, depending on his clients’ preferences. There are owl boxes on an adjacent property and three fox terriers for gopher control.

Robbins describes his winemaking style as Burgundian. The grapes are hand-harvested at night, so they arrive at the winery cold.

They’re hand-sorted, then go through the crusher/destemmer and onto a shaker table, which is sized for the grapes, so any that have raisined will fall through. The individual berries are then picked through on another sorting table for quality. “Only perfect grapes are allowed,” he says.

Next, they’re gently fractured and cold soaked in the fermenter for about six days, kept at 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

They’re punched down twice per day during the cold soak period, then warmed to 70 degrees, which is when the yeast is added to start fermentation. They’re fermented in a stainless steel tank until there’s minimal sugar left, then the free run wine is put into French oak barrels (50 percent new), where the final fermentation takes place.

“At first, half stayed in the barrel for 10 months, while the remaining half [the reserve] aged for 17 months. But now, it’s all aged 15 to 17 months in the barrel because, in my experience, it makes such a big difference,” says Robbins. Once bottled, the wine ages an additional 12 months prior to release. This year’s fall release will be the 2012 vintage.

When I visited in August, the grapes were about two weeks away from harvest.

Robbins walked me through the vineyard, which is surrounded by oak and eucalyptus trees and has a seasonal creek nearby. He explained why some clusters are removed (if they’re ripening too unevenly) or their Special Wine Issue 2014

Bill Robbins checks the brix in his Pinot Noir vineyard.

“wings and shoulders” are taken off, so only the best grapes remain.

Much of the wine is now sold via Wine Road events, the Vintners Market in San Francisco, as well as through their wine club.

“The wine club is huge for us,” he says. “We get most members through the Wine Road and Vintners Market events.”

Fans, no doubt, of his classic, wellbalanced wine—a true testament to classic Russian River Valley fruit (earthy, red fruit, cherry, bright acidity and a smooth mouthfeel). “I make such a small amount of wine,” says Robbins, “I really have to nail it every year.” And he most certainly does. X

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Building the Good Life Since 1991

William Cole Vineyards’ winery building has an amazing history.

[Photos courtesy of William Cole Vineyards]

William Cole Vineyards P.O. Box 692, St. Helena, CA 94574 ­ÇäÇ®Ê ÈΠȣääÊÊUÊÊwilliamcolevineyards.com Case production: 500-700 Planted acres: 2.5 Grapes used: Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay Wines produced: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Ten (a Cabernet blend) Employees: 2

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By Alexandra Russell

I

f you love a good story—one with history, treachery, innovation, murder, intrigue and, to top it off, world class wine—welcome to William Cole Vineyards. The place’s long, storied past is intimately entwined with the history of wine in Napa Valley, from founder John Weinberger’s purchase of the estate from the Krug family in 1869 to William and Jane Ballentine’s refurbishing of the home and operations beginning in 1999.

Here’s a small taste: While travelling from San Francisco to Napa via stagecoach in 1869, Weinberger was involved in a highway robbery. At the time, he was transporting his entire fortune (about $50,000 in gold). Weinberger pulled out a revolver and shot the would-be thief. He then completed his journey, making his way to St. Helena, where he purchased half of Charles Krug’s property to establish his own winery. Many years later, Weinberger was murdered by one of his cellar workers, who’d fallen in love with the vintner’s daughter. Following his death in 1882, Weinberger’s widow, Hannah, became the first woman to run a winery operation and serve as winemaker.

Seriously, there’s too much story for this space. Suffice to say, this place meets three of the four possible criteria for a property to be certified a National Historical Landmark, including association with important events, historic figures and architecture (it only needs one to be certified). The Ballentines are working closely with Napa County Landmarks to pursue certification.

“My goal is to showcase this property and give it the respect and homage it deserves,” says William Ballentine, winemaker, whose own family roots run deep in this valley. He grew up across the street from

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Special Wine Issue 2014

the property and remembers playing in the vineyards he now owns.

When he and Jane bought the property, the winery operation had been shuttered since Prohibition, and part of the building had been turned into a private vacation home. “There were still buggies is the barn, and we have some of the original rugs and furnishings still in our home,” he says with an incredulous shake of his head.

Also well preserved are the private grounds and gardens, designed by famed landscape architect Thomas Church (it’s one of the last intact Church gardens in existence anywhere).

Ballentine, who clearly loves the history not just of this property but of Napa Valley in total, is a compelling storyteller. Representing a fourth generation in St. Helena (the winery is named for Ballentine and his son, Cole), Ballentine, it seems, knows everyone—every family connection, backroom deal, winery sale and vineyard planting that’s led to the valley’s current dynamics. “We’re trying to preserve what this is—what this means,” he says. “We live here. This is our life. This is about family. It’s rare to have so many generations in this valley.”

Of course, in Napa Valley, there’s no history without wine and vineyards. “We’re a wine industry town,” he agrees. “Everything is tied in somehow.” The five-acre William Cole property is no exception. Its 2.5-acre estate vineyard is all that remains of the original land purchase from Krug (it was once 240 acres). Here, Ballentine pursues farming and winemaking in Old World fashion. “Everybody wants to update and change things,” he laments. “But that’s not how I make wine. I want it natural; I want purity. I do it how my grandparents did.”

For William Cole, Ballentine focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon and credits the vineyard’s mix of four soil types—loam, gravel loam, tufa and creek rock—for the grapes’ diversity. Bolstered by a small amount of sourced fruit, “Each vintage, each wine, has a personality,” he says. “All of them are different, but they’re linked by style—they’re clearly from the same family. I’d describe them as elegant, soft and fruit forward, but always in-balance. They can hold up to weight but they’re not too heavy.

“I’ve never met a chef who didn’t love my wine,” he smiles.

The cornerstone of production is Cuvée Clair (named for the Ballentines’ daughter), Special Wine Issue 2014

William Cole Vineyards has 2.5 acres of vines.

an elegant blend of 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2010, Ballentine added a small production of Chardonnay to the offerings, sourced from the eastern hills; Cuvée Jane Marie is named for his wife.

And then there’s Ten, a magical blend of equal amounts from 10 Cabernet Sauvignon vintages, each barrel aged since it was harvested. Ballentine calls it “a once in a lifetime wine—it’s like a vertical in a bottle.”

Like most William Cole wines, it’s only available through allocation, at the winery and online. And that’s just how Ballentine likes it.

“We plan to stay small on purpose,” he says. “We sell a lot of wine to a few people,” he continues. “We have the best, most loyal customers.” X

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kvon.com Northbaybiz 95

The view at Frostwatch Vineyard & Winery

[Photos courtesy of Frostwatch Vineyard & Winery]

Frostwatch Vineyard & Winery 5560 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 ­ÇäÇ®ÊxÇä äx ÓÊÊUÊÊwww.frostwatch.com Case production: 1,500 Planted acres: 15 Grapes used: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon Wines produced: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Kismet (a Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend) Employees: 1 (occasional independent contractors)

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By Alexandra Russell

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rostwatch founder Brett Raven grew up in Lafayettte, Calif., but “my parents bought a place northwest of Cazadero when I was younger, so we traveled through Santa Rosa many times on our way to hunt, hike and camp. Also, before I went to UC Davis, I attended Santa Rosa Junior College for two years, because I wanted to play basketball. So I was very familiar with the area.”

Unlike many successful North Bay vintners, Raven didn’t study wine at Davis. Instead, he studied agricultural business, later earned a law degree at Hastings College in San Francisco and became a practicing attorney in a San Francisco firm. “But my girlfriend at the time—now my wife, Diane—was in ‘fruits and nuts,’” he laughs, referring to her degree in plant science. “And all her friends were in viticulture and enology, so I got a great introduction to wine.”

The interest was encouraged by Raven’s boss, Fred Furth (founder of Chalk Hill Winery), and other colleagues at the firm, who “encouraged my love of wine and furthered my exposure to the wine industry,” says Raven. “[Working with them] definitely increased my passion for it.”

The passion turned to action when the Ravens decided to look for a place to plant a vineyard of their own. In 1995, they purchased 22 acres of pastureland in Bennett Valley and set about making the dream come true. Today, 15 acres are planted to winegrapes (the rest of the property is taken up by the family home and garden, horses and paddocks) and Raven is happily established as a full-time vintner.

Designated Sonoma County’s 13th AVA in 2003, Bennett Valley is known for rocky soil and cold, often foggy nights. “Bennett Valley is Special Wine Issue 2014

unique, because it’s subject to much cooler temperatures at night,” says Raven, who continues, “but cold air is like water, in that it always drains away to lower elevations until blocked by a physical barrier.

“So, if you’re surrounded by valleys, peaks and hillsides, like we are, you’ll get very cool overnight temperatures. Even over the summer, we can get into the 40s at night.” Hence the name Frostwatch.

To best exploit these characteristics, says Raven, “We looked around at what everyone else in the area was growing. Matanzas Creek has been highly successful with Chardonnay and Merlot, and it’s done a nice Sauvignon Blanc. So that’s an indication of what works in the soil.”

The Frostwatch property includes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Merlot—not all of it intentional (at least not initially). “When we stared, we planted a block of Chardonnay, but as the plants started coming up, it became clear that some of them were not Chardonnay. Turned out, 50 plants were either Sauvignon Blanc or Semillon. The nursery said, ‘sorry,’” remembers Raven. “I almost tore them out, but then I remembered Matanzas Creek’s success with Sauvignon Blanc, so I decided to leave them in and make wine from them separately. It’s called Kismet.

“I loved it. So I did that for four or five years and eventually took cuttings from those plants and planted two more acres just for that wine.”

As a winemaker, Raven says, “I’m a big believer in balance. I want my wines to have interesting textures, fruit on the entry, a broad mid-palate with richness and acidity on the finish. I want my reds to have silkiness, but I also want some acidity. It shouldn’t be cloying or ponderous.”

Raven honed his skill as cellar master for David Ramey while his Frostwatch vineyards were maturing. In 2009, he struck out on his own, shifting the work away from Ramey (where he’d been making and cellaring his wine) to Vinify in Santa Rosa. It’s a good fit. “I can do all my own work or, in a pinch, I can get help from a Vinify employee,” says Raven. “I like that I can come here at 2 a.m. if I want to. I can be completely hands-on. I even drive my own forklift.”

This same enthusiasm and attention to detail can be heard when Raven talks about his grapes. The Chardonnay vineyard, for example, is “composed of the Wente clone from the Platt vineyard, which is a selection from the Hyde vineyard 97/99 block. I also have Clone 4 Chardonnay, which is a Davis clone.”

Pinot Noir is “a Swan clone, which is a selection from Delinger.

There’s a particular bottling called the Octagon block, and we were

Brett Raven harvests grapes from his Bennett Valley vineyard.

able to get cuttings through Chris Bowland, who supplies vineyard and harvest labor.

“All these selections are for smaller berries and smaller clusters, which gives you lower yields but greater intensity. My wife, who’s an accountant, thought I was crazy: ‘lower yields?’ But you get great acid, balance and really intense flavors.”

To sample Frostwatch wines, contact Raven to set up an appointment. Depending on his schedule, he’s happy to meet up either at Vinify or the vineyard itself. X Please email comments to editor@northbaybiz.com

Join the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce and Marin Builders Association for our 2014

Texas Hold’Em Poker

Tournament & BBQ Thursday, October 16, 4:30-9:30pm Tournament starts at 6:30pm McInnis Park Golf Center 350 Smith Ranch Rd, San Rafael $75 Chamber & MBA Members and Guests $95 Non-Members All skills levels welcome! A portion of net proceeds will benefit the Marin Builders Association Scholarship Foundation. Register for tickets at srchamber.com today.

Sponsorships are available!

Please contact the Chamber with any questions: 415-454-4163 frontdesk@srchamber.com www.srchamber.com

San Rafael Chamber Special Wine Issue 2014

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Dutch HenryWinery

By Alexandra Russell

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n Napa Valley, wine tasting can get downright opulent, with showy, art-filled tasting rooms and high-priced tchotchkes and accessories—and that can definitely be a lot of fun. But sometimes, that’s not the kind of mood you’re in. So if you find yourself looking for something more down-to-earth, check out Dutch Henry.

Located near a deep curve on Silverado Trail, there’s just a small white sign and modest gate to mark its entry. Drive in, and that understated vibe continues. No Corinthian columns, water features or gift sets of Riedel glassware to be seen—just a straightforward, warehouse-like structure that houses both the working winery and a small tasting area. But across the narrow driveway, there’s a lovely, welcoming picnic ground, nestled under shady oaks and strung with party lights, where guests can while away an hour or an afternoon. There’s a bocce court next to the 2-acre California Certified Organically Farmed Syrah vineyard and a bike rack for hearty travelers. Up a small hill but not far away, you can see the wine cave entrance.

It’s a friendly, relaxed place, made all the more welcoming by all the furry and feathered residents. An enclosed chicken coop and yard sits among the picnic tables, and resident Airedale terriers are always up for a walk and a wag. Floyd the cat rides herd over the tasting room, inserting himself into conversations and snuggling up on the left shoulder (always the left) of those visitors he deems worthy.

Speaking of “worthy,” Dutch Henry wines are delicious, and guests can choose from three different tasting experiences. First, you can opt for a tasting of six wines in the tasting room (barrel samples and tastes of awardwinning estate olive oil are often available as well). Choices may include Zinfandel (spicy and barbecue-ready), Argos (a signature Bordeaux blend that’s both bold and smooth), the estate Syrah (juicy and seductive, it was the first wine ever bottled under the Calistoga AVA), a barrel sample of The Wanted (a unique blend of Merlot and Pinot Noir that balanced the boldness of the former with the delicacy of the latter; it had a distinct port-like oakiness) or its estate Cabernet Sauvignon (I tried the 2006, sourced from a vineyard the family no longer owns). Every time I said I’d found my favorite, I was offered another to taste—I loved them all.

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For a few dollars more, tasting can include a tour of the wine cave, which was built in 2008, where an intimate dining room is available for winery or private events of up to 40 people. The picnic grounds and/or bocce court (with it’s own picnic area) can also be reserved for large groups; the winery works with a local caterer to provide pig roasts and other delectable food options. If you have a bit more time, the reserve tour and tasting takes place in the cave dining room and includes cheese pairings (advance notice required).

Dutch Henry Winery, which is named for a colorful local prospectorturned-farmer (and possible highwayman), was founded in 1992 by San Franciscans Less and Maggie Chafen and their son, Scott. Today, Scott is not only co-owner with his folks, but also winemaker and director of operations (though, over the years, he’s also served as cellar rat, sales guy, olive picker, delivery boy and in a host of other lofty positions). In addition to the Dutch Henry label, he’s added a small production line of Chafen Family Wines (available at the tasting room) that includes Pinot Noir and Three Red Heads (a red blend named for his children), Estate Reserve Syrah and Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. The family has also recently purchased—and is in the midst of replanting—a Cabernet vineyard in Rutherford.

So what are you waiting for? Pack a basket—don’t forget the doggie treats!— and get on over to your new favorite hangout. X Special Wine Issue 2014

Did You Know?

Winery animals (dogs, cats and chickens) outnumber the employees nearly two-to-one.

At a Glance Dutch Henry Winery 4300 Silverado Trail Calistoga, CA 94515 (707) 942-5771 www.dutchhenry.com Hours: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily Tasting Fees: $25-$50 Wines Currently Offered: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Zinfandel, Argos (a Bordeaux blend), The Wanted (a Merlot and Pinot Noir blend), and Chafen Family Wines including Pinot Noir and Three Red Heads (a red blend) Appointment necessary: For groups larger than six Picnics: Encouraged Pets: Dog friendly

Special Wine Issue 2014

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“Truth comes out in wine.”

—Pliny the Elder

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Special Wine Issue 2014

Drink Up! NorthBay biz asks for some true confessions.

It’s time to check in with our readers again. This time, the question is: ”What’s the first wine you remember trying?”

Turns out, not everyone started with the good stuff….

Special Wine Issue 2014

Northbaybiz 101

Ame Van Dyke, E.R. Sawyer Jewelers The first wine I ever tried was when I was about six. We were in a condo in Tahoe during the winter, and we were having pizza for dinner. My then-14-year-old brother thought it would be funny to put red pepper flakes (that we always had on the table for my dad’s pizza) on my pizza. I took a bite without noticing and, as my mouth started to burn, in a panic, I grabbed my mom’s glass of Chardonnay Ame Van Dyke instead of my glass of water. I completely slammed it. Then, when I realized that I’d now added insult to injury, I fell apart. I know I did not enjoy that vintage at all! Boy, was my brother in huge trouble. I slept well, though.

Paul Krsek, 5T Wealth Management It was the communion wine at Asbury United Methodist Church in York, Penn., when I was about 12 years old. It was very sweet and I loved it—though I probably wouldn’t be able to tolerate it today. I’m not into “sweet.”

Rolf Nelson, Exchange Bank Bali Hai—very sweet, rot gut that I drank with some high school buddies on a camping trip to Yellowstone. And then we upgraded to Boone’s Farm, which was at the top of our wine list for the trip.

We’ve had reunions since those days, and the laughs almost make that hangover worthwhile.

Michael Arendt, Exchange Bank Gallo Hearty Burgundy in a one-gallon jug was the first wine I ever had. I thought it was great, until I woke up the next morning. But that didn’t stop me from graduating to the more refined tastes of Lancers, Blue Nun and Almaden Chenin Blanc.

Carolyn Stark, Sonoma County BEST Michael Arendt The first wine I remember trying was red wine from one of those old Gallo ceramic jugs. If it wasn’t that, it certainly had to be from a vaguely marked Chianti in the basket-bottle. Given this unremarkable beginning, I graduated to the wonder of matching wine with food as I learned to cook. When I accepted the job offer to come to Sonoma County, I splurged on a bottle of Silver Oak (Alexander Valley, of course). It just goes to show how many things get better with age.

Leah Elwell, American Heart Association I think the first wine I tried was Barefoot Merlot. I did like it—but I was also about 19, so I’m sure I would’ve liked almost anything.

Lisa Amador, Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa Jordan 1978 Cabernet—yummm! So good that we insisted that my parents buy it for my twin brother’s and my graduation.

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duncan@duncangarrettphoto.com Special Wine Issue 2014

Pamela S. Chanter, Vantreo Insurance Brokerage At age 18, while backpacking all over Europe for a summer, my girlfriend and I tried our first wine. We were in Florence, Italy, and could only afford a little cheese, bread and a bottle of inexpensive Chianti for dinner. We thought we’d died and gone to heaven! The problem was, the bottle was so darling, with raffia wrapped Pamela S. Chanter around the lower portion, that we both had visions of taking it home. We had to buy another bottle to solve the problem.

Matt Martin, Social Advocates for Youth I don’t remember the first wine I tried, but I do remember my first Sonoma County wine blunder. Shortly after I arrived in town, I was helping out at a fund-raiser and thought all wines were supposed to be served cold. So, I successfully chilled about 24 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon before someone discovered me stuffing the coolers. That’s what you get for turning a kid from New Bedford, Mass., loose at your special event. That’s also probably why I’ve never been asked to help out at the bar at any SAY event.

Kenneth J. Fischang, Sonoma County Tourism The first wine I remember trying that had a major impact on my love for wine today was at Valentino’s Restaurant on Pico in Los Angeles in 1988. It was a 1979 Giacomo Conterno Monfortino Barolo Riserva, and it cost about as much as my salary for that next two months. I was with a friend of mine and her boyfriend, Kenneth J. Fischang who ordered and paid for the wine and our amazing meal. It was a magical wine experience, from the initial bouquet to the final lingering of the very last drop. I was hooked! To this day, I have a soft spot in my palate for outstanding Italian food, fine red wines, the innocence of youthful wine drinkers and Valentino’s on Pico.

Susan Dickson, Private Ocean My early introduction to wine would have been Annie Green Springs, Boone’s Farm and Ripple. Of course, we were Colorado kids—and I don’t think most people, even the older crowd, drank anything other than jug wines by Ernest and Julio Gallo.

Special occasions called for Asti Spumonte or Cold Duck. In the early 1970s, Beringer White Zinfandel hit the scene and was the “fancy” wine of choice. It wasn’t until the Susan Dickson mid-1980s, when I moved to California and went to work in the wine industry, that I learned what good wine was all about.

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www.intelligentcopier.com Northbaybiz 103

Shannon Donnell. Leading in her field. Learned at Sonoma State. ͞^^h ŝƐ ůĞĂĚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĐŽƵŶƚƌLJ ŝŶ ǁŝŶĞ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ĞĚƵĐĂƟŽŶ͘ dŚĞƌĞ ŝƐ ŶŽ ŽƚŚĞƌ ƵŶŝǀĞƌƐŝƚLJ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ h͘^͘ ǁŚĞƌĞ ƚŽƉ ǁŝŶĞ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ ůĞĂĚĞƌƐ ĐŽŵĞ ƚŽŐĞƚŚĞƌ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵŵŽŶ ŐŽĂů ŽĨ ĐŽŶƟŶƵŽƵƐ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞŵĞŶƚ͖ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞŵƐĞůǀĞƐ͕ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶŝĞƐ ƚŚĞLJ ǁŽƌŬ ĨŽƌ ĂŶĚ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ ĂƐ Ă ǁŚŽůĞ͘͟ Ͳ ^ŚĂŶŶŽŶ ŽŶŶĞůů ;tŝŶĞ D ͕ ͚ϭϰͿ 'ƌŽǁĞƌ ZĞůĂƟŽŶƐ Θ sŝŶĞLJĂƌĚ KƉĞƌĂƟŽŶƐ DĂŶĂŐĞƌ ^ŽŶŽŵĂͲ ƵƚƌĞƌ sŝŶĞLJĂƌĚƐ

ĐĐĞůĞƌĂƚĞ LJŽƵƌ ĐĂƌĞĞƌ͘ dŚĞ ŶĞǁ ^ŽŶŽŵĂ džĞĐƵƟǀĞ tŝŶĞ D ďĞŐŝŶƐ DĂƌĐŚ ϮϬϭϱ͘ ŵĂŝů ŵďĂΛƐŽŶŽŵĂ͘ĞĚƵ Žƌ ĞdžƉůŽƌĞ ƐŽŶŽŵĂ͘ĞĚƵͬŵďĂ͘

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Produced Locally.

NorthBay biz magazine is your local source for business news right here in Napa, Marin and Sonoma counties.

A North bay product for nearly 40 years, we provide the premier showcase for the business community north of the golden gate.

Call us at 575-8282 or visit northbaybiz.com for your business adveritsing.

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Heidi RickerdRizzo, Terra Firma Global Partners Boone’s Farm and Annie Green Springs tasted like soda pop— with a punch!

Then, of course, there was always Mateus....

Jane Liscum Oh my, oh my…. That would be Annie Green Springs! That’s all I have to say. Bad, bad memories!

Heidi Rickerd-Rizzo

John Friedemann, Friedemann Goldberg LLP A friend and I visited my brother at UCSD when I was 15 years old. My brother bought us a John Friedemann bottle of Boone’s Farm strawberry wine, and we sat on the bluffs of Black’s Beach that night and passed the bottle back and forth. It was pretty awful, but we knew we were sophisticated because we were drinking “wine.”

Kerry Finnie, Garrett Ace Hardware As a fifth-generation duck hunter, at an early age, my parents taught me about food and wine pairings. Before my first year out, we had a big duck dinner at the start of the season for good luck. Sitting at the table, I was 12 years old and my dad poured a small glass, no larger than a tasting pretty much, of Pinot Noir. I remember

my lips puckered a bit and it burned a little going down. But then I took a bite of fresh barbecued wild duck and Yukon Gold potatoes, and I was hooked for life. The rest is history: a lifelong relationship with all kinds of wine varietals. Ended up moving here to Wine Country seven years ago, and I’m here to stay! X

Please email comments to editor@northbaybiz.com

Build It Right (415) 256-1620 San Rafael (707) 292-1577 Santa Rosa

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Christopher Silva, St. Francis Winery & Vineyards I was about six years old in the kitchen of my grandparents’ house in Petaluma. My grandfather, a Swiss-Italian dairy farmer, poured red wine out of a big jug in a wicker basket, looked me in the eye as he handed me the glass and said, “Drink it, it’s good for you.” I took a little sip and told him I liked it. Then he took the glass away and we all laughed and ate polenta. I later learned that the wine was Sonoma Zinfandel, which is what farmers drank back then.

Marty Rubino & Gayle Peterson, Big Cat Advertising When we lived in Southern California, wine wasn’t a big part of the conversation. We moved to the North Bay in 1993 and soon made a visit to Peju. That started a long relationship with Cabernet Sauvignon that’s extended to many varieties and favorite winemakers.

Special Wine Issue 2014

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BizScene A pictoral review of participants at recent North Bay events This year’s Love of the Land took place at KendallJackson in July. Attendees included (clockwise from top left): 4-H volunteers Jaden Varville, Emily Maners and Austin Maners; Ryan Beretta, Paige Nonella and Joe Pozzi, Farm Bureau director at large; Dairy Princess Ellorine Carle displaying Saralee’s hats in the live auction; and the evening’s honorees: George and Margaret Gambonini, Art Ibleto, Fred and Nancy Cline and Frank Gambonini.

Sonoma Country Wine Weekend’s Taste of Sonoma event at MacMurray Ranch (top to bottom): Ziggy the Wine Gal with Redwood Hill Farm’s David Bice; Russian River Brewing Company owners Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo ; Jordan Vineyard & Winery’s Regina Sanz and Lisa Mattson

NorthBay biz had an informal harvest party at Balletto Vineyards in early September (top to bottom): Columnist and Taft Street Winery owner Mike Martini addresses attendees on behalf of the Harvest Fair; Norm has never looked this excited to get his photo taken (with Pati Oliver, Jane Liscum, Janice Marzlin and Ross Liscum); John Balletto with Angie and Nick Frey

[Photos by Brennen Powers]

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Coming Soon to NorthBay biz November: Retail As we head into the holiday season (already?), NorthBay biz discovers what some downtown districts are doing to lure shoppers and stops by some fun and fanciful stores.

Also: Marin Country Mart

November Special Report: Technology & Innovation Agilent finalizes the spin-off of Santa Rosa’s Keysight Technologies.

Also: Shipbird Technologies

Special Issue: North Bay Perspective: A Climate for Success A detailed look at what Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties each offer for business and lifestyle

Biz Online www.northbaybiz.com

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Special Wine Issue 2014

A NorthBay biz & Bruce Burtch Business Event

Second Annual

GLOWING YOUR BUSINESS Where you’ll learn to harness the power of effective partnering

Moderator Bruce Burtch Credited with designing the first “cause marketing” campaign between Marriott Corporation and the March of Dimes over 30 years ago, Bruce continues to be a leader in the development of cause marketing and cross-sector partnerships.

Nominations Now Being Accepted

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Panelists: Karen Baker, California Secretary of Service and Volunteering

Partnership Prize Awards Honoring the BEST Cross-Sector Partnerships in the North Bay

Julie Wilder, Employee Impact Programs, Autodesk

When business and nonprofit partner, social and economic impact soars benefitting the greater North Bay community.

Nominate deserving nonprofilt and business partnerships.

Mary Jane Burke, Marin County Superintendent of Schools

www.northbaybiz.com/media/GlowEvent_NominationPgCombined_2014.pdf Awards to be presented at “Glowing Your Business” event

Marin Country Club 500 Country Club Dr., Novato 415-382-6700

Leah Laderas, Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area

November 21, 2014 8:00 a.m. Registration and full breakfast 8:30 a.m. Presentation starts 11:00 a.m. Awards Presentation Tickets $59 Table Sponsorship (8) – $650

HELPING YOU GROW YOUR BUSINESS ISN’T JUST SOMETHING WE DO...

IT’S ALL WE DO.

Online registration @ https://www.northbaybiz.com/Event_Registration_Form.php or call 707-575-8282 to reserve your spot.

BeyondtheBoardroom Karissa Kruse

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By Alexandra Russell

ith more than 17 years of experience in various aspects of marketing, brand management, strategic planning and business development, Karissa Kruse joined Sonoma County Winegrowers as director of marketing in September 2012. She was named president of the organization in May 2013. Before joining SCWG, Kruse worked for companies such as General Mills, Universal Studios, Mattel and Dairy Management, where she worked for seven years on behalf of dairy farmers nationally. She’s a partner in a small winery, Argot Wines, and owns a 25-acre parcel in Bennett Valley, with five acres planted to winegrapes.

Are you a North Bay native?

Although my roots are firmly planted in Sonoma County now, I was born in Sioux Falls, S.D., and we moved to Colorado Springs when I was 10. My parents both grew up on farms in the Midwest, so try as I might to move to big cities and work for big companies, I kept coming back to my own family’s legacy in agriculture. I think my grandpa would be proud.

What got you interested in the wine industry?

This could be a really long story, but the short of it is: A combination of loving wine and wanting to own my own business, have a product that I was really excited to market and having the business be fundamentally about agriculture. More than anything, though, I always loved that wine seemed to bring people together.

For me, there aren’t great wines but, rather, great wine experiences.

Do you have a big family?

I lost my brother eight years ago, so it’s just my parents and me.

I think it’s why I love what I do so much—it feels like I have a big extended family here in Sonoma County.

Would you describe yourself as more of a thinker or feeler?

I overthink everything and then act on my gut instinct.

Did you do anything wild when you were a teen?

Does getting good grades, volunteering and playing sports count? What can I say? I was a total nerd in high school.

Have you forgiven yourself for past personal failures?

I used to have a really hard time forgiving myself or letting something go. My new trick is that I let myself obsess over whatever I did or said for 48 hours. Then I write it down, stick it in a box and, at the end of every year, I go through the box, reflect on those things and then burn the pieces of paper. Once something goes in the box, I try my hardest to let it go.

If you could visit with any person in history, who would it be and why?

I’d spend the day with my brother, catching him up on all of the twists and turns of my life in the eight years since he passed away.

What movies have you watched over and over again?

One of my favorite movies is “Almost Famous.” There’s a line in the movie, said by Kate Hudson’s character, “It’s all happening.” I feel like that sometimes—like my life is finally happening. I also always get sucked into a good period piece such as “Pride and Prejudice.” One of my favorite movies, that I marketed when I worked for Universal Studios, was “Erin Brockovich.” And who can resist “Top Gun,” “The Godfather” or any John Hughes movie?

What spells adventure for you?

Adventure, to me, is anything that makes me tingle with anticipation—that perfect combination of being excited and being nervous. It can be exploring a new city, meeting new people, getting up in front of a group to speak, being at the starting line of a race or even trying a new food or hike.

What’s a favorite food and wine pairing?

Sparkling wine with everything!

[Duncan Garrett Photography]

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Special Wine Issue 2014

Once again, I can hold my own.

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For the second year in a row, we’ve also been named among the leading hospitals for orthopedic care

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116 Northbaybiz

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Special Wine Issue 2014