Nancy Tenuta is one of only six female winery owners in the Livermore Valley, due east of San Francisco. Tenuta and her then-husband Ron purchased a 22-acre lot just east of the Ruby Hill subdivision in Livermore in June 2000 with the vision of immersing themselves in the world of wine. There, 14 acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were being grown in about a 50/50 mix. All of the vines were between 12 and 25 years old at the time. To establish Tenuta Vineyards, over the next three years the Tenutas built a 16,000-square-foot winery and a 5,000-square-foot estate home nearby. In all, they invested more than $5 million in the project, money that Nancy Tenuta collected using a variety of “creative” means, according to her, given that banks aren’t fond of such risky ventures.
Rod Bergland, with the assistance of some other partners, founded La Crema Viñera in 1979 in a Petaluma business park. The name, which translates as the Best of the Vine, was an intentional boast: Bergland believed his vineyards produced the best grapes in Sonoma.
1n 1975, Bergland, then a biology student at Sonoma State University, worked a harvest without pay for Joseph Swan, even then an iconic California winemaker, who would become his mentor. Swan was a perfectionist who would readily dispose of wines that did not meet his standards, and he willingly used marginal equipment, including a tiny press that was allegedly broken half the time.
Initially, La Crema focused efforts on developing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast, using Swan’s techniques like gentle handling, precision sorting, whole-cluster pressing, and open-top fermentation. The early years were difficult however, and Bergland later recounted to wine writer Dan Berger that he worked the night shift at Safeway to make ends meet.
In 1986 Bergland married Joseph Swan’s stepdaughter, Lynn. The couple worked with Swan on the 1977 vintage but that would turn out to be Swan’s last. He was ill with cancer and passed away in 1989.
In 1993, Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke purchased La Crema Viñera, shortened the name of the operation to La Crema, and produced the first wine under their team in 1994 (Bergland made the 1993 for them). Jackson had already decided that La Crema would become part of an expanding portfolio of wineries, each with its own specialty and identity. La Crema would make wines from cool-climate regions on the Pacific coast states, mainly from the principal Burgundian varieties, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with which the winery was already well established.
In 1996, a new winery (not open to the public) was constructed in the Russian River Valley appellation, and a tasting room opened in the town of Healdsburg in 2006. During this decade, Jackson’s daughters, Laura Jackson Giron and Jenny Jackson Hartford, along with his sons-in-law, Rick Giron and Don Hartford, began managing the day-to-day operations and representing the winery out in the market.
La Crema had been sourcing some of their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the renowned Saralee’s Vineyard in Russian River Valley. The winery had developed a close relationship with Richard and Saralee McClelland Kunde, and eventually purchased the vineyard from them in 2013. The circa-1900 barn on the property was modernized and reopened as the La Crema Estate at Saralee’s Vineyard in 2016, replacing the Healdsburg tasting room.
Saralee’s Vineyard. Photo: Deborah BeyesThe renovated barn. Photo: Robert Lewis
The Winemakers
Head winemaker Craig McAllister has made wine in his native New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Cyprus. He joined La Crema in 2007 as the Harvest Enologist after studying at Lincoln University in New Zealand, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in viticulture and enology. He has been a steward of La Crema’s Monterey program and worked extensively on the Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. He also helped to further develop La Crema’s collection of single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines. He was promoted to head winemaker in 2017.
Craig McAllister
McAllister is assisted by winemaker Eric Johannsen, who received undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Philosophy. He pursued a Master of Science in Enology at the University of California, Davis. Before joining La Crema in 2004, Johannsen spent his early career at such wineries as Mount Eden Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Cuvaison Estate Wines in Napa, and Williams Selyem Winery in Healdsburg.
Eric Johannsen
Sustainability
Sustainability is a touch-stone at wineries everywhere, and La Crema is no different. The winery itself is third-party certified under the Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance’s program. All of La Crema’s Estate Vineyards are third-party certified under the Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance’s program and the SIP program.
Cover crops provide beneficial insect habitat and improve water holding. Leaf pulling reduces disease and reduces road dust to control mite populations. Habitat conservation in and around the vineyards provides biodiversity.
Only drip irrigation is used to conserve water and the energy to pump it. 100% of winery water used is recycled for landscaping and vineyard irrigation.
La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2019
One of Sonoma County’s largest AVAs, the Sonoma Coast Appellation stretches from the San Pablo Bay in the south to Mendocino County line to the north, and runs primarily along the mountainous coastline of the Pacific Ocean. The AVA is known for its strong maritime influence that provides a cool growing climate throughout the year, with fog-moderating warmer summer temperatures. The fruit for this wine was sourced from several of La Crema’s estate vineyards including Saralee’s, Kelli Ann, and Durell. Soils across the vineyards are predominantly free draining and low vigor.
Once picked, the fruit is gently pressed and allowed to settle for 24 hours before being fermented. This Chard spent seven months on the lees in barrels, which were a mix of 75% French and 25% American oak, of which just 17% was new. It presents with a very pale yellow in the glass, followed by very delicate aromas, primarily citrus. This continues on the palate as crisp grapefruit, orange, and lemon meringue, supported by moderate acidity. The wine becomes richer and rather more balanced about an hour after opening, unusual for a white. The ABV is 13.5%.
I’m obviously a wine enthusiast, and with my wife will drink all or most of a full bottle of wine with dinner just about every night. However, you may enjoy less wine with your meals. If so, consider 375 mL half bottles. They are also handy if you want a red and your companion wants a white, like the two shown here. Half bottles are also convenient for picnic outings. And, empty half bottles are great for storing leftover wine; just fill the half bottle as close to the top as you can, reseal it (easily done if the closure is a screw cap), and park it in the refrigerator.
Keith Rütz’s first career track was in the fashion industry. He was the proprietor of two trendy clothing boutiques located near the UC Berkeley campus. To search out the latest styles, he frequently travelled to both London and Paris. It was in France where he began to develop his love of Burgundy and interest in wine generally.
Many years ago, while driving through Sonoma County, Arturo Keller and his wife Deborah came upon a piece of property overlooking the Petaluma River with a tremendous view and expansive terrain. Keller, a passionate antique car collector and native of Mexico, purchased the 50-acre parcel in 1982. He soon had a paved road built that wove about the property to serve as his own miniature racecourse. Keller also recognized the potential of the property as a grape-growing site, and in 1989 the La Cruz Vineyard was began.
Over time, Keller added more acreage, and planted Pinot Noir, Syrah, Viognier, and Pinot Gris, and began making wine for family and friends. Keller soon called on his youngest daughter, Ana, who had studied chemistry at the University of Mexico, to become the nascent winery’s winemaker.
Keller Estate released their first wines in 2001, an estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The name ‘Keller Estate’ pays homage to the Keller family’s Swiss heritage, since the word ‘keller’ is cellar in German.
Ana also started a sister brand, Casa Wines, which are sourced exclusively from the family’s La Cruz Vineyard. Casa Wines produces Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and a red blend.
Keller Estate has completed the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program. The winery utilizes a natural water source, promotes local wildlife to live on the property, and is home to thousands of newly planted trees. The vines are all grown sustainably and organically.
The Keller Estate Winery
The Winemakers
Ana Keller – Estate Director and Winemaker
Raised in Mexico, Ana’s first exposure to wine came early in life when she spent her holidays in France’s Loire Valley harvesting grapes. “When my father asked me to join him in establishing Keller Estate, I was overjoyed,” she related. “We have accomplished much of what we initially set out to do, and it’s up to me to continue to make sure our quality never fluctuates.”
She holds degrees from both the University of Mexico (biopharmaceutical chemistry) and a Masters in Pharmaceutical Development from the prestigious King’s College in London. While there, she took her first formal wine tasting lessons.
Keller was heavily involved in the effort to make her property part of the AVA (American Viticultural Area) called the Petaluma Gap AVA.
“When you consider what the winds of the gap do to the area and to the grapes themselves, it seems to be a no-brainer. The winds force our (Pinot Noir) grapes to develop thicker skins and that in itself changes the equation.”
The fog-shrouded Petaluma Gap
Keller devotes 100 percent of her time to Keller Estate, and confided that her parents are still active in the business as well. “Whenever my father is available, he sits in on our meetings and tastings. He is still quite active and his passion for cars takes up a great deal of his time. He cares a great deal about the winery since it is still a relatively small family operation.”
Julien Teichmann – Winemaker
Born in Goettingen, Germany, Julien Teichman joined Keller Estate in 2018. His passion for fermentation began with an internship at a brewery. He next spent some time in Florence, Italy where he had his first contact with winemaking and vineyards. Julien then earned a degree in winemaking from the Weincampus Neustadt in Germany.
Julien traveled the world working harvests and finally came to the United States in 2013, where he spent time at Kosta Brown and Merry Edwards before joining Keller Estate. He espouses a profound respect for the vineyard, and a holistic approach to farming and winemaking.
About the Vineyard
The Keller Estate La Cruz Vineyard features an intricate stone cross sculpture that boldly stands over the vines, and was named to represent the family’s Mexican heritage.
The majority of the La Cruz Vineyard, where Keller Estate grows all of their Chardonnay, Syrah, Pinot Gris, and slightly over half of their Pinot Noir, resides on the lower hills of the property. The soils here are multi-layered, mineral-laden clays there were once San Pablo Bay seabeds. This mineral character comes through in the wines and is very much a part of the Keller Estate’s unique terroir.
Keller Estate Casa Chardonnay 2019
To start with, this bottle was sealed with a synthetic plastic cork. Not the worst one I’ve ever encountered (although the one in the second bottle was harder to get out than the first), but I’m just not a fan. I’m fine with manufactured corks, where cork is ground up, treated to prevent cork taint, and then reconstituted as closely as possible to the bark itself. But failing that, I’ll take a screw cap over a plastic stopper any day.
Moving on to the wine. The fruit was sourced from the Keller Estate’s La Cruz Vineyard, in the Petaluma Gap region of the Sonoma Coast. The wine was fermented in both barrels and stainless steel. This 100% Chardonnay is very pale yellow in the glass. The moderately aromatic nose features grapefruit and honeydew. These are on the palate as well, with moderate but bright acidity and mineral notes. Although it saw some oak aging, the result is subtle at best. 1,600 cases were produced, and the ABV is 14.2%.
L. to R.: Disctrict 7 Chardonnay, Scheid Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, and Ryder Estate Pinot Noir Rosé. Click here for tasting notes.
Today is Earth Day, first held on April 22, 1970. An ideal moment to examine Scheid Family Wines, a producer deeply committed to earth-friendly practices (an enthusiasm shared by more and more winemakers every year, fortunately).’
Proprietor Ron Lachini’s family hails from the Tuscan town of Lucca. At some point, his grandfather immigrated to the United States, settling in the large Italian community of San Francisco’s North Beach. He started making wine with his father and grandfather in their garages as a child.
Winemaker Katy Wilson founded LaRue Wines in 2009 when she was just 26, but already had years of experience. She is one of the few but growing number of women in the wine industry. Continue reading “LaRue Wines”
Yet another white-collar professional turned winery owner, Randy Wulff was an attorney for 20 years. After graduating from the Honors College at the University of Oregon and Hastings College of the Law, he worked as a successful trial lawyer and mediator at a law firm in San Francisco. “Even when I was one of the chief mediators during the World Trade Center property damage claims hearings arising from the tragedy of 9/11 that lasted for more than two and a half years, my wife Krys and I had always dreamed of being in the wine business,” Wulff reminisced.
Krys Wulff got her undergraduate degree at the University of San Francisco, and a Masters at Mills College in Oakland, California. She worked as an optical industry consultant for over 25 years while also raising two sons. She has devoted her energies to several philanthropic, educational, and advocacy organizations, including the Piedmont League of Women Voters, the East Bay Junior League, and EdSource, an independent, non-partisan organization that works to engage Californians on key education challenges with the goal of enhancing learning success.
Randy grew up with Krys in California’s Central Valley. “We were high school sweethearts and have been married for over 48 years,” shared Randy. “She is the heart and soul of Lobo Wines, and our success is directly related to her efforts. I can’t think of anything better than sharing our success with the person I love the most.”
As is not unusual for well-heeled San Francisco residents, the Wulffs eventually purchased a second home, in Napa Valley. “We were living in the East Bay and Napa Valley was only an hour’s drive away. Whenever we arrived there, it was like living in another world,” Randy recalled. They soon planted Chardonnay on the property, which is located in the Oak Knoll district. “When the first usable fruit came in, we sold the grapes to Randy Lewis, and he produced a wine that notched incredibly high scores. I thought to myself, this is easy, and we decided to really delve into the wine industry.”
Continuing to expand their efforts as grape growers, a few years later the Wulffs acquired a much larger vineyard about a mile from the first one, where they made substantial improvements to drainage and vine care. In 2007, they acquired a 42-acre property on Atlas Peak, on the eastern ridge of the Napa Valley. With that commitment, the couple established a winery of their own that same year, naming it Lobo Wines. Lobo is Spanish for ‘wolf,’ a play on their last name, of course. The first vintage yielded just 25 cases, but production has gradually increased to around 1,500 cases.
“We want to grow Lobo Wines carefully,” Randy explained. “Our goal is probably around 5,000 cases, and we want everything to be home grown. At this point, we crush some 100 tons of fruit, but we sell around 70 percent to other wineries. Over time, we will sell less and produce more.”
Sadly, the horrendous Atlas Peak fire of 2017 devastated the Lobo winery and the Wulffs’ home site. Undeterred, they immediately set about to rebuild the winery and residence, a project that is ongoing.
The Winemakers
Victoria Coleman Coleman, a Seattle native, began her winemaking apprenticeship at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars as a production assistant in 1998. While there, she enrolled in a winemaking class at Napa Valley College. As part of that course, she crushed a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in a drum with her feet in the time-honored manner. The experience of hands-on winemaking fueled her desire to learn everything she could about it.
She began working with Mario Bazán at Bazán Cellars in 2004 as the winery’s founding winemaker. To further her formal education, she enrolled at the University of California, Davis, (incubator for thousands of winemakers) in the fall of 2006 and graduated in June 2008. She was exposed to classic, Old World winemaking immediately thereafter while working alongside Erick Tourbier at Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux. Starting in January 2010, she gained further international experience as winemaker at Jade Valley Winery near Xian, China. She returned to Napa Valley in 2015 and began work at Lobo Wines, where her products include both the Napa Valley and Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and a proprietary blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah named “Howl.”
Randy Lewis Lewis came to winemaking via a circuitous route. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, he was a race car driver for more than two decades, first as a Formula Three driver in Europe, where he discovered the wines there and what life as a winemaker could be like. He then raced in America in Formula 5000, Can Am, and finally Indy Cars from 1983 to 1991, competing in five Indy 500s. After retiring as a driver, he helped a friend set up a winery in Napa Valley, and then, with his wife Debbie, he established his own winery in Napa in 1992.
Lobo Chardonnay 2017
Made by Randy Lewis at Lewis Cellars, this 100% Chardonnay is sourced from fruit grown at the Lobo Wulff estate vineyard in Oak Knoll. It is lemon yellow in the glass, and features aromas of lemon, honeysuckle, and melon. The mouthfeel is rich and smooth, and offers flavors of lemon, grapefruit, and more melon. There is good acidity, restrained oak, and a bit of vanilla on the medium finish. ABV is 14.7% and 150 cases were produced.
Lobo Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
This wine, made by Victoria Coleman, was chosen by Great Britain’s Decanter magazine in 2019 as the Top Cabernet Sauvignon in California over 197 other competitors. It was made from 100% estate grown fruit in the Atlas Peak appellation of Napa Valley, on a rocky, volcanic hillside at 1,350 feet elevation. This is a blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot (allegedly for “balance and complexity,” although I can’t imagine how much of that such a small percentage could contribute.) On the nose, this Cabernet Sauvignon offers aromas of dark fruit and hints of vanilla. There are ripe plum, black currant, and blackberry on the palate. These harmonize with medium, satiny tannins, nicely integrated acidity, and hint of black tea at the end. ABV is 14.4%.
Irv Bliss’ early years as a farmer were occupied with growing pears, prunes, walnuts, and a large family garden just outside of Healdsburg, in Sonoma County, California. Although successful, for years Bliss nursed the vision of planting a vineyard in Mendocino, which he believed to be one of the best places around to grow grapes. In 1943, he purchased a plot of land in southern Mendocino County, and immediately planted the vineyard of his dreams. In the early days, in addition to growing grapes on the property, Bliss farmed figs and raised sheep and cattle. At some point in the 1970s, all 100 acres of the land was converted to grape production, mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.
When Leonard met Martha
In 1910, the Brutocao (pronounced brew’ tuh coe) family emigrated from Treviso, Italy (a small town near Venice), at first settling in Canada. Son Leonard Brutocao was born in 1935 in Fort Erie, Canada, and, after the family moved to the U.S., was raised in Covina, California. He met Irv Bliss’ daughter Martha while attending the University of California, Berkeley. After Leonard and Martha married, the families joined forces, and continued to farm grapes which they sold to well-known Sonoma and Napa wineries. Irv and Leonard worked together for over 35 years until Irv’s retirement in 1969, at which point the new ownership was split between Lenonard and Lenonard’s brother Albert.
For several years, most of the family’s grapes were sold to local area wineries, including Beringer and Mondavi. Leonard and Albert were interested in more than just farming however, and saw the potential for producing a handcrafted Mendocino wine. Acting on this vision, the Brutocao family released their first wine with the 1980 vintage. Shortly thereafter, they chose as their symbol of family tradition and quality a version of the Lion of St. Mark, the lion on top of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, Italy, (But they flipped the way it faces, for whatever reason.) x
In 1991, the original winery was built, and the first estate vintage was produced. Around the same time, Leonard’s three sons, David, Len Jr., and Steve, joined the family business.
Brutocao outgrew the first winery by 2003, when a new facility was built, and it was expanded in 2009. The original building has now become an onsite wine storage warehouse. The more visitor-friendly tasting room is about a mile and a half due west, in Hopland, California. x
The Winemaker
Hoss Milone became the winemaker for Brutocao in 2009 after spending 18 years toiling for Ferrari-Carano. Hoss is a fourth-generation winemaker who grew up in his family’s vineyards, and watched his grandfather and father produce their own Mendocino wines. Milone is also a trained cooper, aka barrel maker. At some point it was discovered that Milone’s grandfather tilled the land for Irv Bliss in the original vineyard. Quite a coincidence.
The Vineyards
TheBliss Vineyard, also known as the Home Ranch, is the original property purchased in 1943 by Irv Bliss. The vineyard is 400 acres, with 177 acres planted to Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, Merlot, Sangiovese, Barbera, and Dolcetto.
TheFeliz Vineyard was purchased in 1994. It is 583 acres in size, with 114 acres planted to Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Barbera, Zinfandel, and Pinot Noir.
The 251-acre Contento Vineyard was purchased in 1997, but not planted until 1999. 90 acres are now under vine, growing Cabernet Sauvignon and Primitivo*. Contento is the site of an old cattle ranch, where purebred Brangus cattle were raised. Some of the ranch was used for research and development of new tractor equipment, resulting in very well-worked soils.
Brutocao Chardonnay 2019
Made by Brutocao since the mid-1980s, this pale-straw colored Chardonnay comes entirely from Bliss Vineyard, the original property purchased by Irv Bliss in 1943. The wine was 100% barrel fermented and sur lies aged for nine months in French oak, 30% of which was new. Some of the grapes were “whole cluster pressed” for maximum flavor extraction. It underwent 100% malolactic fermentation, which in this case lead to citrus rather than the more typical buttery notes.
The wine opens with aromas of honeysuckle, pear, and mango. These evolve into a full-bodied palate of tropical fruit with just a hint of butterscotch on the finish. Serve moderately chilled at about 60° F. ABV is 13.5%, and 3000 cases were produced.
*There is ongoing debate about whether or not Primitivo and Zinfandel are the same grape. However, it is agreed that at the least they both share a Croatian forebear. Primitivo is mostly planted in Italy, while Zinfandel is almost exclusively American. Winemaker Hoss Milone insists that Brutocao’s Primitivo can be sourced back to mother vines in Italy. He also believes Primitivo prefers French oak aging, while Zinfandel is more suited to American oak.
The pioneering Trefethen Family Vineyards is truly a rarity in the Napa Valley: a winery that grows, vinifies, and ages all of its wines entirely on the property, and has been helmed by a single family for three generations.
When most of us think of a winery, what usually comes to mind is the romantic stereotype of a rustic but exquisite barn situated halfway up a mountain in the western U. S. overlooking a bucolic valley below; a fabulous hundred-years old chateau surrounded by ancient vines somewhere in France; or perhaps even a charming azienda agricola in Italy with a view of Roman ruins. But that’s not the only way to do it. Adega Northwest of Portland, Oregon, is very much an urban winery. There are vineyards, of course, you just won’t see them if you pay the winery a visit (by appointment only). And because they are not tied to an estate, Adega Northwest can and does draw on sources throughout the region. Continue reading “Adega Northwest Winery”
Patz & Hall was founded in 1988 when two Flora Springs Winery and Vineyards employees, assistant winemaker James Hall and national sales manager Donald Patz, decided to strike out on their own. Their ambition was to apply traditional (i.e. French) winemaking techniques to fruit from elite, small vineyards, specializing in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The winery went on to great success.
Some winemakers and winery proprietors are born into the business. Some buy into the business. And some evolve into it. Greg LaFollette of Alquimista evolved quite successfully. He has been called a “vine whisperer,” a “cellar magician,” and a “tireless coaxer and protector of handcrafted wines.” He is one of Sonoma’s most revered winemakers, and was honored as Winemaker of the Year in 2010. He has also been tagged “Prince of Pinot” by the website of the same name.
Eric Flanagan did not come of age with a background in the wine business, or even farming. After graduating from college in 1985, he embarked on a banking career, which he pursued until 2013. His job during those years took him on journeys around the world. He had always had an interest in wine, and over the course of these trips Flanagan became fascinated by how grapes of the same variety expressed themselves in different places.
and I had always dreamed of being in the wine business,” Wulff reminisced.
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