Lance Silver of Tobin James Winery
by Christopher Trela
Zinfandel may not be California’s official state wine (a bill that would have elevated Zinfandel to that lofty status was vetoed last year), but it is a grape that is distinctly Californian. Despite its popularity, Zinfandel represents only 10 percent of grapes crushed in the state, although 600 of California’s 800 commercial wineries bottle Zinfandel either exclusively (like Zin Alley in Paso Robles) or as part of their wine portfolio.
Tobin James Cellars falls into the latter category. The winery makes 11 different Zinfandel blends, an impressive number considering how many other varietals and blends are produced by Tobin James.
“It’s a distinctive wine,” says Lance Silver, co-owner of Tobin James Cellars. “California is the only place on earth that grows Zinfandel. It has a popularity that transcends how much is grown. In fact, there is an organization called ZAP that has thousands of consumer members that attend tastings religiously and they’re all about tasting big Zins, which express what California is all about: we’re big, we’re bold, and we do what we want to do.”
Big and bold are key ingredients in the wines produced by Tobin James, which has been acclaimed for its Zinfandel blends. According to Silver, that acclaim boils down to the vineyards that produce the grapes.
“Zinfandel tastes different depending on where it’s grown—the grape truly expresses each site,” says Silver. “We bring in 27 different zinfandel vineyards, and that doesn’t count the sub-vineyards within those. The most famous is the Dusi vineyard. Part of that vineyard is 80 years old, part of it is 60 year old, some of it is 25 years old, and so on, so you have an 80-year-old vineyard that is basically many different vineyards in one. This means that when we make our Dusi Zinfandel, it’s a blend of several different sub-Dusi vineyards.”
Tobin James does have its signature Zin blends. The Silver Reserve Zinfandel is jammy and spicy, peppery yet herbaceous with sage and licorice. Fat Boy Zinfandel is fat, jammy, voluptuous and in-your-face. French Camp is a single vineyard Zin that highlights the brambly and white pepper characteristics. To achieve their optimum blends, Silver consults with his full-time winemaker and his winery co-owner--his wife, Claire.
“I say this is what I want, and they say we can make it even better,” laughs Silver. “We sit down with samples of the last two years in front of us and we try to make the next year a little bit better. In California, we are blessed with having nine out of ten great years of grape production---and that tenth year is still really good.”
Silver says that consumers have become educated on Zinfandel, and they know that it pairs well with a variety of foods.
“Zinfandel works well with greasy foods like cheeseburgers, as well as BBQ ribs, steaks, things like that,” says Silver.
One Zinfandel that Tobin James makes – Blue Moon Zinfandel – is what Silver describes as the ultimate expression of Zinfandel.
“It’s over the top, jammy, rich, concentrated, with cracked pepper, great spiciness, and notes of anise, sage, and rosemary,” says Silver. “When you have all those flavors and you can put them all together and it lingers, that’s what we go for.”
WILSON CREEK WINERY: A Sip of Success
By Christopher Trela
Wilson Creek Winery has grown from a small mom and pop business into a large mom and pop business—because mom and pop are still running the show. Gerry Wilson and his wife Rosie started selling their bottled elixir on October 14, 2000, out of a small building on their property at the far end of Temecula Valley. Little did they know that, five years later, their winery would be one of the largest facilities in Temecula, growing from a few thousand bottles a year to an annual production that now hovers at 60,000 cases. Their wine club, which numbers more than 7,000 wine fans, is the fastest growing club around. The secret, said Gerry over a glass of Merlot at his winery, is good wine, good people, and a healthy dose of good luck.
Q: How do you explain the phenomenal growth of Wilson Creek Winery?
A: We have been very fortunate, we’re still trying to figure out the reason for it. Of course, we have splendid wines, but you can get good wine anywhere. What we try to do here at Wilson Creek is give this place a warm, family type feeling to it. I think people are hungry for that, as opposed to a typical corporate purchase where you go in and get a perfunctory tasting, no eye contact or anything. We try to treat this as if you’re stepping into our living room. We also try to take wine off the snob shelf and not talk down to people. We get a lot of young people from Orange County and San Diego, they’re out to have a good time but they also want to learn something, so it’s our chance to sell them on wine, and not make it rocket science but make it a pleasurable, fun experience.
Q: You’ve also been successful in extended your business beyond just selling wine.
A: We have not totally depended on wine. We have special events, concerts, weddings—those things help take the pressure off. You might want to be a small winery and have your niche, but in order to support four families, we didn’t have a choice. It’s been a team effort. There’s a lot to do in a winery and I don’t know how single couples do it. It’s a lot of work. Now we get to split up the duties. My son Mick is in charge of the wine club and custom labeling, and my other son Bill is the GM and oversees the production. We have eight family members involved, they all contribute one way or another. We’re aware of the pitfalls of a family business, so we try to make sure everyone is working where they’re happiest.
Q: Can you explain your business plan and how it helped the business grow so fast?
A: If I were to write a book, I think I would say we did it backwards. Most business set up their production facility first, and then retail it. We outsourced it first and as money came in the front door we started buying tanks and putting them in back of the winery. I had a chance to run that methodology with the entrepreneurial class at USC, and they said it was a great idea. I said it was a necessity, it wasn’t a brilliant thing on our part. We had a five year business plan, which was quite conservative, and we blew it away in less than two years, so we kept revising it. There area lot of sharp business people out there, smarter than me, and it’s been harder for them, so maybe it’s the timing. Entering a business at the right time can make you look real good, but if you enter a business at the wrong time when interest rates are way up, inflation is through the roof and real estate prices up, it can make you look kind of stupid, even though you might be a brilliant business man. Timing is everything. When we acquired this property in the mid 90s, California was coming out of a recession and we caught it as it was just on its way up. We bought 20 acres of vines, and subsequently bought 70 more to protect our perimeter from encroachment, but that first 20 acres cost a fourth of those other 70 acres.
Q: What made you want to open a winery in the first place?
A: Lifestyle change was the prime reason we came down here. We knew if we came to Temecula and opened a used car dealership or tire shop or clothing store or ice cream shop, it would be a grind to go to work every day. I’m sure glad l’m not in the corporate world, stuck in a cubicle, spending an enormous amount of time on the freeway. We enjoy a lifestyle here that is incredible.
Q: Did you have any idea you’d be this successful?
A: No, I didn’t plan on this at all. It’s like holding onto a raft riding the rapids, wondering where it’s going. You just hold on. I want to be careful, we don’t want to grow too fast. I remember reading in business books that a lot of businesses have gotten too big for themselves and collapsed under their own weight. We don’t want to do that, so we’re taking baby steps in that area. We only bite what we can digest. But with business increasing, and the distribution increasing, the case production keeps going up. It’s all relative, though—we’re around 60,000 cases and climbing, but then you see Gallo at 11 million, Mondavi at 6 million, so compared to them we’re small fry. But in Temecula, we’re a big fish in a small pond.
A Doctor of Wines
By Christopher Trela
Dr. Frank Crinella is a professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and human behavior at UCI, and has lived in
In 1944, Marian and Marino Crinello acquired a 72 acre ranch in
Frank and Ramona added Pinot Noir grapes to their property, and now make three distinct wines, including a late harvest dessert wine called Glissando.
“Our parents were sticklers for doing things the right way,” notes Frank. “Whether playing a sport, musical instrument or studying, there was no substitute for excellence. We were taught to have patience and to take the time to do things right the first time. We have that same approach to our vineyards and winemaking—to make the best wine possible from the best grapes possible.”
That has certainly occurred—the 2003 Sauvignon Blanc (the first vintage from the Marino Vineyard) won a silver medal at the 2004 Sonoma County Harvest Festival, while the 2005 vintage garnered a gold medal at the Dallas Morning News Wine Competition.
But it's the 2006 vintage that has been garnering Crinella's greatest acclaim: 91 points in Wine Enthusiast Magazine, a Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco International Wine competition, and a Gold Medal at the OC County Fair. Glissando was also awarded Gold at the San Francisco International Wine Competition.
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HAMILTON OAKS VINEYARD
www.hamiltonoaksvineyard.com
Hidden up the street from popular biker hangout Cook’s Corner in beautiful Trabuco Canyon lies Orange County’s first vineyard to be planted in more than 100 years: Hamilton Oaks, owned by Ron Tamez and his wife, who have been growing grapes since 1989.
“My whole intention was to make wine for myself and friends, and then give it away and drink it,” says Ron, who trained at University of California, Davis through its winemaking extension program. The award-winning Hamilton Oaks produces 3100 cases a year (varietals include Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Port, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel), and is distributed to Orange County restaurants like Salt Creek Grill, Sundried Tomato, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and Balboa Bay Club. You can even find his wines in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Mesa Grill Restaurant. Hamilton Oaks has a small tasting room open to the public by appointment only. It also includes two patios that can be rented for special events.
Summertime is Wine Time
By Noelle Novoa and Christopher Trela
Summertime is a terrific time to hit the road and go wine tasting: the weather is warm, vines are bursting with berries, and wineries gladly pour the fruits of their labors.
Of course, this is also tourist season, which means you’ll be vying for room with countless other wine fans. It’s nearly impossible to avoid the crowds no matter your wine country destination, but we’ve got a few tips on what to see and do, as well as where to stay, that are a bit off the beaten path but well worth seeking out.
TEMECULA
Little more than an hour from OC, Temecula now boasts more than 30 wineries, with more on the way. Most tasting rooms get crowded on the weekends, so instead of sticking to the main drag (Rancho
Take your pick of Frangipani, Cougar, Keyways, Temecula Hills,
But for the best wines in Temecula, you need to make a detour to a sprawling housing subdivision, where you’ll discover Briar Rose Winery. Available to taste by appointment only, this boutique winery makes premium, award-winning red and white wines (top price is $120) that demand attention.
Briar Rose is located in a faithful re-creation of Snow White’s cottage, hand-built by former Disney designer Belvin Fields, who helped create
The tasting experience at Briar Rose lasts more than an hour, and encompasses a variety of wines. Les is usually there to talk about his wines and his detailed method of crafting the perfect blend, while Dorian often plays hostess and handles the many VIP groups that seek out the winery. Information: Briarrosewinery.com, or (951) 308-1098.
Overnight accommodations in Temecula vary, but one stands out: The Castle B&B, located in the heart of wine country. This
Those unfamiliar with Temecula wine country can pick up a wine tasting map and explore on their own, but why not call Ginger Giordano at Going Grape, which specializes in personalized wine country tours for up to six people. Ginger spent eight years at Thornton Winery and knows the best spots to taste wine in Temecula, as well as the history of Temecula. Information: goinggrape.com, or (951) 852-1923.
SANTA BARBARA
Two hours north of OC is another up and coming wine destination:
For an unusual wine tasting experience, head north of
Peter Work of Ampelos Cellars (ampeloscellars.com) describes the setting as, “No fancy tasting rooms, modern art galleries, wine souvenir shops or sunken gardens here. This is new frontier spirit tasting between the barrels!”
Only a few of the wineries have regular tasting room hours; most require private appointments. Be prepared for “winemaking at its rawest form,” says Angela Lavie co-owner of La Vie Vineyards (lavievineyards.com). “The Wine Ghetto proves that wine can be made anywhere.”
Sightseeing opportunities in
Need a place to dine? Try Bothers Restaurant at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos, a fine dining restaurant run by brothers Matt and Jeff Nichols located in an 1886 stagecoach stop. The food is superb, the wine list packed with local favorites, and the ambiance is historic and charming. (matteistavern.com)
Among the many overnight accommodations is one that stands out as completely offbeat and fun: The Victorian Mansion B&B in
Four hours drive from OC will bring you to Paso Robles, a wine area that’s rapidly becoming known as “the next Tobin James Cellars (tobinjames.com) may be the most fun-filled tasting room in Paso Robles. The Wild West theme is apparent from the moment you step on the property. The winery’s prize possession is the main tasting bar, the same one where Jesse James used to belly up and knock back his whiskey. Winery owner Tobin James bought the bar and had it shipped from Plenty of overnight accommodations are available in the Paso Robles area, but you can’t go wrong with the historic Paso Robles Inn (pasoroblesinn.com). Built in 1891, the Paso Robles Inn features hot spring mineral baths in many of the rooms. They seem to do the trick—famed pianist Ignace Paderewski came to the Paso Robles Inn in 1913 for treatments, and after three months his arthritis disappeared and he resumed his concert tour. He later returned and lived at the hotel for many years. Other notable names who visited the hotel: President Theodore Roosevelt, Douglas Fairbanks, Boris Karloff, Bob Hope, and Clark Gable.
OC Wine: I’ve Got a Crush On You: California Wine Harvest By Noelle Novoa and Christopher Trela 
PASO ROBLES
Clautiere’s tasting room (clautiere.com) has been described as Edward Scissorhands meets the Mad Hatter at the Moulin Rouge. Visitors are encouraged to don outrageous wigs and hats as they sip Clautiere’s magnificent wines. Their special events, which range from theatrical performances to dance events, are as outrageous as the tasting room décor.
From Temecula and Santa Barbara to Paso Robles and Napa Valley, vineyards this time of year are hanging low with grapes—some big and juicy, others small yet packed with concentrated flavors. This can mean only one thing: It’s harvest time for the wine industry.
That’s why Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared September to be California Wine Month. It’s a way to draw attention to California's wine community and thank them for strengthening the state's economy, which makes sense since every year nearly 20 million tourists visit wine regions throughout California, which is now the fourth-largest wine producer in the world (around 90 percent of all American wine is produced in California). Wine is the number one finished agricultural product in California, creating more than $51 billion in annual economic impact.
Harvest – or “crush” as it’s more commonly known in the industry – starts in September, and can last into November depending on the grape varietal grown and the style of wine a vintner intends to make. Crush is an exciting time for winemakers, because it’s when they finally see the fruits of their year-long labors.
THE LONG ROAD FROM VINE TO WINE
According to Lance Silver, co-owner of Tobin James Winery in Paso Robles, harvest is not just about the crush, it’s the culmination of a 12-month process of growing and tending vineyards, although crush is considered a critical stage in the winemaking process.
“You have maybe an eight-week period to make an entire year’s worth of wine,” says Silver. “The only thing a winemaker can do is ruin the grapes. You can’t make them better. You can’t take mediocre grapes and make a great wine, but you can take great grapes and make a mediocre wine. We like to say that there are 20 steps to making wine, and for each of those steps there are 20 different ways to do it, so there is an infinite combination of how a grape becomes wine.”
“It’s a stylistic decision,” agrees Steve Pepe of Clos Pepe Vineyards in Lompoc. “You have to decide when to pick, how long to ferment, what kind of yeast to use, what kind of barrels to put the wine in, how much new wood versus old wood. All those decision affect the style of the wine.”
So does the tending of the vineyards.
“The most important thing a winemaker can put in a vineyard is his footprint,” states Silver, who sources his grapes from 89 different vineyards, which are tended to various degrees by Tobin James Winery. “Some we check once a month, others we are out there twice a week analyzing soil, checking moisture, determining what nutrients are needed and how much pruning needs to be done.”
Once the grapes are finally ready, it takes a team of dedicated people to bring the grapes from vine to wine, including field hands and the winery crew. One thing they all seem to have in common: a love for beer.
“It sounds like sacrilege, but during harvest the most-consumed beverage is beer,” says Rick Foster, winemaker and general manager for Roblar Winery in Santa Ynez Valley. “That’s a big part of harvest. You smell like wine, so all you want to drink is a cold beer. As they say, the road to great wine is littered with empty beer bottles.”
“Beer, pizza, country music and cigars,” adds Tobin James, co-owner of Tobin James Cellars.
CRUSH 101
According to the California Agricultural Statistics Service, 3.1 million tons of wine grapes were crushed in California during 2006, a decrease of about 16 percent over a record 2005 crush but still the third-largest wine grape crush to date. Projections for 2007 are not yet available, but they are likely to be consistent with recent crushes.
So what exactly is the crush process? Basically, crush can be broken into several stages.
First, a vintner determines that the grapes are ready to pick. This is a complicated process that includes measuring the pH, acidity and Brix (sugar content), as well as examining the grape’s skin color, berry texture, seed color, and taste.
Next comes the physical activity of picking the grapes. Hand harvesting is the traditional method, and is still used by the majority of smaller producers. Clusters are sliced from the vines by picking crews using small hook-bladed knives and placed in baskets, which in turn are generally moved to half-ton bins and brought by tractor or truck to the winery for pressing. Machine harvesting – in which the fruit is beaten from the vine and caught on large conveyor belts – is often used in large, flat vineyards.
“We use a farming company that goes from vineyard to vineyard picking grapes for wineries,” says Foster. “There will be anywhere from 12 to 20 people out there picking. The idea is to get it picked early in the day, because we don’t want the fruit coming in warm. As soon as it’s the slightest bit light out, they’re out there picking.”
Once the grapes are at the winery, they are usually de-stemmed and checked for consistency (under-ripe or dried, shriveled grapes are a no-no).
Now it’s time to press the grapes. White wines are usually pressed before fermentation, either in whole clusters or in berries. The resulting juice is transferred to barrels or tanks to ferment. Red wines are usually pressed after fermentation and maceration have leached color and flavor from the skins (the skins contain most of the flavor and character of a red wine grape).
So what exactly is fermentation? Basically, it’s an anaerobic chemical reaction conducted by yeasts in the appropriate environment, resulting in the conversion of sugar to ethanol, carbon dioxide and heat. Yeasts occur naturally on the skins of grapes and in the vineyard environment, although laboratories have isolated and reproduced cultures of the most productive yeasts, which can produce specific flavors in finished wines.
Fermentation takes one to three weeks depending on the type of wine. As wine ferments on its skins and seeds, small carbon-dioxide bubbles form inside fermenting berries, which float to the top and form a “cap” which, if left on its own, would dry out and become a home for vinegar bacteria. To avoid the cap, procedures such as pump over (pumping juice from the bottom of a tank to the top), punch-down (punching down the wine in open-top tanks), rack and return (transferring juice from the bottom of one tank to another empty tank) and other techniques can be used for cap management.
Once fermentation is complete, the wines are put to sleep in barrels or tanks until they’re ready to bottle.
Crush activities are all very labor-intensive. Depending on the volume of grapes coming in and the number of varietals being produced, crush can often mean long days – and nights – tending to the wine.
“You know the term golf widow? The wife of every winemaker is a harvest widow,” laughs Silver. “When we first started this winery, Toby [co-owner Tobin James] slept on a cot in the cellar during crush, although he only got three to four hours of sleep every night because he had to get up every 20 minutes and take care of a tank of wine. Now we have a crew and share responsibilities, but it still has to be done.”
OC Wine
By Christopher Trela and Noelle Novoa
“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.”
That timeless thought came from the pen of Ben Franklin, and it’s as apt today as it was 200 years ago. Wine was named America’s favorite alcoholic beverage in a recent Gallup poll, a statistic that doesn’t surprise wine drinkers in California—we lead the nation in wine consumption, wine production and wine exports.
According to a study by the Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers entitled “Economic Impact of California Wine 2006,” the California wine industry has an annual impact of $51.8 billion on the state’s economy.
Wine has certainly made a significant splash in Orange County, which has embraced the industry in a big way. We may not produce much wine (although several wineries are based in OC with more on the way), but we sure do enjoy drinking it. Early settlers to this area actually grew grapes in the late 1800s – particularly in Anaheim – and even made wine, but grapevines soon gave way to orange groves, which had a wider appeal.
Now, oranges have all but disappeared in OC, but grapes have made a dramatic comeback. Several dozen acres in our county have been planted with wine grapes, a speck compared to Napa and Sonoma yet significant in signaling a return to our wine roots. More importantly, dozens of wine boutiques, tasting rooms, and wine emporiums have emerged throughout Orange County over the past several years, resulting in more consumers being introduced to wine and learning that the process of going out to taste and buy wine can be a simple and fun activity.
“I think of wine tasting as a social networking experience and not just something trendy to do,’ says Laguna Niguel resident Laura Van Deudekom. “When you go wine tasting in Orange County, you’re usually among a group of people who are interested in the same thing you are, so it’s a fun way to connect with people. You can enjoy some good wine and good conversation with people you don’t know, and it’s always fun to get people’s opinions on different wines. And I’ve noticed that the more I go wine tasting, the more I learn about wine.”
Wine is always a good match with food, so it’s not surprising that more and more local restaurants have shifted their focus to wine and wine-enhancing cuisine.
“Wine has become essential for society,” says Massimo Navarretta, owner and chef of Onotria Wine Country Cuisine in Costa Mesa, which boasts a 30 page wine list. “When you go to a restaurant and order dinner, wine is often driving the conversation. The curiosity level for wine is higher. People are becoming more comfortable around wine.”
Another sign that OC is wine savvy: Membership in the Orange County Wine Society (which oversees the Orange County Fair’s renowned Wine Competition) has topped 1,000. And with OC residents making an impact by flocking to nearby wine country destinations such as Temecula, Santa Barbara and Paso Robles, it’s clear that while our name may be Orange County, our nickname could – and should – be Wine County.
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