CONVERSATIONS WITH WINEMAKERS
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.
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OC WINERIES
by Noelle Novoa and Christopher Trela
LAGUNA CANYON WINERY
www.lagunacanyonwinery.com
As Orange County’s only fully-operating winery open to the public, Laguna Canyon Winery offers the OC a wine country tasting experience in the heart of Laguna Beach. Located on Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Canyon Winery is owned and operated by brothers Marlowe and Darren Huber, who purchase their grapes from small producers across the West Coast and have them shipped to the winery in Laguna where it is crushed, pressed, fermented, oak barrel aged, blended and bottled. The wine is solid exclusively at the winery tasting room and online through its wine club. Currently producing 2500 cases a year, the winery has plans to double that amount to keep up with the high demand while still maintaining their friendly family vibe.
“Our goal is to keep the winery boutique-like, keep it small and focus on quality, not quantity,” says Marlowe. “People really appreciate something hand crafted and hand made.” Their many varietals (nearly two dozen are listed on the tasting menu) include everything from their popular tropical-style Chardonnay to a raspberry-flavored Champagne to their deliciously sweet dessert wines. Open daily except Monday from 11 am to 6 pm for wine tasting, the winery holds a Wine Appreciation Night the first Friday of every month from 6pm to 8pm with saxophonist Charles Hayes (formally with Tina Turner and The Temptations) providing the entertainment. The beautiful tasting room can also be rented for private events.
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.
NEWPORT BEACH WINERY
www.nbwine.com
Richard Moriarty had a plot of empty land near Newport’s Back Bay, and an intriguing plan: grow some wine grapes and see what happens. His plan worked, and now his Newport Beach Vineyards and Winery is quickly becoming a well-known name in the world of boutique wines. Moriarty’s first release, a signature blend called Back Bay Cuvee (a Bordeaux-style mixture of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot, and Malbec—all grown on an acre of land in Newport Beach), won a gold medal at the Orange County Fair Wine Competition and sold out all 82 cases that were produced. Now, Moriarty has upped the ante with additional award-winning releases, including a 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc blend called Coyote Cuvee, a similar 2003 blend called OC Red, and a 2004 Bordeaux blend (also dubbed Coyote Cuvee). The wines are available at a handful of local retail outlets and restaurants (including Wine Styles in Irvine), but the winery is not open to the public.
THOMPKIN CELLARS
www.thompkincellars.com
Based in Costa Mesa, Thompkin Cellars is dedicated to producing a limited number of premium, small-lot wines, with grapes sourced from select Los Alamos vineyards in Santa Barbara County. Current production consists of a Cabernet Franc based wine (Couchant), a Syrah from the Thompson Vineyard in Los Alamos, a Grenache from the Thompson Vineyard, and a Rhone varietal blend called 3ie Degré. Owners Jeff Dobkin and Julie Thompson-Dobkin use a hands-off approach to production once the grapes are picked. Use of indigenous yeast (when possible), slow, cool fermentations, minimal racking and no fining or filtration prior to bottling, helps assure that the fruit and the land express themselves fully. Thompkin Cellars not only grows its grapes in Santa Barbara County, it does the crushing and de-stemming there too. They then truck the juice – still in large fermenters – to Costa Mesa, where they cellar, bottle and distribute their wines, which are available at select local wine boutiques and wine stores, or via the website.
