NorthBay biz visits five outstanding small producers in Napa and Sonoma counties.
Ten Acre Winery
By Jane Hodges Young
9711 West Dry Creek Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 473-4118
www.tenacrewinery.com
Case production: Less than 2,000
Planted acres: 10
Grapes used: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
Wines produced: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
Employees: 1
It’s been 18 years since newlyweds Scott and Lynn Adams purchased the old Meeker property at the end of West Dry Creek Road. Today, spectacular wine caves and one of the Dry Creek Valley’s best wine programs—Bella Vineyards—occupy the spot that once was home to Sonoma County’s most unique tasting room (a teepee with a flagstone floor).
The Adams Family is all about transformation, which means wine lovers should be excited about what Scott and Lynn are up to now: a new Pinot Noir and Chardonnay program in Russian River Valley, epicenter of all things Pinot and Chardonnay.
Scott, a fine art photographer, and Lynn, a marketing professional who helped launch Baby Gap, gave up their San Francisco careers and moved to the Dry Creek Valley in 1996 to oversee the Bella project from the launch of the brand in 1999 to completion of the signature wine caves in 2003.
In 2002, they bought a historical home built in the 1800s, which was situated on a parcel that overlooks Russian River Valley from its perch on Westside Road. On the property was a 10-acre plot that was mostly planted to Pinot Noir, with a small section devoted to Zinfandel, which Scott describes as their “first love” (other than each other).
While they spent most of their time building the Bella program on the foundation of Zinfandel and Syrah, there was a natural inclination to do some experimenting at home as well. “And since Russian River Valley is the ideal climate for Burgundian varieties like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, it made sense for us to work with those,” Scott explains.
So he and Lynn set about replanting their own 10-acre plot, focusing on Pinot Noir, while securing fruit from outstanding Chardonnay vineyards in the area. Hence the name “Ten Acre.”
“It’s been a long process,” Scott says. “The soil is fairly consistent, with loam and some clay content. One hillside is a bit more stressed. But the big variable has been the clones. I rely on [winemaker Michael] Zardo for clonal selection, as that’s his specialty, but what we’re going for is clonal selection complexity [with the Pinot Noir]. And there remains the distinct possibility that we might bring Chardonnay into the vineyard as well.”
Right now, Scott and Lynn are working with three renowned Chardonnay vineyards in the area: Sangiacomo, Ritchie and Chenoweth Ranch, producing three vineyard-designated Chardonnays as well as a Russian River Valley blended Chardonnay. In addition to fruit from their own Pinot Noir vineyard, they’re also sourcing the finicky Pinot Noir grape from three other well-known Pinot vineyards: Cummings (off Guerneville Road), Jenkins (just outside Sebastopol) and Stephens (near Forestville). While they experimented with making wines in 2008 and 2009, the first vintage they released was 2010, and they’ve since released six Pinot Noir wines, three Chardonnay wines and a Rosé of Pinot Noir. “Ten acres and 10 wines,” Scott laughs.
While Scott and Lynn have access to a state-of-the art winemaking facility at Bella, their programs are totally separate—and that’s the way they want it.
“We have a separate winemaker for each,” Scott explains. Michael Zardo, who formerly was assistant winemaker for Pisoni Vineyards & Winery, handcrafts Ten Acre wines. “The wines are made in different facilities [Ten Acre is made at a custom wine facility in Santa Rosa]. The grape sources are very different. And the processes by which Pinot and Zinfandel are made are very different as well.”
With Ten Acre wines, the primary goal is balance between acid, tannin and flavor profile. “We’re looking for food-friendly, satisfying, mouth-coating wines. It’s not only about aromatics and flavors, it’s also about mouthfeel,” Scott says.
The 2011 Ten Acre Jenkins Pinot Noir has a spicy component and “pure fruit flavors of blackberry and black raspberry,” says Scott. “It smells like a classic Pinot Noir. The thing that defines it is its texture—not heavy, silky.”
The 2011 Ten Acre Stephens Pinot Noir “has more structure and is a bit more age-worthy” Scott says. “It’s much spicier, has a heavy body and is more structured in tannin and acid. We’ll likely release it a bit later.”
The 2012 Ten Acre Sangiacomo Chardonnay “is the star so far,” Scott says. “It’s the old Wente clone, which gets riper. It has a classic golden color and delicious apple, pear and melon flavors. It underwent full malolactic barrel fermentation, but we kept the oak in balance so it’s well-integrated. It has a long, lingering finish, and its texture is rich on the palate.”
The Ten Acre 2012 Rosé of Pinot Noir, another favorite, is “a summertime treat” that Scott says gets just as much attention as the Pinot Noir wines. “Certain vineyard sites lend themselves to Rosé and we’re experimenting with some dedicated fruit for our Rosé. We pick earlier for fresh acid.”
In addition to replanting the Ten Acre vineyard, Scott and Lynn are looking to create a unique hospitality venue there.
“With Bella, we wanted a special visitor experience. It’s all about wine and memories. We’re using the same philosophy with Ten Acre and we have some ideas in the works,” he says without elaborating. “It’s exciting to be involved in both projects because they’re so different. You have a whole different group of consumers, so it’s almost like being in two different worlds. And we like having a foot in both. The folks who come to Bella come to enjoy the facilities and have a picnic in a nice, relaxed atmosphere while drinking Zinfandel. Pinot Noir attracts a different set of customers—you don’t see the same people as you do when you’re pouring Zin.”
And if you think it’s challenging for Scott and Lynn to run two wine operations so diametrically opposed, consider this: They also have four children—two teenagers (15 and 13) and two toddlers (3 years and 14 months).
“The real tricky part is to do all of it with kids in the picture,” Scott laughs.
We’ll drink to that!
Adler Deutsch Vineyard
By Bonnie Durrance
P.O. Box 281
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-4867
www.advwinery.com
Case production: 200 cases increasing to 500 over the next three years
Planted acres: 2.2
Grapes used: Estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot
Wines produced: Cabernet Sauvignon
Employees: 4
Adler Deutsch Vineyard is situated on, arguably, the best spot in the world for growing the grapes that produce outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon. Located at about 200 feet elevation on land embraced by the Rutherford Bench—a roughly six-mile stretch of land containing the deep, dusty alluvial soils famed for producing great Cabs—it was just what Bob Adler and Alexis Deutsch Adler were looking for when they began their search for a place to make great wine.
“When my wife and I made a decision to acquire a property in Napa, we wanted to find one that could produce an excellent wine,” says Bob. “There are a lot of good wines in Napa Valley. We wanted to produce an excellent wine.” The search was on. When this property came on the market, he called vineyard manager Jim Barbour for advice.
Barbour is a well-known and respected vineyard manager in Napa Valley, and when Adler asked him if he’d have a look at the property, he had one question: “Where is it?”
“When I told him,” says Adler, “he just said, ‘Buy it.’” They bought it that day.
Next, knowing that having a great vineyard manager was essential, they knew they had to hire one equal to the task. “Otherwise,” says Adler, “it doesn’t really matter how good the soil is, and it doesn’t really matter how good the vines are.“
The vineyard had been planted for three years before the Adlers bought the property and they hired Barbour to take charge. “He tweaked the vineyard to get the best potential out of the soil, and the vines really took off.”
It’s said that great wines start with the land. The soil has to be right—right from the start. “If the soil requires a lot of mitigation,” says Adler, “it will never really be right. So this soil, being in its particular location, was near perfect just the way it was, and perfect for the wines we want to make.”
As he describes it, they didn’t have to do any remediation of the soil, a mixture of the rich alluvial, sedimentary loam with good water retention and fertility on top of a cobble sub strata that for drainage. They planted 2.17 acres in Cabernet Sauvignon Entay clone 337 on 3309 rootstock in 2004 and keep the land meticulously maintained so the vines thrive. They use legume ground cover annually to keep the soil fertile and healthy.
Adler says they’re constantly monitoring the various mineral and biologic components of the soil. “If anything seems to be dropping below a level where we want it, we take care of it right away.” Barbour oversees that the materials used and the processes followed are nothing but the best. “We don’t compromise on anything,” he says.
“We just do very careful hand farming,” he says. “We take great care of the vines, dropping any clusters that aren’t perfect, which reduces our production, but what we do end up bottling is the best from the vineyard. With Jim [Barbour] and [winemaker] Keith [Emerson] in charge, we’ve produced outstanding wine that’s garnered rave reviews and sells out very quickly.”
Their goal is excellence, not volume, but their production is increasing at a healthy pace. “We’re up to 200 cases per year,” says Adler, “and the vineyard has the potential of 400 to 500 cases.” He says they must be moving in the right direction, because their 2010 vintage, which was recently ranked by Wine Spectator among the 12 most notable Napa Cabernets for less than $100, is about 85 percent sold out now. “So we’re doing very well with it.”
The Adler Deutsch Cabernets are distinctive because of their location, taste, elegance—and also for the philosophy behind the effort. “Our wine is made with a very particular philosophy,” says Adler. “Not only do we spare no effort or expense to produce an excellent bottle of wine, but we want the wine to be approachable from the moment someone buys it to whatever number of years later they choose to open it.” A classic.
Hunnicutt
By Bonnie Durrance
3524 Silverado Trail North
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-2911
www.hunnicuttwines.com
Case production: 2,500 to 3,000 depending on vintage
Planted acres: 0
Varieties: 0 planted
Wines produced: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, red blends
Employees: 7 full-time and 15 seasonal
When someone interested in going into the wine business starts looking for an “affordable” property in Napa Valley, they face a real estate market where, for some, the word simply doesn’t apply. When Justin Hunnicutt Stephens, who was born in San Francisco but spent his early years in the Valley, decided to abandon the real estate business, in which he’d been successful but not fulfilled, and move back to the landscape he loves, he quickly realized he and his wife, Seana, couldn’t compete for pricey vineyard land. So he figured out a way to be in Napa Valley, in the wine business and on a piece of land they could actually afford. After looking at 30 to 40 vineyards over a three-year period, he was amazed to finally find an appealing piece of property they could buy.
“We were lucky to find a great location, but one of the things that made it financially do-able is that there’s no vineyard—and no potential vineyard—on the property. So we weren’t competing with a ‘lifestyle investor,’” he says. They bought the land with a group of old friends and clients who became investors and got the permits to build a small, 60,000-gallon winery.
Next, he went to the county and CalFire for permits to build a custom crush facility. “Originally, we purchased the property with an existing 8,400 (20,000 gallon) use permit. Immediately after we bought it, we applied for a larger use permit that would let us produce roughly 25,000 cases,” says Stephens, explaining that, “The costs associated with building a 5,000-case winery isn’t 20 percent of what it costs to build a 25,000-case facility. We still have to trench, bring up utilities, build a road, drop in conduit and make all the other improvements. We just have to dig bigger trenches, put in bigger conduit and so on.”
He outfitted the winery with equipment designed for small brands, which were the customers he planned to cater to. That meant small tanks and pumps that were appropriately sized, things customers would pay a premium for but that they’d have only one chance to get it right and build their reputation.
For grapes, Stephens has long-term contracts or leases for about 15 acres of different vineyards with growers throughout the valley. “My father has a small vineyard in St. Helena that we lease from him. We source from six different Cabernet vineyards for the Hunnicutt label. Fruit comes in six different lots, and we have six chances to make really interesting wine.” Some of it will be blended, some bottled from a single vineyard. The variety gives him stability in years when the climate in one area of the valley may be unfavorable, such as it was in the southern part of the valley in 2011. “So if you have grapes from four different vineyards and four different soil types, you’ll have distinct flavors and aromatic profiles,” he says. He’s still looking for vineyard land, but it remains elusive. “It’s kind of strange to be ‘winery rich’ and ‘vineyard poor’!”
He has about 21 custom crush clients in the facility right now. “It’s pretty rare to have a custom crush facility designed specifically for small producers,” Stephens says. “We have 11 different winemakers who make their wines here, but everything we do and all the decisions we make are in the interests of the small-lot customers. So we do lots as small as half a ton. The biggest lot we’ve done so far is 10 tons. There are a lot of custom crush facilities around, but not that focus just on small lots. It’s just not as cost effective.”
To buy a 1,500-gallon tank is about $14,500, and a 3,000-gallon tank is about $16,000. “So it makes good sense to scale up, but that wouldn’t work for what we’re trying to do. Here, we need to accommodate our clients. We want them to essentially feel a sense of ownership of the winery. We want them to feel like they can make decisions and experiment in ways most other custom wineries wouldn’t allow.”
Stephens’ customer base has grown in response to his “yes” philosophy. For example, some clients want to experiment with fermenting red grapes right in the barrel (without first going into the fermenting tank). “Why wineries don’t want to deal with it is that it takes a two-ton lot and turns it into a six-barrel lot, because each barrel ferments at a different rate, has to be treated separately, and it takes up an enormous amount of space.” He explains that the barrels have to be reconstructed for this in a way that makes them impossible to stack. So three barrels will take up about six barrels of space. “Those are real issues for us as well, but if our clients want to do that, we want to be able to provide that opportunity. We want to deliver an experience where people feel they can try different stuff.
“If we can physically accommodate them, then the answer is, ‘No problem.’”
While people often are attracted to the romance of winemaking, Stephens says it’s important to remember this is a business, first. And what he’s found, within the limitations present, is a way to make a profitable and satisfying business in the industry and location he’s known and loved all his life.
“To try to do this 20 years ago would have probably been a failure,” he says, “because there wasn’t that frenzy to make wine. Now, all the winemakers have multiple clients, and some have 13 clients. It’s 13 clients making 200 cases and 500 cases, because there’s just more and more interest in creating wine.”
Pech Merle
By Jane Hodges Young
4543 Dry Creek Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 585-9599
www.pech-merle-winery.com
Case production: 3,000
Planted acres: All fruit is purchased
Grapes used: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Zinfandel
Wines produced: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Rosé de Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel
Employees: 1
You could rightfully say that Bruce and Cheryl Lawton are the definition of romantics. And their Pech Merle Winery, with its “flirtatious, devoted and smitten” marketing outreach, is the embodiment of their personal romance with farming and wine.
Bruce and Cheryl both spent their childhoods in farming communities and share a love for the land and all things growing (Bruce’s parents still live on the family farm in Southeast Ohio, settled in 1794). In 1990, while living in Fresno, the couple wandered up to Sonoma County during the last weekend in April for the very first Passport to Dry Creek Valley staged by the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley. “We fell in love with the area,” Bruce explains, and pretty much decided right then that one day they’d like to be in the wine business. “Making that happen, however, is definitely harder than thinking about it,” he says.
Cheryl has spent many years in the food business (she’s currently vice president of sales for Florida-based The Father’s Table, known for its cheesecakes and specialty dessert items) and Bruce works for National Span (a manufacturing firm that specializes in arch span precast concrete bridge infrastructure). They settled in Santa Rosa in 2000, worked for their respective companies (at that time, Cheryl was with G & G Specialty Foods), went wine tasting every weekend and started collecting wine as a hobby. Eventually, they found a way to transition to Dry Creek Valley, purchasing an unusually shaped parcel on Dry Creek Road, about a mile and a half north of Dry Creek Store.
In 2007, the couple was on vacation in France when they happened upon the prehistoric caves of Pech Merle in the Lot River Valley.
“They’re fantastic,” Bruce exclaims. “They’re filled with cave art drawn on the walls 20,000 years ago.” The couple stood in awe and decided Pech Merle would be the perfect name for their new winery, since in the Latin language Occitan (spoken mainly in southern France but also in Italy and Spain) it means “under the hill,” and their plans called for a “cut and cover” wine cave that uses the precast arch bridge products that National Span makes. (To see an example, visit Medlock Ames Winery in Healdsburg, where Bruce installed precast arch sections to build its barrel rooms).
“Our property is benchland—a long, narrow strip only 210 feet wide and 3,000 feet long with 30-foot elevation fluctuations. It’s tight for conventional construction and a Godsend for us to find, because the cut and cover caves work perfectly on a narrow piece of property,” Bruce explains. In all, there are 15 acres, five of which Bruce and Cheryl plan to plant to Zinfandel, the signature grape of Dry Creek Valley. “That’s about all we can plant without uprooting old-growth trees,” Bruce says. The couple has already started working on the winery’s infrastructure. “The leach fields are installed,” Bruce says. “But that’s not exactly what you’d call a ‘silver shovel’ moment. We plan to break ground on the first phase next spring.”
Since they don’t have their own vineyard yet and because they like many different varietals—some of which don’t grow well in Dry Creek Valley—Bruce and Cheryl source the grapes for their wine portfolio from the best vineyards in three main regions: Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Russian River Valley. Because they have day jobs, the winemaking is left to John Pepe, whose 20-plus years in the wine business have included stints at Kendall-Jackson, Stonestreet, Pat Paulson Vineyards, Beringer Vineyards and The Lyeth Estate. Without a tasting room of its own, Pech Merle leases space at J. Rickards Vineyard & Winery, located on between Geyser Peak Winery and Silver Oak Vineyards on Chianti Road in Cloverdale. “We greatly appreciate Jim and Eliza Rickards letting us taste in their facility,” says Lawton. Tastings are Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and other days by appointment.
Pech Merle’s first vintage was in 2008. In a relatively short time, the wines have amassed 15 gold medals, including four “Best in Class” awards at major wine competitions. “It’s amazing for our size and for how short we’ve been doing it,” Bruce says.
Like other winery owners, Bruce is reluctant to choose favorites. But for us, he selected a handful he finds most frequently in his personal wine glass.
“My first memorable wines were Cabernet Sauvignon and was particularly fond of those made by Jordan and Far Niente, so I’m fond of our 2009 Alexander Valley Cabernet,” Bruce says, noting that it has “sultry whispers of vanilla and black cherry chocolate lusciousness.” It’s a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot—a classic Meritage. The 2008 vintage won Best in Class at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair.
He also loves the Zinfandel he secures from Cuccio Vineyard, which is located about a mile west of Highway 101 on Dry Creek Road. “It’s a red, rocky soil ridge that just produces the best fruit, year after year,” Bruce explains. “The wine features jammy black fruit, spices and red cherry flavors that are well balanced. Overall, it’s more of a red fruit Zin, whereas our other Dry Creek Zinfandel from Treborce Vineyard features blacker fruit flavors.” The Cuccio Vineyard Zinfandel has won six gold medals over the years.
Another personal favorite is the Pech Merle Dry Creek Valley “Ivy Rosé de Syrah,” which Bruce describes as a “fluke.” He had the opportunity to make the Syrah-based Rosé last year and it won multiple awards, including Best in Class at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. The 2012 Vintage Rosé won Best of Class at this year’s Los Angeles International Wine Competition. “It has gorgeous spice, a cranberry nose, nuances of white pepper and melon. It’s just vibrant.” He and Cheryl named it after Ivy Rose Hutton, their creative director, who created Pech Merle’s brand, label and look.
One day, Bruce and Cheryl hope to be able to shed the day jobs and commit to the wine business full time. In the meantime, Pech Merle is a story still being written. But the first chapter is pretty damn good!
Acorn Winery
By Jane Hodges Young
12040 Old Redwood Highway
Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 433-6440
www.acornwinery.com
Case production: Less than 3,000
Planted acres: 27
Varieties: Zinfandel, Syrah, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Cabernet Franc and a “field blend” of 60 different varietals
Wines produced: Zinfandel, Syrah, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Cabernet Franc, Rosato Blend, Medley Blend and Acorn Hill Blend (every Acorn wine is a field blend of multiple, cofermented varietals)
Employees: 2
A visit to tiny Acorn Winery is a step back to old Sonoma Wine Country. A single-lane, one-way gravel road winds past small homes and through acres of old vineyards—the last vestiges of rural Sonoma in the creeping development of Windsor and Healdsburg. Under majestic oak trees and within earshot of Highway 101, Bill and Betsy Nachbaur live in a modest home next door to their small winery, where they work full time producing some of the finest wines that will ever dance across your palate.
Bill is a former lawyer who worked for the federal government, a credit card company and financial institutions in both Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Betsy was the public policy officer for Bank of America when it was still headquartered in The City. Both liked wine and gardening, enough so that Bill got in the car and motored up to Santa Rosa to take wine and viticulture classes at Santa Rosa Junior College. One day, on a class field trip, the bus passed by the historic Alegría Vineyard on Old Redwood Highway, and his instructor, Rich Thomas, casually mentioned that it had just fallen out of escrow. After class, Bill went back to look at what he describes as a “perfect existing 100-year-old vineyard” that was just waiting for him. “I could apply what I’d learned in the classes, and because of its age, the vineyard was immediately productive.” The vineyard promptly went into escrow again—this time with Bill and Betsy’s names on it. It’s been their baby since 1990.
At first, Bill and Betsy sold all their grapes. Bill contacted Ridge Vineyards, and the Zinfandel powerhouse made a vineyard designate from Alegría grapes, which helped put the vineyard on the map. In 1993, they decided to venture into winemaking themselves. By then, several wineries were putting the Alegría Vineyards on their labels, and the Nachbaurs wanted them to continue to do that, so they needed a different name for their winery. Because there are so many oak trees on the property, and because the wine goes into oak barrels, the couple settled on the name “Acorn.”
“Acorns are a symbol of prosperity, good fortune and potential,” Bill explains. An old adage is “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.” So Bill and Betsy thought “Acorn” was the perfect fit for their tiny winery.
Acorn’s first release was a 1994 Sangiovese, which hit the market in 1996. Slowly, more varietals were added to the portfolio, and Acorn started developing a devoted band of followers who appreciated Bill and Betsy’s hand-crafted wines. They caught the eye of wine reviewers and wine competition judges, who, over the years, have been generous in their praise and abundant in their awards. A major milestone came in 2004 when Acorn’s 2002 Zinfandel—Heritage Vines, Alegría Vineyard—walked away with the biggest prize at the annual Sonoma County Harvest Fair: Gold Medal, Best of Class, Sweepstakes Winner Best Red Wine. And just like that, tiny Acorn Winery was catapulted to the big leagues.
“It definitely caught the attention of those who didn’t know us,” Bill reflects. “We had people come looking only for that wine. People still remember today. It’s been great for name recognition.”
The certified sustainable Alegría Vineyard—part of which is an astonishing 123 years old—is comprised of alluvial soil. “Every rock we turn up is rounded from being moved by water,” Bill says. There are four types of soil “but a lot of variability,” Bill explains. “If you dig a hole every six feet, you come up with something else. It’s kind of like taking all the soils of California and putting them in a Cuisinart.”
The couple practices sustainable farming methods. “We want to leave the land in better shape than when we found it. We want flowering weeds to attract beneficial insects. And we always have more good bugs than bad bugs.”
Because the vineyard is situated in Russian River Valley, it “has a cool climate character, which impacts the flavors of the wines,” Bill says. “Our Zinfandel is more restrained than a Dry Creek Zin—you get more blackberry and less raspberry and raisin nuances. Our Cabernet Franc is one of the few grown in the Russian River area. It’s late ripening and has nice flavors—spicy berry, dark cherry and currant.”
The Dolcetto is unique “because hardly anyone grows Dolcetto. It’s a great Italian variety and it’s my favorite pairing with duck. The Dolcetto acids cut the duck fat and the flavors are wonderful—black cherry, mocha and earthiness. It’s just great with Northern Italian foods that are loaded with mushrooms and truffles,” Bill says.
The Syrah is co-fermented with 2 percent Viognier, which adds aroma and enhances the color. “You get wonderful blackberry and blueberry flavors that aren’t overly ripe,” Bill adds. The Sangiovese remains a crowd favorite (one year it won the “Best of State” Award at the California State Fair) and Bill thinks it’s one of the most food-friendly wines he and Betsy make.
Acorn wines are made both at the Alegría Vineyard winery site and at Mauritson Winery in Dry Creek Valley, where winemaker Clay Mauritson advises them on production. “We value his input. He’s very respectful of our vineyard and the differences [from his own vineyards]. He’s not trying to make our wine taste like his,” Bill explains.
There are many things Bill and Betsy like about their remade careers, but what do they like best? “We like educating people and having them taste wines they haven’t necessarily had before to open their eyes to new flavors and experiences,” he says. “And another favorite part is growing the grapes and being outdoors.”
One thing is certain. He doesn’t miss the legal career. “Nowadays, I do have to worry about the weather, which is one big difference between being a winemaker and being a lawyer,” Bill says. “But Alegría means ‘happiness’ in Spanish, and I’m certainly happier in the vineyard than I was behind a desk.”
After all, he concludes, “No one ever oohed or aahed over well-crafted legislation.”
