Just saw a Facebook post that Kent as passed. This is dreadful news. Guy I followed from the very start. Some Kent stories later.
Tom
Oh my! Never met him, but he had a great reputation. His Zinfandels were an important part of my early wine experiences when I was at Cal. Will raise a glass to him tonight.
Damn. Tasted with him in 1998. It was a ton of fun.
Just saw that as well. Very sad news - he was such a nice guy and I have great memories of him going back 25 years or more. Shauna has done a wonderful job of carrying on the family tradition at Rock Wall.
What? Was he in bad health? Very influential guy to many in the wine biz. Always loved talking and tasting with him . . .
RIP my friend . . .
Oh no! I’ve followed Kent and Rosenblum since the 1990s. We used to go to a couple of the winery’s open houses (in Alameda) each year and buy futures of their Harris Kratka zin. They had 32 different wines to taste, food, music and zinfandel ice cream.
When Diaggeo bought them for $100 million in 2008 their prices went up and we stopped going.
We saw Kent hanging out at his daughter’s winery, Rock Wall, a few blocks away.
The a couple of years ago we were at the Rosenblum tasting room at Jack London Square in Oakland and were impressed by the wines and all the activities they had so we joined their wine club. They told us Kent was back again (under more recent owners, Bronco) making their wine.
We just signed up to go out on their big charter boat again for Fleet Week next month to see the Blue Angels - food and all the Rosenblum wine you can drink.
Sad. RIP.
Oh wow.What a bummer. Huge fan of his wines and attended many of the open houses at the winery before he sold. A great and generous man to talk with. Totally unexpected as He seemed so young. Raising a glass of Rock Wall Viognier in his memory.
We celebrated Kent tonight with this wine. Like the man himself…very profound. There were a few tears shed by my group.
Tom
So sad to hear. Never met him but so many of his wines were an essential part of my early wine education that I felt I knew him.
RIP
This is so sad!!! The wine world is diminished by the loss!
So sad. I got to meet Kent several times. The first time was right after he sold to Diageo, and I never saw a man with a bigger smile! He was so humble and engaging. I also loved spending time at Rock Wall, and to this day I still tell the story as it was like touring Willy Wonka’s factory. The facility is rather wild itself, and what made it even cooler was that Myth Busters shared the same building with them, and they were blowing stuff up that day. I also got to meet one of his best friends who was basically the single most impressive music promoter of all time, and had the best stories. I think we were at Rock Wall for something close to 5 hours. It was a wild time. So sad to see him go.
Remember the Alameda wine warehouse (where a couple of wineries were living) and while waiting for a tasting appointment with Jeff Cohn, Kent said why don’t I try his wines? I had no idea his winery was there, so this was a surprise. “Sure, why not?” I said. I had tried his wines before and enjoyed them, even if they were high octane, but I had never tasted his entire lineup before. We tried a LOT and he kept pouring. Big mistake. The fresh bay air must have made the alcohol seem less than it was, because by the time I was doing barrel sampling with Jeff (no slouch with the octane, either, working with zin, ps, and syrah at the time), my head was feeling it. I fortunately made it through, though, and still have the memories of Kent as a fun, gregarious guy. I wish him and his family peace.
Back in my early wine days their wines were my first experience with “good” zins, and I have some fond memories of that.
Serious bummer, I always enjoyed tasting with Kent and talking story. RIP.
Great wines and a great approach to Zinfandel. Only met him twice at trade events but he seemed like an approachable and good guy. RIP.
oh man i’ve known him for 20+ years from going to the taste of vail. great guy, great skier, and just a ton of fun to be with.
i will miss him a lot.
as a side note, i used to bring kent’s wines to holiday celebrations and tell my family they were kosher. they weren’t.
when i told him he just laughed and said he wasn’t even jewish. rip 
We sold him fruit for a few years from around '99 to 2005. His grower relations guy All Flock passed suddenly a few years ago too. Kent knew how to have a good time and tell a good joke. Ill tip one to him and his family tonight.
Forgot about Al. Met him several times at the wnry.
Tom
The article that I read said he had elective knee surgery and died from complications a few days afterward.
from the San Jose Mercury News