Introducing Cooper River Wine Company
Last year, Kimberly and I decided to retire. We’d tried ramping up production to possibly sell the winery to one of the big guys, but it never worked out. And we seriously hated making that much wine. Add in losing almost all our distribution during COVID, and the decision to retire was easy.
The only issue was what the hell was I going to do with all my free time? The answer was obvious… make some wine! What can I say, it’s my only real “hobby”. But definitely not like we were doing. Instead, cut production back to 1,000 cases. No more distribution. Go back to our original vineyard sources. Toss in some Napa Cabernet for the hell of it. Make it fun again.
So, we sold our winery building and leased a small space in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. The idea going forward is to recreate the fun and excitement that we experienced in the early 2000s. I really miss those days, and especially the wines. We were all pushing boundaries. Working with new vineyards and growers. Making super big, bold, rich, and plush wines. It was a rollercoaster ride. We bought a ticket and took the ride. And now I want to do it all over again!
So here we are, starting over. The Flux Capacitor is charged to 1.21 gigawatts. The date is set to the early 2000s. A chance to relive the adventure, but with the advantage of 25 years of experience and knowledge.
And at least from the winemaking perspective, I can say that making only 1,000 cases this past harvest was awesome. I can’t remember the last time I was so excited about a harvest and ended up having so much fun. Having the time to actually get out to check ripeness in the vineyards, as well as hauling all our fruit, even from Napa, reminded me of the old days. And making less wine allowed me to be involved with every detail. Every pick decision. Every fermenter. Every punchdown. Every barrel. I felt 20 years younger. OK, maybe not my back, but I was extremely happy. And folks noticed. Gary Franscioni literally laughed at my over-the-top excitement and giddiness. It all went by too quickly. I found myself asking “is that it?”. We ended up getting some very late picked local Cabernet and Petit Verdot because I just didn’t want harvest to end.
We’re off to a great start! The wines in barrel are everything I remember and everything I hoped we’d be able to do. And to make the rebirth complete, we’re going to do it under a new name:
Cooper River Wine Company
New name. New commitment. New wines with an old twist.
Want to come along? If so, send me an email at Brian@LoringWineCompany.com, with the Subject “Cooper River” and “Sign me up” as the message. No commitment for now. Just a chance to participate. I will send a confirmation email in a day or two.
Our first release will be later this Fall. 2025 Vintage Pinots from Rosella’s and Sierra Mar Vineyards. 2025 Vintage Chardonnays from Rosella’s and Clos Pepe Vineyards. Maybe a 2025 Divergence (Cabernet / Petit Verdot blend). And a super fun offering of The Three. And, of course, 2025 Cooper Jaxon Pinot and River Quinn Chardonnay. There will be opportunities to get a sneak peek of all the wines (including the Napa Cabernet from Sage Ridge Vineyard) during barrel tastings throughout the year. Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe fame will be leading some of the tastings, which should also help bring back the fun!
There won’t ever be much of any wine. We’re talking 25-100 cases at most. Getting on the list now might be your only chance at accessing some of these wines. We won’t grow production. It’s physically impossible to make much more than 1,000 cases in our new space, and I promised my sister that this “retirement” project will stay small. So, it’s maybe now or never to sign up to come along on this fun ride with us!
BD 17 OFFERS
If you have any questions about the offer below (including ordering issues) please email me at Brian@LoringWineCompany.com.
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OFFER 1
Due to the fires in Monterey County in 2020 and resulting smoke damage to the fruit, there wasn’t any Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir available in 2020. We were lucky that our buddy Norm Beko at Cottonwood Canyon in Santa Maria had some extra Pinot Noir that we could source. This wine was a silver lining in what was a difficult year. Our history with Cottonwood Canyon goes back to the beginning. Our winery exists today due in large part to Norm’s help in the early years. Our very first wine was a 1999 Cottonwood Canyon Pinot. We made our first 3 vintages at Norm’s winery.
Jeb Dunnuck - 93 Points
More red and blue fruits, candied violets, and flowery incense notes emerge from the 2020 Pinot Noir Cottonwood Canyon Vineyard. It’s nicely textured on the palate, with medium-bodied depth, ripe, present tannins, and some classic Santa Maria salinity and minerality.
OFFER 2
Spanish Springs is located in a unique spot, 1.5 miles from Pismo Beach in Price Canyon. We only got fruit from this site for 2 years. It’s an incredible site, and you should look for wines from Spanish Springs from other wineries. It would have been a core vineyard of ours going forward if things hadn’t changed due to COVID.
Jeb Dunnuck - 92 Points
Dried cranberries, strawberries, toasted spices, candied orange, and loamy earth define the 2020 Pinot Noir Spanish Springs Vineyard. It’s medium-bodied, nicely textured, and fruit-forward, yet has a good sense of tension and focus.
