Shown and Sons
Yverdon
Charles Coury
Hillcrest
Uvas/Bonesio
HMR
JW Morris Port Works
Lyncrest
Chateau Chevalier…Greg Bissonette made a pinot noir that was a blend of carneros and edna valley fruit…Completely played with the minds of some Burgundian visitors. The Far Niente people were smart to buy this place.
Wineries don’t seem to go bankrupt the way they used to. Now they just seem to do a lot of custom crush and morph into something that just might be profitable.
Isn’t there an Italian saying, “In order for things to remain the same, everything has to change.”?
The original winemaker at Matanzas Creek was Merry Edwards, followed by Dave Ramey. He was followed by the team of Susan Read and Bill Parker.
If you liked Campion wines, try Tolosa. Same winemaker.
Duane Cronin…a what sad story…loved his product too much
Noble Hill…the best unknown chardonnay ever made in California, if I remember right…these people were on Zayante Road, non?
Fetzer in the '70s…hard to believe now what a hot boutique winery this was…they were on fire…still doing well, but different
La Crema Venereal, as my bookkeeper used to call them…great times…the 79s and 80s were great but didn t the 81s fall apart??
I’ll play along, Mel.
How about Quail Ridge. And Veedercrest. And Woodbury. And Cassayre-Forni. And EastSideWnry…incredible stocks of old dessert wines.
And Charles LeFranc.
Not heard of NobleHill. But bet you never heard of F.JustinMiller and his Millerway process for making sparkling wines…right across the
street from SequoiaGrove in that little pink house.
JimOlsen went on to become the winemaker at LaCremaVinera after JWMorris PortWorks folded. Believe he’s making wine up in the SierraFoothills these days.
I still have a pretty complete collection of all those first Calif primo Ports (JWMorris/Quady/Woodbury).
I always thought it was pretty ironic. Those early Fetzer Zins/Cabs were loaded w/ a ton of Am.oak. And ole Barney made his fortune as a lumber executive
up there in Mendocino.
Awwwright…back to you, Mel.
Tom
Original Havens…Michaels blend was the best bordeaux look alike
I sold Fetzer wines in 1980, including Zins from Lolonis, Scharffenberger and Ricetti vineyards. I think 10 out of 11 of Barney’s children worked for the winery back then.
Odette is now there, I believe. IIRC, that vineyard was used to make the '73 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet which took first in the '76 Judgment of Paris.
Glad to see others still remember.
Gemello at the top.
Ahlgren, Cronin, Veedercrest, Havens, &&&
Dan Kravitz
Tom,
I worked w Jim Olsen at the old Wine and Cheese center on Jackson st for many years. He is now w Naked Wine and living in western Marin.
When we bought Veedercrest wines, Al charged us for the toll over the Bay Bridge…75cents. Becky Wasserman maintained his winery glowed in the dark. He was one of the first to buy Francois barrels. He complained to me that she sold them to other wineries. I could never figure that out.
Cassayre Forni is now Swanson. Mike Forni s ex wife is married to Tony Cartildge of Cartlidge Brown. I last saw Mike at party surrounded by a bevy of babes…25 years ago??
I tried working with Eastside winery to sell their products in the UK, but it was too late. Everything they had was liked iced tea in the south…pre sweetened.
Charles le Franc was an Almaden brand…probably still exists in Florida and Hong Kong. Their Tres Pinos winery near Hollister was like a movie set, ancient casks and tanks everywhere full of ‘port’ and ‘sherry’…
Don’t know what happened to Russ Woodbury…he did a lot of consulting.
Duane Cronin went totally alcoholic. A friend of mine lived around the corner, said she would see him passedout in his car on the road. Very sad.
The hearthrob winery for me was Yverdon. It was Terra Valentine for a while, now owned by KJ…Aves spent a fortune on iron work, giant wood doors, an opera pavillion…not much on the wine…just beautiful.
match- huge fan of randy, his philosophy and his wines.
La Crema Vinera, Mel. With the tilde. Or was the just the bookkeeper.
Seven Lions - Three Amigos. RIP
Ahlgren is selling of its inventory of older wines.
+everyone on Havens. Merlot, Borriquot, and most importantly, the Pinot collaboration with Peter Franus (perhaps Ca’s most underrated winemaker) called, IIRC ‘Beau Terroir.’ My first taste as a kid of good California Pinot Noir.
Also, Londer and Lazy Creek.
And Dain. I was there in the vineyards and at Crushpad for some of the 07s, and. I wish my friend was still making wine, but I also know how content he is these days, so I guess that one is OK.
I still have my Seven Lions hat. When my assistant went to collect on a barrel bill, Mr Barlow threatened to shoot him. Whatever happened to his daughter?? So I don’t mourn that winery, but I mourn for Fred Williams.
Re La Crema: we also called it La Crema Vinaigre when Jason Korman owned it. Or as we called him, Jason Konman. Jason was JC Boisset and Jerome Francois’ landlord when they attended high school in the DC area…good times, he was never there.
Not a winery I miss. The lone Zin I can remember was over 17% ABV, and showed all of it and more.
I was a buyer for a large retail chain back then, and we used to fly through the Fetzer varietals. But the wholesaler couldn’t give away the single vineyard Zins, so we used to purchase them at cost from the supplier and sell them for $6 - $7 a bottle - such great wines -
And if you were ever at the winery, they had a little bar back in the woods of their property, they called it “Big Dog” Saloon or something like that? Anyways, they grew a very special crop back there and only ‘insiders’ were allowed to visit. My first visit to Fetzer (1981), a couple of wine salesmen in their 60s back then whispered in my ear (on the plane ride) that they always went back this old saloon and “smoked dope” with the Fetzer boys. It seemed so evil to them at the time, and they were so secretive about it, worried they would lose their jobs if anyone found out. And I must admit, it was a pretty damn good crop those boys grew.
Hell Yeah! D.J. Silverberg said u where hinting at a return…this is one of the few Cali wines I will buy…Same winemaking philosophy I hope?
Probably Poor Man’s Flat. It was wickedly extracted and huge from century vines. The Three Amigos was amazing though.
Nice story Mel.
I have a mag of 1980 LCV Winery Lake PN, looking for the right time with wine club folks to open.
Nobody has mentioned Versant. Bold wines from high on Prichard Hill. Continuum now owns the vineyard.
I’ll second Gary Galleron. Gary produced some of the absolute best Cabernet made in the Napa Valley during the 1990’s.
Clos Pepe