Like most wine enthusiasts, I am fond of wines with a good story. Of course, they must taste good, too. Yet there is no question a solid back story enhances the appeal.
In particular, small family wineries serving up great wines have long fed that desire to serve a story at the dinner table along with the evening’s wine. In recent years, however, a number of the most successful family wineries – Gary Farrell, Arrowood and Merry Edwards quickly come to mind – have been sold to large wine companies.
Poof, just like that the story line blurs even if the wines remain solid. For many of us, the romance is gone. That said, based upon my observations at the 12th annual Winemaker Challenge International Wine Competition in San Diego the last weekend of January, the family winery is alive and well.
Exhibit A would be Jeff Runquist wines of Plymouth, California. This is a winery located off the beaten path in California’s Sierra Foothills. The owner/winemaker is Jeff Runquist, who specializes in small lots of sometimes esoteric wines (his Tannat was one of the highlights of the weekend in San Diego) that have been rocking the wine world.
Runquist entered 32 wines in the Winermaker Challenge and medaled with all but three. His winery was named Winery of the Year off that strong performance, but what’s interesting is that Runquist has done this before, and recently too. Two years ago, his winery was winery of the year at the San Francisco International wine competition, and last year it captured the same honor at the 2019 Critics Challenge (where the judges are prominent wine journalists) in San Diego.
And before he embarked on his own family wine adventure in 1995, Runquist was winemaker at another top-notch family winery, the iconic J. Lohr. Owner Jerry Lohr was a pioneer in California’s Central Coast and his winery also made its mark at the 2020 Winemaker Challenge, bagging a couple of Platinum awards along with two Golds and four Silvers.
Another Central Coast family winery, Eberle, also has a strong presence at the Winemaker Challenge, taking seven medals from ten wines entered. Eberle hit a home run with its 2018 Mill Road Vineyard Viognier from Paso Robles, which took Best of Show white wine. Proprietor Gary Eberle opened his eponymous winery along Highway 46 in Paso Robles in 1979. At the time Paso Robles didn’t have its own AVA (American Viticultural Area) designation, but Eberle led the charge and an Eberle Cabernet Sauvignon became the first wine in the region to show the Paso Robles AVA on its label.
The cherry on top of the family winery train at Winemaker Challenge was provided by Mendocino County’s Navarro Vineyards. The small family owned, family run winery in the Anderson Valley submitted two dessert wines – 2018 Riesling Late Harvest Cluster Select and 2018 Gewurztraminer Late Harvest Cluster Select – that tied for Best of Show dessert wine. I can attest to the fact that both wines were stunning. But Navarro is hardly a one-trick pony. Overall the small Mendocino County winery took 13 medals, including the aforementioned Platinum awards and three Golds.
And, finally, Wine of the Year went to the 2016 Ledson Alexander Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Yes, another family winery. I can only conclude the successful family winery is alive and well. Long live the families!
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