Wineries join the 'Family' at tasting: Family Winemakers event attracts small wineries

Wines & Vines, Oct, 2007 by Tina Caputo

San Francisco, Calif. -- The 17th annual Family Winemakers tasting was held Aug. 19 and 20 at San Francisco's Fort Mason Center. Nearly 400 wineries participated in the two-day event, which featured a Sunday afternoon tasting for consumers and a trade-only tasting on Monday.

The tastings drew a combined total of 2,310 trade/media members and 980 consumers. The numbers were down from the 2006 event, which attracted 460 wineries, 2,751 trade members and 1,134 consumers. Though she wasn't able to pinpoint the reason for the decreased attendance, event manager Margaret Harding said she wasn't disappointed in the turn-out. "Bigger is not always better in my book," she told Wines & Vines. "It really is important to have the right people there."

For small-production wineries, the annual Family Winemakers tasting is more than an opportunity to introduce consumers to their wines; for many, it provides direct contact with retail and restaurant buyers who are eager to discover new wines.

Sixty wineries--all from California--poured at the San Francisco tasting for the first time this year. Among them was David Coventry, winemaker for De Tierra Vineyards in Salinas, Calif. His Pinot Noir sells for $38 per bottle, which, he says, is "priced according to reality, not ego. It's working really well for us." Coventry currently produces 4,800 cases per year, and plans to increase production to 10,000 cases in order to meet demand.

Also new to the San Francisco tasting was Ken Churchill, of Churchill Cellars, in Santa Rosa. Churchill began with a backyard vineyard that grew into more than a hobby. Now he produces 600 cases of Pinot Noir per year.

Following is the full list of "new" wineries to this year's tasting:

Ackerman Family Vineyards, Napa (500 cs./yr.)

Addamo Estate Vineyards, Santa Maria (5,000 cs./yr.)

Bask Cellars, Suisin Valley (900 cs./yr.)

Black Cat Vineyard, Napa (400 cs./yr.)

Blue Cellars, San Francisco (1,000 cs./yr.)

Bugay Vineyards, Santa Rosa (3,000 cs./yr.)

Chapters Wines, Windsor (700 cs./yr.)

Churchill Cellars, Santa Rosa (1,000 cs./yr.)

Cima Collina, Marina (4,000 cs./yr.)

Coniglio Wine Co., St. Helena (2,000 cs./yr.)

Cook Family Winery, St. Helena (1,500 cs./yr.)

De Tierra Vineyard, Salinas (4,800 cs./yr.)

Dry Stack Cellars, Santa Rosa (500 cs./yr.)

Ecluse Wines, Paso Robes (2,000 cs./yr.)

Edward Sellers Vineyards & Wines, Paso Robles (2,500 cs./yr.)

Enkidu wine, Sonoma (2,000 cs./yr.)

Erna Schein/Behrens & Hitchcock, Calistoga (3,000 cs./yr.)

Fleming Jenkins Vineyards & Winery, Los Gatos (1,500 cs./yr.)

Freemark Abbey, St. Helena (35,000 cs./yr.)

Graves Winegrowers, Creston (1,000 cs./yr.)

Hall Winery, St. Helena (21,000 cs./yr.)

Hans Fahden Vineyards, Calistoga (2,500 cs./yr.)

Hollywood and Vine Wine Cellars, Rutherford (2,800 cs./yr.)

II Gioiello Winery, Fiddletown (3,000 cs./yr.)

Jack Brooks Vineyard, Calistoga (100 cs./yr.)

Krutz Family Cellars, Sebastopol (700 cs./yr.)

La Fenetre, Palos Verdes Peninsula (400 cs./yr.)

Lucero Vineyards & Winery, Dobbins (500 cs./yr.)

Magito Wines, Sebastopol (3,200 cs./yr.)

Manzoni Estate Vineyard, Soledad (1,600 cs./yr.)

Martin Estate, Rutherford (1,800 cs./yr.)

Meyer Family Cellars, Yorkville (5,000 cs./yr.)

Milaflores Winery, Placerville (5,200 cs./yr.)

Mitchella Vineyard & Winery, Paso Robles (5,200 cs./yr.)

Modus Operandi Cellars, Napa (250 cs./yr.)

Muscardini Cellars, Sonoma (850 cs/yr.)

Parrish Family Vineyard, Cayucos (150 cs./yr.)

Pozo Valley, Santa Margarita (2,000 cs./yr.)

Punk Dog Wines, Napa (800 cs./yr.)

Red Lava Vineyards, Napa (1,000 cs./yr.)

Rezonja Wine Cellars, Healdsburg (1,500 cs./yr.)

Rocinante Wines & Vineyards, St. Helena (1,200 cs./yr.)

Round Pond Estate, Rutherford (2,000 cs./yr.)

Row Eleven Wine Co., San Rafael (20,000 cs./yr.)

Schulz Cellars, Glen Ellen (250 cs./yr.)

Sensorium, Los Gatos (900 cs./yr.)

Shasta View Vineyards, Montague (800 cs./yr.)

Sheldon Wines, Sebastopol (1,000 cs./yr.)

Soper Winery, Healdsburg (1,300 cs./yr.)

Spence Vineyards, Angwin (200 cs./yr.)

Stephen & Walker Trust Winery, Healdsburg (2,100 cs./yr.)

Stroth-Hall Cellars, Campbell (450 cs./yr.)

Tallulah, Sonoma (2,000 cs./yr.)

Tantalus Winery, Sonoma (1,000 cs./yr.)

Trione Vineyards & Winery, Santa Rosa (1,500 cs./yr.)

Veedercrest Vineyard & Winery, Oakland (1,500 cs./yr.)

Vineyard 7 & 8, St. Helena (1,800 cs./yr.)