W and V visits a Mother Lode "Destination Pointe."

Wines & Vines, Oct, 1993 by Philip E. Hiaring

After Wines & Vines visited Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys, Calaveras County, there was brief hesitation when sitting down to write the account of the visit.

Like, where to start.

When Ironstone is completed, the seven-story, multi-million dollar winery will be what owner John Kautz calls a "destination pointe". Obviously, it's more than just another winery, albeit a grand facility cut into a hill and blending perfectly with the surroundings at this 2,400-foot altitude.

Ironstone is a family operation, with son Stephen as president (and resident barbecue chef) and son Kurt as treasurer. Randy Frey is vineyard manager and Steve Miller is winemaker. Miller began his career with David Bruce in the Santa Cruz Mountains, then spent seven years with an Ironstone neighbor, Stevenot.

Let's go back to the term "destination pointe." Kautz points out that not only is Murphys a historic area because of the Gold Rush/Mother Lode connection, the area offers wineries, caverns, fishing, frog jumping, gold panning, skiing, golf, museums and more. What he plans to offer at the winery definitely will add to the area's luster.

Start at the entry level. There will be a western art galley and a 42-feet-high rock fireplace that has a 4' x 6' barbecue on the other side. The tasting room bar is from the now-closed A.J. Bump's old saloon in Davis. The first floor also will have a deli and a music room featuring a grand piano and the pipe organ from the now-closed Alhambra Theater in Sacramento.

Kautz also plans on selling fresh cut flowers from the soon-to-be organic garden and hold concerts at a natural amphitheater between a pond and nature area and an apple orchard. Then there's the demonstration vineyard, where visitors will see on arrival current and historical area cultivars.

There will be an on-premise kitchen, laundry and bakery; the eventual goal is to serve meals to 1,500 people at a time.

Ironstone already caters weddings, and offers the use of its Belgian horses and a classy landau or a beautifully-restored open carriage. Theater lights are used to illuminate night weddings. Kautz is a regular attendee at auctions (Alhambra's pipe organ, A.J. Bump's bar), and there's even more stuff stored at the winery, waiting for a home. Maybe the opera carriage and the Bret Harte bust will end up in the museum he plans; but where the suit of armor winds up is a good question.

Kautz has a concern for the environment, and it shows from the vineyards to the winery. He is a believer in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and trains vines on quadrilateral cordons to expose fruit to minimize rot without sprays. The winery has a solar system for cooling and a "warm air system" to cool the warehouse to conserve electricity and refrigeration. Drip irrigates the vineyards.

How does one winery manage these things, plus a bass pond? For one thing, the ranch has 1,150 acres. Of these, 70 acres are in vineyard and 70 in apple orchard. More future vineyard plantings are likely.

John Kautz--Kautz is owl in German--began his farming career in 1948 and has grown 42 different commodities. He grows about 2,000 acres of grapes in all, and the home ranch is on Bear Creek Road in Lodi. The Lodi property is the site for a massive barbecue each year, and it's the norm for the state's governor and other high-ranking politicians to attend. In addition to grapes, Kautz is a major cherry grower and farms a total of 5,000 acres.

So the Kaufz farming operation isn't all about wine and wine grapes. Son Jack works in the family's row-crop operation and daughter Joan is a recent graduate at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. She's educated in agri-marketing but doesn't--yet--plan to join the family corporation. John's wife, Gail, is an expert horsewoman and is active in many civic activities, including serving as president of the board of the California State Fair. She's also president of the California 4-H foundation.

Some may question Kautz' decision to make Murphys and Ironstone a "destination pointe." Well, for one thing he owns a substantial part of the historic (1858) Murphys Hotel, where Black Bart and Mark Twain stayed--though presumably not at the same time. But he also points out that there are three million people within a 1.5 hour drive.

More attractions await at ground level. The breezeway can accommodate you and 449 of your closest friends at dinner. Then, there are the caves!

The massive redwood doors were made from redwood tanks from the former D'Agostini winery.

The six caves were blasted out since Kautz, a world-traveler, didn't want a champagne-style cave. As one might expect, this cave is unique since it has a waterfall (the area is covered with springs). Of course, dinner may be served in the cave, and of course there's a tasting bar. But the constant temperature of 60|degrees~ and constant humidity of 80% mean no use of refrigeration and less evaporation from the barrels.

Ironstone will not just make wine, as it presently does. Since Kautz bought the former Creekside Winery, he got a Holstein pot still to make apple brandy and grappa with. And maybe a kirshe.