Read More Dispatches from Paul Franson.
Long the hidden heart of Napa’s wine business, Mexican immigrants have recently
started to make a name for themselves with their own wine labels.
At least five families of Mexican origin in Napa Valley have introduced their
own wines, all to excellent reviews. And their success is setting an example for
others to follow in their same path.
Like so many other vintners in the Valley, four of the families _ Ceja, Frias,
Robledo and Rentaria _ started producing wine as a natural extension of their
existing grape growing. Gustavo Brambila, by contrast, was a long-time winemaker
who struck out on his own; now he and his partner have acquired land to plant
their own vineyards.
The families’ stories are similar, rooted in the desire to own land and
provide for their families: An immigrant patriarch starts as a field worker, begins
managing vineyards, then buys unappreciated land that turns out to be excellent
for premium wines.
Ceja Vineyards
In 1967, Pablo and Juanita Ceja and six children immigrated north to St. Helena
from Michoacán, working in local wineries before finding a modest house
in Carneros. In 1983, they bought 15 acres there, and the family harvested its
first Pinot Noir fruit in 1988. They encouraged their now-ten children to go to
college. Pedro studied engineering, Armando enology and viticulture at UC Davis,
becoming a respected vineyard manager and winemaker, first at Domaine Chandon,
which encouraged the family’s first planting. He manages the 113 producing
acres owned by the various members of his family.
In 1998, Pedro and his wife, Amelia Morán Ceja, and Armando and his wife
Martha Bramila Ceja (Gustavo’s sister), started Ceja Vineyards, Inc. Armando
acts as winemaker as well as vineyard manager, and petite sparkplug Amelia is
president, an unusual position for a women in a traditional Mexican family.
They source fruit from family vineyards in Carneros, Sonoma and near Stags Leap
District, though most of the grapes are sold to other wineries.
The family has released its first Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot, all selling in
the $30’s, with Cabernet soon to follow. The Pinot, in particular, is winning
raves, unfortunate since the first year’s 150 cases are almost gone.
There’s another generation of winemakers in the works, too. Pedro and Amelia’s
son Navek is studying viticulture at Napa Valley College, and was recently chosen
as the college’s first Hispanic Student Trustee. He expects to transfer
to Davis next fall. “We come from humble origins, but we have a strong and
deep commitment to contribute,” says Amelia.
Robledo Family Winery
In 1968, Reynaldo Robledo, Sr., also made that long trip from Michoacán
to Napa Valley, where he quickly learned to prune and graft vines in Napa, then
in Sonoma. Soon he was managing other workers, but a highlight of his early days
was traveling to France to teach the art of grating to French vineyard workers.
Eventually he supervised 700 acres of vineyards with 120 employees for companies
like Windsor Winery and Sonoma-Cutrer.
Moving to Napa, he managed vineyards for St. Supéry until 1996, starting
his own vineyard management business on the side. His Robledo Vineyard Management
now manages 400 acres in Napa and Sonoma, and four of his seven sons work in that
business, as do his two daughters. The other children help at his own vineyards.
In 1984, Robledo bought 13 acres in Carneros where his home now stands, planting
it to Pinot Noir when many said the area was unsuitable. He now owns three vineyards
in Carneros totaling 30 acres.
The wines, however, are quite new. Robledo Family Vineyard recently released its
first wines, a 1998 Chardonnay and 1999 Merlot, with a Pinot Noir to come. The
wines are made by Reynaldo’s son-in-law Rolando Herrera, who is married
to his oldest child Lorena. Producing less than 2000 cases, they intend to keep
production small to ensure high quality. They’re now renovating a barn at
one of their properties in Sonoma Carneros into a winery that will eventually
welcome visitors.
“It’s great to have lived my dreams,” says Robledo, “My
own family, my own ranch and my own wine.”
Renteria Vineyards
Salvador Renteria arrived at Sterling Vineyards in 1962 from Jalisco, working
up to become a vineyard supervisor, where he gained a reputation as an innovator.
In 1987, he started Renteria Vineyard Management, one of the first Mexican-owned
companies in the area. In 1993, his son Oscar assumed management of what is now
the third largest vineyard management firm in Northern California. It manages
1500 acres for wine companies such as Etude, Mondavi, Caymus, Rombauer and Duckhorn.
The family also has 80 acres of vineyards in St. Helena, Stag’s Leap, Carneros,
Mount Veeder, the Russian River and the Wooden Valley region and started producing
wines under the Renteria Wines label in 1997. Winemaker Karen Culler makes about
2000 cases yearly of Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Renteria
vineyards.
The company’s next move is a winery in Stags Leap District, where it expects
to ramp up to 2000 cases annually.
Frias Vineyards
Manuel Frias took a bit different route to starting a winery. The Jalisco native
(like Amelia and Martha Ceja) was raised in San Francisco’s scruffy Mission
District, and wanted a better environment for his own children. In 1977, he traded
three homes he owned there for 100 acres north and west of St. Helena. For 24
years, he tended the grapes on weekends while working as an administrator at San
Francisco City College, only retiring last year.
In 1985, Frias planted a few acres of vines _ he now has 13 _ and started making
wine commercially in 1991, first with Bob Levy, now winemaker at Harlan Estates,
then with Ballentine winemaker Jim Moore. He now makes about 2500 cases of Cabernet
selling for $60, and hopes one of his four children may join him in his wine adventure.
Gustavo Bramila of GustavoThrace Winery
Alone among the five Mexican natives who now have their own wine labels, Gustavo
Bramila started his business as a winemaker rather than vineyard owner. Also from
Jalisco, he immigrated in 1955 with his father, who worked in vineyards in Oakville.
As a boy, Gustavo met wine figures like André Tchellitscheff and Tom Selfridge,
and experimented with making wine.
After high school, he took courses at Napa Valley College, then turned down a
baseball scholarship to attend UC Davis and study fermentation science; his lab
partner was Mike Martini. He joined Mike Grgich at Chateau Montelena in 1976,
then following him when he started his own winery. He spent 22 years at Grgich-Hills,
then became general manager and winemaker at Peju Province two years ago.
Meanwhile, he teamed up with wine marketer (and lawyer) Thrace Bromberger to form
GustavoThrace Winery in 1996. Their first wine was a Zinfandel made from second
crop, but they’ve come far since then. They now have their own winery in
downtown Napa on Vallejo Street, where they make about 2200 cases of Chardonnay,
Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Asteros, a white blend. The Chardonnay comes
from his sister Martha Caja’s extended family, but the $60 Chiles Valley
Cabernet has generated the greatest buzz.
The partners recently bought 1000 acres in Chiles Valley at a bargain price. There
they hope to develop 25 to 50 acres of vineyards, reducing their dependence on
other growers. “I want to control every aspect of the wine,” says
Brambila.
Contact Paul: paul@ilovenapa.com
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