Wineries shop for second homes

No question the picturesque hills of San Martin, Calif., 25 miles south of San Jose, are a lovely spot for a vineyard. It is not, however, an obvious destination for thirsty visitors hoping to pass an hour or two in wine country.

So six weeks ago, Bill and Brenda Murphy of the Clos LaChance winery, took their wine to the tourists — opening a second tasting room on Monterey’s famous Cannery Row. Their 30,000-case winery attracted plenty of wine geeks, but the new 900-square-foot operation extends their sales pitch to Bay Area visitors down for a round of golf and even passengers on the cruise ships that sail into Monterey Bay.

“We felt we needed something that would allow us to have access to people who weren’t familiar with our brand,” says Bill Murphy, whose wine is available in five countries.

Winemakers around the nation are acknowledging that the ideal locations to tend vines are often a long haul from civilization. Devoted wine tourists might make the trek; casual tourists far less so. And though U.S. per-capita wine consumption is steadily rising, just 10 percent of adult Americans regularly drink wine, according to data from Merrill Research & Associates. Wineries have a very real challenge in expanding their customer bases.

Convenience has become a factor. New Mexico’s Santa Fe Vineyards, located nearly 20 miles north of its namesake city, opened a second tasting facility downtown in the gallery of local artist Amado Peña, who designs their labels. Two wineries in California’s Diablo Grande appellation unveiled a joint tasting room in downtown San Francisco, 80 miles to the northwest.

And while Illinois’ Shawnee Hills Wine Trail draws weekend visitors out for a wine vacation, Alto Vineyards opted for a second tasting room 225 miles north in Champaign, home to the state’s flagship university. Winemaker Paul Renzaglia loves the rolling hills of southern Illinois, but acknowledges that wine lovers might get bored.

“It’s quite a nice area for growing many varieties of grapes,” he says. “It really isn’t good for a whole lot else besides grazing ground.”

Washington wineries face the same conundrum. Most vineyards are 150 miles or more from Seattle; most visitors don’t venture east of the Cascade Mountains. While two major producers, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Winery, have facilities in nearby Woodinville, many smaller vintners were out of luck.

'We catch 'em'
So six boutique wineries across the state brought their bottles to the big city. They opened The Tasting Room, which touts itself as the state’s first cooperative cellar, in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, one of the region’s biggest draws.

“They were coming here to eat salmon, see some fish being thrown, maybe go to some museums,” says Robert Goodfriend of Harlequin Wine Cellars, a Tasting Room co-founder. “Everyone strolls around the market, and we catch 'em.”

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As with other ancillary tasting locations, the Seattle storefront, which sells wine by the glass and small plates of noshes, was designed to offer personal feel of a winery trip — including regular visits by winemakers — without having to lure visitors into a musty room full of barrels. Open since 2002, it mimics European wine caves, regional collaboratives by small producers.

“I think the industry in general complicates it more than they need to,” says Jen Doak, the Tasting Room’s manager. “I don’t think you need to have the two-hour tour.”

For that matter, vintners don’t necessarily want the uninitiated poking around a working winery.

While some Napa Valley facilities, notably Robert Mondavi, have become mass-tourist destinations, complete with guided tour and restaurant, others have come to fear the crush of visitors who arrive each weekend. (Napa County regulations concur. Save for a few grandfathered facilities like Mondavi, vintners are largely barred from offering wine by the glass or selling food.)

Co-owner David Topper considers his Goosecross Cellars, in the northern Napa town of Yountville, to be a “third visit” stop. But his new tasting room in downtown Napa, Wineries of Napa Valley, draws in first-timers. 

Visitors can taste through Goosecross’ and other winemakers’ vintages for a standard $5 fee — a virtual visit to nine wineries for the price of one. Similar to nearby Sonoma-Enoteca, a collaboration of 12 wineries, the Napa effort exposes many new drinkers to obscure labels. That’s crucial for Topper, who sells 96 percent of his wine direct to customers. And it allows wineries otherwise swamped by tourists to spend more time with loyal customers.

“There are just so many people you can put in a room before customer service goes to hell in a handbasket,” Topper says.

Plus, the Napa wine bar can sell by the glass and serve food. That’s a welcome prospect to hungry visitors who may not have the patience to stand for a couple hours, swirling liquid in a glass.

Briefly ...
The gnomes are smiling on Spokane’s Mountain Dome Winery, which we recently profiled. Owner Michael Manz just won permission to expand beyond sparkling wine and begin making clear and aged brandies, apparently becoming the first such distillery since Prohibition in Washington state.

Another step forward for artisanal American brandies, such as Oregon’s Clear Creek and California’s Germain-Robin.

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