Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/197145
win e m a k I N G In keeping with the gravity-flow tradition, Clos de la Tech's third cave is set 22 feet below the second. There is a blending tank on the second floor so that wine can flow down to bottling. The Pinot Noir is aged in bottles for two years or more. Rodgers describes his wines as being "very tight in their youth. They don't open up for six to eight years." Packaging and wine sales Paul Sakuma Photography Bottles of Clos de la Tech are emblazoned with a dab of red sealing wax on the front, but instead of being stamped with initials or a design, the wax is used to hold a silicon chip. According to Rodgers, engineering teams at Cypress work all year to create the chip featured on that year's wine. Ninety-nine percent of Clos de la Tech's production is sold direct to consumer, although bottles are available at a handful of nearby restaurants and Roberts Market in Woodside. In 2010 the Rodgers opened the Half Moon Bay Cheese Co., which serves mostly local products as well as some international wines. The shop, located in the surf city's downtown area, doubles as a tasting room for Clos de la Tech, which is not accessible to visitors due to its mountaintop location. The tasting bar has 60 wines available for tasting each The chip that adorns Clos de la day, including Clos de la Tech Pinot Noir. Purchased on-site or Tech is capable of downloading 500,000 pages per second. directly from closdelatech.com, the wines sell for between $42 and $102 per bottle. As for TJ Rodgers' winemaking hobby, he's replaced it with a goal. "Once you get to eight figures it's no longer a hobby," Rodgers says earnestly. These days the winemaker boils down his ambition succinctly: to make the best Pinot Noir in the New World. And who knows? He's certainly got the right tools. Paul Sakuma Photography TJ and Valeta Rodgers stand at the highest point of Domaine Lois Louise, the grapegrowing site that is home to their winery. Win es & Vin es NOV EM b er 20 13 33