Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/62409
WINEMAKING you're not buying all the equipment; the disadvantage is that it isn't always the equipment you'd want." Complex arrangements Unlike the classic, almost mythic winery model—family buys vineyards, builds a winery, then makes and sells wine—this one has a lot more moving parts. The families, of course, knew each other forever. In 1984, Mirassou's father, also named Steven, left the Mirassou company to pursue a negociant label with winemaker Ivan Tamas Fuezy, and by 1995 the Wentes persuaded them to move the Ivan Tamas operation to the Livermore Valley. The Wentes eventually became part- ners in the brand, then full owners, and the name changed to Tamas Estates. Along the way, the Steven Kent brand was launched with a Cabernet Sauvignon focus, and in 2005, Steven Kent Mirassou and his new grower-partners, the Ghielmetti family, took full ownership of Steven Kent. The same year, Mirassou purchased the Pinot Noir-focused La Rochelle brand from some of his Mirassou cousins and moved it from Monterey to Livermore, bringing along winemaker Tom Stutz. After many forms of financial linkage, the Mirassou-Wente connection is now quite simple: Steven Kent Mirassou and his brands have their own winery bond and pay to make wine in a Wente facility. Mirassou has kept and will continue to keep the Steven Kent and La Rochelle brands separate, since they focus on different grape varieties, have different vineyard sources, draw on different growing regions, have different winemakers and require different sensibilities. In fact, Mirassou recently added a single-wine label, Lineage, for a proprietary red Bordeaux blend. All three labels are housed under the Steven Kent LLC, representing the partnership between Mirassou and the Ghielmettis. The Steven Kent wines are sourced from the Livermore Valley, primarily from two estate vineyards—the Home Ranch, near Wente Vineyards and the Steven Kent tasting room, and the Ghielmetti Vineyard, a few miles away. Some additional grapes are bought from growers in the valley. Vineyard management at the estate vineyards is done by Wente's vineyard management arm, but Mirassou calls the picking dates and stays in constant communication with vineyard manager Bryan Anthony to discuss viticultural questions. Since Livermore is not known as Pinot country, the fruit for La Rochelle is all purchased from a collection of vineyards in the Anderson Valley, Russian River, Carneros, Green Valley, the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Santa Lucia Highlands. La Rochelle has used as many as 15 vineyards in a single vintage; for 2011, the number was eight. Vineyard purchases are relatively small lots for the single-vineyard program, which typically releases 125- to 150-case bottlings. Cellar strategies Wente created the Small-Lot Winery in 2002, largely by conversion of existing win- ery space and relying primarily on in-house Wente resources for design, engineering and construction. The principal reason for the project was to have a dedicated facility for a new, higher tier of small-production Wente wines including the Nth degree bot- tlings, but the facility was also designed to accommodate small-scale, ultra-premium winemaking for other Wente Family Estates and AP labels. The facility covers 33,000 square feet and produces 20,000-25,000 cases per year under the Wente, Murrieta's Well, Tamas Estates and Steven Kent/La Ro- chelle labels. Mirassou and his partners pay QSEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #327 Wines & Vines JAnUARY 2012 51