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JULY NEWS Santa Cruz Winery Shake-Up S cotts Valley, Calif.—De- spite local reports to the contrary, Roudon-Smith Winery is alive and well. Owners of the Santa Cruz Mountains pioneer, founded in 1972, have divided the as- sets: Both the label and the physical winery—with a new brand—will continue, albeit under separate ownership. Annette and David Hunt, who purchased Roudon-Smith from its founders in 2003, remain in the Bean Creek Road winery built in 1978, operating under the name Skov Winery. The Hunts re- tain most of the winemaking equipment and are building a new home on the property. Al Drewke, who came in as a partner in 2005, is taking the Roudon-Smith Winery brand and much of the wine inventory and moving to an alternating-proprietorship warehouse in nearby Watsonville next month. Brandon Armitage continues as wine- maker for Roudon-Smith, although he may also consult with Skov, according to Annette Hunt. Skov (the "v" is silent) is Danish for "forest," reflecting Hunt's Dan- ish roots and the winery's woodsy setting. David Hunt, who still works as an engi- neer in Silicon Valley, serves as winemaker, and he is looking for an assistant. Although Roudon-Smith was making winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keyword "Skov." Roudon-Smith owners split; Skov takes over Scotts Valley facility some 6,000 cases annually, and the winery permit al- lows for up to 10,000 cases per year, Skov's initial pro- duction will be about 1,000 cases focused on Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, plus Zinfandel and blends. In contrast to Skov's quiet Al Drewke (left) is a partner at Roudon-Smith Winery, where Brandon Ar- mitage serves as winemaker. Skov tasting room shown at right. rural environment, Drewke hopes Roudon-Smith's move to warehouse space being de- veloped by vintner Mica Raas will provide more public access to the brand. Raas is currently making wine in Santa Cruz un- der his Mica Cellars label, which special- izes in Bordeaux blends. Roudon-Smith is scaling down produc- tion to about 3,000 cases this vintage, and eventually it will build back up to about 5,000 cases per year. —Jane Firstenfeld ÉLEVÉ EN FRANCE COOPERED IN CALIFORNIA Visit www.tonnellerieo.com to learn about our French oak barrels and schedule a private tour of our new California cooperage. 531 Stone Road, Benicia, CA 94510 | 707.752.6350 office | 707.746.7471 fax | info@tonnellerieo.com Wines & Vines JULY 2011 19