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Publication Date: Friday, August 30, 2002

Pleasanton welcomes a new winery

Mitchell Katz dreamed of a permanent home for his winery, Jackson Cellars. Most likely, he thought, we'll move into a big old barn in Livermore.

But much to the winemaker's delight, he found a partner and an ideal vineyard locale for his new 16,000-square-foot winery - at the foot of a palm-tree-lined lane off Vineyard Avenue on the east side of Pleasanton. And the property has deep winemaking roots - Ruby Hill Winery grapes were first crushed on the site 115 years ago.

With a new name - Mitchell Katz Winery at Ruby Hill - and a semi-completed winery building, Katz reopens the door to Pleasanton's winemaking heritage. His work ethic, winemaking genes, and family-centric approach to business all contribute to the success of his award-winning wine.

Along with his wife Alicia and two young sons, Katz is ready to show off his new locale to the community and wine enthusiasts during the Livermore Valley's 21st Annual Harvest Wine Celebration this weekend.

To some, the idea of a winery in Pleasanton is a bit strange. When Alicia talked with city of Pleasanton officials several months ago about her desire to participate in the Harvest Wine Celebration, someone told her, "That event is for Livermore."

For the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association (LVWA), the new winery heralds the region's ongoing wine renaissance. Lynn Wallace, LVWA executive director, said, "Mitch and Alicia have more energy than 500 people; their enthusiasm is contagious. The passion of area winemakers is putting Livermore, Sunol, Castro Valley - and now Pleasanton - on wine country destination maps."

Katz, 39, a Livermore resident, needs extra energy to work his two jobs. By day, he is a foreman for a mechanical contractor, working on projects like the new Dublin Library. And for 13 years, he's been making wine at night and on weekends.

"I tasted Mitch's wines when he was still an amateur. They were as good as those from high-end winemakers," said Dominic Scotto, a Pleasanton winemaker. Scotto referred him to Garr� Winery where Katz has made Jackson Cellars wines since 1998. He will start production at his new site later this year.

Although winemaking remains a part-time profession, Katz's production of 1,500 cases has consistently sold out from sales at Garr�, regional markets and restaurants. His Zinfandel, Merlot and Katz Family Port have won numerous awards - from gold medals in the 2002 San Francisco Bay Wine Competition to Riverside International Wine Competitions.

The El Cerrito native honed his winemaking skills during summer visits with his grandfather Reginald Lord in Folkestone, England. Since grapes didn't grow near the White Cliffs of Dover, the avid gardener made wine with homegrown fruit like plums and blackberries.

"Grandpa made his last batch of wine at age 92. When he was 94, he visited us in Livermore to witness our firstborn son Jackson's birth. He died six months later, inspiring us to pursue our family passion - and name our wine for our son."

As the new winery takes shape down the ridge from the now-demolished Ruby Hill Winery, Katz honors Pleasanton's viticultural past. Terra cotta bricks from the old winery are slated for the winery's front fa�ade and leftovers will pave the driveway.

And the original sign that hung above the door for over a century - "Ruby Hill Winery, 1887" - will showcase Katz's soon-to-be-completed tasting room. Pleasanton's winery history

In 1883, the same year that Carl H. Wente founded his winery empire in Livermore, John Crellin bought 450 acres and planted vineyards in rural Alameda County near the sleepy hamlet of Pleasanton.

Crellin built his three-story winery into a red clay knoll, calling it "Ruby Hill." By the 1890s, Ruby Hill Winery was one of the largest producers in the valley.

In nearby downtown Pleasanton, Frank Garatti began making wine for his caf� in 1898. Four years later, he opened Garatti Winery, the town's first winery, on St. John Street. During this period, there were many vineyards and a few wineries off Vineyard Avenue in Pleasanton, such as E. Qualia.

The Crellins sold the Ruby Hill Winery to Ernest Ferrario in 1921. Ferrario labeled his bottles with the line, "Gem of Wines." Though Prohibition theoretically limited production to sacramental and medicinal wines, rumors about local bootlegging have never been fully squelched.

Ferrario's goddaughter, Thelma Draghi, 87, of Livermore, reminisced about visits to Ruby Hill in the 1920s. She played under chestnut and olive trees by the ivy-covered winery a quarter mile behind the family home.

"The winery office was in the house," recalled Draghi. "Here Ernest's wife labeled bottles and shipped a few cases every week. Later, I worked on the busy bottling line at Cresta Blanca Winery in Livermore - we shipped hundreds of cases a day."

After the repeal of Prohibition, Frank Garatti considered partnering with Ferrario at Ruby Hill. But his wife preferred the "city" life of downtown Pleasanton to the "country" - Vineyard Avenue was a dirt lane at the time - and he decided instead to build a distillery to make feedstock for the East Coast vermouth market.

As a child, Phil Wente, executive vice president of Wente Vineyards, often rode down country roads with his father and grandfather to Ruby Hill Winery while they traded grapes with Ferrario, sometimes buying, sometimes selling.

Downtown, the Garatti Winery thrived during the '50s. In 1960, the Scotto family bought the winery, renamed it Villa Armando and increased its capacity.

By the '60s, Ruby Hill Winery was known mostly for its bulk wines. "We would bring our empty jugs over to Ruby Hill and Ernest would ask gruffly, 'What do you want, black or white?' That meant red or white wine," recalled local winery historian Gary Drummond.

Dominic Scotto characterized these jug wines as "made in the old-fashioned homemade Italian style - very fruity, high in alcohol, not made for varietal pedigree."

During this time, the area's viticultural prowess was recognized outside the Livermore Valley. Almaden Vineyards and Mirassou leased vineyards next door to Ruby Hill Winery to source grapes for their popular white wines.

In 1970, Ferrario's son-in-law negotiated the sale of Ruby Hill Winery to his employer, Southern Pacific Railroad. Harry and Leonard Rosingana leased the winery and renamed it Stony Ridge. Lanny Replogle, current owner of Fenestra Winery, became the winemaker and recollected the early days at Stony Ridge.

"The Rosingana brothers were 'free spirits,'" he said. "There was a hot tub next to the winery house where they lived. They foot-crushed the grapes at their harvest crush parties, and then jumped right into the hot tub."

Though the winery building, with its dirt floor and old equipment, was aging, Replogle honed his commercial winemaking skills and the wine sold nationally. In 1980, Replogle moved on to open Fenestra.

Computerland purchased the Ruby Hill property in 1982. Under new management, Stony Ridge moved its equipment to barns next door at the Hagemann Ranch and produced wine for a few more years.

When Computerland ripped out the Ruby Hill vineyards to build a corporate training campus, the Friends of the Vineyards formed to protest the development.

The South Livermore Valley Specific Plan evolved out of the concerns of the Friends of the Vineyards. For every acre of housing, an acre of vineyard was planted. The Ruby Hill development and surrounding 20-acre vineyard sites were born. Wente Vineyards purchased the winery property and Pleasanton annexed the whole area.

Over in rapidly developing downtown, the Scottos closed Villa Armando, and bought the rights to the Stony Ridge name along with some equipment and inventory. The Scottos moved the Villa Armando winery building to Livermore's Tesla Road and reopened Stony Ridge Winery, which is now owned by the Vaughns, another Pleasanton family.

A fire gutted the abandoned Ruby Hill Winery building in 1989. Wente, having committed to rebuilding the winery, considered selling to various vintners. Finally in 2002, Mike Callahan, developer of the Livermore Airport Business Park, bought the property.

Ruby Hill resident Callahan said that because he was a fan of Jackson Cellars wine, the selection of a winemaking partner was easy.

Wente Vineyards will continue to farm the 97 acres of vineyards replanted in the late '90s, manage the harvest, and sell the grapes.

"We have great expectations for these grapes," said Phil Wente. "The flat area near the new winery - gravelly and well-drained like the Bordeaux and Rhone regions in France - is ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petite Sirah grapes. Closer to the old winery in loamier soil of the upland area, we planted Chardonnay and Zinfandel." A winery by any other name

This year, about 2,500 cases of Mitchell Katz wine will be produced. Katz will bottle estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel from the 2002 harvest. Eventually, he said, he wants to make a premium Ruby Hill-labeled wine from estate grapes.

Katz decided this was also a good time to change the name from Jackson Cellars so no one confuses it with the larger winery, Kendall Jackson.

Before choosing the new name, he considered Wesjack Winery and J.W. Katz Winery to highlight both sons' names, Wesley and Jackson. But, he said, Alicia reminded him that he is the winemaker. "Our work is about the quality and value of the wine, not the name," he also noted.

His wine is crafted in small lots from 100 percent Livermore Valley grapes carefully selected from local vineyards. "Mitch lets each vintage be unique," said Scotto, "unlike large producers who sometimes make wines taste the same year after year."

Katz's son Wesley, 4, has inherited a love of grape-growing. While playing at the construction site, he said, "I like purple grapes right off the vine." Jackson, 7, grimaced at the thought of eating the still-sour grapes.

Wesley said they usually play soccer or swim but they sometimes give their Dad a hand. "I push the stick with a circle thing on the bottom down on the grapes," he said. "That makes the wine." Punching down the grapes during fermentation - and tasting the wine while it's still sweet during this phase - is also Jackson's favorite task.

So far, the family business doesn't interest them - Jackson wants to be a veterinarian and Wesley, a fireman.

Mom Alicia used to work in the insurance industry, but now she's chief administrator, delivery person, order taker and marketing guru.

"We'll hire our first employees to help in the tasting room," she said. "I do everything but make the wine and process the government paperwork. And part of my role is to remind Mitch to change from his stained winemaking clothes when it's time for charity events." The Harvest Celebration and the future

Alicia organized the party planned for this Sunday and Monday on the picnic area outside the building. She's personally looking forward to the grilled pesto chicken sandwiches from Hap's Original and ice cream flavored with Katz-made Zinfandel from Tucker's of Alameda on sale for a nominal charge. There will be a home winemaking booth, Caribbean music on Sunday and local band Liv Out Loud playing blues and rock on Monday - and tasting of Jackson Cellars vintages.

In a month or two, a crusher and fermentation tanks will be installed on the outside pad. The grassy picnic area in front of the winery will be landscaped, and more than 100 olive and California pepper trees will be planted. Tours will be offered next year.

Architecturally, the new building will mirror the old winery. But unlike Ruby Hill, which was built into the hill with three stories for gravity flow of the crushed and fermented wine to ground floor barrel storage, the Katz winery will be one story with a small second-story office.

Redwood barrel storage will fill the winery building with the heady aroma of aging wine. The tasting room will feature a granite bar, brick interior, local artwork displays - and a cozy fireplace area so tasters can relax inside when it's too cool to picnic outside. "This won't be like some Napa-style wineries where picnicking is not allowed," said Katz.

Following the tradition of local winery families like the Garattis and the Scottos, the Katzes are pleased to be winemaking in Pleasanton. Strong supporters of local nonprofit groups and area schools, the Katzes are planting an educational mini-vineyard with several grape varietals and trellising methods to showcase Pleasanton's rich agricultural heritage.

Fun-seekers - and wine-lovers - can taste Pleasanton's winery future at the Harvest Wine Celebration this weekend.

For information on the new winery and when its tasting room will be open, call 606-9195, or check the Web site at www.jacksoncellars.com.
Wine Celebration highlights

� Three new wineries: Mitchell Katz at Ruby Hill/Jackson Cellars (Pleasanton), Eckert Estate Winery (Livermore), Little Valley Vineyard (Sunol) � Total of 19 wineries pouring at 17 venues � Four bus routes compared to three last year � Many wineries feature children's activities: Eckert Estate Winery offers a mini-carnival with jump houses, slide and caterpillar crawl. � Fenestra Vineyards features picturesque picnic grounds and Gimanelli's food; Elliston Vineyards (Sunol) showcases jewelry artisans and watercolor artists along with grilled treats from in-house chef Brian Krediet; Little Valley Vineyard (Sunol) offers blues bands and an art show. -Deborah Grossman