January 30, 2018 – Sometimes the right one does come along. For long-time Salinas farmer Bill Massa, the golden opportunity to get into the wine business that his wife Laurie had been talking about came when the Heller Estate property in Cachagua came on the market after both the owners passed away late last year.
The sale included the entire Cachagua estate, the vineyards, the winery, the tasting room and the entire wine inventory. It’s not clear exactly how many cases are involved or how many barrels exist of the 2017 vintage, but a full assessment of the cellar will take place later this week.
Says Massa, “I’m pretty happy with it. I’m going to keep it all organic and just clean things up a bit. I’m going to do some remodeling in the Tasting Room after I take inventory and figure out what needs doing. But everything else will remain the same. Same tasting room crew and hours.” He says his wife, Laurie, plans to run the tasting room in Carmel Valley Village.
The 998-acre Heller Estate was planted to approximately 88 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir, Petite Sirah, Malbec and Petit Verdot at an altitude of 1200 – 1500 feet. The vineyard has been farmed organically since 1996.
Rich Tanguay, who was winemaker at Heller until 2016, had this to say about his experience there, “I am grateful to have spent 15 years crafting over 150 different and well-received wines on what amounts to be one of the most spectacular pieces of land in Cachagua. The Heller’s vision—early on mind you – 1993—to dedicate themselves to growing organic which proved to be critical input to making such highly extracted and flavorful wines.”
Massa says there is room to plant another 15 to 20 additional acres of grapes on the Cachagua property. He already grows Merlot and Syrah on his 75-acres of vineyards in Arroyo Seco as well as Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. He’s not sure exactly what he’ll plant in Cachagua, but since his favorite wine is Sauvignon Blanc, he might plant a few rows of that, for starters. This purchase increases his land holdings to over 7K acres, including a cattle ranch called Rat Camp, which was named by a cowboy who had his lunch stolen by a pack rat.
A neighbor of the Heller’s has been running cattle on the property, but Massa thinks there is not enough grass. “Too many trees,” he says. So the cattle will go. He’s looking forward to using that beautiful pool in the hot summers, and intends to fix up the structures on the property to provide housing for workers.
Heller Estate was been a pioneer of organic grape growing in the Carmel Valley Appellation, bringing to bear practices like cover cropping, composting and water conservation.
Being completely organic was central to the Heller brand, and Massa intends to keep it that way going forward, so the one thousand plus club members have nothing to worry about. And yes, he is keeping all the sculptures created by artist Toby Heller right where they are.
Pete Downs Garners Rich Smith Award
The second-annual Rich Smith Distinguished Service Award for major contributions to the American grape and wine industry, and to research, was given to Edgar B. “Pete” Downs, president of the Family Winemakers of California, on January 23.
The award was given in a surprise presentation by the Smith Family at the Board of Directors meeting of Family Winemakers of California, held at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium.
Said Claudia Smith, wife of the late Rich Smith, founder of Paraiso Vineyards, “This was the second time we’ve given the ‘Rich’ award. The three organizations which we were very active in since they first began said they wanted to honor Rich this way right after he died, and so we had many conference calls, emails, etc in 2016, setting up the criteria, what the award might look like, etc. It’s a beautiful award. I commissioned a Monterey artist to do a likeness of Rich in a bronze medallion which is mounted on a beautiful slab of granite.”
Rich Smith was founder and co-owner with his wife, Claudia Alexander Smith, of Paraiso Vineyards and Smith Family Wines in California’s Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. Rich was widely known and revered for his passion for the wine and grape industry, his commitment to enhancing its future, and his collaboration with colleagues to achieve collective goals.
Those three words—passion, commitment, collaboration—are inscribed on the award, which is presented annually to a person who emulates Rich’s defining traits and works as tirelessly for the common good.
Rich’s wife Claudia and their daughter Kacy presented the award to Pete who has served as Acting President of the Family Winemakers of California, since July 0f 2016. He had retired in 2012 from 20 years of service at Kendall-Jackson to launch a consulting firm, and has been an active board member of Family Winemakers and head of its Legislative Committee.
Pete began his career in 1973 as a chemist with Italian Swiss Colony in Asti, leaving to become Research Director at Korbel, then arriving as a sparkling winemaker at Chateau St. Jean, where he helped to establish the winery in Graton and oversee custom programs for wineries including Gloria Ferrer, Shadow Creek, Sebastiani and Cueno. In 1992, he became General Manager of Kendall-Jackson’s Vinwood, Lakeport and Edmeades wineries before he became the winery’s chief ambassador for trade organizations and community affairs.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
