Keegan Mayo Named Bargetto Winemaker

February 28, 2023 – It’s time for a change in the cellar at Bargetto, although it won’t end up being very noticeable. This is a pretty tight ship: it will simply have a new captain, but for Keegan Mayo, it means attaining the dream of being named winemaker. 

Mayo has been at Bargetto for more than 6 years now, stepping into the position when former winemaker Olivia Teutschel left to pursue a career in Paso Robles. That elevated Bobby Graviano to winemaker and made way for Mayo to become his assistant. Both previously worked together at Testarossa, so they have great synergy. “Time kinda flies!” says Mayo, who has also had great success with his personal brand, Assiduous, a project he started 10 years ago. 

Graviano, who was named winemaker at Bargetto in 2016, is taking over winemaking duties at both Vidovich (Cupertino) and Nicholson (Corralitos). His last day at Bargetto is March 3. 

“John Ritchey was super busy with his Bottle Jack brand, and raising a family. One day, he came into Bargetto and talked to Keegan and me about taking over the winemaking for Nicholson,” says Graviano. “I’d already been making wine for Vidovich for the last two years, so I thought, why not do them both? I’ll be making the Nicholson wines at Bargetto anyway, so I’ll still see everybody I’ve been working with for the past six years! It’s one of the upsides of the new arrangement.”

Ritchey himself admits that it’s tough to let go of winemaking at Nicholson, especially after 12 years of working with Marguerite and Brian. “Honestly, it was the best job I ever had. I got introduced to them through my friend, Olivia Teutschel,” he says. Ritchey has two tasting rooms to manage, both of which are open every weekend now. Plus he has two children, age 4 and 7, and his wife is now the principal of a middle school in Santa Cruz, so his hands are quite full. 

Mayo’s new assistant winemaker will be Kyle Purzycki, another UC Davis graduate who used to work at Bargetto in the cellar.  Again, keeping the staff pretty uniform means steady as she goes. 

“I am also the winemaker for the Regan Vineyard wines since the start of that project for John,” says Mayo. “The Bargetto production is right around 20k cases of wine, but the Regan Vineyard label is really small, about 200 to 300 cases annually.” 

He’s working on two sparkling wine projects right now: one for Regan and one for the 90^th Anniversary of Bargetto Winery. Both are being made at Carboniste by Dan Person, who was a classmate of his at UC Davis. Mayo says the sparkling, which is a Blanc de Blancs from Regan Vineyard Chardonnay, is coming along nicely. It will be bottled this summer. He and Person are also making a commemorative 90^th anniversary sparkling, also from Regan Chardonnay, under the Bargetto label that will be released later this year. 

And Mayo has even more good news. He just got some great scores from Wine Enthusiast critic Matt Kettman for his own label Assiduous wines, most of which are already sold out. 

“It’s nice to get a little validation for the wines,” says Mayo. “Everybody seems to love the wines anyway! I’ve not been super consistent about sending wines in for ratings, because they sell out. But it is really nice to have scores like these.”

Among the wines that grabbed Kettman’s attention was the 2021 Volkmann Vineyard Pinot Noir, to which he gave an eye-opening 96 point score. Mayo says that both Enoteca La Storia in Los Gatos and K&L in Redwood City carry the wine, and are huge supporters. It doesn’t hurt that he worked with the buyers for both at Testarossa during his tenure there. He also sells his wines through New Leaf. 

Of the Volkman Vineyard, Mayo says it’s a 2-acre backyard vineyard off Branciforte managed by the Muhly brothers of Coastal Range Vineyards. Planted to 667 and 115 and 777, pretty much all the fruit has been going to Mayo since vintage 2020.  

“Honestly, when I first saw the vineyard, it was a little scary. There is a eucalyptus grove close by. I figured this could be good or it could be a disaster, but when I tried the wine, I really liked it! The euc adds a nice element and boosts the aromatics significantly,” Mayo says.

For 2022, he’ll have a Gruner Veltliner from Mesa del Rio in Monterey. “This is a first for me,” says Mayo. “Not only my first time making Gruner, but it’s my first time venturing out of the Santa Cruz Mountains for fruit. The only person I know who grows it here is Richard (Alfaro), and I can’t get any! It’s a monster grape: so huge! Looks like a table grape. I am racking this week, and am really happy with it.”

He’s also bumped up production of his Pinot Gris, a slam dunk hit for him at all his accounts. “I am getting more and more fruit from both John Basor and from Regan Vineyard,” says Mayo. “I’m buying as much as I can. I ferment them separately, but then combine them in tank before bottling. Honestly, they are not very different because of the proximity of their locations. They are only about a mile apart. I pick the fruit that’s in better condition for the 30% skin contact. There is usually some botrytis, but I need clean grapes for skin contact.” 

The one thing he’s looking for is Chardonnay, and he’s not alone. “I’m always looking for Chardonnay from different sources here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I would love to find a backyard vineyard with between two and four tons,” he says. “I’m always running out of Chardonnay! One thing I’ve learned in the wine business is you’ll never make the right amount of wine!”