Cellar Tunes

It was 18 years since Grando last worked at a winery, so his nerves were excited but also intimidated. Starting his car, he was barely able to see out of the windshield due to the fog that hovers over the coastal cities in San Luis Obispo County. He lived close by on the eastside of the Edna Valley which is part of the newer SLO Coast AVA. A vineyard drive down Edna Rd and Corbett Canyon Rd led him to a sign that read Center of Effort. Was that a group of winemakers creating great wines he asked himself? With an open gate and a vineyard landscape, Grando drove up a lovely driveway to a parking lot where you could see more than a handful of humongous outdoor wine tanks. As he walked up a few steps, he admired and entered the architecturally-sound designed building. He saw a group of what looked like younger people, so he headed that way. After taking 7 years off from the wine industry, his knowledge seemed distant. He just came off of 6 years as a high school basketball coach and substitute teacher in his home town of Dana Point, CA. He was hoping not to embarrass himself in front of everyone working at the winery, so he tried to blend in and keep his mouth closed until he evaluated the room and level of knowledge floating around in his new crew’s heads. Everyone seemed welcoming, but you could tell they were all nervous. They had a brief meeting explaining what things were going to look like over the next three months during harvest. The first day they got to know each other, there was some good chemistry between the Cal Poly students and the Art major alumni. When they met up, he was surrounded by Cal Poly people decades younger than him. He believed that you can learn from young people as much as adults, so he was open-minded and intrigued. “Go Mustangs!” they hollered and began to tour the two winery facilities on the large and extravagant property. As Grando entered the second facility to start, he heard a beat in the distance.

Inside the second facility were rows of barrels, thick hoses and big stainless steel wine tanks. There also was a pallet of their unreleased 2019 Pinot Noir stacked case on case “This is sweet!” Grando nudged his new friend Jimi. After smelling the wine in the barrels they moved over to the main cellar. That beat he was hearing got closer as they entered. “Is that the Beastie Boys?” he asked Jimi. Grando assumed COE was conservative like a lot of wineries so he could not believe when the Flute Loop was playing. He thought all wineries had classical music going or just pure silence. He listened in closely. “A little wine with my dinner so I'm in my grape ape.” “What is going on?” he said in his mind. Right as he did, Michael one of the winemakers said, “As you can see, this is not as glamorous as you might think. The beats from the music get us pumped up to work through the harvest cellar grind. The vibrations also stimulate the yeasts, helping them move more freely. There is a lot more going on than you can see.” Grando tried to block out the song and tried to say focused. It was hard for him, because he was so passionate about music. Whenever you enter a winery you feel the coldness with a quick shiver. It was 6:30am, so both cold on the inside and out. He remembered the smell that you will never forget when walking into a winery. It smells something like tarty cranberries. “Wow, this is high-level equipment.” Grando said to his buddy. Before starting to work, everyone felt like family standing in the winery. They learned about clamps, tank temps, barrels, fermentation and punch downs. It was amazing and it was only the first day. Grando finished the easy day and drove passed more vineyards on the way home. He went through his company packet over a nice glass of 2018 Center of Effort Pinot Noir. The juices were back.

COE- Center of Effort, Arroyo Grande, CA

So the next day Grando went to the winery office again for another brief meeting addressing the day before they got started. As he walked back into the cellar that morning, he heard a song, “We’re gonna bring a case of wine.” and he knew right away it was The Rolling Stones Miss You playing through these amazing speakers. He did not know what to think again, and again he was blown away. As they headed out to the second faculty they started learning about the complexities of wine barrels and what they do for wine and aging. “This medium toasted barrel offers complex spices, vanilla, and maybe a little caramel to the wine.” said Michael after explaining everything in great detail. Michael was a real pro. He was six foot four with long brown hair and big muscles. After addressing the different types of barrels used all over the world, they went back to the main cellar and then Grando heard, “Businessmen, they drink my wine.” and it was All Along the Watchtower played by Jimi Hendrix. Grando’s head was exploding and it made him wonder what other winemakers are listening to in their cellar? He was so exhilarated that at lunch he called his boy Bender who made wine barrels and was from San Luis Obispo. He told Grando that a lot of winemakers love music and one of his friends listened to punk rock in the cellar. Grando’s mind was gone by this point. He was highly stimulated by the aromas, music, equipment and now the new world of wine and music. Grando was now on a wine and musical journey to find out more about this apparently common blend.

Bender was a master cooper whose wine barrels were made to perfection. He used both American and French oak and offered a variety of toasts to his customers. He didn’t make wine but he knew everyone that did all over the world. His barrels had the perfect amount of toast so the winemakers that used them had the best wines around. He was a really quiet guy and never pissed people off. He had brown hair, was medium height and had a really cool sister. He was an amazing chef and had a custom smoker that he used to compete in local and beyond bbq competitions. He was the guy when it game to cooking. He also knew how to describe a wine impressively. He was a mentor to Grando and paved the way for him in the industry. Grando was grateful for Bender and he wouldn’t be anything without him. “So are you coming with me?” said Grando on the phone with Bender. “Where?” “I’m on a mission to see what is playing in these other cellars. I’m taking a road trip, come on, let’s do it!” Bender wasn’t ready to commit on the phone, but said he would think about it. Grando was going with or without him. He had weekends off at the winery so it was perfect to hit the road for some wine and music exploration. At home that night Grando opened a bottle of Center of Effort Rosso Corsa Pinot Noir and mapped out his plan for lift off.

A few days later, Bender called up Grando and told him that the timing was off so he was on his own. He had taken solo trips to wine country before so this was no big deal for him. On the phone, Bender gave Grando a list of winemakers to visit so he could find out what else is being played in these cellars. The first name on the list was Russel P. From from Herman Story Wines to start. Russell is a one of kind human being and character that makes incredible wines and likes to have a good time. He has an urban winery off of Paso Robles St. near downtown so it was a quick trip to start the adventure coming from San Luis Obispo. “What’s going on Russell, this is Grando, Bender’s friend. He told me you listen to music in your cellar so I was wondering if I can come by and we can taste and talk some wine and music?” “Sure that sounds good.” Russel said politely. Grando planned on hitting Paso, Monterey and heading up to the Willamette Valley for his exploration. He took a few extra days off to take the trip. The grapes hadn’t come in yet, so it was okay to take a couple days off. “Ok, I will see you in a couple weeks.” and Grando hung up the phone. Grando was off to a good start with his first appointment set. After he hung up he looked down at his list and dialed the area code 503.

It was the first day of the trip and Grando was packed and ready to hit the road to Herman Story Wines. He had an appointment at two so he had some time in the morning to drink his light roasted coffee and hit his detailed and colorful hand blown glass pipe filled with some top shelf Sativa from the local dispensary. He enjoyed his daily bud, but he felt he had it all under control. He would go a month on and a month off. Everyday, to three months off, so he felt he could stop at any time he wished. He always brought twelve packs of IPAs when he was meeting with winemakers, so he had to stop at Cork ‘n’ Bottle in San Luis Obispo. A college favorite. You might be surprised, but a lot of winemakers love beer. Grando loved a nice cold IPA especially after his serious work or just fun wine tastings that he did often. Your palate is so sensitive that the essence of the beer and its refreshing feeling is enhanced greatly. Grando arrived with the 12 pack in hand and went around back as instructed. There was a birthday party going on so the beer fit perfect. The stereo was playing Bombardier the punk rock band. “This must be the friend Bender was talking about.” Grando thought and realized right away. There were stacks on stacks of barrels and a bunch of winery equipment so he gave Grando a quick tour and they set down by the stacked barrels. There was a gentlemen that didn’t look like your average winemaker and his name was Chris. He shared the facility and his brand was Saint K. Russell soon popped open the 2021 Larner and poured it into their glasses. It was 64% Syrah and 46% Grenache and was from Ballard Canyon in Santa Barbara County. The aromas shot Grando’s eyebrows up faster than a speeding bullet and he looked right at Russell and said, “Holy shit.” The palate had geriatric elderberry, inky earthquake cracked-pepper, fine leather couch, pitch dark berries with a hint of Pacific sea salt. It was exhilarating to Grando. “So what do you guys listen to in here?” Grando asked politely. “We listen to Barry White during inoculation.” Chris nicely said. “Wow, you want smooth R&B when the fermentation starts, that makes sense.” he said casually but freaking out inside. “It’s real.” Grando instantly thought. The three new amigos polished off a few more bottles and a bunch of beer with the small group as the party was coming to an end. “Thank you so much you two. I accomplished my first wine and music mission, so I will never forget it. Great wines by the way!” and Lars drove off blasting Barry White’s, Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe, heading off to Monterey County.

As Grando hopped back on the 101, he put on Florence and The Machine’s song Morning Elvis and flew down the highway on to his second stop in King City. Bender’s friend processed his fruit there so Grando thought it was another good opportunity to find out more about tunes in the cellar. Grando loved wines from Monterey County especially the Santa Lucia Highlands. As he pulled up to the building, he heard Return of the Mack by Mark Morrison blasting through the facilities speakers. Grando was meeting David Salazar with Reclamación Wines who was from Monterey County but made wines from Sonoma and was going to hook up Grando with some Sonoma County goodness. He creates exceptional wines that represent marginalized communities, achieved through fair labor practices, sustainable farming, and inspiring positive change. As Grando walked in, the music was bumping even louder in the winery. He saw a gentlemen and went up to him, shook his hand and said, “I’m Grando, Bender’s friend.” “Nice to meet you Grando, I’m David, welcome.” They sat down and David handed Grando some of his 2021 Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. “Return of the Mack, huh?” “Yes Sir, it’s a cellar classic!” “Nice, I can feel it. I’m pumped” Grando confidently responded. “What else do you make?” he followed. “Sparkling Rosé.“ “Word.” and Grando took a smell and sip of the Cab. As it hit his tongue, he was floored. It had an illustrious symphony of California cherry, clove, Cabo San Lucas hibiscus and French caramel with lingering, gentile and velvety tannins. They sat and chatted, finished the bottle, shook and hugged while the song was playing on repeat. Grando went out to his car with a nice new pep in his step getting ready to move on and drive up to his next destination, the Willamette Valley.

2021 Reclamación Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

As Grando took off, he realized he was pretty buzzed by this point and needed to sober up if he was going to make it to Eugene by the night’s end. He had a friend who grew grapes and made wine in Lodi, so since he was taking the 5 freeway all the way up to Oregon, he thought he could stop and stay at his buddy Jim’s house if he didn’t think he could make it. Jim’s son Johnny is trying to figure out if he wants to go to Cal Poly or UC Davis to study winemaking. Lars was going to hook him up with the inside scoop on the local SLO Coast industry, so he was happy to see their family and educate Johnny. As Grando was driving, he realized he was swerving and at the same time, he saw a Starbucks Drive Thru in the distance, so he decided to exit and get juiced up. As he left the Starbucks, he turned on the stereo and put on Bob Marley’s Ska Jerk from Studio One. He then took a look around to see if anyone was near because it was time for him to light up his sticky ganga. He pulled out his pipe, packed it to the brim and lit the bowl while he was driving. At that moment, the music intensified and he realized that the music was radically connecting him with the wine universe. He felt an invisible pull from Oregon that tempted him to just go straight there and pass on Jim’s place. Things were a little blurry, but he had his Starbucks and his Sativa to keep him focused on getting to Lodi or Eugene safely.

When Grando arrived at Jim’s place it was around 10pm and he hadn’t smoked in a while so he looked fairly normal with tired eyes from driving, not blazing. “Come on in!” Jim joyously said to his old friend. “Hey Jim! Thank you for having me. Hey Johnny, what’s going on?” “Hey Uncle Grando.” the young farmer and winemaker responded back to him. “I just opened our 2018 B12 Zin, here have a taste.” Jim gladly offered. Grando needed some wine to get back to his good vibes and mission and this was the perfect place for it. “So what brings you up north?” asked Jim. “I’m exploring the idea of wine and music blending together.” “That’s cool, where you headed tomorrow?” “Up to Dundee in Oregon. My Aunt and Uncle live there. I’m visiting a couple winemakers that are into music and listen to it in their cellars so I’m excited to meet some new people and have some of that glorious Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.” “Nice, good news. Well let’s go listen to some music in the cellar then!” They grabbed the bottle and their glasses and went to the winery a few steps from the house. Jim had a great stereo system so the music blend was about to happen again, now just in Lodi. “How about some Led Zeppelin?” asked Jim. “Sounds good to me!” Grando happily responded. As they sipped the Zin and were listening to Whole Lotta Love, all of the sudden the barrels looked like they were intensely rocking out and dancing, matching the beat and Zinfandel experience. They could visually see the aromas shooting out of glasses and started having a euphoric experience together with Led Zeppelin and the wine right away. That is why Jim’s wines got 98s from Wine Spectator and the Wine Advocate. It was some serious juice. As they played song after song they eventually were drunk and sleepy, so they hobbled back into the house and hit the hay…

When everyone was awake, you could tell that Grando and Jim were intensely hung over but Johnny looked fresh and ready for a hard days work in the vineyards. After some much needed coffee and homemade breakfast burritos, Grando hugged Jim and Johnny and left with a, “Go Mustangs!” as he drove away. His mission was to drive all day and make it to Dundee for dinner with his Aunt and Uncle. After about thirty minutes out of Lodi, Grando lit up his pipe and off he went flying up the 5 Freeway. As the bowl was finished and since he was going to Oregon, he thought it was appropriate to put on the 8-27-72 Grateful Dead show in Veneta, Oregon. He listened to the whole show while driving up the state and was in the zone for almost three hours straight when the show finally finished. After the show, he followed up with Canned Heat’s Going Up The Country playing on repeat finding himself lost in the music. After a bunch of bathroom and fast food breaks, he finally arrived in Dundee and was completely drained from the long drive. This was Grando’s hometown so it was a special transition with all of his childhood memories flashing through his head. His Aunt and Uncle had a vineyard on their property, but had some local vineyard workers farm it. As Grando drove up to the gigantic house, his Aunt and Uncle had put up a sign on the garage that said, “Welcome home Grando!”

Grando was so happy to see his Aunt and Uncle. They owned a residential and commercial electrical company that covered from Salem up to Portland and over to the Northern Coast. They have been in business since the 1970s and are one of the most dominant and successful companies in Oregon that always made their employees feel important. They were a huge part of the community and always gave back bringing people together in the Willamette Valley and beyond. His Aunt was the mayor of Dundee and was very influential in the state being very well respected and sharp as a tack. She was an entrepreneur that traveled the country and world developing relationships with important people everywhere they went. They had homes in New Mexico, Idaho, Washington and their almost mansion in Dundee. Everything was well-deserved and done with honor and integrity. Their Dundee home was spectacular. It was three levels and had custom design on both the inside and outside. They had a Southwestern theme with amazing vintage Western artwork with a modern feel and aesthetic. Their full bar was amazing. It had a staircase next to it that led down to their wine cellar filled with vintage Willamette Valley wines along with wines from all over the world. They knew their wine and knew it well so Grando and them had an amazing connection with their love of the grape and its lifestyle.

While sipping a 2015 Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir among some other Willamette Valley gems, Grando and his Aunt and Uncle savored their wine in their living room filled with the highest quality and stylish furniture that surrounded the impressive entertainment center. They had a cream cheese and shrimp block with homemade cocktail sauce and spaghetti in the Crock-Pot giving off memorable aromatics that Grando remembered from when he was a kid. “Did you know that David Lett planted his first vines in 1965. We did the electrical for his winery years later.” Grando’s Aunt said, who goes by Dandy. “They farm their estate vines in the Dundee Hills, but their historic winery is located in McMinnville.” said Grando’s Uncle who went by Uncle Fred. Grando was just a child when Papa Pinot was on a roll, so he was fascinated by his family’s stories about Eyrie Vineyards and its memorable vintages. Uncle Fred and Dandy did a lot of business in McMinnville, which has an AVA that was established in 2005. They used to visit Nick’s, an authentic Italian restaurant that brought in winemakers and  local foodies for decades. “We will tell Nick hello for you. Last time he saw you, you were in the 1st grade.” said Dandy. Nick was always gone when Grando would come home to visit, so it was a really long time since the two were able to reconnect. Grando was wiped by this time and was ready for bed in the master guest bedroom. He decided before passing out that he fulfilled his mission and proved that wine and music blend together like a perfect food and wine pairing. Due to the atmospheric river expected the next day Grando passed on heading to another winery in the rain. He discovered his gold already.

As Grando awoke at 5:30am, he was surprised how good he felt after the drive and all the spectacular wines. He made himself a quad iced vanilla latte from Fred and Dandy’s five thousand dollar espresso machine and packed his bags. “Ok, it’s time to go!” said Grando so fired up about his revelation. After some firm hugs and handshakes, Grando was off back to the Edna Valley. It was pouring that morning and Grando ended up driving down the 99W, pitch black with semi-trucks passing him. It seemed so sketchy that he was accepting a crash or even dying on the drive to Corvallis. As he made it out of the dark, the pouring rain seemed to not affect Grando because it was now light out. He was on his way and was ready to put on some Rolling Stones, hit the pipe and to get in the zone so he could try to actually enjoy the 13 hour drive. As he got into California, he saw a Jack n the Box on the sign saying food next exit. He pulled off, ordered a Double Smash Burger and then he was back on the road, flying high down the 5 freeway. Exhausted from the drive he ended up getting a Starbucks and got another iced quad vanilla latte this time around. He hit the pipe again and next thing he knew it was 6pm and he saw the 41 Hwy heading to the 46 and Paso Robles. He was almost home and the sky’s darkness was back again. He pulled up to his driveway fearing his early rise to get back to the winery for some grueling harvest cellar work. He entered the door and went straight to a bottle of COE’s Arrivo Pinot Noir and kicked his feet up and put on some vinyl to confirm that his hypothesis was true. As the wine begin to opened up so did the music. He smelt, took a sip and the music and wine simultaneously exploded and it seemed that the wine gods were communicating that, yes its true. Wine and Music are deep friends that sing a good vibration like the Beach Boys in perfect harmony. The End