Our 10th Anniversary

In 1996, a local vintner came to see Dan and said, "Listen, you’ve got talent, and I’ve got a wine barn and equipment to lease. Why don’t you start your own winery and lease my place?"

After much pencil pushing and number punching, Dan decided to make the leap, and we opened to the public on January 1, 1997, in a converted farmhouse and garage on Bethel Road. Our first few vintages of Dover Canyon were produced in a glorified motor home garage, with a concrete "crush pad" smaller than a New Jersey front stoop. Our ancient, two-ton screw-model press sat in the driveway, and when it rained we had to prop it up on bricks to keep it from sinking in the mud.

In spite of the fact that some of our earliest lots were fermented in picking bins lined up in our landlord’s horse barn, with curious mares gazing over the stable doors, our 1996 Menage was the only 1996 Paso Robles release to score 90 or above in the Wine Spectator, and our 1996 Templeton Gap Zinfandel won a Double Gold in the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition.

With luck and help from Dan’s father, Ralph Panico, and stepfather, Ed Smith, Dan purchased our 10-acre property on Vineyard Drive in 1999. We had been looking for exactly 10 acres, something we could manage on our own, without a crew. But let me tell you, some of the properties we looked at along this strip of calcareous hills were pretty awful—some had tenant housing on them right out of Deliverance. But then we learned that our neighbor Jack, a widower, was looking to sell his 10 acres—right on top of Dan’s favorite soil strip—and it had a pretty blue farmhouse we had always admired. Jack sold the property to us even though he had three backup offers for more money.

We were happy to move the winery off the touristy 46 West Highway and onto quiet Vineyard Drive. We planted syrah and zinfandel, and erected deer fencing. We fixed up the old Dunn barn on the property a little bit, just enough to move in some barrels and make a tasting bar out of Jack’s garage workbenches. The 6.5 earthquake of 2003 caused a bit of mess, and we spent a rainy Christmas week cleaning and sanitizing.

As our wine club and sales grew, we narrowed our focus to varietals we enjoy working with—Rhones and zinfandel—and on producing terroir-specific vineyard releases. Each of our back labels is written specifically about the wine in the bottle. We were one of the first wineries to specialize in vineyard-label Paso Robles releases, and our labels were submitted with the original application for a ‘west Paso Robles’ subappellation as an example of the history and unique qualities of west Paso Robles.

An old pole barn on the property, once used by Diamond Walnuts for drying and processing, was enclosed and insulated this year for a spacious wine barn. We left the original support posts exposed inside the barn, and kept the original tin roof. Our first release of estate Zinfandel sold out in less than 6 weeks, and received a warm review from wine critic Robert Parker.

We began our wine club in 1998—nine years later we still have 13 charter members from that year. Another 55 members that signed up in 1999 are still with us today. Our limited production will require us to start a waiting list this year. We still pack our own wine clubs, without the use of a wine club service. As many members can attest, if you tell me your last name, I will remember your first name. All of our wine club membership applications, changes, requests, and order fulfillment are handled by the owners.

This year we have no plans to erect a gate or build a marble-floored tasting room. We do plan to upgrade our equipment and expand our selection of vineyards. As we expand our wine barn facilities, we will be moving the larger tanks, farming equipment and picking bins further out of sight. As it is, when people drive up they sometimes get confused because we look like a farm—not a winery—and they turn around and drive away. Our goal is to make our property look exactly like it did when Jack sold it to us—a little blue barn and a little blue house with white gingerbread trim. A swing under the 100-year-old tree, and a friendly black-and-white dog.

This month is Dover Canyon’s tenth anniversary. A visitor—a complete stranger to me—asked recently, "Do you give thanks every day for this place?" And the answer is, "Yes. Yes, we do."

Comments

[Elsbeth]

Thanks for this great post--Congratulations on your 10th anniversary; you're doing amazing things!

[rhenderson58]

Mary and Dan,

Congratulations! I'm delighted that you were on Bethel Road when we discovered you in 1998 -- otherwise us furriners might have driven past a more obscure location and missed a few stellar vintages.

Your home on Vineyard really matches your personalities, though, and I'm delighted you're there and producing such wonderful wines and being such gracious hosts. And of course the tasting room isn't swamped all the time either so there's an opportunity to visit.

Salud!
Rick

[Mike Duffy]

As always, a terrific story, Mary. Thanks for telling it. And congratulations on 10 years!

[Mary B.]

Thank you Mike, Elsbeth, and Rick!
I would like to point out to our readers that Elsbeth is also a fine blogger. You can visit her at Escafeld Vineyard: http://www.escafeld.com/diary/

[Nancy & Ted]

Mary & Dan: Congratulations on Dover Canyon's 10th year anniversary. I still remember the days when you were leasing from Jan Kris on 46 and we jumped behind the bar to help out when you were uninudated with tasters. Nothing much changes since we still do that at Vineyard Road. I love your property and have a picture of the blue house at my desk so I can look at it every day and wish we could be there with you. Thank you both for wonderful memories and as along as there is a Dover Canyon, we'll be there to buy and "Move that Juice!" N&T

[Mary B.]

Thank you, guys! I still remember the day you were here when a load of new barrels arrived. Dan wasn't here and the trucker refused to help unload them. Ted poured wine for customers while Nancy helped me unload the barrels (which weigh 110 pounds empty), roll them to the side, and stack them upright!

[Linda]

You've rekindled my interest in American wine. We spent a few months renting a house with a winemaker in the Adelaide Hills. He and his friends introduced us to fine wine - I hadn't a clue before. It's small family run places like this that make wine tasting such a joy. The same goes for Redbank Winery - producer of the infamous "Sally's Paddock" - we met Sally herself and she showed us round. Friendly vinters are the future of this industry.