A group of wine industry professionals came together years ago to talk shop, but they discovered grapes weren’t all they had in common.
Talk turned to music, and friendships were forged over both fine wine and catchy tunes, explained Presqu’ile Winery winemaker Dieter Cronje. Cronje is a drummer, and began collaborating with Chris Hammell, vineyard manager for Bien Nacido Vineyards, who also plays a mean lead guitar, and Hammell’s father, Steve Reagan, who plays bass.
More musicians joined over time, Cronje explained, and the group became known as the Tepusquet Tornadoes.
“We started jamming together like that, and it just evolved into a band over time by gathering people who played an instrument,” Cronje said. “We picked up a couple of shows with some friends, some birthday parties, and it developed into what it is today.”
The latest addition to the band is actually one of Presqu’ile Winery’s owners, the patriarch of the Murphy family, Madison Murphy.
Murphy has played rhythm guitar and sung since his high school days, he said. First sitting in with Cronje and friends, the band invited him to more and more shows. And since longtime member Mike Brughelli is on “paternity leave” from the band, Murphy said he’s enjoyed being a full-fledged member of the group.
The band plays all kinds of different styles from across the decades, Murphy explained. They like to focus on hits that many people will recognize.
“We like to get people on the dance floor,” Murphy said. “It’s anything from Aretha Franklin to Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, White Stripes, Tracy Chapman, Little Feet, ACDC, BB King—it’s all over the place.”
The group plays all over wine country too, but is recognized as Presqu’ile Winery’s house band. It’s easy to see why, with Murphy as the owner and Cronje as winemaker, but it also has to do with the kind of audience that enjoys afternoons and evenings of live music at Presqu’ile.
When they decided to open the winery, they knew they wanted a space for “both casual” and “seriously professional” musical entertainment, Murphy said. New Orleans was a “second home” to the family, he explained, and none other than Trombone Shorty played the winery’s grand opening.
t’s that dedication to quality and making a home for it that also made a home for the Tepusquet Tornadoes, Cronje explained.
“At Presqu’ile, it’s all about having a good time and being social, I think that’s something that’s very similar to how we look at the band,” Cronje said. “It’s not anything more serious than it has to be, it’s just more of a joy.”
There aren’t a whole lot of similarities between wine and music scientifically, Cronje said, but the inspiration at the heart of both is one and the same.
“What wine is to the palate, so is music to the ear,” Cronje said. “It’s sort of a similar satisfaction of taste, and I think it’s a different taste, but it’s the same sort of creative juices.”
Rounding out the band is Klancy Salas, a singer who “has an incredible performing voice,” Murphy said.
Salas grew up singing, Cronje added, with years in choirs and singing with musicians of many stripes. She gives the band a powerful lead voice, they said, which she can deliver as sultry and soft or with a soulful belt.
“Sometimes I have to remember I’m supposed to be playing guitar because I just want to hear her sing,” Murphy said.
The band has grown together into a group of tight friends who all just happen to be topnotch musicians, Murphy said. The group does practice often, he said, especially when they have a show, like a recent opening set they performed before Dustbowl Revival.
But the show on Aug. 18 is different. It will have a “relaxed atmosphere” where fans of the band and winery alike can enjoy both, paired together in a swirling soiree of music and drink.
“We truly appreciate our customers,” Murphy said. “We couldn’t be here doing what we’re doing without a loyal customer base, and customer loyalty is not something that is given to you, it’s something you have to earn every day.”
Managing Editor Joe Payne enjoys pairing wine and music. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 17-24, 2017.