Noted for its converted dairies and makeshift barrel rooms, Santa Barbara County’s early wine scene harbored surfers-, cyclists-, and retail clerks-turned-vintners who tackled harvest with second-hand equipment and jerry-rigged crush pads. Rustic and colorful, the early 1980s saw the birth of a local industry destined for greatness, no matter how humble its beginnings.
In 1987, Jeff Maiken and two Santa Maria locals—brothers Steve and the late Bob Miller—teamed up to equip a facility with all the hardware required to make wine, dubbing the enterprise Central Coast Wine Warehouse. The trio cleared out the old Columbia Records building on Stowell Road, where they rented out floor space, tanks, forklifts, filters, pumps, and other winemaking necessities to vintners looking for a home base.
Now called Central Coast Wine Services (CCWS) and located in a custom-built structure near the Santa Maria Airport, the sprawling facility can accommodate 10,000 barrels, two million gallons of wine in stainless steel tanks, and nearly 500,000 cases of bottled goods. But as everyone knows, no fabulous idea ever stands alone and un-imitated.
With the opening this spring of Terravant Wine Company in Buellton, an entirely new stage has been set for Santa Barbara County’s winemakers, particularly those in the Santa Ynez Valley. This grand and dazzling winemaking facility takes the CCWS concept to the next level by combining state-of-the-art equipment with an innovative business plan that aims to facilitate storage and sales, as well as production.
Offering a full-service solution to the dilemma that small, independent winemakers often face—namely the lack of funds to buy all the expensive gizmos it takes to turn out premium wine—Terravant has improved on the notion of a custom crush facility. In addition to warehouses, barrel rooms, a well-stocked oenology lab, and winemaking equipment, planners have included a spacious tasting room/event center, complete with a professional kitchen, at an all-inclusive price.
“All of these amenities add to what will become the crown jewel of custom crush in California,” said Randy Pace, general manager of the facility. “The focus of our staff from top to bottom will be world-class quality and customer service.”
Small- to medium-sized producers with no sales outlets of their own can use the tasting room and event center to showcase and sell their wines, while their association with the facility allows them to take advantage of certain tax credits. Located on the second floor of the complex, the tasting room features beautiful views of the Santa Ynez River and the Santa Rita Hills beyond, while a second bank of windows provides a bird’s-eye look at the gleaming cellar and all its arcane activity.
The large indoor crush area allows for processing during inclement weather, while high-tech amenities give winemakers the ability to monitor all processes remotely by Web camera or through a client software utility. Best of all, Terravant’s clients can make, age, bottle, store, distribute, and market their wine from one convenient location.
Custom crush offerings—under the able guidance of Alan Phillips, Terravant’s director of winemaking and former winemaker for Foley Estate Winery—run the gamut from single tasks to “grape to bottle” services. Clients can have their wine made, barrel aged, and packaged or opt for “a la carte” services, such as pressing, fermenting, or bottling.
The 40,000-square-foot Wine Center includes the lab, tasting room, cellar, and case storage area, and can produce 300,000 cases of wine each year. Designed to accommodate small- and medium-sized producers, it represents Phase I of the project and opened for bottling in May 2008.
Still in the planning stages, Phase II will go in next door and be tailored to meet the needs of medium to large producers. Boasting a capacity of about 800,000 cases a year, its output will surely dwarf that of every other facility in the county.
Terravant Wine Company is a sister company of the Fortune Financial group of companies, and involved mainly in retail and manufacturing ventures. The group oversees eight operating companies, including Big Dog Holdings, Fortune Swimwear, and Terravant Land Company, and several of its principals own property in the Santa Ynez Valley, so it makes sense that they would choose Santa Barbara County as a prime spot for this kind of facility.
“This is the best-equipped and -designed winery in California,” Phillips said. “I can’t think of a service we can’t supply.”
Luckily for all the equipment-deficient winemakers in Santa Barbara County, Terravant Wine Center recently reached full operational capacity, just in time for the 2008 harvest.
INFOBOX: Bottle up
Terravant Wine Company is located at 35 Industrial Way, Buellton. For more information, call 686-9400 or visit www.terravant.com.
K. Reka Badger knows wine. Email her at rekabadger@hotmail.com.
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 4, 2008.