Business & Management
The Start-Up Winery IV:

Patrick Smith and partners enjoyed their Australian jaunt, where they toured the old-vine vineyards with David Powell at Torbreck.
Don't Call It Old Field
Freshly returned from the 10-day "research" trip the Old Field partners had enjoyed in Australia, an ebullient Patrick Smith was bursting with news. His start-up in Woodinville, Wash. has a new name: Highbridge Estate. When I delicately pointed out that, to my knowledge, the partners did not have an estate, Smith happily set me straight: After months of nonstarters, the winery has found a home on a 100-acre parcel where the partners are building 32 custom homes.
"We own it," Smith crowed. Located outside of Woodinville, "It's a 35-acre, estate-style piece of land, with mountain views and natural ponds." The partners, professionals in construction and development, plan to convert an existing structure into a banquet room and tasting area, and will undertake construction of a proposed 18,000-square-foot, mostly subterranean structure for production and wine storage.
"We believe we could begin construction as soon as January," pending approvals from Snohomish County, according to Smith. "We're having architect meetings right now, and our winemaker, Chris Upchurch, is working closely with us on the design," Smith said in late May.
At the same time, the partners were meeting with graphic and Web designers. "We're running up on a label deadline," Smith said, noting that, now that they've settled on a name, they need to get TTB label approval before they bottle their
first vintage in 2007.
And just where did the name Highbridge come from? The partners had set off on their Australian expedition in search of winemaking tips, architectural inspiration and a name, with backstory, for their winery. Was the new moniker perhaps a tribute to Sydney's famous Harbour Bridge? Nope. It turns out the newly purchased estate is situated on Woodinville's Highbridge Rd.
So, failing a name, what did Smith and partners find on their much-anticipated trip Down Under? "We drank a lot of wine, met a lot of friendly people and soaked up a lot of culture," he said. "We saw much of the Barossa Valley and McLarenville, and were fortunate enough to spend a day with David Powell, of Torbreck. He showed us around all his vineyards and properties and facilities. We learned a lot about the vineyard business--how he secured the fruit and the properties; different strategies that hopefully we'll be able to apply."
They hope, too, to apply some of the architectural details they noted; particularly, "A lot of (concrete) block on the facings, red stone and blue stone. We will employ some of that on the part of our winery that shows," Smith said.

Torbreck proprietor David Powell (left) with Patrick Smith and his partner Daniel Ferrelli.
Brighter Days On The Mountain
In our May installment, Marc Cohen was scurrying about Napa County, frantically trying to obtain sufficient permits to activate Howell at the Moon's winery use permit, which he had only recently--and accidentally--learned was on the brink of lapsing. He can now breathe a little easier. "I was able to activate my winery use permit two days prior to expiration," he said, "But the county needed more information on the road improvements I had proposed. As a result, I needed to hire Albion Surveys to adjust the setbacks from my creek, to be able to adhere to environmental setback regulations. This cost almost $3,000 and still counting."
Another setback: Sarah Gott advised Cohen in April that, with twin infants and a toddler at home, she could no longer be his primary winemaker. Cohen set about interviewing applicants, and, on Gott's recommendation, hired Timothy Milos, winemaker at Girard Winery. The UC Davis-educated Milos took the helm May 1; for continuity, "Sarah will remain a consultant winemaker," according to Cohen.
With his vineyard complete--the vines are now 2 to 5 years old--and having survived the rainy, cold winter with no ill effects, "a result of outstanding terroir with excellent drainage," Cohen's pruning regimen consists of two-cane pruning (removi ng 1-year-old wood) and suckering (removing new wood on shoots). "This year, the 5-year-old vines were mature enough to permit two shoots on the vine," Cohen said. "We predict this year's crop should be similar to last year's, which was almost 11 tons. The 2- and 3-year-old vineyards should be productive in 2007, and the grape crop should increase as the vines mature," he observed.
He has planted cover crops between the rows: blando brome grass and rose clover. "These grass cover crops grow at different times to enhance nitrogen fixation in the soils. They are also good for erosion control, growing fast enough to create a deep root system to hold the soils," he said.
In late May, Cohen reported that he was on the verge of securing a business line of credit from Tamalpais Bank in Marin County. "The president, Mark Garwood, has been helping me secure the proper amount of credit to finish construction of the winery," he said. "When the loan is finalized, the project should move at a much faster pace."
Meanwhile, renovation of a former dwelling into an office and guest facility was almost complete, and Cohen was choosing paint for the exterior. He was also anticipating two opportunities to show off his 2003 Cabernet on the same day in June. "In the afternoon, I pour at the Howell Mountain Vintners Association charity event to benefit the schools in Angwin. In the evening I will pour at the Napa Valley Jewish Vintners' event to benefit the Napa Center for Jewish Culture," he said, noting that this would be the group's first annual event.
Cohen expected his Web site, howellatthemoon.us, to be up and running by June 24. "Since I am only producing 225 cases of 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, which is to be pre-released in November, my marketing efforts have to be realistic," he said. "Wine, a new wine bar and shop in San Francisco, will feature my Cab once it is released."
Having faced, and cleared, more hurdles than anyone could have anticipated, Cohen summed up his experience to date in words that any potential winery owner would be wise to heed: "The project takes an enormous amount of energy, with roadblocks and unplanned expenses along the way. It seems I take one step forward and two back, but that is intrinsic to the challenge of trying to create something exceptional, and based on your passion."
We'll hear again from our two start-ups in September.
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