The formal history of Calera Wine Company, a renowned winery
about 10 miles south of Hollister, shows that it was started in
1974. It was then that owner/winemaker Josh Jensen first bought 23
acres to start his vineyard.
The formal history of Calera Wine Company, a renowned winery about 10 miles south of Hollister, shows that it was started in 1974. It was then that owner/winemaker Josh Jensen first bought 23 acres to start his vineyard.
One year later brought the first wine made by Calera, 1,000 cases of zinfandel. But the broader history of Calera started much earlier, during the formative years of Josh’s youth.
He had been introduced to wine at an early age by a friend of the family, Dr. George Selleck. This memorable experience would lead Josh to name one of the vineyards on the property after Selleck.
As a young man, Josh earned a history degree from Yale, which led to further studies at Oxford University. Despite these academic accomplishments, Josh realized he wasn’t closer, but actually further away from what he wanted in life.
“It was then that I decided to zero in on what made me happy,” he said.
Josh moved to France and worked a few harvests in the early 1970s, picking grapes by hand and absorbing as much information as possible. This included reading many books, in English and French, about Burgundy wines. As the knowledge began to sink in, Josh decided to move back to his native California and pursue his dream of making great Burgundy style wines here.
Hardly anyone believed that could be done in the United States. Players like Franzia, Christian Brothers and Gallo dotted the surrounding landscape, controlling the U.S. market with what Josh refers to as “jug wine.” To make great Burgundian wines, he knew he also had to deal with the temperamental pinot noir grape.
“I was young and naive to the possibility of failure. The gambler in me took over,” Josh said with a slight grin.
A common denominator in almost every vineyard in Burgundy was the presence of limestone-rich terroir. The vine roots struggle and fight through the limestone to find precious water, creating a plant that is resilient and able to produce great fruit. Josh believed that limestone was the key to creating complex, age-worthy wines.
His search took more than two years, but by looking at geology maps, Josh found a piece of isolated property on Mount Harlan that had an abundance of limestone. The isolated area also contained sweeping hillsides, coastal temperatures and protection from strong winds that infiltrate the valleys to the east.
A limestone quarry had been built into one of the hillsides on the property during the 1950s. Although it was never used, the quarry became a perfect spot to start building the winery. The multi-level facility had to go through some seismic retrofitting first (the San Andreas fault runs right through the property), but eventually it became the foundation to the gravity-flow winery.
Josh’s approach to winemaking continues to be inspired by what he witnessed in France, particularly his time spent at Louis Latour, one of the best-known wine merchants in Burgundy. This includes the design of the gravity-flow winery, which allows for minimal use of machinery and pumps to move the grapes through the wine-making process. Josh also has a low yield per acre in the vineyard, presses the grapes whole cluster with no de-stemming and uses only indigenous yeasts for fermentation.
“Mother nature knows best,” he said.
Calera Wine Company today produces about 30,000 cases a year. Much of it is sold in California, but also in 42 other states and 20 foreign countries. A large percentage of the yearly production is sold in Japan, where consumers there are thirsty for the special wines that Josh creates.
Besides a number of unique pinot noirs that represent each small vineyard on the property, Calera also produces some acclaimed chardonnays and an estate viognier.
As Josh patiently gave me a tour through his facility, one that utilizes every inch of space, we stopped by the underground wine library. This small space pays homage to every single wine that has ever been made at Calera. A faint, musty smell arises from the aging cardboard boxes. What a legacy these wines have. It’s too bad I did not have these libraries when I was going to school, I would have gotten better grades!
Over the course of 30 years, Calera has received numerous accolades, medals and great press from around the world. I asked Josh if he could choose a defining moment that characterized Calera and his years of hard work.
“About three years ago, I was taking part in a special bike ride held in France called the Winemaker’s Tour. A large group of world-famous winemakers were all seated together at dinner one night. The conversations in the room made it hard to hear. A magnum bottle of my 1987 Jensen pinot noir was passed and poured in everybody’s glass. Slowly, the once noisy room went silent, as each person sipped and reveled in the wine. Those moments of silence, along with many thankful nods, showed me that my peers and colleagues appreciated what I had accomplished. That was our greatest compliment. That was special.”
Indeed, very special.
Cheers!
