Here in Silicon Valley, we know it’s possible to change the world by starting a business in your garage. Companies like Apple, Google and Hewlett-Packard all famously started in theirs. And now, these companies – and many others like them – are leaders in the charge for the Internet of Things – where the most mundane things will be embedded with sensors and monitored by the Internet. The Internet of Things, under way for years, is quickly becoming a reality and is predicted to have the most profound effect on our world since the Industrial Revolution. Even our grapevines will be micro-chipped to determine perfect sugar content.
Local Winery Buzz
I wanted to interview the owners of Sunlit Oaks, our newest winery, since they opened to the public last March.
My chance came last month when owners/winemakers John and Rita Grogan invited me to meet with them. Just five minutes from the Gilroy Outlets, yet feeling miles away from suburbia, I entered through a half-mile of white picket fence. Along the uphill driveway, I drove by horses and cows so close to the fence that I could see into their big, brown eyes.
Sunlit Oaks is special for two reasons: First, situated on 30 acres of rolling hills studded with white oaks, it’s the only local winery with a panoramic views spanning from San Martin to Hollister. Golden eagles with 6-foot wingspans roam the sky. Secondly – and most importantly – the wines are outstanding.
Both uber-smart, John and Rita have master’s degrees from the University of Santa Clara; business for John and education for Rita. While Rita is an administrator at Mission College, John accepted early retirement from his engineering position at Cisco where he had worked for 17 years. Too young to “sit on the couch eating bon bons,” Rita gave John one year to find something else to do.
John thought back to the 1980s, when he joined a group of his coworkers making wine in a one-car garage. It was purely sweat equity – participation was required in every aspect of producing the group wine in order to reap any benefits. And so, when one vintage was ready to be bottled and John was out of town on a business trip, Rita, nine months pregnant with their first child, pitched in on the bottling line.
John used his degree to write a business plan.
“I was a ‘start-up’ company working out of my garage,” he said. “I wanted to see what worked and what didn’t.”
He started by following up on a Craigslist advertisement to pick your own grapes before the heavy rains came. John and Rita bought a couple of 30-gallon containers and harvested 250 pounds of grapes.
Rita remembers they didn’t have any winemaking equipment and asked, “Well, now what are we going to do?”
John replied, “We’re going to crush them.”
Using their garage, Rita’s common sense and John’s engineering know-how, they improvised with a potato masher and a towel-draped sledgehammer. For the pressing process, John punched holes in food-grade tubs and used Rita’s idea of having their tractor’s front-loader press down on the grapes to separate the juice from the skins.
They’ve come a long way since then, with state-of-the-art equipment and sustainable farming practices.
Among the nine different varietals on the tasting menu, Sunlit Oak’s top selling wines are the Chardonnay, Sangiovese and Late Harvest Zinfandel. The Chardonnay is crisp and refreshing with nutty flavors that make this wine a winner. The Sangiovese is a dry red with notes of plum and a smooth finish. If you like sweet reds like I do, you’ll love the Late Harvest Zinfandel with enough sweet to be an aperitif or a dessert wine.
Realizing the trend in sweet wines, the tasting room offers two wine flights: one sweet and one dry.
Its wine club has “no commitment” – meaning you can decline any shipment, still remain in the club and receive club member discounts.
From its humble beginnings in a garage, Sunlit Oaks is destined for greatness. This is one start-up you’ll want to invest in.
Bev Stenehjem is a wine columnist for South Valley Newspapers. Reach her at
be***********@gm***.com
and check out her blog at www.gilroydispatch.com/blogs/grapevine_news/
• Feb. 14: Guglielmo Winery, Annual Valentine’s Dinner, 6 to 9:30 p.m.
• Feb. 14: LaChance Winery, Valentine’s Dinner. Reservation times are 5:30 and 8 p.m. Call (408) 686-1050.
• Feb. 15: Thomas Kruse Winery, Barrel Tasting of 2013 Port plus chocolate and music from noon to 4 p.m.
• Feb. 15-16: “Third Weekend of the Month” when all wineries are open to the public.
• Feb. 22: Guglielmo Winery, Bottle Your Own. Bring your clean bottles or purchase them for $1, then fill them with a special blend of red wine from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Feb. 22: Satori Cellars, Sea Turtle Fundraiser, hosted by Mt. Madonna fifth-grade class.
• March 1: Thomas Kruse Winery, Vineyard Class. Learn everything from how to pound in a stake, dig a hole and plant a vine, to training the vines and pruning from 9 a.m. to 3:30 pm. Lunch included. Call (408) 842-7458.
• March 29-30: Spring Passport Weekend. Purchase tickets at any participating winery. See www.santaclarawines.com for details.
