Clos Pepe Vineyards, a pioneer in the Sta. Rita Hills appellation of Santa Barbara County, has signed a long-term partnership with Walt Wines, Clos Pepe owner Steve Pepe confirmed Thursday.
Kathryn Hall produces two wine labels — Kathryn Hall Wines, her namesake label, and Walt Wines — and has purchased pinot noir grapes from Clos Pepe for Walt for five years, according to Walt Wines president Mike Reynolds.
“The wines demonstrate a unique combination of elegance and concentration, and we are thrilled to have a deeper connection with this vineyard for years to come,” Reynolds said.
Kathryn Hall also buys grapes from Rita’s Crown Vineyard, also in the Sta. Rita Hills, according to the Hall Wines website.
“My wife, Cathy, and I have enjoyed our two decades of producing pinot noir in the Santa Rita Hills,” Pepe said in a news release. “We have decided to scale down our lifestyle after dedicating over 20-plus years to crafting pinot noir.
“We are thrilled to be able to work with the talented team at Walt and plan to continue live on the property and sell Clos Pepe wines for years to come.”
Cathy’s Pepe’s son, Wes Hagen, has been actively involved with the operation since day one as the vineyard manager and head winemaker, Pepe said.
During his years producing the Clos Pepe wines, Hagen also developed a national reputation as a wine educator, and currently teaches a food and wine pairing class at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. Hagen was also one of the principal draftspeople of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, as well as the Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara and Ballard Canyon AVAs.
Owned by Kathryn Walt Hall and her husband, Craig, Walt Wines was named to honor Kathryn’s parents, Bob and Dolores Walt, who were grape growers in Mendocino County and inspired Kathryn’s passion for vineyards and vine.
The winemakers for Walt Wines are Steve Leveque and Megan Gunderson, who combine elements of old-world winemaking style with new age technology, according to the news release.
Purchased as a horse ranch in 1994 by Steve and Cathy Pepe, Clos Pepe vineyard was planted in 1996 to four acres of chardonnay, and in 1998 to 25 acres of pinot. Both the Clos Pepe label and the vineyard, which provides grapes to some of California’s top winemakers, have earned a top-notch following in the U.S. wine industry.
The pinot noir clones planted are 115, Pommard 4, 667 and 777, and for chardonnay, Wente and Dijon 76.
According to a fact sheet on www.clospepe.com, the other producers who source pinot noir from the vineyard include Hall Wines, Siduri Wines of Sonoma (recently purchased by Kendall Jackson), Lompoc’s Arcadian Winery and Loring Wine Company, and A.P. Vin of San Francisco. Those who source chardonnay are Liquid Farm of Buellton and Arcadian.
It was not clear Thursday if those who currently source grapes from Clos Pepe will still get fruit, with the news release stating only that “relationships with select buyers of Clos Pepe pinot noir and chardonnay will continue.”
Producers who in the past have sourced grapes from Clos Pepe include Au Bon Climat, Hitching Post, Ojai Vineyard, Ken Brown Wines, Longoria Wines, Babcock Winery, Flying Goat, Small and Tall, Conarium and Wan Fiore Project, according to the website.
Hagen produces a second label, Axis Mundi Wines, which includes grenache, syrah and a rosé.
Hall and her family have been grape growers in Redwood Valley, Mendocino County, since 1972. The Walt family owns 63 acres of cabernet sauvignon, Gamay, zinfandel and sauvignon blanc and has sold grapes to such wineries as Fetzer, Parducci and Beringer.
Hall managed the family vineyard from 1982 to 1992. During this time she produced sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon under the Walt Vineyards’ label.
Hall began her public career as assistant city attorney in Berkeley. Later she joined Safeway Stores, where she was responsible for developing and administering one of the nation’s first and largest affirmative action programs. Subsequently she worked as an attorney and businesswoman in Dallas, Texas, where she was president of an inner city development company and partner of Hall Financial Group Inc.
Long committed to social issues, Kathryn has served on numerous nonprofit and institutional boards, addressing issues related to social care and mental health. She co-founded the North Texas Food Bank, served on the U.S. House of Representatives Hunger Advisory Committee and was the director/vice president of the Texas Mental Health Association. She also has served on the National Advisory Council for Violence Against Women and as a trustee of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
From December 1997 to July 2001, Hall served as the U.S. ambassador to Austria. During her term as ambassador, she worked hard to promote American wine in Austria and Europe. Since her return to America, she has resumed her role as proprietor of Kathryn Hall Vineyards. Continuing upon her experience promoting American agriculture in Austria, in September 2001 she was appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for international trade.
Hall earned an A.B. in economics from the University of California-Berkeley and a J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of Law. She is married to Craig Hall and is the mother of two children. She speaks French and German.
— Laurie Jervis blogs about wine at www.centralcoastwinepress.com, tweets at @lauriejervis and can be reached via winecountrywriter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are her own.