Believe what you may, but Ojai’s spiritual vortex is very real, super calming and guaranteed to soothe the soul. A 14-mile trek up Highway 33 from Ventura connects nature and casts good vibes to all those who visit and live there. The actual town of Ojai is nestled along a winding country road lined with old oaks and majestic redwoods in the Topatopa Mountains. A known burial ground for the Chumash Indians, the translation for Ojai is ‘moon’, which probably explains the immense spiritual energy present connecting nature and visitors alike. Artsy shop owners in downtown’s Arcade warmly welcome visitors after a long year’s closure, and eclectic spiritual boutiques on the back streets wistfully display their colorful clothing and spiritual wares.
As a curious enophile though, Topa Mountain Winery was a natural point of interest. Excited to experience Topa Mountain Winery’s wine tasting featuring Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo AVA wines, we settled in for a relaxing afternoon of sunshine and stellar wines.
The mixed flight kicked off with a 2019 Rosé of Grenache from Santa Barbara Highlands and the warmer Happy Canyon AVA. Followed by a zesty oaked 2017 Viognier from Santa Barbara County’s White Hawk and Camp Four vineyards.
Topping the score sheet was the 2017 Blend 150, scoring 93 points from Wine Enthusiast, a Rhone blend of Grenache and Syrah from Demetria Vineyards in Santa Ynez. Expertly paired, I might add, with the fig and olive tapenade and organic crackers. And not to be overshadowed by the opulent 2016 Syrah Bien Nacido from Santa Maria AVA.
All of the wines along with the gracious service proved to be a memorable experience at Topa Mountain Winery. Also noteworthy is, that the winery is dog-friendly and encourages a BYOPL (Bring Your Own Picnic Lunch) vibe. An excellent way to while away the hours in sunny peaceful Ojai.
What was on everyone’s mind, but rarely spoken, was the topic of possible smoke taint in the vineyards. Harvest was already mid-way in RRV with fruit still on the vines in many vineyards
Panelist Connor Best spearheads the International Marketing efforts on behalf of Napa Valley Vintners for its 550-winery members and winegrowers. He notes that there has been a huge transition to e-commerce sales, even with top-end producers. Best also encourages wineries to utilize their front house workers for phone sales, shipping, bottling and other vineyard work to keep staff employed during the shutdown. “Surprisingly, wine club memberships in Napa remain strong with fewer cancellations than predicted,” remarked Best. Despite the 2014 earthquake and the recent Sonoma-Napa wildfires, Napa remains resilient. NPV has a concentric plan in place to start rebuilding the wine tasting room experiences with outreach to local San Francisco Bay area visitors first and will then expand marketing efforts outward as California relaxes the stay-in-shelter orders.
Sonoma County Winegrowers’ President Karissa Kruse, who actively supports the hospitality industry during these difficult times, expressed a similar sentiment. Other than an earlier than usual bud break, the growing season seems to be on track. “Agriculture continues to give and doesn’t understand the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kruse. She feels positive, however, that Sonoma County is well poised to welcome Bay area day-trippers into wine country soon and that the wine industry will eventually recover. In the meantime, local eateries are pairing take out food with Sonoma wines by the glass and bottle, in the “Keep Restaurants Alive” campaign, which has been well received.
Another panel contributor, Joel Peterson, Executive Director of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance is closely aligned with over 200 wineries in Central California. Again, the big shift was to quickly pivot and go to digital marketing. Many distilleries in Paso immediately ramped up to produce hand sanitizer for the first responders, while wineries delivered wine care packages to those on the front lines. Peterson is working closely with the county on the anticipated roll out plan to re-open the region’s wineries. He also supports the “Home With Paso Wine” campaign and invites wine lovers to connect with local winemakers via Zoom for weekly virtual tastings, vineyard updates and interviews.
Elsewhere in the state, Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country’s Brand Marketing Partner, Devin Parr, expressed great concern over the lack of distribution and wholesale market for the 40+ wineries. Largely founded by DTC sales, Temecula’s target market caters to the 23 million visitors within a one to two hour drive from wine country. Parr believes that the valley’s “Sip From Home” packages are key to garnering wine sales at this time and has reported moderate success feedback. Many wineries are being more innovative and have reached out to wine club members via various social media platforms to offer free local wine delivery or curbside pickup. And, a big shout out goes out to Wilson Creek Winery for donating 50,000 tasting tickets to Southern California wine lovers.
Washington State Wine Marketing Director David Flaherty had some interesting insights, as Seattle was six weeks ahead of the COVID-19 curve. Unfortunately, one of the largest revenue producing wine events, Taste Seattle, had to be cancelled with short notice. However, on the positive side, Flaherty received huge support from regional wineries with his quick call to action. “We all need each other. The spirit of collaborative union creates a sense of urgency to shake off stodginess of the industry and break down walls,” said Flaherty. A noteworthy digital campaign recently launched by Washington State Wine is SIP GLOCAL, a global movement that rallies around a local bottle of wine, with the hope of closing the social distance between communities near and far.
