Marin Winery Series: Pacheco Ranch Winery

The Pacheco Ranch Winery- in operation since the early 1970s- is the oldest winery in Marin. 

Not only that, the vineyards and winery sit on land that has been in the same family since it was deeded by Mexican land grant in 1840. 

Debbie Rowland, wife of the great, great grandson of the original landowner Ignacio Pacheco, greets us as we drive up the winding, tree-lined driveway.  She and her husband, Herb, manage the winery and live in the original Italianate-style home- built in 1876- which sits at the end of the driveway. 

She invites me inside for the interview, and we make ourselves comfortable in the antiques-filled parlor.  Vina, the family dog joins us.  Many of the homes original features remain, including lovely glass chandeliers and lights.  Grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts and uncles peer down from photos everywhere reminding you that they sat here once.
The home we're in, sits on a 70-acre parcel that was once part of the original 6,600 acre land grant that comprised much of what is now northern Novato, including Hamilton AFB.  Debbie tells us-

"The amount of property in the original land grant was figured out this way- 'as much as a fast horse can ride in a day'."

At one point, Ignacio even planted grape vines on the property, which has been in the family for generations now.  Herb and his sister Ann Meves, along with her husband winemaker Jamie Meves, comprise the current generation. 

I ask Debbie how her husband's family went about getting into the wine-making business. 

She explains how her husband's father sought out an agricultural contract with the county, and then researched temperature records to select the optimal area to plant the vineyards.  He found a perfect place to grow Cabernet grapes, and promptly planted about a thousand vines in 1970.  Currently, there are about 7 acres of actual vineyards on the property. 

But planting the grapes was easier than the reaction they got from friends-

"You can't grow grapes in Marin", she was told.  "We got a lot of that- people thought it was an oddity, growing grapes here."

But grow they did, and they produced their first bottle of estate grown wine in 1979.  Estate grown wine, is produced from grapes grown on site, as opposed to grapes brought in from elsewhere.  Debbie is particularly proud of the fact that the family can crush the grapes within about a half hour of the harvest. She says-

"We harvest the crop in one day with about 60-70 family and friends.  Afterwards, we have a big lunch over there" as she points to a corner of the large backyard. 

You can almost picture the group sitting there near the vineyards at the long luncheon table.

This year the harvest falls on September 13th.  The Rowlands will also be providing some of their wine for auction at the first annual Marin Wine Auction, held coincidentally on September 13th.  The wine auction will feature Marin, Sonoma and Napa wines and all the profits go to charity.

After the crush, the juice is put into a stainless steel vat where it ferments for a couple of weeks before goes into the oak barrels (half French, half American) for aging.  The winery is housed in the former carriage house which has been beautifully remodeled and insulated.  Debbie says there is no need to artificially cool the building as she shows the barrels, and then leads us upstairs to the tasting room.

Original old photographs of the property and long-gone relatives line the walls.  In one of them, a young woman holds up a bunch of grapes while a young man stands next to her smiling broadly.

In a normal year, the Pacheco Winery produces between 400 and 800 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon.  It grows well in the warm, dry micro-climate, and even better, uses no drip irrigation.  Debbie says the water table on their property is so high they don't need to irrigate, a real luxury here in drought-common Marin.

Debbie and Vina lead us back down the driveway as we get ready to leave.  Since no one else is home today,  we will be coming back in a few days to take a family photo.   Just one more to add to the family photo collection.

Details:

Pacheco Rancho Winery website here.

Pacheco Ranch wines are available for purchase online here.

Marin Wine Auction website here.

Herbert Rowland III, Anne Bryant, Cassie Rowland, Drew Montell, Herbert Rowland, Jr and Vina, the dog