Wine

Our Featured Wine Comes from
Inspiration Vineyards in Sonoma Valley

A little while ago we had an interview with Jon Phillips, owner/winemaker of Inspiration Vineyards.  Listen in!

Q: Jon, you have a successful career elsewhere, but something compelled you to get into the wine business. We assume it wasn’t a desire for quick wealth, so just what was it? How did you get here?

A: I often joke that you can blame temporary insanity, but after five years of actually being in the business, I guess that it’s really not all that temporary. My wife Barbara and I have lamented that we’d be better off financially if we had remained as we were before embarking on this adventure. I can assure you that it wasn’t because of the wine industry discount.

Passion is the short answer. The long answer is that I wanted to do something with my life that was lasting and would make a difference; and an important part of my life for the past 25 years has been in the enjoyment of good food, along with the discovery of good wine, shared with great friends.

While in college, I worked in the hospitality department for a very old California winery. The teaching aspect of the position was probably the most rewarding; however I also realized that everyone who came to the winery came in a good mood to enjoy themselves. In fact, I met my wife Barbara while working in the tasting room over one weekend during the spring of 1987.

After college, marriage and finding a “real” job, I began teaching wine education closer to home and on my own Then in the mid 90’s, I had an epiphany that what I really wanted to do when I grew up was to become a winemaker. Barbara encouraged me to write a business plan and then in the spring of 2001, with plan in hand and a few R&D vintages behind me, we found a dream location in Sonoma County where we knew that we could move to in order to start our winery.

After five years; Barbara and I can safely say that it was one of the best decisions that we have ever made, and that we couldn’t dream of living anywhere else.

Q: You are strongly committed to keeping your artisan wines affordable and accessible, sort of a Volkswine concept. We all appreciate it, that’s for sure! But you must have strong feelings about it, what is driving you to keep your prices within reach?

A: After being a “wine consumer” for so many years, finding those prized wines, from little wineries at affordable prices became a goal and challenge for us. Good wine doesn’t need to cost and arm and a leg. For now, we are trying to stay true to our goal of making great, food friendly wines at an affordable price. The joy from those who discover us, and take home a few bottles is our added bonus. When a customer tells me that we should be charging more, I just tell him that he needs to buy more.

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Q: Unlike many small producers, you have chosen the path of being a true bonded and permitted winery, meaning that, simply, you do the entire winemaking process. What drove you to that decision, given that it is pretty easy to have those functions done for you?

A: Control and economics. We have complete control over everything including where the fruit comes from, when it’s harvested, the winemaking methods, the types and age of the barrels used, etc. I don’t need to pay salaries or fees to have the wine made for us, which is another reason why we can charge a fair price for our wines. I make wine because of the joy of doing something that is artistic. Each bottle produced is something special, and wouldn’t be if I had someone else making it for me. I’m also not in this business to pump up my ego. Our winery is very modest and not state of the art. Our growth is determined by the revenue that we bring in and acceptance in the market place, and not by the bank telling us that we need to make more wine to cover debt.

Q: Even further, you are a true “estate” winery - you live there, sleep there, eat there, grow grapes there. Surely you must be one of the smallest estate wineries in California…A: I think we are, however I also know that we are not alone in California. In fact, we have a neighbor down the street who produces just fewer than 500 cases per year. This is how it used to be, before big business or rich folks looking for a cash shelter. For us, it’s a lifestyle decision because this is what we both want to do fulltime for the rest of our lives after we retire. We are actually living the dreams of others; which makes us an Inspiration.

Q: And - you have two wines that qualify as “estate”, based on the vineyards outside of your dining room window - a Chard and a Zinfandel. Those plants look pretty knarly! Just how old are they? And what about the wines they produce.

A: Our Old Vine Zinfandel was planted back in the 1890’s. Just like old people who are rich with character, our Zinfandel is intense with rich flavors of spice, white pepper and black cherry. Its production is also very limited to just a couple of barrels each year. As for our Chardonnay; these vines are just kids, planted in 1998. We barrel ferment our Chardonnay using 2 and 3 year old oak barrels in order to preserve the naturally rich flavors of melon and pears with great acidity that the Russian River is known for.

Q: Any particular winemaking techniques you can speak to? And, aside, from the business end of things, what is your winemaking philosophy - subtle, delicate, extracted, big, fruit, or what the grapes give you?

A: My basic philosophy is to make wines that compliment food. Our Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are both considered Burgundian because there is not a lot of burnt, oaky flavoring that masks the fruit and acids in these wines. I use very few new barrels in any of my wine programs, because new barrels impart a lot of oak flavor. I also try to allow the wines to make themselves, starting out with really great fruit. I guess would summarize by saying that our wines are distinctive, varietal in character, great aromatics, wonderful fruit and food friendly.

Q: What does the future hold for Inspiration Vineyards?

A. We hope to continue to Inspire folks with our food friendly and fun wines. We are close to bottling our fourth vintage and will be adding two new varietals to the line-up with the addition of a Syrah from the Dry Creek Valley and a Viognier from the Russian River Valley. Hopefully over the next ten years, we will reach an annual production of approximately 2000 cases per year. We hope to just keep things fun!