September 9, 2016
CapitalPress.com
California winemaker
focuses on tradition
and not on trends
By JULIA HOLLISTER
For the Capital Press
For Robbie Meyer, wine-
maker at Murrieta’s Well in
Livermore, Calif., exposure to
wine started early in his home-
town of Marietta, Ga.
“I always worked in restau-
rants growing up and I began
tasting nightly with the wait
staff throughout high school,”
he said. “I eventually became
the wine steward when I was
18.”
He studied biology and
chemistry in college and want-
ed to use his degree in the real
world. He continued his educa-
tion at the University of Cali-
fornia-Davis in enology and
viticulture.
“I also wanted to work with
my hands, work outside and
work in a creative endeavor,”
he said. “In addition, I am a
longtime wine fan, so it wasn’t
hard to make the connection.”
Before joining Murrieta’s
Well as director of winemaking
in 2015, Meyer worked with
vineyards and wineries in Napa
Valley, Sonoma County and
Santa Barbara.
Along the way, he said he
has followed consumer drink-
ing habits
“I had heard of trends in
the industry when I was irst
starting out,” he said. “After
20 years, I really get a sense
of seeing consumer trends, and
winemaking trends come and
go. The rise-and-fall-and-rise-
again patterns of Merlot, Pinot
noir, rose and others are fun to
watch.”
The lesson for the wine-
maker, he said, “is simply to fo-
cus on producing quality wines
and not to chase trends.”
He employs traditional
winemaking techniques that
embrace the Livermore Valley
climate to get the best varietal
expression that the estate vine-
yards can offer and that wine
lovers appreciate.
Meyer also enjoys the
product of his work. He said
he planned to have Murrieta’s
Well “The Spur,” a lush red
blend, for dinner.
“I’ll be enjoying a bottle
with grilled corn, asparagus,
red bell peppers, and ilet
mignon — medium-rare, of
course,” he said.
Trends may come and go,
he said, but the procession of
troublesome critters in the vine-
yards — sharpshooters, wasps,
moths, gophers, moles, voles,
ground squirrels, turkeys, birds,
coyotes and deer — is endless.
Meyer said the winery tries
to mitigate the threat of major
disease or severe fruit damage
using simple, natural methods
such as good farming practices,
birds of prey and bird netting.
He said vineyards are part of
nature and grow symbiotically
in that environment.
Beyond pests, the Califor-
nia wine industry faces another
challenge.
“Quite simply, climate
change is the biggest chal-
lenge facing California vi-
ticulture,” he said. “While
we don’t use a tremendous
amount of water, we do need
the historical average rainfall
which we have not been get-
ting in the last several years.
The recent warmer vintages
have actually helped us, but
if it’s a continually warming
trend, that’s not a good trend.”
For Meyer, the challenges
are worth it.
“In spite of pests and chal-
lenges, having a career that you
love, that challenges you, that
you look forward to everyday,
is something for which to be in-
credibly thankful,” he said.
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Robbie Meyer, direc-
tor of winemaking at
Murrieta’s Well Estate
Vineyard in Livermore,
Calif.
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