The University of California, Davis, has built what may be the world’s most environmentally sophisticated place for making wine, brewing beer and processing foods.

LEED-certified facility at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science

The new facility, located in the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, is the first winery complex to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, the highest rating for environmental design and construction awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. The 34,000-square-foot teaching and research facility is filled with advanced technologies, including the world’s first wireless wine fermentation system, which links 152 grape fermentors and features highly sensitive temperature controls.

"It will allow us to conduct cutting-edge research and train the next generation of food-industry leaders," says Neal Van Alfen, dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The new complex will test production processes that conserve water and energy. Eco-friendly features also include a solar power generator and a large-capacity system for capturing rainwater and conserving processing water.

The complex was financed by about $20 million in private donations over the past decade from dozens of corporations and individuals. Barbara Banke and her late husband, Jess Jackson — who founded Kendall-Jackson Wines in Sonoma, California — gave $3 million to create the Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building, another part of the new complex.

"The message is that we are a green industry that California can be proud of, and that we are willing to invest in further improving our industry for the future," says Banke.

California wine industry supports environmentally friendly construction

Construction began on the building funded by Jackson and Banke this summer and should be completed in 2013. Adjacent to the main complex, it will operate on rainwater that its equipment captures, filters and reuses. Machines will also sequester the carbon dioxide by-product created by the winery’s fermentation system so it releases no greenhouse gases.

Other environmentally responsible features include maximum use of natural light, rooftop photovoltaic cells to provide all of the facility’s power at peak load, recycled glass and wood in the interior flooring and panelling, and sustainably harvested lumber.

The main one-storey complex, finished this past winter, has two adjoining wings beside a new 12-acre teaching and research vineyard. The south wing is home to the August A. Busch III Brewing and Food Science Laboratory, which includes the Anheuser-Busch InBev Brewery; the California Processing Tomato Industry Pilot Plant for processing a variety of foods; and the Milk Processing Laboratory. The complex’s north wing houses the new Department of Viticulture and Enology Teaching and Research Winery.

88 La Crema 2008 Chardonnay

Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California, United States

BC $28, AB $28, MB $28, ON $28

The Jackson empire includes dozens of boutique estates, but none more respected than La Crema and its pinot noir and this chardonnay. Look for a ripe, elegant nose, with a slightly richer palate, with butter, lees and nutty, citrus, baked apple and pineapple flavours. Drink now with crab or lobster dishes. (AG)

These interviews are part of our feature on winemaking families from the June/July 2011 issue.

Tim Mondavi — son of the legendary Robert Mondavi — is the winegrower, partner and creator of Continuum Estate in Napa, California. Tim, who has grown up in the industry, continues to work closely with many family members, including his son, Dante Mondavi, who now handles national sales at Continuum.

While Continuum is a very young winery (the family started it in 2005), the Mondavi family has been making wine in North America for more than four generations.

Tim Mondavi

Q: How did you get your start in the industry?

A: Playing in the pomace piles at Charles Krug Winery as a toddler.

Q: What was your big break?

A: Having the right parents and an inspiring father.

Q: Tell me about the moment you knew you’d made it, that you were going to be successful on your own.

A: I don’t know that I ever thought before, or now, about being successful on my own. I have always had the benefit of growing up working with an inspired team that was united by a common goal and vision of success.

Q: When it comes to winemaking, what is your passion?

A: I have always loved getting to know the land through the wines. Today, my greatest satisfaction is more deeply understanding our Continuum estate.

Q: What do you want people to remember about your wines?

A: Extremely low yields from old vines give wines depth, nuance and refinement. The sheer joy and pleasure of enjoying them with a great meal.

Q: What are your hopes for the future of your winery, say 30 to 50 years down the road?

A: I would hope we have been able to realize to a much greater degree the potential of this great property. That it will be recognized among the great properties of the world. That future generations of our family and extended family feel as excited about its ongoing potential for improvement as much as I do now.

Q:  Is there anyone in the wine industry — dead or alive — that you wish you could work with? Why?

A: I have been really blessed to work with the great wine people of our time. I would have loved to have more time at Ornellaia in Bolgheri. I worked there for eight years but it was too short. I believe it had a big impact in influencing my vision for Continuum.

Q: What do you do when you’re not making wine?

A: Food, travel, swimming, scuba, cycling, reading, history, philosophy.

Q: What are your thoughts on organic/biodynamic wine production?

A: I strongly believe in the importance of both. Natural and organic farming have always been important to me.

Q: What’s in your wine cellar?

A: Burgundy, Tuscan and California wines.

Dante Mondavi

Q: How did you get your start in the industry?

A: I had the good fortune to be born into it. I started by gathering sugar/brix samples in the vineyard. I was jealous that my brother and sisters could drive the four-wheeler; I wanted to join them.

Q: What was your big break? Tell me about the moment you knew you’d made it — that you were going to be successful.

A: When my father trusted me in taking care of the Continuum cellar, when I was appointed cellar master beginning in 2007.

Q: Who are your influences? Mentors?

A: My grandfather, Robert Mondavi, and my father, Tim, as well as the whole Continuum team. The people I would most like to invite to dinner would be my great-grandfather Cesare and great-grandmother Rosa. I never met them, but they had such a huge influence on our family.

Q: Is there anyone in the wine industry — dead or alive — that you wish you could work with? Why?

A: Cesare Mondavi, my great-grandfather, to learn his history, which is our history, and to better understand what brought him into wine and what it was like dealing with being an immigrant and prohibition.

Q: When it comes to winemaking, what is your passion (blending, a particular grape, region etc.)?

A: Fermentation — the transformation of grape juice into wine. Also picking my dad’s brain on his experience and how this year is similar and different from years past.

Q: What do you want people to remember about your wines?

A: That they are epic — that they are reflective of this magnificent property. Creating wines of this quality requires a great deal of hard work. I also hope that everyone who tastes Continuum wines enjoys them.

Q: What are your hopes for the future of your winery, say 30 to 50 years down the road?

A: We hope to be established as a true first growth, amongst the finest estates in the world.

Q: What do you do when you’re not making wine?

A: Snowboarding, wakesurfing, barbecuing with family and friends, fishing in rivers, streams and oceans.

Q: What are your thoughts on organic/biodynamic wine production?

A: I believe in organic, but it has to be sustainable for many reasons. Being a green farmer is very important to me, but sometimes you have to adjust when Mother Nature throws you a curveball.

Q: What wines are in your cellar?

A: Napa reds from Pritchard Hill and Howell Mountain. Also Tuscan reds, such as those of Bolgheri and Chianti Classico Riserva.

These interviews are part of our feature on winemaking families from the June/July 2011 issue.

One of Napa Valley's most famous wineries, Trefethen Family Vineyards is still owned by the same family that founded it in the 1960s; Janet Trefethen is the winery’s chief executive officer, while daughter Hailey Trefethen is the marketing manager.

Janet Trefethen

Q: How did you get your start in the industry?

A: My parents-in-law started the vineyard in 1968, when there were fewer than 25 wineries in the Napa Valley. My husband John and I started renovating the old, rundown “ghost” winery in 1973 and made our first wines that year. I did everything from weighing grapes, to pulling hoses to making lunch and dinner. It was a great time as everyone was new in the business and most had chosen it after being successful at something else. People were enthusiastic about their choice and passionate to make wine. We all learned as we went and shared what we knew with our neighbours.

Q: What was your big break?

A: [The editors of] Gault Millau magazine decided they would hold the Wine Olympics in Paris, France, in 1979. Unbeknownst to us, someone entered our chardonnay and it won the gold and was claimed the “Best Chardonnay in the World.” Of course, the French were upset and challenged us to a rematch. It took place approximately six months later at the Hospice de Beaune, in the capital of Burgundy and, guess what? It won again. I believe it is the only chardonnay to be claimed the best in the world twice.

Q: Tell me about the moment you knew you’d made it — that you were going to be successful — at the winery.

A: Talking about “making it” is a moving target. We wake up every morning and ask ourselves how can we grow grapes, make wine just a little bit better.

Q: When it comes to wine, what is your passion?

A: I am passionate about the Napa Valley and more specifically, our Oak Knoll District AVA. It is one of the best geographic regions ever to grow great grapes, and that is what it takes to produce terrific wines.

I am even more passionate about “estate-grown.” I wish more consumers understood the term and knew that it means that we did everything from planting the vine through nurturing to harvesting it and making wine.You cannot get a more authentic product than a true estate-grown wine.

Q: What do you want people to remember about your wines? 

A: The delicious, consistent quality; their longevity — both the whites as well as the reds — and that they have been 100 percent estate-grown since we started the winery in 1973. People may talk about terroir — we practice it.

Q: What are your hopes for the future of your winery, say 30 to 50 years down the road? 

A: That it will still be family owned and operated and that it will be known as one of the best wineries in the world.

Q: Is there anyone in the wine industry that you wish you could work with? Why?

A: I feel like I have my wish, my dream, to be working now with my husband, daughter and son.

Hailey Trefethen

Q: How did you get your start in the industry?

A: I was lucky enough to be born into his industry, and then raised in it. It was never just my parents’ job.

Q: What was your big break? Tell me about the moment you knew you’d made it — that you were going to be successful — in the industry.

A: My big break, I think I’m still waiting for it. My parents and grandparents have accomplished so much over the past 40 years, and those are some big shoes to fill. So that is where I’m headed.

My big break in the past year was getting the opportunity to be the marketing manager. To have your family and those you work with to have that much faith and respect for you, well, it’s more than I ever expected at this age, and I am honoured.

Q: Who are your influences? Mentors?

A: My family; my mom, dad, and my older brother, Loren [who handles direct and export sales for the winery].

My mom has been a wonderful mentor as I take on more responsibility. Sometimes I think I’m just running behind her trying to catch up, but when I get to stop and take a breath, I realize how far I’ve come and everything that I’ve learned.

And what little girl doesn’t look up to her older brother? My brother and I think very differently and he has always pushed me to go a little further, a little outside my comfort zone.

Q: When it comes to wine, what is your passion?

A: I love the vineyard. I grew up playing in the vineyard every day, and one of my first jobs was interning for Jon Ruel when he started as our viticulturist. That is where everything starts.

Q: What are your thoughts on organic/biodynamic — Yes or no? Why or why not?

A: Being sustainable is hugely important to us. We’re 100 percent estate-grown and a big requirement is taking care of the land. We have created an entire ecosystem on our property, from keeping bees to having owl and bat boxes.

Q: What do you want people to remember about your wines?

A: I want them to remember their own experiences that they’ve had with Trefethen. I love hearing their discovery stories about our wine, at a friend’s dinner party, and the winery.

Q: What do you do when you’re not working? Hobbies, interests etc.?

A: Cooking and being outside, hiking, skiing, and I’m about to try this whole fly fishing thing. 

Q: Is there anyone in the wine industry — dead or alive — that you wish you could work with?

A: My grandparents. Part of my job is travelling around and telling the family story, but my favourite part is when I meet people that knew my grandparents and they tell me stories about them. I wish I had known them better.

Q: What are your hopes for the future of your winery, say 30 to 50 years down the road?

A: I see myself still here in 30 years, with the vineyard [and the winery] thriving. It’s pretty easy to imagine.

The first responsibility of every wine, says pioneer winemaker Gary Eberle, is to make food taste better. 

He is pouring his elegant Eberle viognier, to accompany crab cakes at Artisan, an earth-to-table restaurant in the small city of Paso Robles, just inland from the central California coast. Eberle was one of the first to plant syrah in his state and, in 1980, he co-founded the Paso Robles appellation.

Unlike Napa, with its crowds and expensive wineries, the lesser-known Paso Robles (Spanish for oak pass), located halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, has managed to keep its feet on the ground. It’s less pretentious — casual and friendly — yet is still home to plenty of restaurants and more than 180 wineries. Vintners produce varietal favourites like cabernet sauvignon, syrah and zinfandel, plus the emerging mourvèdre, as well as Bordeaux- and Rhône-style blends. (More than 45 wineries are members of Rhône Rangers, an advocacy group that promotes Rhône varietals.)

There are some exceptional experiences available for visitors. At Steinbeck Vineyards, where Eberle sources grapes, you jump on a 1975 jeep or vintage truck for a superb “Crash Course” tour led by a member of the Steinbeck family, which has farmed the 500-acre property since 1884. In the winemaker-for-a-day program at Still Waters Vineyards, the entertaining Paul Hoover gives you the opportunity to get a little dirt under your fingernails and offers lots of pithy wine wisdom along the way. First Crush Winemaking offers a crush experience at several vineyard locations, where you pick, sort and crush grapes during the fall harvest.

Locavore foodies know the top spots, such as Thomas Hills Organics Market Bistro & Wine Bar, where chef Julie Simon’s deft hand turns the superb local bounty into wonderfully inviting meals. The ingredients come from the Thomas family’s organic farm — heirloom vegetables, fruit and nuts from more than 800 trees, even a pink peppercorn tree. And the by-the-glass (and half-glass) wine list features the region’s best wines.

Check out: Seared Scallops with Squash, Oranges and Arugla Salad

At Il Cortile’s fine dining Italian restaurant, I met Sudbury, Ontario-raised Kevin Jussila, winemaker at Kukkula vineyards, whose red blend, “Lothario,” was a perfect match to chef Santos Macdonald’s lamb osso buco. (The Kukkula name, meaning “hill,” reflects Jussila’s Finnish heritage.) Another Canadian-born vintner, Terry Culton, who was born in London, Ont., has his Adelaida wines on the list. (He proudly showed me his surfboard, embellished with the Maple Leaf flag.)

Also deserving of a dinner reservation is the 19th-century Cass House Inn & Restaurant on the coast in Cayucos. Chef Jensen Lorenzen prepares multi-course dinners built around produce from the inn’s gardens. And don’t leave without picking up a baker’s dozen of brown butter sea salt cookies next door at the popular Brown Butter Cookie Company.

Check out: Paso Robles Wine Picks

Photo: Victor Villanueva