Anaya - Gerardo Espinosa

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Hello, friends and listeners of Wine Soundtrack. This is Alison Levine and today I am in the very hot Lodi Valley with giroder Espinoza, who is the CEO of Lodi Crush and the winemaker of Naya Vineyards. And we've popped up in a little refreshing Alberino to get us started. But Guerder, welcome and tell us about Anya Vineyards and where we are today, which is LOADI Crush.

Yes, thank you, thank you for being here. And yes, so my name is like you just mentioned, and we just opened our twenty twenty one Albergo. It's Clemens Hills, Aba, very nice and refreshing and it's actually been Asian barrel, so it's going to be a little bit more mean and altease on the wine. So yeah, so yeah, we are actually sitting in our lounge at Lorda Crush. So this place, this place, we opened about a year ago. The front portion LORDA Crush has been in business for

And tell us a little bit about a NYA vineyards. Do you what do you make?

Yeah, so an I of Vineyards. It's actually I'm the owner and actually the winemaker and what basically, I'm a third generation farmer. So my family has been in the farming business for three decades already, you're in Loda. My grandfather immigrated from Mexico in the nineteen forties and work as a farm labor and throughout the years he made and saved money, purchased land in the Clements area. And my uncles are the ones that planted the vineyards after

Yes, And when did you start a Nia Vineyards?

So I started making wine back in two thousand and seven. The brand before an Vineyards, I had a brand. It was called Vignetosa, which it was in honors of my honors of my grandmother a Naya, I mean actually Alua, it's her first name. Vignettos is vineyards, so it's yeah, it was actually after her, honoring her, and the whole brand is actually honoring the family, honoring our heritage. So I have now an Io Vineyards. That's what I'm trying to do, just showcasing the family heritage.

Fantastic. And you said your grandfather first planted the vineyards, So how many acres do you have and what do you have planted? What are you working with?

Yeah, so my uncle's planted the vineyards and they planted the first two varieties that the planet was Cavernouso in young and patitira.

Those were very typical here for Lodi.

Very popular back then as well. So that was back in the early eighties and then throughout the years once I immersed myself, I started exploring with different brand of with different varieties, and I decided to talk to the family to plant some of the unique varietals like, for example, Tempornello Alberdino that we're going to be tasting today. We have neviolo, which is a very unique variety for California itself. And actually the us, and then we have Timpornello as well and Pinot green.

And how many acres total do you have planted?

So we have about one hundred and eighty acres total.

Wow, yeah, in one hundred and eighty acres, yes.

That's about yeah. So we have two different properties in plants area. And the actually the smaller blocks that wants the unique varieties that I just mentioned, those are smaller blocks. They're about two acres to five acres each.

So you're selling fruit or are you making all of it?

No, So the majority of the fruit, which is the patitzia in Caberneto when young goes to a different, big, larger production winery. But the smaller blocks that we have are pretty much for our brand, or we share some of the fruit to some of the local small producers as well.

And what's your total case production?

So right now we're under our ny vinyears, I'm producing about eighteen hundred cases. It's a small brand. We're hoping that in the next two or three years make it bigger, you know.

And for now the wines are available here in the tasting room or are they available in any other markets?

Yes? Yes, so we have it here at the tasting room. We sell online. We have it by allocation, so sign up in your and our mailing list through our website and when we release the wines, that's when we send the email for people to purchase the wines. We're starting to open the market in different restaurants Southern California, San. Yeah, it's been very attractive to the brand. So that's where we focus in our brand out of the Southern California.

That's great. Yeah, So I'm curious. You said that you're a third generation farmer and that did you grow up here on Lodai.

Literally pretty much in my life, I came to the US or immigrated to the US when I was in end of high school, finished my high school here in Lodai. I decided to do the farming. I wanted to do, you know, more of a office work and I love architecture, so that that was my profession for a long time. But the roots were in the farming.

So I'm curious, what is your first memory relevant to wine?

Yeah, so the first memory, you know, it's actually been in the vineyards. You know, I remember since I planted the first viniard And like I said, that's back in eighties literally was just my seeing my grandfather out there pruning every year, taking us as kids, you know, to to help them. You know, that was that was literally that's probably the best memories that I have had. Uh. And then after that, and then after that, you know, I started once I knew what the grapes were producing,

So is there one particular wine or an experience that was one of those aha moments for you that kind of either set you on the path that you decided that you were going to give up architecture and become a wye maker, or maybe just you know, enjoying wine.

Yes, absolutely so. So like I said, I started making wine for our you know, as a home wine maker and my literally in my garage. I created the first barrel, which it was a BATITSI ra out of our vineyard, Vinoda, and and I remember that, you know, we all liked it. I was giving it away to families and friends, the bottles we bottled it. We did everything ourselves. And then I decided to enter the State Fair Home Winemakers competition. I want a double gold, right, So I was like,

That's great, that's community. And so I love the fact that, like one of your first AHA moments was making your own wine and winning awards. If we were to come to your home today, what kind of wines do you have in your cellar, in your collection your refrigerator. Is it all load eye wines? Is it your own wines or is it certain certain greate varieties, certain regions or producers.

Yeah. You know, one of the things that I always say about myself, I like to explore. I like to find different styles, find different unique varieties. So if you go to my cellar, you will find a good variety of different wines from all over the world. I like to explore. Right now, I'm in a trend of finding what's the natural wine, you know, and that's the trend that everybody's talking about. So I'm I'm drinking a lot

And so, is there anything you opened up recently that tasted really really good?

Yes, you know what. I just got back from Mexico and I was able to meet with a Michelin star chef in Wahaca, Mexico, and she started her own brand and Baya the Wallalupe. So she asked me to try her greenage blanc, which is natural wine.

We're not seeing the quote marks he's using here, So I said, hey.

You know what, this is perfect. I'm just exploring this new style. I said, would like to try it. So she actually pour a glass of wine for me, and it was it was nice. I liked it. It was very nice and refreshing. But to me, those wines have a little bit of oxidation and a lot of the wines that I've been drinking with a style, and this wine in particular didn't have that. You know, it was a little bit more fresher, a little bit more. You can taste the yeast, you can taste the wild yeast

Good wines coming from there.

Absolutely, yes, that's actually and that's where we got the idea of planting neviolo in Lora. My uncle actually, we we go a lot to Mexico and my uncle was in the Wallaalupe, Mexico, and he started tasting Nevolo's, so we noticed that there was no Nevollo's planted in this area. So we were like, all right, let's plant, you know, a couple of acres and see what it does.

It's very very curious. Nebyola doesn't usually like heat.

The nice thing about where we are, which I think is growing. That's why we've been very successful where it's growing is because we're right at the beginning of the hills, which is the Clemens Hills ABA, and we.

Get a lot of the delta breeze, so we get a lot of hot days, but then we have a lot of drop on the temperatures at night, you know, So we can be one hundred and then a night can be sixty, you know.

So it's like a forty degree difference in a during the heat season.

Which allows your wines to have a lot of vicidity exactly.

Yes. Yeah.

So do you think there's a such thing as a perfect variety?

I don't. I don't. I don't think so. I think. I think every variety has its unique you know, And I think every variety, for me, it's a it's a it's a unique wine, and not just the variety about the style, the wine making style, you know, it's unique. So I think we can all be made. I mean,

No sense of perfection. So I'm curious as a wine drinker, red, whieter rose.

Depending on the mood, Still are sparkling? I prefer sparkling?

Okay, yeah, yeah, those were easy questions. So I'm curious when you're you know, you're tasting all these wines. You're an equal opportunist with your red, white and rose depending on the mood. What about depending on the food? How do you approach food and wine pairing? And do you follow rules? Do break rules? Do you have rules you can share with us or guidelines?

I do all of them, right, I break rules, majority will break the rules. But I am very particular with the wines once I gonna, once I'm at the table, I try to do as close as possible the pairing. But I just believe that each palady is different. And I can be drinking an Alberino with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I will enjoy it. And there's nothing wrong with that. So to me, I don't think we have to put ourselves as there's has to order or or believe that there has to be rules, you know.

So yeah, drink out of a can, com pair it with anything, yeah, yes. So what do you think that you know, you're a small brand, You're trying to get your name out there. You you know you can build a following locally, but how do you get your name out beyond? And what do you think the role of wine critics and scores play in that for someone like you or just in general and how you look at wine?

Yes? And and I think they're important for the brand when they're starting, uh, and not not just when they're starting, but I think they're they're important to get them reviewed. A lot of the times. What I have done myself is I get too stuck with the same wine every year, right and and and there's nothing wrong with that, I mean it's selling, but then I wanted to I want to be since I'm been in the architectural side of it, I like to get critique. So I do the same

Right, And maybe you won't change your style, but it'll give you some context.

Yes, absolutely, and like and like I mentioned earlier, you know, I like to be I like to explore. I like to be creative, you know, and I like to stay on top of, you know, what people are liking, you know. So so yeah, I think that's that's probably the main reason, you know, why I do that. But at the same time, you know, I like to to know that if you know, one of the wines is getting low scores or is getting you know, why is it getting lost? You know those scores? If and you know, so that's why I

So for somebody who hasn't had the pleasure to taste your wines yet, what do you think they're missing out on?

So again, I mean, these wines are one hundred percent truthful to the variety, truthful to the winiards, to the soils. I don't do no blending, very low. I don't like to use the word natural in my wines, but I like to use the word low intervention, so they're very low in you know, I don't I don't. I try to stay away with with any additions from the vineyards all the way to the wine making. So that's one

So the train just went through the town of Lodi, right across the train tracks, right across the street from your taste room. And we heard the train go by, and some space aliens got off the train, you know they didn't They came in via train this time, and they walk up to your door. Which of your wines would you want to say welcome to you know, Anaya vineyard? Welcome, Welcome and taste my wines?

Yeah, absolutely, yeah. I will probably get them started with an albino or probably get them the pino grease, which the pino gree is a skin contact fermented so let it let us let us sit on skins for about thirty six hours before I press it. So I just stem the fruit and throw the stans back to the to the to the to the skins, and then I press it all thirty six hours later. So that brings you more a little bit more tan its a little more acids, uh, and then also a little bit of color.

Yeah, so you're gonna welcome them with something a little weird, a little different, but textured and fun.

To me, that just gets some motivated. Okay, so what else you have? You know? And then I start pulling out all the other wines and start showcasing all the other brands.

So we're here. You said you have one hundred and eighty eight, one hundred and eighty acres. I can't speak right now. It's a number of big number. Do you spend a lot of time in the vineyard?

I do. I do. That's probably where my wine making comes out of. You know, I have a good mentor, and with her we spend a lot of times in the vineyards. So her philosophy, which is now my philosophy, is the wine has to be produced in the vineyards. So I like to, even with my clients and a load of crush, I like to visit the vineyards before they bring the fruits, or before we even commit to make the wines for them, you know, I would like

So in the years that you've been now managing the vineyard and making wine, we know, every vintage tells a different story, and you're trying to make wines that express the grape. But how much variation do you see your toy year in a place like lod Eye.

Yeah, I mean, particularly the last couple of years, it's been the weather's been crazy, so it's been all over the war to be honest. So yeah, I mean that's that's probably, you know, the last couple of years has been very unpredictable for us, For me, for myself, just because I like to stay truthful to the to the variety and to the soils and to the you know, to the climate change.

Previously, was it more consistent or has it always given you sort of a run for your money?

No? I think it has been. It was a little bit more consistency, you know. I mean the last couple of years, we've been seeing wet years, we've been seeing hot years. You know, who knows how this year is

Are there any sort of signs or omens that you look for that tell you what a vintage is going to give you?

Yeah, I mean I think there is. I think there's a there's always during voration, you know, that's when we start seeing, you know, how the fruit is going to come out, I mean, or what we're going to be looking this year. I think we're seeing that the mines are a little bit heavier with fruit, so we've been doing a lot of thinning. But I think it's going

So all signs point to a good harvest, but we never know.

We never know exactly. Yes, who knows it might rain tomorrow.

So I'm curious, do you, since you are making your wine in the vineyard and you spend a lot of time in the vineyard, do you have a tendency to walk through the vineyard and talk to your vines?

If I have to tell you the truth, probably probably. I try not to do it when people as around, They're going to be thinking that, what is this crazy guy doing out there? You know. But but that's a that's a good, that's a that's a good. I'm going to tell you a little story because my uncle, he didn't knew that I was coming to the vineo one day and it was early in the morning. It was through right before harvest. So I'm walking through the vineyard and I hear someone singing and I got are and

So do you have any aside from your uncle singing to the vines, do you have any sort of good luck rituals that you do at the start of harvest, whether it's you personally or for you and your team.

You know, we I try to do like a pre harvest dinner, you know, but typically the fam my family, my uncles were pretty close. I think our main uh, it's during the first pick. We all get together at the vineor even if it's or if if it is a machine pick or if it's a hand pick, we all are all there at the vineyar and typically we stay there after after the harvest, after the worker leave and everything an open few beers or bottles of wine.

Yeah, family tradition.

Yes, yes, And it's not like we I think it's just natural, you know that we just all meet there. We knew that we know that it's going to be the first pig and we just all meet there and you know, someone brings the beers, someone weaves the wines, you know, especially I mean obviously I bring the wines. They expected the wine from me. But yeah, that's typically what we do before harvest, and we do it also

So yeah, you got to start with wine and food and end with wine and food and then eat in between.

Yes, absolutely, yes.

So when you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you always want to be an architect? Is that what you knew you wanted to do or did you have other aspirations?

No? I always always knew that I wanted to be an architect. Yeah, I always did.

And do you miss being an architect?

I do. But you know, it's funny because now I'm taking architecture into a wine making you know. So I'm designing my own wines, I'm designing wines for other clients. I'm helping. I'm pretty active, so I like to help a lot with the graphic design portion of it or with the MSHO brand. So I think the creativity is still there, but now it's in a different, completely different industry. But I do kind of like compare all lot to the architecture side of it.

And when you're not working making your wine or wine for twenty other people, what do you like to do in your free time?

I like to swim a lot. I'm a big swimmer. I like to swim, and I like to bicycle. Now with my son, we've been riding a lot of motorcycles. Oh, we've been. He just turned eighteen, so he's he just bought his own motorcycle. So we've been riding a lot with him. Yeah.

Do you think your son's going to follow in your footsteps?

Yes, I think he's already. He already is. Yes, he's already working in the back and helping me with a with the wine making. I'm giving him two years to go work somewhere else before he comes back and works for me.

He got to train him somewhere else that they don't take you for granted.

Yes, absolutely, yes.

So when you are when you're do you have a sports team, I should say, do you have a Are you a big soccer fan, a big American football fan? Or basketball?

Yeah? I mean, I grew up playing soccer, and I've been watching soccer since I remember. That's been just in our, in our, in our, I like European soccer. Who's your team.

Going into the finals here?

Yeah? Yeah, yeah.

So I'm curious if Real Madrid we was to win the euro Cup or any of the big championships, which of your wines would you want to present them with to say congratulations.

I will have to stay with the Timpreneos, right, that's a Spanish, great Spanish, and I was starting with the Albo and finished with the Temporneo.

So when you look back at your life, you know, people give us advice all the time, teachers, parents, mentors. Is there a piece of advice that somebody gave you at any point in your life or career that you carry with you and try to live or work by.

Oh my god. Yeah, that's a good question. I think I have gone so many good advices throughout my life. But I think on the business side, I will have to say that Mark Nerd and my partner and loa crush, He's been very helpful with the with the business side.

And if you could give a piece of advice to our listener's day, what kind of advice would you want to give them? If you can't tell me something you live by, what can you share in return?

I think the main key for any type of business, uh is perseverance, you know, and and have a plan, you know, always find a mentor, you know. I think to me that's been probably my main key, finding the right person to help me when I don't have the tools maybe or when I don't have the knowledge, you know, finding finding that the people, those persons or those you know mentors to to help you see things different, you know, and I just get stuck on one thing.

Well, it seems like your mentors gave you advice through action, not by words.

I think both of them right, I mean, I think it's been both. I think with you know, with Heather, she's been you know, we've been with actions. And then also we when we taste the wines, you know, it's just you know, we typically sit down periodically and taste through all the wines in the cellar and see how they're developing, and and and so I think both, you know.

Yeah, So when you look back at your career, and this can go back into architecture as well, what would you say is one of your proudest achievements so far?

Oh, that's a good one. I think having having my own brand it has been one of my products achievement. And being able to showcase my family's heritage. I think that's probably been one of the biggest being able to say that this brand was or is in honor of my grandfather. Yeah.

Yeah, Well, I'm now going to ask you a thought provoking question after you mentioned your grandfather. But we're sitting at a very big table here as the train goes by yet again. But we're sitting at a very big table in here. We've got a glass of your wine on the table, and I'm curious. There's an empty seat sitting next to you, and who from any walk of life, living or deceased, famous or not famous, would you want to be sitting there drinking a bottle of an Aya wines with.

Yeah, I think, I mean, I will have to say, the first person will be my grandfather.

Right, did you ever get to taste your wine?

Oh?

Yeah, he did. Him and my grandmother. I mean they've been gone for quite a bit, but I think they were a yeah, they did taste in the wines. My grandmother was on my early station career when I was that she was able to see her brand her or the first brand that I that I did for her, or honor of her. But if I have to say who I want to be sitting next to in the out of the world, who would I Who would that be? I don't know. I don't know.

If it comes to you can let me know.

I think I have too many, too many people in line, so.

Complete this sentence. For me, a table without wine is.

Like having no dinner.

Now I'm hungry, you know.

That's and that's one of the things that I say, you know, what, why why whine? I say that, I think it's part of just her, you know, for us, is for my family, uh and myself including myself, of you know, I have to have it at dinner. So when I do my wines. I'm always comparing and what I'm gonna pair with? You know what I'm gonna drink this wine with, and that's it, you know So I think it's very very important to for for me when I do the wines, you know what, I what am

So we're sipping the Saberina. What would you pair it with?

Peanut butter and jelly? No? No, I think I think I think this wine is I mean, it's one of those wines that I can say seafood, you know, because that's the traditional right Alberino, nice Chris. But I think it's also very minerality. I think, uh a nice cheese. Will We'll go with good with it? You know? Yeah. I mean, but if there's something that I can say, because I just had it not too long ago, a fish stuggle. Yeah.

So you were talking about how, you know the last few years have been kind of crazy with the climate. It's you know, Mother Nature has kind of thrown some some shockers, you know, in extreme directions of rain to heat, rain, to heat, and we know that climate change is happening. I think we'll be drinking wine in three hundred years, making wine in three hundred years.

Absolutely, I think we're gonna We're gonna be adjusting ourselves to mother Nature. Yes, absolutely, I think I think wine has been forever in our in our history, or you know, I think any sunway or you know.

Yeah, and if if if somehow the world was ending and you were going off to a deserted island somewhere, what three wines would you want to take with you? Any wines. They can be yours or anything else. They can be grapes places. What three wines do you know?

Yeah? I think so like I think I will bring I love maybe all is probably one of my favorite from where Piamonte, Yeah, Piamonte, Uh yeah, I think I will bring a uh you know, maybe allow. I like covering next on one Young's. You know, that's just the king of the grapes, you know, or the king of the wines. So I like a nice cap. I don't like a big cap, but I like a very nice French style wine Caverra nice one. Young Whish are a variety. I don't know, Probably those.

Two two reds. Yeah, okay, well, I you know, I know those questions sort of throw you off a little bit, So I'm gonna throw you one more question, one more. It's it's just as we come to an end, we're gonna have a little funnier. You've been having fun so far, right.

Yes, yes, those questions.

Hey, so we're gonna ask one more. We're gonna play our little game at the end. Now where we're gonna pair wine with music. You know it's called wine soundtrack, right, so wine and soundtrack. So I want you to tell me the soundtrack you want to pair with your wines. Let's start with your Alberino.

Alberino okay, so Alberdinho. I think we were talking a little bit about it, salsa maybe you know, the generous auntshol some merenge. I think it goes good with it.

Yeah, nice your skin contact, Pino Gray. I'm intrigued.

Yeah, that's a little bit more uh more on the uh uh what can I pair it with? Maybe like a alternative kind of you know, kind of a little bit of the pad, you know, like maybe some slow rock and roll.

Yeah, your temporneo tempornello.

Well, I mean traditionally I think I will say flamenco you know, flamenco U. But I think I think that in Mexico we call it throva, which is more like a guitar plays, you know, like a solo.

Okay, And Lodine nevolo, that's.

A wild one. Well, I think that one. I like to me, that's like a party wine. I don't know, because it's it's a very it's a light wine in color, but high Tani's high acids, right, and it ages longer. So I mean I would have to say that one is a little bit more like a I don't know, like a classic, not classic, maybe like a classic rock.

Kind of Okay, say not so bad. You got different styles of music with different styles of wine everywhere. It's all about diversity. Well you survived, you did great see Deep Breath down. So I have one last question, and it's a pretty simple one. It's got two parts. The first is I know you just got back from Mexico. I know you've been divided Guadaloupe. You've explored wine regions. What wine region is the top of your bucket list that you want to get.

To and explore? Oh yeah, I do want to go and explore Italy and that's in April.

You're going, Yeah, I'm going, You're going to check off your bucket.

List, check out my fuckle list. That's been in my sense since we start, since we planted the first the vineyard, I said, I need to go to Italy, you know, and I haven't had a chance. I've been tasting a lot of wines from different regions in Italy, but I haven't actually been there. And I think me and my girlfriend are going to go in and in April and explore Italy. And the first region that I want to try is probably pi A monte Y.

Sounds like a plan, yes, yes, And the other part of the question is if someone wants to come and taste your wines, how can they find you? Where can they find you? Tell us?

Yeah, So are so load I Crush. Like I mentioned earlier, it is a custom crush facility. We're making wines from multiple brands, but the front portion, which is we call it the lounge a load I Crush. We are showcasing for different brands, including Mine or Plus Mind, so it's fight five brands totaled. So we're in the middle of down the heart of downtown Lodai, twenty one East Elm Street. We have a website, we have Instagram, the lounge, a

You never know. Yeah, well, Jiarda, thank you for joining us on Wine Soundtrack. It is a charming tasting room you get to. It is in downtown Lodai, which is a charm little tone and it's nice and air conditioned in here, so if you're here in the summer when it's one hundred plus degrees, you can have a rare freshing glass of Albarino, some air conditioning and chill out in this super cool space. Suroda, thank you for joining us, and I hope you had a good time, and I'll say cheers, cheers.

Hope to see you back again soon for sure.

Yes, thanks for listening to a new episode of Wine Soundtrack USA. For details and updates, visit our website windsoundtrack dot com.