You recently made some significant improvements to your
tasting room. Are any other changes planned for this year?
Each of you makes wine under your own, unique label—
Dan’s is J.D. Hurley and Thérèse has Thérèse Vineyards.
Most recently, you’ve added a new label called Soulmate.
What are the differences?
Dan: I like to say that I make cocktail wines – wines that are ready to drink
now. They are softer and consumed at an earlier stage.
Thérèse: I make my wines to pair with foods. They have more acidity and
can age for a longer period of time. Dan and I share in the winemaking
process of our Soulmate wine. This wine is a classic Bordeaux style - con-
taining the very best grapes from the Santa Cruz Mountains. Our Soulmate
wines are to be shared with the most important people in your life. Savored
with love and laughter, you’ll create an experience around the wine.
Thérèse is one of the first of women winemakers in the
Santa Clara Valley to have her own label. Any insights for
woman interested in the wine industry?
Dan: We’re transitioning to organic growing in the vineyard. This will allow
us to use more of the wild yeast which helps create a sense of place or
terroir, in the wine.
You have a dedicated crew of passionate people that help out
around the winery. What are your team-building tips?
Dan: We have a dream team!
Thérèse: The best thing we’ve learned is to find out everybody’s strengths
and then let them shine doing what they love best. We have open meet-
ings with our employees where we share our business plans and revenue
numbers. We sit and talk as equals. Every single person on the team is
important - each one contributes to the final bottle of wine.
What should people know about Martin Ranch Winery?
Thérèse: Kathryn Kennedy was the first female grower and winemaker in
the Santa Cruz Mountains and then came Pam Storrs. I feel privileged to
be in the company of these women. When I started winemaking it was
more of a male dominated business. But now, there are many young female
winemakers coming out of Davis. We’re also seeing a more balanced
vineyard crew with more women on the team. Thérèse: When they come to Martin Ranch they know it is a place where
they can be themselves. Our winery is a little retreat and a slice of paradise
where people can enjoy nature and great wine.
How did you learn to make wine? Why are your club members so loyal, what does club
membership offer them?
Dan: My neighbor, Rob Fladeboe (a KRON4 newscaster), taught me the
basics of making wine.
Thérèse: In those early days I used to tease Dan by saying it was just a
bunch of guys getting drunk in our garage.
Dan: We started to get serious and that’s when I went to UC Davis. Therese
and I exhausted all the wine courses they offered.
Martin Ranch Winery is one of the region’s top wineries;
having received numerous awards and accolades.
Which award means the most to you?
When Michele Swensen, our director of hospitality, came on board, that’s
when things became fine-tuned. Michele brought her hospitality experi-
ence from Air France, Club Med and her own event company in New
York. Michele helps make each visitor’s experience the best that it can be.
We’ve built a community of people with our Wine Club. Friends see other
friends in the club and it has become a viral thing. Some of our Wine Club
Members have been with us for thirteen years – from the very start.
Any new goals you would like to accomplish in your
winemaking or business?
Thérèse: Among the many awards and accolades we’ve received over the
years, the best ones are the compliments our customers give us about our
wines and the people who serve them.
Dan: My favorite accolade is when people say, ‘I usually only like one or
two wines at a winery – but here at Martin Ranch, ‘I like them all!’
We heard that Thérèse enjoys a vegan diet.
What are some favorite pairings?
Thérèse: For health reasons, Dan recently joined me in eating a vegan
diet. We eat a whole food, plant-based diet – with the least amount of
processed foods. We don’t eat meat, dairy or fish. A white bean hummus
with roasted pimento has a soft mouthfeel and pairs really well with wines
with similar mouthfeels – like a Chardonnay or Viognier. Also, my recipe
for Santa Cruz Mountains Bean Stew pairs perfectly with our recent Wine
Club shipment which contains our Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignane
and Pinot Noir. I like to match up the spices of the barrel and vineyard with
the spices in the food.
Dan: A shitake mushroom risotto and a Cabernet is a great pairing.
You are both committed to giving back to the community.
Any favorite organizations that you like to support?
Thérèse: We have a strong relationship with Community Solutions. It feels
so good to be a part of a community that brings people up from the lows
in their life. We’re privileged to support them and it is a great feeling to
help people. Lisa DeSilva, one of our employees, is an amazing leader in
this organization.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
Dan: We’re not snooty. Our employees are trained to respect everyone.
We are customer service oriented to deliver 5-star hospitality.
Dan: We want to stay at our current level of producing 8,000 cases of
wine per year and provide a good living for our staff. The question for us is
how do we live and survive now? Everybody has good wine – so our focus
is to have the best wine. Also, people want an experience when they visit
wineries and hospitality is what the wine business has become.
OOPS! We made a mistake. We put the wrong
answers to these questions for Tim Slater, Owner of
Sarah's Vineyard in the last issue of the magazine.
We apologize and trust that you will enjoy his REAL
answers to these two questions.
What is the biggest misconception about you?
I once heard someone say that I was a snob. (Tim bursts out
laughing). I was flabbergasted! I only wear jeans and really old
t-shirts and mostly eat fast-food or cans of chili, and have a pretty
low sense of humor. Can you imagine?
Why are your club members so loyal?
I believe their loyalty stems from us caring about them. Most of our
wine club members recognize that we are trying to make excellent
wine without breaking the bank. Naturally we’ve stumbled and
made mistakes over the years, but the local people that support us
have been generous. I think they see that we’re always trying to
improve, and they support us in return.
december 2018-january 2019
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