Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and
Tim Steneveek on Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
It is already well passed five pm somewhere, five pm here,
and so it seems like the first perfect time to
talk about the business is wine listen.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
So it was five o'clock somewhere right, all right, We've
got a great voice on it. Someone who has spent
some of her growing up years. Sounds like a lot
of them wandering among vineyards and sellers thanks to her dad,
Jerry Lore, a real estate developer, agriculturist and wine grower
with us as Cynthia Lord, the co owner and chief
brand officer of Jaylaur Vineyards and Wines, joining us, by
the way, one of Wine and Spirits Magazine's top one
(00:35):
hundred wineries for the second year in a row, and
she's joining us on zoom in San Rafael, California. Cynthia
is so nice to have you here with Simone and
me on a Bloomberg Business Week.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
How are you? I'm great, Thank you Carol and Simone.
It's such a pleasure to be with you and I agree.
It's five o'clock somewhere, so great time to be talking
about wine.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Well, before we get to a couple of things, because
you guys have a lot going on, tell us little
bit about the history of the vineyard. Your dad very
much a pioneer in developing California's wine world. Tell us
about the family business growing up within it, and you know,
we take it for granted today, but it wasn't always
that way.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Oh, absolutely, what a great question.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
My father grew up in South Dakota in a farming family,
and he was always very much a man of the soil,
out in the out farming and with his family tending
to wheat barley Rye Trita Cayley, which is a little
known soil amendment. So when he came out to California
(01:35):
in the late fifties to pursue his PhD in civil
engineering from Stanford University. After he created his first building
and development business in the South Bay of California kind
of San Jose area where our first winery is located,
he and his building and development partner found they had
a mutual love of wine, so they started traveling to
(01:57):
California's central coast. First it was Monterey County's Arroyo Seco
right near Carmel and in Monterey County and put their
first boots in the ground, planting two hundred and ninety
three acres across eleven different varieties, and then later found
after some trial that cabernet and chardonnay did not grow
(02:21):
well side by side in that cool climate region, So
that took him an hour south to Passerobyls, where since
nineteen eighty six we've been growing the bulk of our
red wine in Bordeaux portfolio. So we actually started out
in Monterey County in the started planting in the late sixties,
(02:43):
early seventies, and Passerobyls in nineteen eighty six, and we'll
celebrate fifty years of our heritage wines in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
So you have now over I believe, two thousand acres
you're farming. Talk to me about some of the key
issues that you follow every day as you're running now
a quite large wine business.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Absolutely so across our three distinct appellations. Actually, for if
you count Santa Lucia Highlands, we also grow on a
small parcel in Saint Helena in Napa Valley. But all told,
our four thousand acres are certified California Sustainable, as are
(03:35):
our three wineries and by years and twenty seven of
our approximately forty one wines. So for my brothers and
my father and myself, we are truly family owned and
operated hands on day in and day out. My brothers
and I all hold executive roles for the last twenty
(03:55):
two years in our business, So we really embrace the
vision that my father set forth so many years ago,
and that was to truly be a sustainable enterprise. So
everything we do is always with an eye toward resource conservation, optimization, innovation.
Since they're always ensuring that we are doing what we
(04:19):
can to influence the quality of our wines from vineyard
to bottle.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
And we're going to get to sample and check out
the quality of your wines, which which we'll do in
a moment. But I want you know when you talk
about sustainability, we've had a lot of conversations over the
years with vineyards, certainly in the California area, and just
the challenges that are coming at you, whether it's because
of climate change, it gets trickier and trickier. What have
(04:44):
the last couple of years been like for you guys?
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Oh, my goodness, full throttle into conservation efforts. So everything
from our wastewater treatment program, which reduces the amount of
water required to produce a gallon of wine to almost
under two gallons, to practicing deficit irrigation, so we'll often
(05:10):
mimic rain events and we'll irrigate continually in a vineyard
for a period of twenty four hours and then not
irrigate for two more months, or practices such as roll
up doors, our solar tracking array, which powers more than
eighty five percent of our passerables facility. But now, as
(05:31):
you both know, the new area that's of most concern
is social equity. It's not just an environmental stewardship or
financial resource. It's really about social equity. How do you
care for your communities, How do you care for your people?
How do you ensure that you're doing what you can
to create a thriving and prosperous place where your employees live, work,
(05:56):
in play. So we're really focused on long term solutions
for California's water crisis as well as just looking at
how can we curtail greenhouse gas emissions in every facet
of our business.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Can you get into the nitty gritty though, like what
has become more difficult for you the most, the most,
the thing that's changed the most, whether it's you know,
climate wise or water or heat, what has had the
biggest impact.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
I would say for us, it truly is water, and
here in California, tending to California's water crisis and being
at the forefront of really finding some of those longer
term solutions, whether it is blending recycled waste water with
nearby Lake Nacimiento to ensure that wells and passerobles will
(06:53):
have ample supply. It's really about finding those longer term
solutions because honestly, climate chain will continue to throw many
weather events at us. We have to be prepared, but
we also have to take the long tail toward convening
leaders across all facets of government and city council to
(07:14):
brainstorm these long term solutions. So I'd say that's what
we're most focused on.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
The business right now. Tell us about costs, wages, supply chains,
How is all of that?
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Yes, So the business for us is healthy. That comes
from having the perspective of being a vertically integrated business.
So we've had long term arrangements with suppliers or our
leadership team. Many have been with Jaylare for over fifteen
to twenty years. That includes our winemakers. But certainly we're
(07:49):
seeing escalation of costs across in the entire supply chain.
But for jay Lore because we control facets of our
business being a vertically integrated company, so growing and producing
our own wines really makes a difference to consumers at
(08:10):
the end of the day. And so that's where we
sit differently from many in our competitive set is being
able to take ownership of the costs our ability to
keep them down so that that don't those costs do
not translate to the consumer.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Cynthia laure co owner and chief friend Officer of Jlare
Vineyards and Wines on Zoom and San Rafael, California and
Sonia gave us the great backstory and history of your
family owned vineyard. You also shared with us. Thank you
so much. Some wine that I'm going to open up.
I believe it is a cab Cabernet sauvignon. Tell us
a little bit about the wines that you guys make
(08:48):
in this wine that I'm going to open up. We're
going to sample. I'm going to talk more about.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
It perfect well. I'll need to know is it the
hilltop or the signature Cabernet sauvignon.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
I believe it's the hill It's the hilltop.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yes, it is, okay, terrific. So j lor Hilltop Cabinet
Sauvignon is a wine that we have been producing since
nineteen ninety eight. It's ner j lor Ooh I heard that.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
I popped it, and I'm actually gonna pour it too,
So you're gonna hear that in the background.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Because oh, this is live because it's not quite my
cocktail hour here in California, but five o'clock, I'm certainly
with you, with you in spirit. So I'm actually so
happy that you're drinking this particular wine right now because
this is absolutely one of my favorites in our portfolio.
And I'm not just just saying that. So since nineteen
(09:42):
ninety eight, and this wine, like so many of our
small lot production wines in our Jaylar Vineyard series Tier,
really exemplifies a deep sense of place. So there actually
is a hilltop vineyard with panoramic views overlooking all of Passerovals.
And what may this wine so delicious and so unique
(10:03):
is my father's fanatical precision around selecting sites that are
going to bring about the best varietal characteristics, whether it's
through soil profile or the aspects of the growing region
that have to do with how cool the climate is,
or whether it's south facing slopes or dappled sunlight coming
(10:28):
across the vine. So it's really about site specific selections.
And we at Jlore are fortunate to grow in about
five of the eleven sub appellations. That essentially means that
there are different microclimates that elicit these nuanced flavors that
all contribute to just this one really supple expressive, bold,
(10:53):
but super delicious, not well Cynthia profile at all.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
But I have to say Simone and I both have
sampled a little bit, and I'm a fan of cabs.
It's one of my favorite to drink. This is a
real smooth quality to it.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Mm hmmm mm hmm. And that's by design because our
tannin profile and our red wines follows this winemaker philosophy.
Our VP wine making Steve Peck says we are soft,
dense and never green. So that applies to our our tannins,
not our personalities, but our tannins. And so what that
(11:30):
means is you get these really refined berry flavors in
that smooth, supple structure, but also to growing what we grow.
So this is ninety five percent Cabinet Sagnon, three percent
Pati Verdo, one percent mal back, and one percent Cabinet
franc We have the ability to blend in what we
call a spice rack of varieties to really land on
(11:56):
just the perfect flavor profile.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
It's really makes us wonder about like kind of consumer
trends in general, right, Yeah, like what.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Do consumers want and how does that change how you're
mixing your wine.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Absolutely, so some out there may say that consumers are
gravitating toward more of a sweet flavor profile. Well, given
that we are a vineyard driven company, given that we
are farmers and agriculturists, at the end of the day,
we're always looking at what do the vineyards give us,
and then we craft our wines around what the vineyards
(12:30):
give us. So at the end of the day, for us,
it's all about authenticity. It's about accessibility, it's about being
available and conscientious not only for what our consumers might
like in terms of fine wine or everyday occasion wines,
but a flavor profile that is versatile, that's food friendly,
(12:52):
that's consistent well, and it's pleasing.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
It also sounds like we've seen a trend of you know,
wines don't need to be fussy, wine don't need to
be sotly. I feel like there's been this wonderful explosion.
We recently talked about a story about Darden restaurants and
they talked about how even their wealthy consumers were trading
down a little bit when it came to their wine
choices when they came in the restaurant. Give me an
(13:17):
idea this economic environment, there's some uncertainty price point and
are you seeing any of that? Are you hearing that
from any of your customers?
Speaker 1 (13:26):
We certainly are hearing some of that. You know, we're
in uncertain times right now economically, and I both know
that you know so much about economics, try your backgrounds,
and so I so appreciate that. But I think the
beauty of being a family owned winery like jay Lore
is that we have been crafting wines in seven distinct
(13:50):
tiers now for many, many years. So for those who
wish to trade up for a special occasion, Jylor Vineyard
Series and above is perfect for that or if you're
going to your friend's house for Tuesday night taco or
Wednesday night pizza, regardless of what it is, we have
a wine for that particular occasion. So whether it's the
(14:10):
fifteen to nineteen dollars price point at retail and you're
just looking to bring a delicious bottle of wine to
your friends, or you want to upscale a little bit,
we have that opportunity as well. So it's a little
early to tell where consumer preferences lie, but just as
during the pandemic, we're at that sweet spot and we're
blessed for that interesting and it all comes back down
(14:32):
to economies of scale, given that we are that vertically
integrated at price.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Hey, before we go, we've got about a minute left
here leading the way, tell us just quickly about this.
It's a contest that's underway and it is until the
end of October.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Absolutely, so it's all about the twus in this one.
So we're talking round trip for two nights, five hundred
dollars gift card in beautiful Passerobles And if you ladies
have heard the buzz about the area, it is so
replete with incredible wines, personalities, Vintnors and just all these
(15:10):
fantastic places to dine. We're so excited to share some
of our Passer Rebels excitement and our wines and our
day Passerobels Wine Center with those lucky two winners.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Well, it's so funny knowing you were coming in and
we were all prepping in the newsroom and you know,
everybody's talking about who's been to California Wine Country because
it really is something to experience. Cynthia, first of all,
thank you for letting us experience a wine from your vineyard.
We so appreciate it and look forward to checking back
in the future on how things are going. Cynthia Laura
co owner and chief brand Officer Jaylare Vineyards and Wines
(15:43):
on Zoom in San Rafael, California.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
I'm glad we're able to close out the day with
the glass.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
We're not done yet, and it's true.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
And there's more coming up as well.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Anyways, our thanks, but we're getting there. Everybody the weekend.
Just around the corner, Carol Masterson and foxmen and this
is Blueberg Radio
Speaker 1 (16:04):
MHM.