This month we will focus on a new project from a man that has been quietly making top shelf Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for one of Napa's most historic wineries for over 2 decades, but is now producing wines from some amazing sites across California and showcasing some of the state's hidden treasures.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jon Berlin later moved to Cape Town for surfing, doing odd jobs as well as fulfilling his service in the South African Navy, working as a Naval Firefighter, before falling into wine at the turn of the century. After working his first harvest in the Western Cape, Jon quickly bounced around both hemispheres, working multiple harvests a year across South Africa, Australia, Napa, Sonoma Coast, and New Zealand. It was in New Zealand, where he earned a degree in winemaking and met his future wife Lily Oliver, daughter of Reginald Oliver, the owner/winemaker at El Molino who had purchased the wine cellar from his aunt, and had been making Pinot Noir and Chardonnay since the early eighties.
The plan had been to make wine in South Africa, but when Lily’s father passed away in 2005 the two of them moved back to Napa to take over the winery. While Jon would do some consulting winemaking on the side, for the next 20 years the focus would be on El Molino. Lily and Jon worked side by side, crafting expressive and distinctly Californian Pinot and Chardonnay from the Star Vineyard in Rutherford while also running the day-to-day operations. After leaving El Molino in 2024 Jon decided to focus all his energy on a new project with the goal of making affordable wines that were approachable out of the gate. Starting with a Pinot Noir from Occidental, a Chenin from vineyards in Clarksburg and near the towns of Holister and Gilroy, and a Cinsault/Pinot Noir blend predominantly from Dry Creek Vineyard, Jon has expanded his offerings to include a rose made from hundred year old vines out of Contra Costa County.
Cheers!
Justin Malesheetz - Fillmore Wine Buyer
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2024 Chasing Ether California White Wine |
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Region / Country of Origin: Lodi and Cienega Valley, CA |
About the vineyards: Farmed by David Ogilvie who makes wine under his own Silt Wine Co label, Wilson Farms is perched between Elk Slough and the Sacramento River on either side. Based out of Clarksburg deep in the Sacramento Delta, the vineyard is cooled by breezes off San Francisco Bay and can have as much as a forty-degree Fahrenheit swing in day and nighttime temperatures. This part of the Delta is slowly gaining recognition for the quality of Chenin Blanc that is well-suited to the microclimate and the alluvial silty loam soil found in the area. The vineyard is also CCOF Organic certified. Gimelli Vineyards is farmed by Bill Weatherwax who has been in and around the California wine scene for almost forty years as a vineyard excavator and farmer. The vineyard is in a natural Caldera amphitheater, just outside the town of Hollister and near Gilroy. The soil is limestone-based, made famous by Calera Wine Company founder Josh Jenson, and provides ample structure and definition that is unique to this part of California. About the winemaking: 100% Chenin Blanc from Wilson Farms Vineyards in the Clarksburg AVA and Gimelli Vineyards in the Cienega Valley AVA. The Wilson Farms Chenin was picked and pressed whole-cluster directly into a used puncheon and neutral French oak barrel. Primary and secondary fermentation was done utilising ambient yeast, with the wine being left on primary lees for 5 months or so. The Gimelli Vineyards Chenin was harvested a month or so later than the Wilson Farms and was pressed whole-cluster to five neutral French oak barrels. Once both fermentations were complete, the wine spent five months on lees until being blended with the Wilson Farms Chenin. The blend was returned to barrel for 11 months until being racked to a stainless steel tank for bottling. Tasting Notes: Pale gold in the glass with notes of hay, bergamot, dried lemon peel, and a salty mineral note. Medium bodied with a roundness on the palate that counterbalances the vibrant acidity. Flavors of bright lemon and quince, with a floral note mid palate that ends with a lean mineral finish. |
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Winemaker: Jon Berlin |
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Price: $27.99+tax |
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Suggested Food Pairing: Smoked ham, firm cheeses, grilled fish, fennel salad, sushi, shrimp tacos |
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2023 Chasing Ether California Cinsault |
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Region / Country of Origin: Dry Creek Valley, California |
About the vineyards: Morelli Creek is situated off Morelli Lane in Occidental, which has become a hub for Pinot growing in California. The Pinot Noir is grown at the top of a canyon just above the fog line, a wonderful site that will produce beautifully ripe fruit while maintaining lovely acidity. The Goldridge soils, which are a fine, sandy loam formed by an ancient seabed and sandstone formations, are low in fertility and offer excellent drainage. About the winemaking: A blend of 2 puncheons of Cinsault from Dry Creek Valley blended with one barrel of Pinot Noir from Morelli Creek Pinot Noir aged in a stainless tank for six weeks before being bottled. Tasting Notes: Pale ruby in the glass with a bright woodsy nose of watermelon rind, hibiscus, tamarind, sassafras, raspberry jellies, and fresh herbs. Full bodied but elegant and light on its feet with vibrant acidity and firm tannins wrapped around flavors of crunchy red fruit, violet, rose petal, and agua de jamaica with a long savory floral finish. |
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Winemaker: Jon Berlin |
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Price: $27.99+tax |
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Suggested Food Pairings: Ratatouille, goat cheese, vegetable tart, cassoulet |
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