In March, Fairview Country Club Executive Chef Jeff Perez led a group of club chefs and managers on a three-day wine tour through the CMAA Connecticut Wine Society, sponsored by Jackson Family Wines.
Key activities included a culinary garden tour at Jackson Family Wines’ culinary center, a barrel-tasting at La Crema winery, and a visit to Verite, known for Bordeaux wines. The group also visited Stonestreet Winery and Kendric Vineyards, highlighting the hands-on winemaking processes and sustainability practices like rainwater reclamation and sheep-grazing.
Ultimately, the true value in such education experiences is information—the stories—it provides club leaders to communicate to their membership.
“The hands-on work that goes into running a winery is something that people don’t realize,” says Perez, “from the pruning in the vineyard to the picking of the grapes at harvest time, getting the grapes into the cellar at optimal condition. What goes into it is a story that these attendees can now convey to the membership.”
Day 1: Jackson Family Estates
The trip kicked off in San Francisco before heading north to Healdsburg, a town in Sonoma County. Attendees were welcomed by Jackson Family Wine, the second-largest family-owned wine group in the United States.
The first stop was Jackson Family’s culinary and hospitality headquarters in Santa Rosa. The group toured the estate’s culinary gardens, which supply fresh herbs and produce many of the Michelin-starred restaurants in San Francisco. Ben Fine, the hospitality director, guided the group through the gardens, offering tastings and discussing their applications in fine dining.
The evening concluded with dinner at the estate’s culinary center, led by Chef Tracey Shepos Cenami, where each course was expertly paired with wines from the Jackson Family portfolio.
Day 2: Exploring Sustainability In Winemaking
Day two began with a visit to La Crema winery. For some attendees, this was their first time visiting wine country. Among Perez’s goals was to demonstrate how even large wine producers like Jackson Family Estates prioritize sustainability, from reclaiming rainwater to using sheep to naturally trim the vineyards.
“Jackson Family, they have such a commitment to sustainability because they know they want to keep this going for future generations,” says Perez. “They’re at the top of the game for a large family winery like this. To do it at this level is a commitment.”
The group also had the opportunity to participate in a barrel-tasting at La Crema with the head winemaker, Craig McAllister, who explained the differences in flavor profiles between wines made on mountaintop vineyards versus those on the valley floor.
At Saralee’s Vineyard, sheep grazed between the vines, naturally fertilizing the land and keeping the grass under control. The presence of these sheep was a testament to the sustainable practices that Jackson Family Estates champions across its properties.
The day continued with a visit to Stonestreet Winery, where the group met with the winemaking team and toured the estate. One interesting feature of Stonestreet’s vineyards is the use of European-imported sheepdogs, which are specially trained to protect the flocks from predators—a unique and effective way to maintain the balance of nature on the farm.
Day 3: The Crown Jewel
The final day of the trip took the group from Sonoma County into the heart of Napa Valley, where they visited Cardinal Winery, one of Napa’s premier Cabernet Sauvignon producers. A highlight of the day was a stop at Verite winery, considered the “crown jewel” of the Jackson Family portfolio. Verite is renowned for its Bordeaux-style wines, and the group had the rare opportunity to taste wines that rivaled the best from Bordeaux itself.
“Jess Jackson, the founder of Jackson Family Wines, convinced [Pierre Seillan, a seventh-generation winemaker], to move to Sonoma to help create wines that could compete with the finest from France,” explains Perez. “The wines at Verite are truly exceptional, and the experience was one of the best tastings I’ve ever had.”
After a dinner in Healdsburg, the group ventured to Kendric Vineyards, a small, one-man operation in an abandoned naval base of the coat of San Francisco. Kendric Vineyards, owned by Stewart Johnson, is a testament to small-scale winemaking. Johnson, who does everything from planting the vines to making the wine, produces only around 1,000 cases a year.
The group also visited Bouchon Bakery, owned by Thomas Keller, before concluding the trip with dinner at Delfina, a San Francisco institution.
Throughout the trip, one theme emerged above all others: storytelling. The importance of communicating the origin and the craftsmanship behind each bottle of wine became clear, and attendees left with a deeper understanding of the wines and winemaking process, which they can now share with their memberships.
