Life by the Vines

These couples have made their homes and livelihoods among the vineyards of Lodi wine country, and they couldn’t be happier.

by JAMIE MENAKER | photos by BRENDA HARTSHORN

While Napa may be the go-to name for wine, we here in San Joaquin know the real deal—that Lodi is quickly rising in the ranks of the wine world. Sure, we have great wine, but what really sets us apart is the dedication of our winemakers and winery owners. More often than not, visitors to Lodi wine country find a tasting experience side-by-side with someone at the winery who actually watched the grapes from the moment they were planted in the ground until they made it to the wine bottle in question. We wanted to talk with couples that have taken it one step further, devoting not just their working hours to this trade, but their entire lifestyle. They’ve made their home on the same property that houses their vineyards, and the winery is their entire livelihood. Luckily, there’s no real line between work and play for these couples­—and they’d like it to stay that way.

The Innovators
Rod and Gayla Schatz
Peltier Station Winery, Acampo

Before Rod and Gayla Schatz opened boutique winery Peltier Station, the original focus was custom crushing—turning other wineries’ grapes into wine, and producing quality wines from Peltier’s grapes to be given any particular label of the customer’s choosing. Upon joining forces in 2005 with winemaker JC van Staden, a transplant from South Africa, he “kicked them into gear,” as Rod likes to say, and they started making their own wines under the Peltier Station label.

Fittingly, the facility where the wines are made is more of a headquarters than anything else, with a host of different wine related projects all housed under one roof. Rod and Gayla’s home is just down the road in the midst of their 45 acres of surrounding vineyards (they control 400 more acres on top of that). Rod manages both his own winery and his family’s growing operation, always keeping his eyes open for fresh, new avenues to pursue in the wine world—complemented by Gayla and her willingness to take on anything. With Rod’s background on the Lodi Winegrape Commission, and as an instrumental part in the creation of the Lodi Wine and Visitor Center, the ideas are endless.

“We started differently from most in Lodi,” says Rod. “We didn’t start with the dream of the tasting room or vineyards. We started as a bulk wine operation.”

Thanks to Peltier’s two wine labels (Peltier Station and their USB dessert wine), another label on the way called Hybrid that will offer three lower-priced wines, a tasting room in the works, and some of the cheekiest labels around (written by Gayla herself), we’re happy the couple changed their tune. Peltier is also working on projects with local restaurants, and we guarantee more ideas in the works yet to come.

A Family Affair
Joe and Kay Berghold
Berghold Estate Vineyards, Lodi

A Pennsylvania native (where he and Kay met), Joe Berghold never thought he would find himself in the wine business. The story goes like this: Daughter Karen was renting a quaint house in Lodi while Mom and Dad were still living in the Bay Area. Upon the lease ending on the Lodi cottage, Karen had fallen in love with the home and the surrounding vineyards, and asked her parents to become owners of the house, so she could rent from them. Sight unseen, Joe took a leap of faith and purchased the home and 37 acres of surrounding vineyards as an investment. Little did he know that the Lodi vineyards would become the Bergholds’ passion.

With 85 acres of vineyards today, Joe and Kay are living the wine country life to a tee. They walk their three dogs and take bike rides through the vineyards daily, tend to the winery gardens, pour wine at the tasting room, plan weddings and events for the winery’s breathtaking outdoor venues, and continue to seek out American antiques to embellish their historic tasting room. In fact, the couple is so wrapped up in the wine country lifestyle that they have to set aside dates in their calendar to spend time outside the winery.

Both their home and the tasting room on the property have historic American architectural features, combining Joe’s other passion of collecting antiques. All three of the couple’s children live in Lodi—son Miles is the winery’s winemaker, with a Masters in Enology, and his wife, Julia, manages the tasting room, the wine club, and the winery’s events—and Joe and Kay now live in the original house they purchased way back when for their daughter.

“Estate wines [when everything is done at the same location] represent a specific sense of place, and you can taste this in the wines,” says Joe. “I’ve built this from the ground up. When we bought the vineyards, they were the old Tokay vineyards. We’ve replanted, we opened the tasting room, we started the winery—this is going to go on for a long time. The next generation is already in the business with my son, Miles.”  SJM          

Welcome Home
Steve and Beverly Borra
Borra Vineyards, Lodi

Three generations deep in winemaking history, wine has always been at the forefront of Steve Borra’s way of life. Grandfather Giuseppe came from Italy over a century ago and tried his hand at the vines, and Steve grew up surrounded by Lodi winegrapes, venturing no farther than across the street to find wife Beverly. It wasn’t until 1998, however, that Steve decided to take his winemaking hobby to the next level, when Borra Vineyards was born, and Steve and Beverly haven’t looked back since.

Not only have they created a winery that produces top-notch wines with their winemaker Markus Niggli, they’ve prided themselves on creating a space where the focus is on hospitality, and “every experience is a good experience.” The property sings this sentiment in every corner, with a lush, grassy lawn out front strewn with twinkling lantern lights for winery events and celebrations, and a cherry wood tasting room, cool and inviting. Behind the lawn and tasting room are the winery office, the Borras’ home, and plenty of shady trees. Steve spends most of his time out in the vineyards, daughter Gina runs the tasting room, daughter-in-law Tina plans Borra’s special events, son Steve Jr. runs Lodi Irrigation from the same winery property, and Beverly keeps everything in line.

“We make wine just like my grandfather did one hundred years ago,” says Steve. “We allow everything to happen naturally—what you’re tasting is exactly what came out of the vineyard.” Now that the Borras have grandkids running around the property, the next generation is getting their hands dirty as well. “If we’re not working in the vineyard, we’re playing in it.”