There's a real sense of place to the wines of Joullian Vineyards, a Carmel Valley/Cachagua-based winery that has crafted and won awards with its Bordeaux-style varietals for a good three decades.
That place: Oklahoma.
I'm only partially kidding.
The Joullian and Sias families who partnered on estate-centric Joullian in 1982 are from Oklahoma City.
Now its brand-new owners Tom and Jane Lerum, California residents who often hang out at a Cachagua ranch, also enjoy Okie ties: Jane is an Oklahoma native who also enjoys strong links to OKC, whose charities, particularly the arts, have benefitted greatly from the Joullian and Sias families.
“I am so pleased that the winery will continue to have Oklahoma roots,” says outgoing owner Dick Sias.
He's probably pleased over the $10.47 million sale price too.
Jane is a Duke grad who got her start working in banking and now serves as a director for the newly established Arnall Family Foundation; Tom serves as an acquisitions officer in the Air Force.
More importantly, both studied wine business management at the University of California Los Angeles.
Tom and Jane both turn 25 this month, continuing a youth movement of sorts among local wine operations.
They still live in L.A., but spend a lot of time at the family's sweeping cattle-dotted Oak Ridge Ranch, which sold for a reported, albeit unconfirmed, $16,900,000 a few years back. (The asking price was $30 million.)
Ten miles east of Carmel Valley Village, Oak Ridge is one of the largest in the valley, and neighbors properties like Apple Computer co-founder Mike Markkula and Fox News magnate Rupert Murdoch.
Not far down the road sits Joullian.
“Our plan for Joullian Vineyards, first and foremost, is to build upon its historical success by maintaining a laser-like focus on crafting exceptional wines," the Lerums said in a statement. "Beyond that, we are developing plans to expand Joullian’s operations, which we believe will improve the sustainability of the business and ensure its existence for generations to come."
A key step therein: retaining valley icon Ridge Watson to be their winemaker, as he has been since its founding.
“The vineyard’s old vines will be maintained, the brand identity will remain and we will continue to guarantee the quality of wine and family commitment to our customers, wine club members and national wholesale representatives," he says. "We are all looking forward to the bright future of Joullian."
Some perhaps more enthusiastically than others.
Sias told his homeown pub OKC Friday he sold in part because Watson is ready to rack his final barrels.
"I'm 87 years old, nobody else in the family wants to run it and my Winemaker Ridge Watson wants to retire. [Sias’ late wife] Jeannette loved the winery. She insisted we buy his half when her brother, the late Ed Joullian, wanted to sell it."
Watson says the reality is different: That he was part of deal, and he's planning to stay on and run things for the foreseeable future.
Having sales rep and tasting room pointman Hal Ellison doing more travel to sell wine, including regular visits to the Oklahoma market—Joullian's strongest and one that outpaces even California—frees Watson to stick to grape growing.
"My retirement agent will be creating a 6'3" box," he says. "I can't do all the travel, but I don't mind making wine until I'm 100. And I know where the grapes are buried."
I tracked down Tom Lerum to learn more about what got him and his wife into Carmel Valley and wine. What he had to offer appears below.
On the inspiration for the project:
The genesis of this whole deal started with our desire to plant a vineyard and build a winery on Oak Ridge Ranch. We have been coming to Carmel Valley frequently for several years, spending time on the ranch and enjoying the outdoors.
It was, and continues to be, our sanctuary of sorts, a place where we can step away from the busyness of the city and unplug.
We also fell in the love with the food, wine and people of Carmel Valley and Monterey.
On buying rather than planting:
As our intent to build the winery grew, we recognized the importance of becoming more educated in the business. We went back to school in order to learn more about enology, viticulture and the wine industry.
The more we learned and researched, the more we realized that acquiring an existing winery first would be much more feasible.
On JoullianL
A window of opportunity opened when we heard that Joullian was for sale.
Joullian Vineyards was only 10 minutes away from the ranch, Jane could carry on the Oklahoma legacy, and it just so happened to be our favorite winery in Carmel Valley.
On the power of wine:
Without being overly verbose, we share a huge appreciation for the amount of knowledge, labor and creativity that goes into producing a finished bottle of wine.
It is a complex and romantic expression of art that is easy to be passionate about. For the two of us, we are hard working individuals in a unique position—fortunate enough to have the resources to pursue a business in both the industry and geographical area that we love.
We hope to not only grow the Joullian brand, but also increase awareness of Carmel Valley and Monterey as a premier wine producing region.