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Mitchell Katz isn’t your typical winemaker. He wanders out from the back room, in sandals, a navy t-shirt, and most noticeably, an ice bag on his shoulder. He’s recovering from surgery after aggravating his shoulder while punching down fermenting grapes in the middle of the night. Rolling his arm gingerly, he quips, “Maybe I should be spending more time at the ‘real job’.” You see, opening a winery wasn’t a lifelong dream or something Mitchell planned years ahead of time. He’s also been a steam pipe fitter for nearly twenty-five years now, and if you ask him why he got into the wine business, he’ll tell you unequivocally, with a good laugh, “stupidity.” Given all he he has achieved at his small winery, it would be hard to tell Mitchell didn’t have a vision from the start.
Mitchell got his first exposure to winemaking as a teenager visiting his grandparents in England. Wine grapes weren’t exactly plentiful with all the cold rainy weather, so other fruits, like cherries, blackberries, and raspberries had to suffice. He wasn’t a big fan of how the wines tasted, but he certainly learned something about the fermentation process. Then, years later, after his grandfather had just died and his son had just been born, Mitchell found himself “thinking with his heart and not his head” and decided he was going to try opening a winery. Mitchell readily admits that when he first got into the wine business he was rather naive. But he was willing to ask a lot of questions, and he received a good deal of support from the Wentes and the Taylors of Retzlaff winery. The Wentes, especially, had a good deal of influence because they encouraged Mitchell to form relationships with small growers throughout the valley. Mitch was a bit hesitant at first because, while he knew very well how to make wine, he wasn’t nearly as familiar with farming grapes. In the end, though, he took the advice, started seeking out individual growers, and hasn’t looked back since.
Vineyards at Mitchell Katz
One of the first pairs he started working with were John and Courtney Campfield over at Crackerjack Vineyard. After their first meeting, Mitch knew he wanted to work with them. John’s workshop, where he builds boats, was immaculate. “You could eat off the floor,” Mitch explains. The pride with which he kept his shop was a clear indication to Mitch that they would take grape growing very seriously. Mitchell formed many more similar relationships with growers throughout the valley, and he gives them credit by making his wines from single vineyards and then putting their name on the bottle. “It’s a true partnership,” he says. Of course, it also means the growers become part of his sales staff in a way. “When [the growers] go to dinner at someone’s house, guess what wine they’re going to bring with them?”
While having great relationships with his growers has been invaluable, Mitchell knows that part of his success has been a willingness to invest in a quality product. He has been willing to pay a premium to his growers for top-notch fruit because he wants them to maintain a very high standard of quality. When he first started out, he would save money by aging his wine in cheaper American oak barrels. Now, he’s realized that it’s worth the extra cost for new French oak because it adds a whole other level of complexity to the wines. To extract more flavor, he also allows the grapes to ferment for three whole weeks. Some wineries will only ferment for one week, but Mitch wants to ensure the berries and clusters can really breakdown so the eventual wine reaches its full expression. These practices that he’s learned over the years have led to numerous awards, as well as some very good scores from our tasting panel.
However, what really sets Mitch apart is his personality. Just a few minutes with him and you realize, he’s a straight shooter. He’ll be honest with you, sometimes even to a fault. “If you read some of the other articles about me, I’ve said things where I go, wow. I shouldn’t have said that,” he laughs. The opinions Mitch holds about wineries that use Livermore fruit but put San Francisco Bay on the label or wines over the price point of twenty dollars may not always be the most tactful, but that’s part of thinking with your heart and not your head. What’s quite clear is that Mitchell loves what he does. It’s why he’s so committed to his growers. It’s why you’ll find him working in the middle of the night. For a guy who wasn’t really a wine guy until age 35, Mitch has done quite well for himself. He hopes to build something truly great for his two sons. Certainly, Mitchell Katz Winery is on its way. Let’s just hope Mitch’s shoulders hold up long enough.
By Jason Barlow
