November 6, 2007

In wine there is truth

Pinder Winery celebrates a newharvest at annual crush party

By Jeanne C. Carbone
Editor

It used to be the fruit of the gods was made by a little old winemaker. No more, Campbell’s Pinder Winery is operated by John and Marie Pinder, a charming couple who are passionate about wine.

Marie Pinder pours a glass of chardonnay in the Pinder Winery tasting room for Patty Peterson.

The Pinders recently held their annual crush barbecue party at the winery’s Cristich Lane location. And yes, guests actually stomped grapes the old fashioned way.

“If you’re a child at heart you have to try it,” said Rosaine Reza attending with fiancé Joel McCarthy, a Pinder Winery club member. “It’s great fun.”

The Pinder Winery grape stomp is only one of the yearly events the Pinders’ organize for members and guests. The couple, which attended UC Davis, has a passion for winemaking, which they originally bottled out of their Cambrian Park home. In time, they outgrew their kitchen and garage facilities. In 2001, the team, an engineer and an educator, decided to open their very own winery. Pinder Winery opened their doors that year and wine devotees are glad they did.

“We’re very passionate about making wine,” said Marie Pinder. “We were home winemakers for 10 years. We enjoyed tasting and traveling and it just mushroomed. We looked for a location, and here we are six years later.”

A passion for wine turned a home based hobby into Pinder Winery for John Pinder.

Pinder Winery started with one building one varietal, Zinfandel. They now occupy two spaces at the Cristich location as well as creating the outside crush pad and becoming the first winery in Campbell. All the wine production from crush through bottling and packaging are done on site. They purchase grapes from all over California depending on the wine they are producing.

Pinder Winery specializes in pinot noir and syrah grown in the Santa Lucia Highlands as well as mourvedre, grenache and viognier from the Santa Cruz Mountains. The grapes are fermented in large French wine barrels. And their wine tasting room has the ribbons establishing their skill as winemakers: gold medals for the pinot noir and silver and bronze for their cabernet, syrah and mourvedre. Pinder also produces cabernet, merlot, petite sirah and chardonnay.

So successful is Pinder Winery they now have become a custom crush facility. Three independent wineries, Heart’s Fire, Travieso and Stroth Hall, use the facilities to produce wine under their own labels with Pinder as the parent bonding winery.

“We’ve had an incredible interest in the valley,” said John Pinder who has 25-years of wine making experience. “Ten percent of our visitors are making their own wine at home. You get hooked real easy.”

The wine crush is the Pinders’ way of celebrating their customers who they “love.” The couple had just released their new syrah and mourvedre and the tasting started. A barbecue from Andy’s [now in Santa Clara] followed with a full array of smoked meats, sausages and ribs with all the trimmings. And then the more daring souls bared and washed their feet and gently climbed into the crush pads.

“We always liked to watch the Lucy episode where she crushes grapes,” said Pinder Winery member Francine Hopkins, right with Elizabeth Hopkins.

“We always liked to watch the Lucy episode where she crushes grapes,” said Pinder Winery member Francine Hopkins who was joined by daughter Elizabeth to stomp the grapes. “Now we’re doing it. It’s a lot of fun but does feel strange. But the wine is the real reason we’re here.”

Aficionados of Pinder are an exuberant group who like good wine and fun. A T-shirt proclaims “in wine there is truth.” They come from all over the Bay Area as well as the Campbell residents who have discovered Pinder Winery.

“I was probably in the majority to be surprised that there was a winery in Campbell,” said Campbell resident Patricia Appelquist. “I will definitely be a customer of theirs for a long time to come. I really enjoy the taste of their wines; it isn’t harsh and the fact that some of their wines are unfiltered gives you a heartier wine with honest tastes.”

The annual crush party is only one way the Pinders’ give back to the community. Marie hosted a wine tasting and auction to raise money for the Philanthropic Educational Organization to promote education opportunities for women on Nov. 3.

“The Pinders’ do a wonderful job,” said member Harry Maurrer, who visits nine counties wine tasting annually. “If it wasn’t a good winery we wouldn’t come back. There is a lot of craftsmanship in their wine and they love what they do. And they share it with a few 100 friends.”

Pinder Winery is open Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for wine tasting, which costs $5 and will be applied to a purchase. They are located at 165 Cristich Lane, Campbell. (408) 684-2601. Or visit www.pinderwinery.com.