The story of Cline Family Cellars begins when seven brothers of the Jacuzzi family moved from Casarsa, Italy to California at the turn of the century. Filled with ambition in the land of opportunity, the brothers invented the first closed cockpit on an airplane. Then they created an efficient injector pump, which led to them inventing the spa that we know as a Jacuzzi. From there, Valeriano Jacuzzi would move to Oakley and buy farms to plant vineyards and start making wine.
(This article was written for GrapeBunch, our weekly wine periodical. Click here to read the original!)
Fred Cline is the son of one of Valeriano Jacuzzi's daughters, and as a child Fred spent a lot of time with Valeriano; helping him in the vineyard and during winemaking. Being raised with such a passion for wine, Fred was destined to do this for the rest of his life.
Valeriano passed away in 1973, and in 1982 Fred used what he received as an inheritance to purchase what was once the Firpo Winery and renamed it Cline Cellars. Not only was this the oldest winery and vineyard property in Oakley, but also home to some of the oldest vines in the entire state. The Mourvèdre, Carignane, Palomino, and Zinfandel planted here are 80 to 100 years old!
Nancy was an enormous part of the Cline winery since the beginning, and the two married in 1986. In 1989 they purchased more historic vineyard land, this time in Sonoma, which was perfect for French varietals. They made the decision to move the actual winery there in 1992, while keeping that original Oakley property. You can see the Cline tasting room in Sonoma, an 1850's farmhouse, in a picture above. Planted here is Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah, and Viognier.
That's not all that's at the Sonoma winery, however. There are donkeys and a carp pond. But this land is the location of Mission San Fransico de Solano, which was the twenty-first and last Mission in Alta California. To honor this, Nancy established the California Mission Museum on the property in 2005 which charges no fee to visit. Inside are to-scale models of every California Mission, made for the 1939 World's Fair. The museum is also occupied by a life size replica of Junípero Serra, the Franciscan friar who planted the first vineyards within the land that would one day be USA's California.
In the mid-90's they purchased land in Petaluma, where the vineyards have Syrah, Viognier, and Pinot Gris planted. Then in 2007, as a tribute to Valeriano Jacuzzi, they founded Jacuzzi Family Vineyards right across the street from their Sonoma winery. Jacuzzi focuses solely on Italian varietals and styles.
All of the Cline Vineyards are dedicated to sustainable farming, and have been certified as such since 2000. They use organic cover crops, make compost teas, and do everything they can to be environmentally conscious. They have sheep and goats to eat the weeds, "mow" the cover crops, and, errrr, deposit fertilizer. Cline also became the second largest winery in California to be 100% solar powered.
Of course, the most important piece of a winery's direction in style comes from the winemaker. Cline's winemaker Charlie Tsegeletos started his career in 1980 and has been with Cline since 2002. His reds are bold and dark with big fruit, while his whites are vibrant and fresh. So without further-ado, let's check out his wines...
Joey Casco
Beverage Marketer
Certified Specialist of Wine
Certified Specialist of Spirits
Visit our official website: LukesCapeCod.com
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