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Two well-known wineries, Mirassou Winery and J. Lohr Winery, operate within the city limits of San Jose, California, the capital of Silicon Valley.

Fifteen acres of vineyards remind visitors to Mirassou of the winery's once-rural setting, although new housing developments encroach all around. An attractive Spanish-influenced building contains the tasting room and winery, while a 1926 heritage house provides an intimate setting for winemaker dinners, cooking classes and receptions.

The Mirassou story began in 1854, when Pierre Pellier (great-great-grandfather to the present-day Mirassous) settled in the eastern foothills of the fertile Santa Clara Valley, where he planted fine varietal cuttings he'd brought from his native France. Pellier's oldest daughter, Henrietta, married a neighboring vintner, Pierre Huste Mirassou, also from France, who joined his father-in-law in a thriving family wine making business.

In the years that followed, the second and third generations faced some serious setbacks, including the outbreak of phylloxera in 1894, which destroyed virtually all of California's vineyards, and the advent of Prohibition in 1919. Through these hardships, they continued growing grapes, perfecting their art and pioneering new ideas.

As Santa Clara County grew and land became scarce, fourth generation brothers, Ed and Norb, began the search for other areas in California suitable for grape growing. In 1961, after three years of extensive research into soil and climate conditions, they, along with Ed's oldest son Peter, planted the first commercial vineyards in Monterey County's Salinas Valley. Monterey County has since been designated a viticultural appellation.

Now, Ed's fifth generation sons Peter, Jim and Daniel take a progressive approach to the traditional art of winemaking that has made them instrumental in such industry breakthroughs as: controlled irrigation; the mechanical harvester/crusher; the mobile vineyard press; and night harvesting.

Today, Mirassou produces a full range of wines but is perhaps best known for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the family being the first to bring this classic Burgundian varietal to the New World. Although the winery uses oak barrels for aging, it still displays a few redwood vats dating from 1937. And its stainless steel tanks show some interesting "wrinkles" from a 1984 earthquake.

J. Lohr Winery, established in 1974, occupies a converted brewery on the edge of San Jose's downtown core. The winery exists because of Jerry Lohr's desire to return to his farming roots. The California land developer was born and raised on a farm in South Dakota.

Lohr believes in the edict: "Right grapes. Right place." In other words, the correct varietal selection planted in the appropriate setting.

In 1972, with then-partner Bernie Turgeon, he selected a 280-acre vineyard in the Arroyo Seco region of Monterey County as site for his cool weather varietals, including Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Valdiguie, a red varietal indigenous to southwestern France.

In the mid-1980s, he established his first Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards northeast of Paso Robles, an area with a climate similar to that of the Alexander Valley. This has since been expanded to more than 800 acres, with plantings also of Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

Lohr built a winery on the Paso Robles property in 1988, enabling the company to dedicate it to the production of red wines and the San Jose facility to the production of whites. However, all of the company's current products are available for sampling at the San Jose tasting room.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Mirassou Winery, 3000 Aborn Rd., San Jose CA 95135-1705, phone 1-408-274-4000.
J. Lohr Winery, 1000 Lenzen Ave., San Jose CA 95126, phone 1-408-288-5057.

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