Ramona Valley Vineyard Association

Hellanback for Good Wines

Ramona Sentinel, published 9/23/10

Article by Elaine Lyttleton

Ruth Stafford Peale’s life motto was, “Find a need and fill it.”  Here in the Ramona Valley, John York of Hellanback Ranch (and now Limited Wholesale Winery) has been seeing needs and filling them over and over again.

York’s day job is a management consultant.  But outside of that, he is up to his neck in wine.  His passion for the fruit of the vine has led him to fill his “spare” time with growing grapes, helping others plant grapes, making award winning wine for Pamo Valley Winery, www.pamovalleyvineyards.com for the past three years, making his own wine, consulting to other home and commercial wineries in the area on making wine, teaching classes about making wine, and talking to groups about tasting, pouring, food pairings and making wine.  He also instructs restaurant personnel on wine tasting, and the protocol of presenting wines to their patrons.

York is program chairman for the Ramona Valley Vineyard Association (RVVA), www.ramonavalleyvineyards.org and a member of the San Diego Amateur Wine Making Society, www.SDAWS.org.  Many home and wannabe commercial winemakers in the Ramona AVA have turned to him, primarily when they have a problem during their wine making process.  He has done so much of this urgent response to wine makers he now carries a doctor’s bag with essential tools and supplies for his emergency house calls.

Several months ago, he put together a two-hour seminar he labels, “Winemaking for Beginners, Cliff Notes of Winemaking”.  He says, “It’s actually about avoiding wine disasters.  I took all the problems I was seeing at the emergency calls I was making, and summarized points on what not to do.”  Held in his small winery, he sold out the first class, and recently held a second one, also to a capacity audience.  Sold out is a relative term, the seminars have been free.  He says the one held August 7^th will be his last one, at least for awhile since harvest and wine making season is fast approaching.  He also predicts SDAWS and perhaps the RVVA will be doing more seminars.

York was assisted in the two classes by Lum Eisenman, author of “The Home Winemakers Manual”, the bible of wine making for San Diego County vintners.  It is available free (what is it with these guys and everything free?) on line at www.winebook.webs.com.  Joey Hollacher, President of SDAWS was also there to give tips on the topic.

The audience included wine makers such as Michole Moore and Teri Kerns of Ramona Ranch Winery (soon to be bonded) who are making very good wine now but say, “We want to be even better.  We learn something at every seminar we attend”.  Several couples in attendance have small home vineyards and want to make some wine for their personal use, and a few others have commercial vineyards and are getting ready to take the next step to commercial wineries. 

When asked why he gives so much to his wine making community, he responds “In order to achieve quality wines and preserve our Ramona AVA’s reputation for quality premium wines, we need to insure everyone, even the home winemakers in the area, are making the best possible wine they can.”