As founder, president and ‘el jefe’ of Crystal Basin Cellars, Mike Owen already wears many hats. He’s not afraid to put on a few more as the need arises.
Located in Camino, CA in the Apple Hill region, CBC is a bit of an oddity. Think of it as a co-op gone public. A bunch of friends got together and started making wine for fun. They soon realized that they had more than they could drink themselves so they started sharing it and then selling it.
Owen might be considered a bit of an oddity, as well. He takes on the role of renegade with great delight. In fact, he points out that the winery operates with “a certain lack of traditionalism.”
Take for example, the “Cuisine on Carson” event he founded. El Dorado County holds a lot of wineries and California holds several professional wine making associations. Not all of the wineries belong to all of the associations. The result? Maps that omitted a winery situated right next door to another on the road, because they belonged to different associations.
Owen started “Cuisine on Carson” four years ago as a way to bring together the various wineries in the Carson Road area of Apple Hill and increase the visibility of all, no matter which associations they’ve joined. By going beyond organizational limits, he’s created an event that grows each year. This year’s event featured eleven different vineyards. This provides a “consumer-facing project” rather than the traditional “winery-forward” perspective, says Owen.
Each participating winery or tasting room offers finger food and samples of their wines but with a catch: each sampler brings their own glass from site to site. The glass can be brought from home or purchased at the visitor’s first stop. Each tasting room provides water to rinse the glass before reuse. That decision came about because of feedback from one of the participating vendors.
“Some of the little guys have trouble washing as many glasses as people come,” he told Owen, and suggested the bring-your-own-glass concept. Owen agreed with the solution and an unofficial glass decorating contest has grown out of the idea.
Another unusual solution that Owen has instituted is Chateau Meax-Faux, an environmentally friendly 1.5L free-standing bag of Cabernet Sauvignon. The recyclable bag “has an 80% lower carbon footprint that a glass package and uses 90% less materials,” according to CBC’s Renegade Rag newsletter. With lower packaging costs, the wine can be sold at a lower price. The tasty vintage is dispensed through an spigot to reduce flavor loss.
“We all have a passion for winemaking and being social. We all enjoy what we’re doing and people respond in kind,” says Owen. Judging from the jovial crowd at the tasting room for “Cuisine on Carson,” Owen and his CBC companions are sharing their passion very well.
References:
Interview with Mike Owen: February 25, 2012
Crystal Basin Cellars: http://www.crystalbasin.com/
Crystal Basin Cellars Renegade Rag Newsletter, Spring 2012