Larkspur sommelier heads to the vineyards

Kevin Furtado to spend three months making wine in Santa Barbara County

Through friends, Furtado had the good fortune to meet the owner of Cuatro Vientos vineyards, a six-acre vineyard where syrah and viognier grapes are grown. 揅uatro Vientos?means four winds and describes the climate of its location in Los Olivas. Furtado has lived on the property during each of his winemaking stints.

揟hat抯 where the romance ends,?Furtado said, laughing. 揟he truth is, wine-making is agriculture. It抯 long hours and hard physical labor.?

Once the grapes are harvested, smaller vineyard owners either sell their grapes or make wine within a co-op.

The co-op is a custom crush facility for small wineries that don抰 own their production equipment ?fermenters, a bottling line, barrel storage, crush pads, filters and a variety of other specialized tools. Some of the wineries that share the facilities at Central Coast Wine Source include Red Car, Bonnacorsi, The Hitching Post (made famous in the movie Sideways), Arcadian, Point Concepcion, Lane Turner and several others. Furtado has learned so much from watching and helping these winemakers with their operations, he said.

Furtado抯 efforts will come to fruition this spring with the release of his first vintage ?a 2007 Syrah. The grapes were sourced from Alisos and McGinely Vineyard and the wine was made at Central Coast Wine Source under the tutelage of Seth Kunin.

揥e are all striving toward the same goal of development of a great tasting wine and pride in the endeavor,?Furtado said.