Reel good wine vibes: Documentary focuses on Central Coast
Filmmaker chronicling winemaking industry found friendship and professional passion among vintners in SLO County
When a Santa Barbara County filmmaker scouted the state’s wine regions in search of industry know-how, he said he found good vibes in San Luis Obispo County.
“The people that make wine there are very, very focused and good at what they do but they don’t need to tell anybody that,” said Rob DaFoe, whose production “From Ground to Glass” appeared in the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2006.
“They’re unpretentious,” he said. “… You feel like you fit in.”
That was good for DaFoe, since his independent documentary was based on the quest to make wine with little money and understanding on what the process was all about.
San Luis Obispo County-based winemakers featured in the film include Chuck and Matt Ortman of Ortman Family Vineyards in Edna Valley; Gary Eberle of Eberle Winery in Paso Robles; and Mike Sinor of Sinor-LaVallee Wine Co. in Arroyo Grande.
The film also includes clips of other Central Coast vintners telling their stories.
The 75-minute documentary, released this month on DVD, included hands-on footage from Edna Valley and other areas, including Monterey, Santa Cruz, Sonoma and Santa Ynez.
Traveling from place to place based on vintner word of mouth, DaFoe learned firsthand about everything from harvesting grapes to crushing, fermentation and bottling.
After about three years, DaFoe, now of San Diego, made two barrels of Syrah — but not before hearing what many winemakers had to say about their lifestyles.
“(DaFoe) was really interested in finding out what drew my father and myself into the wine business, what inspires us,” said Matt Ortman, Chuck Ortman’s son.
Chuck Ortman founded Meridian Vineyards in 1979 and is one of the early visionaries of the Central Coast winemaking region.
In the film, the Ortmans are among many vintners who teach DaFoe the ways nature — in the form of temperatures and rainfall or drought — controls much of the harvest.
“There’s a lot more to it than people realize,” Matt Ortman says. “It’s not like you just pick the grapes and think, ‘Hey, they’re ripe now. This is easy.’ ”
It’s more about managing taste and flavor, Matt Ortman says in the film.
DaFoe experienced just that as he played a waiting game during his own grape harvest — judging when their maturity shaped the flavor he was after.
Chuck Carlson, an Arroyo Grande resident and Curtis Winery winemaker in Santa Ynez, helped DaFoe by guiding him right from the start.
Among his tips, Carlson pointed DaFoe toward Edna Valley to check out its pinot noir.
“And things blossomed from there,” DaFoe said. “It was ‘Hey, talk to this guy, talk to that guy, talk to her.’ ”
DaFoe said the stories he collected and the people he met are now some of his favorite memories.
“It is their passion for nature and knowledge and adventure and their passion for the lifestyle and friendship that has exposed me to another dimension of life and expression,” DaFoe says at the close of his film.