At Cape Cod Cellars, we always want to hear from intriguing men and women in the business, entertainment, literary, and sports circles. We ask them to share what they are up to and their thoughts on wine and leisure. Today we are fortunate to talk with Angelo Pera who is one of the owners and President of Mountain View Vineyards in Napa California.

Tim:
Angelo, thanks for joining us. And, in full disclosure, here at Cape Cod Cellars, we love the wines produced by Angelo and work with him on several varietals.

Angelo:
Thank you, Tim. It’s nice to get away from the usual day-to-day in the fields and talk to you.

Tim:
How did you get started in the industry?

Angelo:
Oh gosh, not the typical route. My parents were more concerned about getting an education and getting a financial grounding. So, I went to business school after college and then dug in deep in wine training and certification. There is so much about the wine industry that requires fundamental business matters. That’s why my daughters are going through the same route, learning about the business aspects. It’s a real family business for us now.

Tim:
How many vineyards would you say are in your network?

Angelo:
We have 19 different vineyards all over the state of California and that was part of my B school training. The problem for some winemakers is if you buy just one property, that property has just one climate and possibly 1,2 varietals. We wanted many varietals and thus they are in different parts of the state.

Tim:
How old are some of the vineyards?

Angelo:
I have been in the industry for 27 years and we have vines that date back to the 1970s. Some vines have been phased out, some replanted, depending on the vineyard.

Tim:
Why this area? What makes the grapes grow well here after being planted?

Angelo:
It depends on the grape. Take Chardonnay for example. Chardonnay is a grape that can grow anywhere, hot, cold, north-south. However, not so much with Cabernet. Our Cabernet Sauvignon is different, ours grows in Paso Robles, not Monterey as it isn’t warm enough. But Pinot Grigio is ok to grow in Monterey.

Tim:
Let’s talk about the Winemaking Process

Angelo:
It is a complex process and going back to the earlier question, the climate has a lot to with it and each grape is different, thus the planting, fermentation, oaking is different depending on the grape and location. For example, we have 3 different vineyards where we grow Pinot Noir because those grapes are very mild and thin-skinned. A Pinot Noir grape from Santa Maria is very different from a Pinot Noir from the Monterey mountains where it is hot in the day and cool in the evenings. I age the Santa Maria grapes much longer, a whole year.

Tim:
Pinot Noir is thin-skinned and they can get sunburned?

Angelo:
Yes, and it is important to keep in mind with thin-skinned grapes, we don’t keep them in oak barrels for more than six months, as we don’t want the oak to drown out the grape taste.

Another example is Merlot. Our Santa Maria Merlot is more inland and it can be a more flabby, mediocre grape so when we pick that fruit, I will do extended maceration, perhaps 14-15 days before putting it in barrels.

Tim:
What is the difference between Oak v. Steel barrels?

Angelo:

Well, important to note we only use French oak barrels now and with oak barrels, different tannins are picked up. With Cabernet Sauvignon, you need really good French oak barrels. But with Chardonnay, in the rest of the world, consumers are used to a more acidic Chardonnay taste and that means steel barrels as it is a way to age it without flavors. However, In the states, there is a big push for oak, buttery Chardonnay and thus steel barrels aren’t used or as important. You have to remember that with oak barrels, you have to limit the toast. It is like a chef having a drawer of spices.

Tim:
Ever had a year that was just awful, awful for the industry?

Angelo:
Well, 2020 wasn’t a good year, in addition to the pandemic, there were a lot of fires but luckily we have vineyards from all over the state and not too many up north where the forest fires were, we were lucky but we are prepared. 2017 was another bad year due to fires.

Tim:
Do you ever dump grapes if they don’t meet your standards?

Angelo:
It’s not so much that we don’t dump them, we don’t even pick them. We have crop insurance so we are protected, gives us quality control, going back to my business school background, to limit risks. Winemakers who don’t have crop insurance might take that risk. I don’t and won’t move bad grapes.

Tim:
Bringing it back to the consumer, Let’s talk about the tasting room? What goes on there and where do people come from? Groups?

Angelo:
Our tasting room is a great way to get direct feedback from customers and friends too. Started it about nine years ago. It was scary at first as I didn’t know what to expect but it has been great. It got me nervous and elevated my game and our wines have been elevated. Also, in the tasting room, we don’t limit it to just our wines. About half are imported from other countries. We have our Pinot Noir but also a French Burgundy Pinot Noir. And we have people from all over the world.

Tim:
Do you have a personal favorite grape?

Angelo:
I like Cabernet Sauvignon as I can put my own influence into it and ours is a real expression of my tastes and interests. I also like Italian wines, particularly Barolo.

Tim:
Do you ever drink beer or whiskey?

Angelo:
Ah good one. Not a beer drinker but sometimes I will drink Scotch. I actually had a friend who bought a barrel of Scotch and after 15 years and lots of red tape, he had 25 cases made for his own consumption. For fun, my friend and I swapped cases and the scotch was fun, tasted different.

Tim:
How do you stay in shape around all the cheese, crackers, and wine?

Angelo:
Well, I surf. In fact, I joined a group “surfers and winemakers” My family now laughs at me as I used to say “I am heading out to the vineyard” and then they would see a surfboard on my car.

Tim:
(Laughter) Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? Right here?

Angelo:
Oh, I love what I do. I don’t t think I will ever “not work”. Perhaps I will wind down eventually in several years from working seven days a week to four days. I hope my two daughters and son might take an interest..it’s a real family business.

Tim:
Sounds like a good life and a great plan. Angelo Pera, President of Mountain View, thank you so much for spending time with us and sharing a little bit about you, the vineyards, and the winemaking process.

Angelo:
Thank you, Tim. It’s been great.