Westwood Winery

Article excerpt from Northbay Biz magazine
By: Christina Julian
One fine day, John Kelly woke up with the realization that, despite an advanced degree in biochemistry from UC Davis, a career in academia wasn’t exactly how he wanted to spend his days after all. He contemplated his next move over a glass of wine…one sip led to the next. Wine Country boondoggles then led to helping a bio-chem buddy with some garage winemaking. Said friend, Bert Urch, then made the leap into commercial winemaking in 1984 with Westwood Winery. Kelly’s career aspirations in biochemistry melted away, and his roots in the wine world were planted.

Some roots are hard to ignore
“Being able to think as a scientist has let me pursue winemaking in a very focused manner. It’s also let me interact with wine scientists from all over the world,” says Kelly. “I’ve had very fruitful, intellectual contacts with people at the AWRI [Australian Wine Research Institute] and a number of people in South Africa, Italy and France. I’ve been able to discuss wine production issues at a very high level.”

Kelly credits his scientific background for his formal entrée into the wine industry. “My experience in the academic field gave me direct access to jobs at Stags’ Leap and Sonoma-Cutrer,” he says. “They needed somebody who could do research.” Prior to those posts, Kelly managed a high-end wine shop in Davis. It was here he helped sell the first vintage of Westwood Wine, a 1984 Lake County Pinot Noir. click here for full article and scroll down to Westwood Winery

Clif Family Winery and Farm

Excerpt from NorthBay biz magazine... Nutrition and fitness? A likely pairing. Wine and food? Another winning combination. Health food and wine? A bit of a stretch—or so I thought until my visit with Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford, the ever-fit, ever-active founders and owners of Clif Family Winery & Farm. The same dynamic duo that put “taste” into energy bars through another little venture, Clif Bar & Company. Erickson got his start in the kitchen during his high school years under the tutelage of his mother and grandmother. His first commercial endeavor came in 1986, with Kali’s Sweets and Savories, which went on to become Clif Bar & Company in 1992. “I started to enjoy wine when I was in Italy, traveling around the world. I spent several months there, climbing and cycling” says Erickson, “but at every meal, it seemed like someone was having a glass of wine. It was just part of the meal.” Crawford’s start in the business came from a different (yet similar) passion. “I grew up in a family that didn’t drink wine, so my introduction came when I lived in San Francisco as a dancer. I worked at a shop where they made handmade pastas and sold Italian wines. The wines of Italy are how I developed my appreciation for wine.” Click here and scroll down for full article.