Established companies of any sort rarely get the chance to completely reinvent and reinvigorate themselves, and that’s even more the case when it comes to family-owned enterprises, where legacy and longevity are ever-present considerations. Add “winery” to that description — in which styles, grapes, vineyards, and customers are ideally developed into a reliable and comfortable formula — and the opportunity for rebirth is quite remote.
But when it can happen, and happen in honest, open-minded ways, the energy is exciting and infectious. I’ve experienced that numerous times recently when hanging out with the Gleason family and their team: specifically, winemakers Max Marshak and Kat Gaffney, who’ve taken the reins of both Refugio Ranch (founded by the Gleasons a decade ago) and Roblar Winery (purchased by them almost four years ago), and the recently hired Peter Cham, the chef now in charge of food service at Roblar, sourcing primarily from the adjacent Roblar Farm.
“For everybody, it’s becoming a process of discovery,” Marshak told me one brisk morning last December, as we tasted through dozens of wines, jumping through differently fermented barrels of sauvignon blancs from both vineyards, fascinating syrahs and petite sirahs from Refugio, well-structured Bordeaux varieties from Roblar, and much more. “We’re not in control of the narrative, but we’re writing the story,” he said toward the end of that visit, sipping from a zippy pet-nat of sangiovese. “It’s happening live.”