Cecil O. De Loach, Jr.
b. September 14, 1938, Andalusia, AL
As a post-Prohibition grape-grower and winemaker working with traditional vitis vinifera (or "noble") grapes in the Russian River Valley AVA, Cecil De Loach is a modern-day wine industry pioneer who contributed significantly to the reputation and notoriety of Sonoma County, California viticulture.[1]
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Prior to his name-making career in viniculture, De Loach was a United States Marine Corps sharpshooter, a race-track photographer at Golden Gate Fields, a private pilot, and received a degree in Anthropology from San Francisco State University. During his childhood he was raised in Macon, GA where he attended Lanier High School, an all-boys school. His family subsequently moved to San Francisco in the 1940s.[2] He graduated from Lincoln High School in San Francisco's Sunset District in 1956.
De Loach began growing grapes in 1970 when he purchased the 24-acre Barbieri Ranch at 2150 Olivet Road in Santa Rosa, CA for approximately $60.000. The Barbieri Ranch had been planted by Itilo Barbieri in 1905. De Loach purchased the old zinfandel vineyard from Italo's son Louis.[3]
Zinfandel grapes were not prized as a variety at the time and could only be sold as "mixed black grapes", fetching the lower end of the price scale for wine grapes. Vineyards in the early 1970s, especially older plantings, were being removed in favor of more profitable crops. Prune, apple, hay and dairy farming were still prominent in Sonoma County agriculture at the time.
Each harvest De Loach sold his grape crop under contract to the Sonoma County Cooperative Winery in Windsor, CA. He became president of that organization in 1972 and held this position until the cooperative winery's sale in 1982.
In 1973 he purchased his second vineyard property, 17 acres located at 1791 Olivet Road, to which he planted Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Gewurztraminer. The site also comprised approximately five acres of 1940s-era mixed-grape vineyards (mostly Palomino and Golden Chasselis), a "promiscuous" orchard of approximately 5 acres (Gravenstein apples, figs, Santa Rosa plums, peaches, French prunes, pears, walnuts), and a small sheep-sheering barn. This site became what is now De Loach Vineyards.
These early De Loach plantings combined modern ecologically sound techniques with gentle time-honored farming traditions including the planting of tilth- and nutrient-producing native cover crops, rotating-row tillage, drip irrigation, micro-frost protection, permanent cover farming, and the integration of beneficial birds, animals and biological components which eventually became known as sustainable farming. De Loach's wife Christine helped draft the first California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing in 1999. De Loach Vineyards was the first farming operation in Sonoma County to be certified as a Fish-Friendly Farm, in 2000.
In 1975 De Loach made his first commercial wine, approximately 1000 cases of Zinfandel from the Barbieri Ranch, in a rented industrial space on the west side of Santa Rosa. While selling the new wine he successfully sought permits for a permanent winery to be built at 1791 Olivet Road. The first phase of the three-phase construction was completed in 1979. In addition to Zinfandel, that year the winery produced its first Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, White-Zinfandel and Pinot Noir-Blanc.
De Loach had been serving as a firefighter and tillerman in the San Francisco Fire Department, which he joined in 1966. He retired from the hook & ladder company Station 10 in 1982 in order to tend to the fledgling De Loach Vineyards brand full-time. The winery grew to produce other varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc (Fume Blanc), Merlot, Pinot Gris, Viognier, and Sangiovese, along with late harvest and reserve wines. In 1996 De Loach added a 250,000 case capacity crush facility at 2120 Olivet Road which was capable of processing in excess of 100 tons of grapes per day. Notable De Loach alumni winemakers include Bob Cabral of Williams-Selyem and Randy Ullom of Kendall-Jackson Winery.
During his tenure as Founder, President and Winemaster at De Loach Vineyards, De Loach served as president of the Sonoma County Vintners Association (aka Sonoma County Wineries Association), the Sonoma County Vintner’s Coop Warehouse, and the Russian River Wine Road. He created his eponymous De Loach Vineyards brand along with several other labels still in production including Hartman Lane Vineyards and Winery, Sonoma Cuvee, and Hook & Ladder, which was originally a port offering under De Loach's "OFS" (Our Finest Selection) reserve banner in the 1990s. At its peak De Loach Vineyards produced 250,000 cases, and owned or leased over 1000 planted vineyard acres in the Russian River Valley.
In November 2003 De Loach sold the De Loach Vineyards brand and the original winery site to Boisset Family Estates for $17.5 million just prior to emerging from an 8-month Chapter 11 (protection from creditors) bankruptcy proceeding pending reorganization.[4][5] Cecil De Loach and his farming company, Sweetwater Land & Cattle Company, retained ownership of the majority of his vineyard holdings.[6][7]
In December 2004 De Loach started C & C Wine Company, a custom-crush winery with offices at The Saitone Ranch at 2027 Olivet Road, a zinfandel vineyard which was planted in 1895. In the same month De Loach sold the 250,000 case capacity crush facility at 2120 Olivet Road to Derek Benham of Sonoma Wine Company for $6.2 million.[8]
In January 2005 he started Hook & Ladder Winery, at 2134 Olivet Road. Today Hook & Ladder Winery is operated by De Loach's son and grandchildren. Namesake wines made at Hook & Ladder in honor of De Loach's service in the fire department include "The Tillerman", a cabernet sauvignon blend, and "Station 10", a zinfandel blend.
In May 2005, Joe Anderson and Mary Dewane purchased Hartman Lane Vineyards and Winery from Cecil De Loach for $3.6 million. Hartman Lane was De Loach's 18-acre Pinot Noir vineyard and winery facility, which the new owners renamed Benovia Winery.[9] Prior to De Loach's ownership the site was originally home to celebrated Pinot Noir winemaker Merry Edwards' winery The Merry Vintners. Hook & Ladder Winery continues to produce the Hartman Lane Pinot Noir label.
Today De Loach lives with his wife Christine at the Los Amigos Ranch in Healdsburg, CA. He enjoys travel, gardening, raising animals and reading. He remains an avid car aficionado with a collection of classic American automobiles dating back to 1950s, including five models of the Willys-Overland 1950 series, several Corvette models, and a circa 1960 Jeep FC series custom-built fire engine, all of which were frame-off rebuilds intently supervised by De Loach himself.