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Wine Wine Leaders Leaders Building Balanced for the Next Wines Generation An Interview with Randall Lange, An Interview with Bruce Cakebread, Co-Founder and Head of Winery Operations, President and Chief Operating Offi cer, Cakebread Cellars Cakebread Cellars in Rutherford, California (above); Cakebread Pinot Noir (left) LangeTwins Family Winery & Vineyards LangeTwins Family Winery in Acampo, California EDITORS’ NOTE Bruce Cakebread I started working with my dad in Sustainability is an important aspect of all EDITORS’ NOTE During the 1870s, based on the ladies being able to make the a fee, taking the profi t of that business and buying fi rst studied Pomology (Tree Fruits) 1978 and began as winemaker in 1979, wineries in Napa Valley – the Napa Green Land Johann and Maria Lange settled in family income. land, and then developing our own vineyards. at California Polytechnic University when we were doing about 10 barrels. and Napa Green Winery programs act as that um- Lodi, California and began a family For those who are interested In 2005, we decided to build the winery. Our in San Luis Obispo. When he de- In the mid-1980s, my brother brella for the vineyards: sustainable farming, farm growing nonirrigated water- in owning land in the Lodi area and kids said they wanted to take it to the next level cided to enter the family business, Dennis came onboard full-time (he’d organic farming, and biodynamic farming all fi t melons with their son, Albert. The acre- putting a vineyard on it, we are still and develop a winery, so they came to the family he transferred to the Viticulture and worked weekends and harvests for under that Napa Green Land program. age grew year over year, and by 1916, a turnkey operation. We plant the advisory council with a basic outline of how they Enology program at the University of years) to manage the business side of We’re really trying to take care of the soils and they had their family’s fi rst vineyard. vineyards, secure the contracts for the wanted to approach it. We felt we needed to build California at Davis. After work- things. Today, he is our VP of Sales and to make sure the river stays healthy. We have all of It was on this ranch where Albert’s grapes, and make sure we have places this for the next generation. ing alongside his father since the Marketing, as well as Chair of the Board our acreage enrolled in the program and should son, Harold, was born in 1920. Albert to take those grapes. We farm it from When I talk about generations, I’m talking winery was founded, Cakebread as- of Directors. have all 560 acres certifi ed by year’s end. In 2008, we and Harold’s ranch expanded to in- beginning to end. about sixth, seventh, and eight, and even ninth and sumed the winemaking position in We have evolved over those 40 became Napa Green Winery certifi ed. clude the River and the DeVries Road If you were to do that as a prop- tenth. We felt that in order for the Lange genera- 1979, where he was responsible for years and it has been fun to see how Our family business is in it for the long term, Ranches. They continued the tradition erty owner, you take risk, which is tions to be able to sit down and remain an agricul- overseeing all vineyard operations Bruce Cakebread Napa Valley wines have grown. so we want to be able to take care of our valley of working the vineyards and, in 1974, Randall Lange predominantly dealing with Mother tural-based company, we had to fi nd ways to add and winemaking duties until 2002 What has been your strategy for and our properties in a responsible way to ensure they decided to farm on their own. Nature, but there’s market risk too. If value to the farm gate. We had to fi nd a way of when he became President and COO. He is cur- fi nding a sweet spot in the market? they can continue to produce great wines 40 years Harold had twin sons, Randall and Bradford, who in the spring you get a cold frost that takes the not remaining a per-ton grower – in other words, rently the President of the Napa Valley College We always make wines that we can drink from now. continued the farming tradition, but broke away crop, it still takes the same amount of invest- sign a contract with a winemaker, sell it to them Foundation Board, serves on the Viticulture and because if we can’t sell them, at least we can drink It’s not only about what we do in the vine- in 1974 to form their own ‘LangeTwins’ partner- ment whether you make a profi t or not. by the ton, and that’s the end of it. This makes it a Enology Executive Leadership Board at U.C. Davis, them. The hope is that there are other people that yard but also about encouraging our employees ship. As the youngest generation grew up on the What the management business does is commodity and we had to add a specialty to what is an alternate on the Napa County Flood Control will enjoy the results of what we do. to do things like recycling at home. River Ranch, they developed an appreciation for make it possible for us to take the risk out of our we did. District, and is past President of the Board of Napa With that, we’ve always shown very nicely Would you talk about the continuous in- winegrowing by working summers and at harvest own farming. We bought 120 acres from my dad, so I focused on building the winery, but it’s built Valley Vintners Association, serving in 2010 and balanced wines leading with nice fruit character vestments you make in the vineyard? time. After college, they each decided to return to the if it frosted and took our crop, we suffered, on that same business model – we do custom wine in 2013. because we’re blessed with great vineyards in We work really hard to develop the vine- family farm, and a winery was built in 2006 to ver- because it took our year’s income. However, with management for a lot of different people, and that Napa Valley. Today, we have 560 acres of vine- yards responsibly. We take care of the water that tically integrate and expand the operation utilizing the management company, a check came in every takes the risk out of our ownership of the win- WINERY BRIEF Since its founding in 1973, yards across 14 very distinct properties throughout runs off the vineyards so it can return to its natural the talents of the ‘new kids.’ month regardless. ery. We’re slowly building our processing and our Cakebread Cellars (cakebread.com) has been fa- Napa Valley and Mendocino County’s Anderson path to reduce any sedimentation. An example In that period of time, there were fi ve kids wine-making through our own winery, and as our mous for its warm, gracious hospitality and un- Valley. In addition, we also have a great group would be using cover crops and compost to not WINERY & VINEYARDS BRIEF For fi ve genera- born – my wife and I have three children, and my programs grow, we will take less of the wine man- matched wines. With over 40 harvests under their of long-term grower partners who we have been only keep the soil and its nutrients healthy but the tions, the LangeTwins Family Winery & Vineyards brother and his wife have two children. So by 2006, agement business. belt and the second generation now running the working with since we started, and our long- surrounding environments as well. If we do that, (langetwins.com) has been growing sustainable we were a nine-member family. Also, by then, Bob The winery is a large one. We harvested 26,000 business, the family winery has become one of the standing relationship with them provides us with the vines will be healthy. wine grapes in the Lodi appellation. In 2006, they Mondavi had come back to Lodi and started what tons of grapes last year and processed 15 different most successful and respected wineries in America, continuity of quality. In addition, over this past year, we have put opened a winery to showcase their passion for grow- we called in those days “Bob Red” and “Bob White” varietals. We make around 4.4 million gallons of renowned for its world-class vineyards, wines, and How has technology impacted the wine- in a cutting-edge parking lot, which actually fi l- ing wine grapes. Building on their successes as a at Woodbridge. Over a few years, that progressed wine a year, of which 14 percent is sold as case hospitality. making process? ters the storm water that comes off the property vineyard management company, the winery was to Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi and, by 2005, goods. The rest is shipped for our custom crush We’re focused on getting the most potential instead of having the water run straight off of as- their fi rst step into crafting wines made solely from it had grown to a seven- or eight-million case clients, or sold as bulk wines, leaving the winery in Would you talk about the history and heritage out of each vine. phalt. Filtering this water removes the pollutants, their estate vineyards. Since opening, they have program. 6,500 gallon tankers.