The businesses in Lake County are authentic and hardy and each one has a unique reason they chose to open their doors here. Cheryl Lucido, proprietor/vintner at Laujor Estate in Kelseyville, recently sat down with Lake County Regional Economic Development Committee member Rebecca Southwick for a conversation.
RS: How did you start doing business in Lake County?
Lucido: We were invited to a friend’s home/vineyard — they’re now neighbors — in the Red Hills area of Kelseyville for a cheese and wine tasting. The next morning my husband and I said “We love this area and want to be here.” That day, we started looking for property, actually getting out of our vehicles and walked many different vacant properties. We began contacting property owners to see if they were interested in selling.
We took several runs at this property, calling and calling the then owner, Polly Ferk; she was 92 years old, and lived in Texas. At the time, I had a real estate license, so I wrote up a real estate contract and mailed it to her, hoping for the best. She phoned us to say I have signed the contract and said “Thank you for not trying to take advantage of me. I’m not stupid just because I’m 92. The property is yours.” We closed within two weeks.
We purchased the property in 2004, built our home in 2005, and we planted the vineyard in 2006. After all that, we discovered that there was a glut of Cabernet grapes and we couldn’t sell them. So I said, “If I can’t sell the grapes, I’ll have to make the wine.” It started with reading and passion. I read every book I could on winemaking and fermentation science and I ordered a ton of books that UC Davis recommended on starting a winery, making wine, and viticulture. I was so excited about it and became so passionate that I decided to go back to school at UC Davis. I took their entry exam and was placed on a wait list for a year, and then got into the program. The classes were quite costly, so I took some time off and began the process of making wine.
I heard about a program that Lake County offered to residents called “One Stop”. It was a grant for employment as well as educational assistance for potential employment. I applied to get my credentials in Viticulture and Enology and this program paid for a portion of my educational classes. The One Stop grant made it possible for me to get through school. I worked at Cougar’s Leap Winery for a season, which helped me financially and gave me some tasting room experience.
I’m one of those people who believe that if you want something, you must just go and get it. I always tell my kids that when you wake up in the morning, do what you love and make as much money as you possibly can. You can’t wake up and just sit around.
The wine industry is challenging — I mean there’s a lot of competition. You have to put out your best product. I’m a young winemaker, just since 2009, so I have to believe in my abilities and really work hard to learn as much as those 30, 35, 40 year winemakers who I respect. They have such incredible knowledge. I have days when I can be my worst enemy and days when I can be my best advocate. I guess it’s the same with any job, really.
RS: What is your favorite part of doing business in Lake County?
Lucido: The people. The local people are amazing. They’re so unbelievably supportive. They attend events here and shower me with compliments. When Laujor wines won three medals in the Chronicle competition, people sent me flowers and cards and I was like, “How nice is that?” They know how hard I work and they know that it takes time, so they’re very supportive of me and I love that. I believe in Lake County, and the community is supportive right back. You get back what you put out. My grandmother always said that good things happen to good people.
RS: What challenges does your business face?
Lucido: Financial challenges. Absolutely. It’s a business where a lot of money goes out to keep it going. If you don’t have a business plan and you don’t stick to it, you’re sunk in this business. My business plan is probably 200 pages long and even though I stick to it, it’s still a challenge. The production, barrels and bottling are probably the biggest financial pieces. You have to make sure that your sales are keeping up with your production and just produce what you can sell.
You also have to have that service level. You need to have a smile every single day when people walk through your door. And you know what? The people who walk through the door are so great that smiling is pretty easy to do. People who go wine tasting are happy.
When people drive up — to watch their faces when they see our view, it’s amazing. They’re taken aback. I feel it too. It’s this peaceful thing that just takes you over. You just have to remember to witness it every day. We live in a beautiful place and that’s easy to forget and take for granted. Visitors who stop in Lake County have the opportunity when they come here to appreciate what we already know about our beautiful countryside.
We go to wine tasting events in the Bay Area, and the most fun thing for us to do is to display our Lake County winery map and hear people say things like “Oh my goodness, my grandmother used to have a house there,” or “My uncle, or I know somebody who lives there now.” All of a sudden, you’re connecting with the people outside of the area, and they have great stories and memories about Lake County. It is amazing to me.
We also attend a wine event at the Twins Stadium in Minnesota every spring. When people ask “Where’s Lake County?” and we say we’re 16 miles north of the Calistoga/Napa area and they respond “Oh. My. God! You’re from Napa!?” we say “No, no, no, we’re not from Napa, we’re 16 miles north,” they’re intrigued that we would travel that far to represent Lake County, our small spot. Lake County is just such an incredible place, truly our little secret.
We’ve had people from Minnesota visit Lake County because they met us at that event. When we first started in the business and didn’t yet have a Tasting Room, we always asked ourselves “How do you get people to come to Lake County?” Well, you’ve got to go out there and get them! You can’t wait for it.
RS: When you look into your future, what are you most hopeful about?
Lucido: I’m most hopeful about the legacy that I leave. I think of the people that I’ve lost in my life and I remember the things about them that were amazing — and I hope that people remember things that I’ve done, people that I’ve touched. It’s important. This particular wine that I made, Collie’s Cuvee … my husband’s dad, Collie, died of cancer at age 59, and so we decided to create this blend to honor him. I’m always saying, “Oh my God, your dad would love this,” or “Your dad would love that.” He left this amazing legacy of a memory. The positive people in your life — you remember them. These people are gifts. That Cuvee won an award at the recent S.F. Chronicle wine competition.
Laujor Estate is located at 8664 Seigler Springs North Road, Kelseyville. The Tasting Room is open daily from 11 a.m. — 5 p.m. A loft above their Tasting Room is available for overnight stays or for small business meetings throughout the year. Simply call 707.279.2146 to make arrangements. Visit their website at www.laujorestate.com.
If you would like your business to be showcased in this regular feature, please send an email to EmbracetheLake@gmail.com.
