Family, wine and legacy in the county of Sonoma

I don't know what you were doing during the pandemic, but the Lemus family went into the wine business and won awards.

Lemus Family Wine spokesperson Sylvia Lemus elaborates— “It was January 2021, the COVID Omicron surge was at its peak, we were meeting by Zoom with family members. One of the cousins brought it up as an idea for us to pursue and we all agreed. We found a local winemaker to work with us.”

Not surprisingly, pandemic wine sales were at an all-time high, but most people only drank it. They didn’t consider actually making it.

In a Forbes article published Oct. 29, 2020, (Wine Sales Soar During Pandemic Says Leading Wine Educator Kevin Zraly. (forbes.com) wine expert Kevin Zraly made a clever connection.

“The irony of all of this is Prohibition! Exactly 100 years ago in 1920, Prohibition began, and alcohol was banned by the government. Now, in 2020, the government has decided that alcohol is an essential business and wine sales are soaring. I recently read an article that said online wine sales are up more than 250% from last year. My retail sources tell me that wine sales are booming, up anywhere from 25 to 50-plus percent.”

Opportunity knocked for the entrepreneurial family Lemus. It didn’t hurt that they were all wine lovers.

“Sonoma County is a renowned wine region, and we knew we wanted to make exceptional wine similar to that which we have enjoyed for many years at our local prestigious wineries. It’s a misconception that Latinos don’t drink wine!”

The Lemus family brand is setting the record straight.

If you want something done, ask a Lemus

The Lemus are doers, not just Zoomers. In the middle of a pandemic fifteen accomplished vino-loving Lemus cousins aligned to create a family legacy in a bottle.

Their professions run the business and leadership gamut from education, politics, construction, marketing, banking … Santa Rosa-based Sylvia is a recently elected Cotati City Council member. Sylvia Lemus has a melodic voice and the patient, calm pleasant manner of a seasoned politician accustomed to dealing with a range of personalities. That no doubt goes a long way to brokering family accords. She’s the Lemus Family Wines spokesperson.

“We’re blessed to have many capable and experienced professionals within our family and our partnership. Our Lemus Family Wines partners have backgrounds in accounting, food services, insurance, law, administration, human resources, communications/media, marketing, sales, nonprofit/government work, and banking,” Sylvia Lemus said. “Many of our partners have their professional careers and are entrepreneurs and strongly engaged in the community.”

Once the Lemus crew made the decision, they went into full action mode. Sylvia Lemus has high praise for the female winemaker they chose to collaborate with.

“Once we knew we wanted to make wine, we began working with Lisa Bishop Forbes, an amazing and patient winemaker who helped us through the process of the winemaking business. She presented the different approaches to winemaking and helped us make the best decision for our first venture into wine.”

Drinking on the job required

Speaking of job perks, just how many rounds of tastings did Lemus board members have to have to arrive to reach a decision to move forward?

“Normally, we’ve had to taste the wine from three to five times and different variations to reach a decision we all agree is the wine we want to represent our label.”

It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it. Sylvia explains.

“The hard work was tasting a lot of wine samples before deciding which red and white to go with. We wanted to start with making wine that we knew wine lovers would appreciate, so we knew we wanted a red and a white wine. We worked with our winemaker to source the wine, we made a cabernet sauvignon and a chardonnay christened 2019 Primani cabernet sauvignon and 2019 Primani Chardonnay.”

Next in line is a Petit Syrah, and another Chardonnay. The name Primani is a combination of the words Primo (cousin) and Mani (the grandfather’s nickname). How did their wines find their unique flavors and nuances?

“As to the wine’s character, our winemaker shared with us that grapes contain naturally occurring chemical compounds that are also found in other fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, and nuts, so wine descriptions often include those words. Chardonnay can taste like apples and almonds, but we don’t add apples or almonds to the wine. Most of the “fruit” flavors in wines are found in the grapes. Oak barrels will give wines a toasty character along with flavors like vanilla, tobacco, and tea. The flavors really depend on what grape variety you’re working with, and where it’s grown. Climate and winemaking processes also impact the flavor profile, sometimes dramatically.”

Wine and personalities

When she is not engaged in local politics, Sylvia Lemus eats, sleeps, and dreams wine. And as Latinos, there’s always a little extra energy, romance, and heart in the mix.

I asked Sylvia if their wines have personalities? She doesn’t hesitate. They sound like living entities: “Our 2019 Primani cabernet sauvignon is committed and strong, yet gentle. We didn’t want a harsh or overpowering red. Our 2019 Primani Chardonnay is very fun loving.”

If they were people, who would they be?

“The flavorful, unforgettable Cabernet would be Maria Felix- [Mexican Cinema’s glorious, iconic superstar] and the Chardonnay would be Carlos Santana, bright, jazz, harmonious.”

Sylvia also likes to watch wine being made on TV. She recommends “Promised Land,” which recently dropped as a Netflix series.

“We enjoyed it because it depicted a Latino winemaking family. There was also a Spanish novela that was based in Sonoma called, “Vino el Amor,” https://www.univision.com/shows/vino-el-amor, they used local scenery and Sonoma wineries. Latinos are not always portrayed in wine entrepreneur situations, so we enjoyed watching these.”

Even Sylvia’s TV choices are motivational.

Succession vibes and family wine

With 15 Lemus family members to wrangle, my bet’s on Sylvia’s people skills when the voting begins.

Sylvia: “Every decision we make from the type of wine to pricing, to the label, and more has to be made by the majority of the group. We have 15 members in our partnership, so we need a majority in order to proceed.”

Interestingly, although there are bankers in the family, they funded it old school style. Fifteen Lemus Family Wine founders stepped up to form the nexus core with their own dollars.

“Our venture is privately financed; all the partners agreed to put in matching funds for the startup,” Lemus said.

The pooled personal investment went to hiring top wine designer/winemaker Lisa Bishop Forbes and after Sandra Lemus designed the label concept, the commission to render the house came down to an open contest.

“We knew it was important to pay tribute to our grandparents by including their first house they bought in Santa Rosa on the label of the house. It was very important because all of our childhood memories of holidays and gatherings are in the house.”

After an open contest, the commission went to local artist Brent Anderson, X-Men comic book artist https://www.comicartfans.com/comic-artists/brent_anderson.asp. Every superior wine needs a great label. For launching Lemus Family Wines, the sentimental value of the label was extremely important, but as importantly, the wines behind the gold framed black and white label, garnered awards.

The 2019 Sonoma County Primani cabernet sauvignon and 2019 Russian River Valley Chardonnay received silver medals at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair in October 2022. The Lemus clan believe in collaboration, respectful shared decision making by majority vote on everything, and inclusive family time sharing the building of their vintages.

It seems like a lot of people sitting around a table for every step. The tasting, marketing, sales, and running the business are delegated.

“Since we launched our business in early 2021, the majority of the group is fully involved in different aspects of the business. There are 15 of us and we have come up with an organizational structure based on everyone’s experience and background. But, at the moment we are overlapping areas to get through the initial needs we have to get the business growing.”

Eyes on the prizes

Awards sell wine. Lemus Family Wines scored silver medals in their first — and only competition.

Regulations for competitions require a certain ‘output.’ Case production restricts Lemus Family Wines entry into certain competitions.

“We’re just getting started, so as our output increases, we will be meeting qualifications to compete. We only entered one competition, the Sonoma County Harvest Fair Professional Wine Competition in 2022 and won two silver medals for our initial wines. As a small production wine label, we are not able to compete in some competitions because of the criteria to have a specific number of cases on hand during the competition. Our current output is between 200 and 300 cases. We project a similar number of cases for 2023-2024. We’re a boutique label and started small. We hope to compete in other wine competitions as the feedback we’ve received is that our wine is excellent.”

Next Primani offerings

There are new gems ripening in the Lemus storerooms.

“We have a 2020 cabernet sauvignon with grapes from the Dry Creek Valley region of Healdsburg, California. Our 2020 cabernet sauvignon is sassy and rich, and boasts a blend of cabernet sauvignon, Petite Sirah, and Zinfandel. We are excited to venture into new wines. For example, we just bottled a 100% Petite Sirah that we’re very happy with that 2020 Petite Sirah which we bottled last year can be described as fiery, although I hesitate to use the word ‘fiery’, because of the recent wildfires we’ve experienced in the region since 2017.”

Is Lemus Family Wines also focused on producing the bright white wines that California is world-famous for?

“Oh yes! We are also excited to share that we are bottling the new 2022 Russian River Valley Chardonnay in March. It’s a lively, vivacious wine.”

Wine appreciation

For those interested in the process prior to drinking, Lemus Family Winemaker Lisa Bishop Forbes explains the process:

“Making delicious wine is all about choosing the best grapes possible to give the style of wine you want. The winemaker’s job is to guide the process from tasting the grapes to managing the physical process in the winery. The sugar in the grapes is fermented by yeast (either added or naturally found on the fruit) into alcohol. White wine is made from the juice after the grapes are pressed. Red wine ferments on the skins to get its color and flavor. The Lemus Family red wines are fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged in French oak barrels. The Chardonnay is a blend of wine fermented and aged in stainless steel barrels and in older French oak barrels. It’s all about showcasing the flavors of the grapes with the oak being the “spice.” The aging time in barrels depends on the development of the flavors and mouthfeel, what I think of as the wine becoming harmonious. When everything tastes great, the wines get bottled.”

Sylvia Lemus adds, “After our wine is bottled, we store it for six months before it is ready for shipping and delivery. This gives the wine time to recover from bottling and smooth out. We’ve helped with the bottling of our wine, which then is stored for a period of time. We ultimately transfer our wine to a storage facility that also ships our wine orders for us. A personal touch that Lemus Family Wines has incorporated is to include local delivery made by one of our partners. I have personally delivered wine to Sonoma and other locations in the county. Currently, we sell our wine online through lemusfamilywines.com and ship nationally. We can also arrange for local deliveries.”

The legend behind the label

Photos of Papa Mani, the namesake, capture a handsome man that didn’t appear nearly as fun-loving as his 21st century descendants. Sylvia expounds: “Papa Mani was stern with his six sons because he wanted them to be on the right track, but he was generous and kind to his grandchildren. Funny, he had all boys, then the granddaughters started pouring in. So, we 'softened' our grandfather. He worked hard all his life and had much responsibility at an early age. His own father was involved in politics in his town in Mexico and my grandfather was with him in a neighboring town when he witnessed his father die in a shootout (an old -fashioned draw, where both parties walk away then turn around and shoot). He was around 17 years old, so besides taking charge of his mother and siblings he had to protect his father’s lands. He started working at a young age to support everyone.”

From picker to jefe: Flipping the script on tradition

The Lemus family has been in the region since the 1950s- and Grandfather Mani (Manuel Lemus) who was a Bracero, moved his family to Santa Rosa from Selma, in the San Joaquin Valley in 1969.

“We were one of the early Latino families in the Santa Rosa area. Our Lemus grandparents are from Santiago Conguripo, Michoacan, central Mexico. Our grandfather, Papa Mani, worked in the county’s prestigious vineyards cultivating grapes. Our grandparents and parents' sacrifices have offered us the ability to have amazing opportunities and careers and to provide better lives for our children. Our family enjoys the region's fine wines, and thought it would be a different story, or change in paradigm, to pay tribute to our humble, farmworker roots, and create wine from the land our ancestors worked.”

Photos speak volumes.

“The vintage photo in the video of farmworkers holding grapes is my grandmother, my aunt Bertha, and other family members (maybe around 1965 to 1967). Our family came from Selma, California, the Raisin capital of the world in San Joaquin Valley to Sonoma County. The picture is probably of them picking the grapes to lay them out to dry for raisins. Funny turn of events …! Wine is new territory for us; we do have an uncle who had a tequila export business and a cousin who made a Mexican lager, called Mi Jefito.”

Legacy dreams

The Lemus clan doesn’t own a vineyard — yet. But that is something they’re working toward.

Sylvia admits, “We would love to own a vineyard in the future, but for now are happy to make great wine we are proud of. We talk about how if only our grandfather had thought about purchasing some vineyards when he first arrived in Sonoma County in 1969, this story would be different. Now, it’s up to us, the grandchildren, to see where we take this story and venture. We are enjoying the journey!”

The grown children of the founding fifteen are stoked about the idea of a wine heritage that they can carry on. It’s trite but true; it takes a village to raise a child, in the case of the huge Lemus family their strength in numbers stems from Grandfather’s offspring of six sons.