gilroy LIVING
Fifty
Something
In Gilroy
WITH SAM BOZZO
O
ur local friends Estelle and Larry
invited us for a wine tasting with
mutual friends Massimo and Rita
from Italy. We went to Satori Cellars Winery
in Gilroy. What a delightful time we all had,
including a chance to meet the winery’s
owners, Tom and Sandy Moller. Their wine
is so good, and with cheese and French
bread, we couldn’t miss. Now, I kinda sorda
inquired as to how old the Mollers are,
through Elks Caterer Dave Bozzo. Dave
frequented the Gilroy Golf Course when he
had the Gilroy Grill in the 90’s. That’s where
he first met Tom Moller. Both Tom and
Sandy were most gracious in agreeing to
an interview with
TODAY even after
we told them we wanted to feature fifty-
somethings!
Tom’s first visit to Gilroy was in 1987
when he attended the Gilroy Garlic Festival
and thoroughly enjoyed it. Originally from
Boston, he was living in San Jose at the
time. By 1991 he was working in Morgan
Hill and had become very familiar with
the South County. Like some Silicon Valley
“garage” startups, he launched his business
in a living room with 11 employees and
watched it grow to about 500 employees in
a 250,000 square foot building. It all coin-
cided nicely with his being at a point in life
when he was ready to buy a home.
Tom said he was very lucky to have
found such an amazing property at a price
that was within his budget. At that time
the land had plums. When I checked with
my rancher friend, Don Manzo, he said
the plums were most likely French prunes
which were once a mainstay crop in the
Santa Clara Valley. When Tom moved
in, he discovered the aged trees were
infe sted with the shot-hole beetle. Wisely,
he cleared them. When his father visited
shortly thereafter, he jokingly said the place
was like a dust bowl.
Initially, Tom thought he’d set up a
Christmas tree farm. He planted 7,000 of
them. They didn’t last because he didn’t
have sufficient irrigation in place. Then he
got the idea to grow grapes.
gmh
Sam Bozzo has lived in Gilroy
since 1976. He has served as
President of the Gilroy Garlic
Festival Association and has
been a demonstration chef at
the event for many years. He is
co-writer with Gene Sakahara
of the local best seller, So You
Think You Can Cook cook-
book and has been part of
the SakaBozzo comedy duo
for many years. He lives in
Gilroy with his wife, Judy. They
have two sons who, with their
families, also call Gilroy their
home.
30
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
He put in a proper irrigation system,
followed by 1,000 grape vines, with the
help of five workers. Now Tom was a
novice, but one of the crew by the name of
Raymundo seemed to know what he was
doing. Tom asked him to come back to
provide some additional help, not realizing
that Raymundo worked for another guy
with a vineyard not too far from his place.
The next day, that guy showed up with a
tractor and a crew, including Raymundo.
Together, they put in 1,000 vines, which
ultimately led to a vineyard lush with
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc,
Merlot, Petite Sarah, Sarah, and Zinfandel
vines. That was the beginning of Tom and
Sandy’s future in the wine business.
Sandy had known Tom for a long time
even though she lived in Marin County.
She loved the Marin life style and had a
thriving business in the health industry.
She also liked guys that drove Ferraris.
Even though she knew Tom she thought
of him as just a friend. He called her one
day and asked if he could pay her a visit.
Meanwhile, Sandy’s mom thought that Tom
was terrific and urged Sandy to date him.
When Tom pulled into her driveway in
his 1974 truck, Sandy, who was into the
“lifestyles of the rich and famous” secretly
wished that he would park his truck
around the corner.
When they decided to become a two-
some, Sandy was not yet convinced that
South Santa Clara County was the place
to live. Her business served 52 hospitals,
she had a great house in what she liked to
refer to as “the promised land.” There was
no question in Tom’s mind that Sandy was
the one. So they took turns visiting each
other, in Marin and in Gilroy. Eventually,
she sold her business and her house, there
was a wedding, followed by a pregnancy,
and Tom and Sandy Moller decided to join
forces to form Satori Cellars Winery.
To my way of thinking, theirs is a love
story. Their love for one another, for their
son Riley, for their land and its vineyards,
and for the many people they’ve met since
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