Bev Stenehjem is a local wine enthusiast , author and freelance writer focused on the wineries of Santa Clara Valley . Bev wrote “ The Wineries of Santa Clara Valley ,” a historical photo book published by Arcadia Publishing in 2015 . Bev conducts occasional wine and food pairing events at the local wineries and through Gavilan College Community Education . She is passionate about shining a light on the world-class wines of
Funniest customer story ? Some of our guests wear the nuttiest things . On our opening weekend , there were the two women wearing headbands with cat ears . Last winter , we had a bus full of people wearing ugly sweaters . Then there was the young woman who came dressed in a bright green tutu — she was celebrating her engagement with a group of her girlfriends and everyone was wearing green because it was her favorite color .
What kind of vibe does your winery have ? Relaxed , welcoming , authentic . An afternoon vacation .
Worst disaster story at your winery ? Remember how we asked a lot of people about their mistakes ? I made most of my major mistakes while apprenticing at another winery . All of our mistakes have actually turned around to make great wine in the end ; we ’ ve been really lucky .
Best advice you received from another winemaker ? Plant what you like to drink because you ’ ll be drinking a lot of it . And don ’ t screw it up .
Why are your club members so loyal , what does club membership offer them ? An opportunity to be the first to know and taste what we ’ re up to here . And the choice of any bottle of wine they want every six months at a discounted rate for a total of a case per year .
What recipe do you like to add wine to ? Most of them ? I like to cook most meats in a little wine , or use the wine for marinating .
Which part of owning a winery do you prefer : farming , winemaking , tasting room / schmoozing with customers ? I love the variety and seeing the grapes all the way through the winemaking process — from soil to sales . Being in the vineyard gives me some pretty magical moments . Winemaking makes me think , and trust my decisions — always good practice . Being able to share all of that with our customers is surreal .
How do you two balance your busy lives with running a winery ? The nice thing about emergency medicine is that once Todd leaves the hospital , his work is done . So , when he ’ s home , he ’ s really present . Todd ’ s shifts are also scheduled , there is no on-call , so we can plan more easily . He does all the farming work on his days off , and we work the winery together on those days as well .
As far as I am concerned , I ’ m not sure I do . I have great babysitters and friends who can help out with our four-year old son when we ’ re in a bind . Sometimes I have to resort to the TV or tablet to afford me 20 uninterrupted minutes to complete that task or “ put out that fire .” We try to involve our son as much as he ’ ll cooperate . We do the best we can .
Entertainment and Dancing by
NO RESPECT
$ 70 Per Person
Bar @ 5 pm Dinner @ 7 pm
Appetizers , Grand Buffet and Dessert including :
King Crab New York Strip Shrimp Scampi Cold Shrimp Cocktail
By Chef Dave Bozzo
Champagne Toast at Midnight
Does your winery have a pet mascot ? We have babydoll sheep that graze during the post-harvest winter months . And a dog that occasionally is shocked by all the people in the tasting room and makes an appearance in the vineyard barking at everyone .
Reservations Required by December 28th , 2017 408.842.9397
Open to Elk Members and their Guests
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2017 gmhtoday . com
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Bev Stenehjem is a local wine enthusi-
ast, author and freelance writer focused
on the wineries of Santa Clara Valley.
Bev wrote “The Wineries of Santa Clara
Valley,” a historical photo book pub-
lished by Arcadia Publishing in 2015.
Bev conducts occasional wine and food
pairing events at the local wineries and
through Gavilan College Community
Education. She is passionate about shin-
ing a light on the world-class wines of
Funniest customer story?
Some of our guests wear the nuttiest things. On our opening week-
end, there were the two women wearing headbands with cat ears. Last
winter, we had a bus full of people wearing ugly sweaters. Then there
was the young woman who came dressed in a bright green tutu—she was
celebrating her engagement with a group of her girlfriends and everyone
was wearing green because it was her favorite color.
What kind of vibe does your winery have?
Relaxed, welcoming, authentic. An afternoon vacation.
Worst disaster story at your winery?
Remember how we asked a lot of people about their mistakes? I made
most of my major mistakes while apprenticing at another winery. All of
our mistakes have actually turned around to make great wine in the end;
we’ve been really lucky.
Best advice you received from another winemaker?
Plant what you like to drink because you’ll be drinking a lot of it.
And don’t screw it up.
Why are your club members so loyal,
what does club membership offer them?
An opportunity to be the first to know and taste what we’re up to here.
And the choice of any bottle of wine they want every six months at a
discounted rate for a total of a case per year.
What recipe do you like to add wine to?
Most of them? I like to cook most meats in a little wine, or use the
wine for marinating.
Which part of owning a winery do you prefer: farming,
winemaking, tasting room/schmoozing with customers?
I love the variety and seeing the grapes all the way through the
winemaking process—from soil to sales. Being in the vineyard gives me
some pretty magical moments. Winemaking makes me think, and trust my
decisions— always good practice. Being able to share all of that with our
customers is surreal.
How do you two balance your busy lives with running a winery?
The nice thing about emergency medicine is that once Todd leaves the
hospital, his work is done. So, when he’s home, he’s really present. Todd’s
shifts are also scheduled, there is no on-call, so we can plan more easily.
He does all the farming work on his days off, and we work the winery
together on those days as well.
As far as I am concerned, I’m not sure I do. I have great babysitters
and friends who can help out with our four-year old son when we’re in
a bind. Sometimes I have to resort to the TV or tablet to afford me 20
uninterrupted minutes to complete that task or “put out that fire.” We try
to involve our son as much as he’ll cooperate. We do the best we can.
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