CARMEL VALLEY, CA (August 2015) – Josh Ruiz, Twisted Roots Winemaker, invites you to step into the beauty that is the Twisted Roots Wine Tasting Room in Carmel Valley to experience a wine journey like no other! By private appointment only, Twisted Roots offers a rare chance to indulge your senses and experience the Wine Maker’s passion and knowledge of their craft.
Sit on in our Mediterranean inspired courtyard, meet the winemaker while doing a personal wine tasting hand selected with the winemaker.
The details:
-$50 per attendee. The price includes wine tastings.
-Minimum of 10 people. Maximum of 30 people.
-Location 12 Del Fino Place Carmel Valley, Ca 93924
-To make a reservation call 831-594-8282
-For more information email info@twistedrootsvineyard.com
About the Winemaker:
Josh Ruiz never aspired to pretentious job titles. Quite simply and humbly, he is a farmer, a man who reaps what he sows. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Working the land is his passion, whether it’s vegetables in Salinas Valley’s world-renowned “Salad Bowl of the World” or wine grapes in Lodi for his fast-growing winery Twisted Roots.
The Salinas native and agribusiness graduate from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo chose farming because “I simply thought it was an honest way to make a living, and to feed people.”
Ruiz loves working the earth because it allows him to share the resulting bounty with others, and to him the wine business is no different. “I get to farm the grapes with my family, and then we get to share with others that which we produced with our hands.”
Ruiz’s background is one of persistence, and hard work. “I think that a person’s real story is not told with awards, or medals, but by the lines on their hands,” he said.
Ruiz graduated high school in three years, taking night classes at Hartnell College. Then he took 20-plus units each quarter in college, and in five years finished with three degrees.
Anxious to branch out into the crowded wine business, Ruiz asked his family in 2009 if he could take its Twisted Roots brand, created by his now business partner Ross Schmiedt, and start a winery (the Schmiedt family has been farming the same land for 3 generations, with the original vineyard planted in 1918). Later that year Twisted Roots formally incorporated as a company, and Ruiz released his first vintage, a Petite Sirah, now the flagship wine.
In 2010 Twisted Roots became a partner in Estate Crush, which then became its production facility and tasting room, and began producing Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and an Old Vine Zinfandel.
As a vintner, Ruiz believes in letting the grapes speak for themselves. “I feel that my families hard work in the vineyard is where our wines get their flavor and overall complexity,” Ruiz said.
As certified “green growers,” Twisted Roots employs practices that are sensitive to the environment and responsive to the needs and interests of the surrounding community.
The family takes a comprehensive approach to farming that goes beyond pest management. Their practices help enhance biodiversity, water and air quality, soil health, and employee and community wellbeing. From its attention to soil-nutrient balance in the vineyard, to barrel-fermentation and small production, Ruiz feels as though Twisted Roots can produce a product that showcases the grape and the Lodi Appellation.
In 2013, Ruiz brought his brand to Carmel Valley, setting up a tasting room at LyonsHead Gallery (12 Delfino Place). For every bottle sold, a portion of the proceeds goes to the ALS Foundation for research into Lou Gehrig’s disease, to honor one of Twisted Roots’ co-founders, Ross Schmiedt, who was afflicted with the disease. Plus, Ruiz donates money to MEarth and its Hilton Bialek Habitat at Carmel Middle School. “Our family wants to make good quality wine and give back to our communities,” he said.
For the last 10 years Ruiz has been the chairman of the Industry Advisory Board of the local Future Farmers of America chapter. As a former FFA member growing up, Ruiz quickly learned the value of hard work.
“I realized growing up, and while in the FFA, that even though you might not have access to the same things that others do, if you are willing to work toward your goals, there will be others there to help,” Ruiz said. “Now I try to be that other person there for the kids.”
Certified Green Growers:
At Twisted Roots, we believe in letting the grapes speak for themselves. Partner Josh Ruiz, representing partners Ross Schmiedt and Mike Hodge, stated that, “We feel that our work in the vineyard is the genesis for the flavor and overall complexity of our wines. As Lodi Certified Green Growers we follow sustainable farming practices throughout the entire winemaking process.”
The certification of Twisted Roots as a green grower includes two components: The Lodi Rules practice standards, and a Pesticide Environmental Assessment System that measures the impact of all organic and synthetic pesticides used during the year. The vineyard is audited annually by a third party to verify farming practices, and may not exceed a maximum number of points calculated using the system.
Among the Certified Sustainable Practices are the following:
Integrated Pest Management: Twisted Roots limits crop protection to only essential measures, and creates and maintains a habitat for natural enemies of certain pests. For example, the family plants specific types of grasses in its “1918” Old Vine Zinfandel vineyard to help attract beneficial insects.
Air Quality Control: Twisted Roots plants cover crops of native grasses in and around its vineyards to minimize dust, and limits tractor usage to reduce air pollution and conserve energy.
Land Stewardship: The family integrates the management of the vineyards with the ecosystem by providing riparian zones, maintaining vernal pools, protecting wildlife habitat, and installing nesting boxes for birds and bats. To combat a growing problem of coyotes chewing up irrigation pipes, workers began leaving buckets of water for the coyotes. Now the coyotes eat the rodents, leaving the irrigation alone.
Water Management: Vineyard workers constantly monitor soil moisture and measure the vines’ water needs. They regulate waterusage through careful irrigation scheduling, and constantly maintain and service irrigation systems to ensure maximum efficiency.
Soil Health: Believing that healthy soil leads to great wines, Twisted Roots adds organic matter by planting cover crops and by utilizing compost. Experts control fertilizer and irrigation to maximize nutrition in the soil, which results in higher quality, more concentrated fruit. Each year analysts run soil and plant tissue tests to determine the needs of the vineyard.
Human Resources: People are the foundation of great sustainably grown wines. Twisted Roots workers receive comprehensive training and development that enables them to perform their jobs safely and maximize their ability for year-round employment.
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The Twisted Roots family creates a sustainable vision for the farm that provides the foundation for sustainable winegrowing. This philosophy helps ensure the long-term health, biodiversity and productivity of the farm and the surrounding ecosystem. All of the Twisted Roots’ farming practices can be evaluated to determine whether they move the vineyard toward or away from this vision.
In the end, sustainability keeps the Twisted Roots’ family close to its land, and helps ensure that future generations will get to enjoy that land and all of its bounty.
Twisted Roots Philanthropy:
For every bottle sold, Twisted Roots donates a portion of the proceeds to the ALS Foundation for research into ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Our partner and creator of the Twisted Roots brand is afflicted with ALS. Additionally, Twisted Roots donates money to MEarth and its Hilton Bialek Habitat at Carmel Middle School. As Josh said, “Twisted Roots wants to make good quality wine and give back to their communities.”
Where to Purchase and Taste Wines:
Both Café Rustica, Mission Ranch and Tarpy’s Roadhouse serve Twisted Roots wines. And, of course, you can have a full tasting right in Carmel Valley (831-594-8282) or in Lodi by appointment (916-300-2416).
Twisted Roots Story:
Centered in the heart of the Lodi Appellation, Twisted Roots Vineyard is the work of three generations of family members dedicated to the practice of growing great wine grapes by following sustainable growing practices. While our vineyard was established in 1918, it wasn’t until recently that we began producing our own wines.
The Twisted Roots Vineyard label started with a Petite Sirah in 2005 by Ross, after experimenting in the basement of the original farmhouse. In 2009, we began commercial production and expanded our offerings to include other varietals grown on the estate. Winemaking was moved subsequently from the old farmhouse to our partners at Estate Crush. Petite Sirah continues to be our flagship wine; we also offer Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Old Vine Zinfandel. http://www.twistedrootsvineyard.com/
