It was seven years ago when Mark and Elizabeth Hanson bought a property in California’s Russian River Valley, one near where he was born in Santa Rosa.
For several years they used those grapes from what Mark called a “marvelous Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyard” to supply some of the region’s top wineries, from Clos Du Val and Lando Wines to Paul Hobbs Winery and Patz & Hall.
In 2017, they decided to turn some of those grapes into their own wine so they hired Cary Gott, who is in his fifth decade of making wine. Yes, he’s also the father of Joel Gott, a fourth-generation California vintner who has created his own success story.
Tom Pierson is the assistant winemaker.
Mark said one of the tougher decisions was coming up with a name for the winery, a task that becomes more difficult as the industry continues to grow.
“So my daughter and her husband were looking at something online and they just started laughing,” he recalled in a recent phone conversation. “I said, what’s so funny? “She said, ‘we came up with the name of your winery.’ “
The name they found was Bricoleur. Hanson’s first reaction? “Why do I want a French name for a California winery that no one can pronounce and no one knows what it means?”
You can find the meaning on the Bricoleur Vineyards label, which describes one who is building something, without a clear plan, cobbling together a whole piece by piece while flying by the seat of their pants.
“I kind of laughed, and then to be frank, I got a little disgusted with my daughter and her husband, and I said, you say mom and I have a plan? Hanson said.
No, that’s not the case, she said. You guys have a plan and a vision, but admittedly those plans evolve, add new dimensions.
“And I said, well that’s a story of life, of people’s careers or relationships,” Hanson said, “and, actually, when you think of COVID, people are doing all sorts of things they never imagined doing.”
Mark grew up in California’s Marin County and built a career as an entrepreneurial software and private equity executive in the Bay Area while Beth found success in real estate.
There was another wine connection even before they made their vineyard purchase. Beth’s great grandfather, Pietro Carlo Rossi, was the original enologist for Sonoma County’s historic Italian Swiss Colony. Trained as a chemist in Italy, he revolutionized California winemaking in the 19th century and was recognized in France for the quality of his Zin and sparkling wine. With Rossi’s involvement, Italian Swiss Colony became one of America’s leading wineries.
The wine-producing side of Bricoleur began with a Russian River Pinot, and eventually included a Chardonnay, Zinfandel and rosé.
They added a second vineyard, Kick Ranch, a 40-acre premier vineyard that sits on the western slope of Spring Mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains near the Napa County line along the eastern reaches of Santa Rosa. It is part of the Fountaingrove District American Viticultural Area (AVA). It farms a third vineyard in the Alexander Valley AVA. You can read more on the vineyards at this link. All told, they have more than 60 acres of vineyards and in 2021 will make around 7,000 cases.
While they continue to sell to a dozen other wineries, Mark and Beth continue to expand their product line. Doing so led to another crossroads, while deciding to make a rosé from the Grenache grape, “one modeled after the rosés that my wife and I enjoy in Provence,” Mark said. Already making one rose, they were left with the question of what to use on the label of the second one. Mark said his daughter suggested taking the end of the definition “flying by the seat of our pants” and using that as a “second label.”
That, he said, seemed to get an instant positive reaction from those who saw it.
Sarah Hanson Citron, Beth and Mark’s daughter, is the winery’s director of marketing.
Now trademarked, it’s used on not only the Rosé of Grenche but also a Brut that won double gold best of class in the 2020 International Women’s Wine competition. That Brut pairs perfectly with the many events held there that involve the celebration of life’s events. It was written up by the Robb Report in December 2019 as one of the top wines to drink for the new year.
Flying By The Seat of Our Pants also is on the label of a delicious Sauvignon Blanc and the name will be featured on a red blend to be released later this year. Bricoleur wines, which also will soon include a Syrah and Petite Sirah sourced from the Kick Ranch Vineyard and also a late-harvest Chardonnay, are available to Pennsylvania residents via direct shipping.
It has been a memorable foray into this “second career” for the couple, from getting a chance to work with Gott (”he works closely with Tom Pierson and myself teaching and guiding us on a ‘hands-on’ basis. Mark said) whle navigating a changing climate that has included an increasing threat from fires and issues with late frosts.
“I would say conditions are more challenging,” Mark said. “But we’re still growing great grapes and making great wines. I would say the yields have been more hit and miss because of all the conditions.”
COVID brought its own business hurdles, although an excess of outdoor space has helped alleviate some of the restrictions of the past 18 months.
Tastings are only part of what draws people to Bricoleur, which employs a full-time culinary team that assembles daily food and wine pairings and dinners.
It’s also involved in a number of food and wine events, many for charity. It will host the Project Zin dinner on Aug. 20-21, a collaboration of Zinfandel producers that raise money for the Down Syndrome Association North Bay, and the annual Russian River Valley Paulée dinner on Sept. 3. It also will participate in the Sonoma County Wine Auction in September.
“I think we have six events, 150 to 200 people, the second half of the year,” Mark said, “which everyone is ready for.”
Their charity work also extends nationally, from the Emeril Legasse Foundation in Louisiana to the Triangle Wine & Food Experience in North Carolina to the Southwest Food & Wine Fest in Florida.
“The great thing about food and wine,” Mark said, is that “a lot of it revolves about charity events.”
That they oversee this winery now is probably a combination of destiny and decisions made on the fly. Mark was certainly familiar with wine country, having grown up and raising a family there. Then you have Beth’s connection through her great grandfather and Italian Swiss Colony.
“We just joked around about having a place with a vineyard when we retired,” he said. “and then when our kids were out of college we realized we didn’t know how to retire or want to retire.
“And so it just kind of evolved into a bigger thing of wanting to do a food, wine venue to be able to celebrate life’s moments in many different ways, and we thought it would be fun to work with the community in that way.”
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