Though long known for its old vines — some planted more than a half-century ago in 1973 — the excitement at Koehler Winery today is all about the new: new blood, new vines, and new energy coming from second-generation vintner Derek Koehler and relatively young winemaker Trace Brueske.
Koehler is the son of Peter and Kory Koehler, who purchased the Foxen Canyon Road estate from The Love Boat and Dynasty producer Douglas S. Cramer back in 1997. Raised in both Chicago and on the estate, the younger Koehler took on a larger role at the winery in 2022.
That was the same year that Yuba City–born, Wisconsin-raised, Cal Poly–educated Brueske came on board after working at Goldeneye Winery in the Anderson Valley, Bien Nacido Estate in Santa Maria Valley, and Stephen Ross Cellars in the Edna Valley, where he was assistant winemaker. His hiring coincided with the retirement of vineyard legend Felipe Hernandez, who helped plant the original cabernet sauvignon, riesling, sauvignon blanc, and chardonnay vines.
“When I came here, Felipe unloaded the vineyard on me,” said Brueske of his five-month crash course. Today he oversees both the vines — including some of the original old vine chardonnay, now 52 years old — and the cellar, with help from longtime employees Juan Alvarez and Artemio Ramirez.
After selling off a bit more than half of the original 100-acre ranch, including the statuary-laden Casa Blanca, removing older vines that didn’t produce much anymore, and replanting with new vines, the estate vineyard is now about 13 acres. The plans are to build it back up to 25 acres with a wide array of varieties, including riesling, grenache blanc, picpoul, pinot gris, melon de bourgogne, sangiovese, cabernet franc, gamay, cinsault, and mourvèdre. There’s also a head-trained block of grenache outside of the tasting room that currently goes mostly into their rosé…