Justin Smith, Consulting Winemaker
After looking for the perfect terroir and settling on West Paso, I needed someone to help guide me in the next phase toward my dream of producing ultra-premium wines. I was a huge fan of Saxum wines, so I cold-called the owner/winemaker, Justin Smith. Liz and I met Justin over coffee where we talked about our love of West Paso and great wine, and we agreed to team up to look for the right land, pick the right varietals, rootstocks, etc. We kicked a lot of dirt in West Paso before eventually stumbling across the "not for sale" renowned, but fallow, Paderewski Vineyard. We later added Catapult vineyard in the heart of the Templeton Gap, and ultimately we were in the right place at the right time to buy the historic York Mountain Winery site. Justin is a Paso hometown hero, and he is involved in all things Epoch: farming, blending, picking, our long term vision, etc. For more on Justin and his history, please read my blog on this website called, "A New York State of Wine", about Justin receiving Wine Spectator's 2010 award for the #1 wine in the world for his '07 Saxum, James Berry Vineyard wine.
