The story begins 5 1/2 years ago, when I decided to move from Sonoma County to Placerville, a historic gold town in the Sierra foothills about half-way between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. But the story really begins 29 years ago, when Lynda and I moved back to California after almost 6 years in Washington state near Seattle. We had met in Berkeley and our children, Alex (future winemaker) and his older sister Melissa, were born there. We moved to Washington in 1987, so I could work my dream job at Microsoft. That worked out pretty well. Seattle is a great city, but after 5+ years in the cold and gray of the Northwest we were ready to return to sunny CA.
So in 1992 we moved back, settling in Sebastopol, in western Sonoma County, because we thought it had the best schools and would be a great place to finish raising our children. In 1993 we bought the land that would become Kanzler Vineyards. In 1994 we built the house that today is the Kanzler Vineyards estate home where many of you have enjoyed a farm getaway. In 1996 we planted the first vines. We learned the craft of growing premium Pinot Noir grapes, and raised our children.
But as happens in families, kids grow up. Circumstances change. People change. Our family changed. Melissa got married and eventually moved to Seattle. Alex went away to school in Colorado. Lynda and I divorced. I eventually remarried and Lynda also has a great longtime partner.
But the gravity of our family remained strong. Alex returned home and embraced the wine business, to our surprise. Lynda and I remained close and chose to stay together as partners in the vineyard and winery. And most importantly, we all wanted to remain a family. And that’s what we did, through even more changes, a big one being me moving to Placerville.
I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. Alex wanted more freedom to run the business and truth be told, I’m not a good second banana. I was ready for a change of scenery after 25 years in Sonoma County. And Placerville is a great little town. We loved it up there. What we were able to find, a big, old country estate on a nice chunk of land, simply wasn’t attainable in Sonoma County. But, that gravity thing… was constantly tugging at us.
Placerville is only 130 miles from Sebastopol. Two and half hours if the traffic is good. But the traffic was almost never good. Family visits were rare and became virtually non-existent with COVID. I missed my family. I missed being more involved in the winery, the way Lynda has been. I missed being there to support when fires threatened. Then we learned that Alex and Breauna were pregnant. My long-awaited second grandchild was on the way. And the gravity became irresistible. Being away made it so clear. It’s absolutely true. Family is everything!
It was hard to leave Placerville and even harder to find a home to buy in Sonoma County. But, after looking for months and months, we found a nice place in Geyserville. It was actually the 30-year home of Charlie Musselwhite, the great, Grammy-winning blues harmonica player. It’s a house with good vibes, in a neat little town. And I’m back in Sonoma County!
Alex has me working on a special project, and I’m thrilled to be more involved in the business again. I love walking the vine rows and talking to the vines again. I’m looking forward to babysitting my new grandson, Carson William Kanzler. And I look forward to being in touch with old and new KANZLER collectors and friends.
As Dorothy said… “There’s no place like home.”
STEPHEN KANZLER
Co-founder
