e veneers - Pahrump Valley Winery

Gold Mettle
Pahrump Valley Winery Produces
Award-Winning Red
From Nevada Grown Vines
by beth schwartz
P
ahrump is well-known for quite a few things…but a gold
medal winning wine? Really? Indeed. Not only is the tiny
burg home to Southern Nevada’s only winery, Pahrump Valley
Winery, but it also lays claim to a 2009 Pacific Rim International
award winner in the winery’s 2005 Nevada Ridge Zinfandel.
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GOLDMETTLEGRAPES
The tasting room at Pahrump Valley Winery.
Pahrump Valley Winery's gold medal winner
-- 2005 Nevada Ridge Zinfandel
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Pahrump Valley Winery owners Bill and
Gretchen Loken are practically old hats at winning
awards even though they have only been in the wine
making business since 2002. At last count Pahrump
Valley Winery had racked up 189 accolades under
their direction. However, the difference between
this particular award-winning Zinfandel and the
Loken’s other prize winners is it was the first estate
red wine ever produced from grapes grown solely in
Nevada. Additionally it’s the first Nevada red to ever
receive a gold medal.
“The vines had never been used by the previous
owner,” Bill says of the vines that were planted on
the winery’s grounds in 1994. “Than from 2002
to 2005, Gretchen nursed them back to health.
Gretchen’s work with the vines made the first
harvest better than they would have been if we
had taken them a couple of years earlier,” says
Bill. “You know what they say, the older the vine,
the better the wine.”
Even though the vines had some age to them,
the Lokens never dreamed their Nevada Ridge
Zinfandel would win a gold medal. “We were
floored. Think about this for a second, within
the last year, the state of California turned down
a proposal to make Zinfandel the state grape. So
there are so many great Zinfandels that come out of
California that it never even crossed our minds we
could do something like that,” says Bill.
“We had no idea the wine would turn out
that decent,” Bill says of the first wine made from
grapes grown in Pahrump. “Our goal the first year
was just to make a wine that,” he pauses, “we would
have considered the first vintage a success if it just
didn’t suck. We didn’t have the bar set very high
for ourselves. We bottled the wine in April 2008,
and the wine was good, not great. Than as it aged
for another six months that’s when it really came
together. That’s when we knew we were on to
something. We had an inking that we may get
some recognition but our expectations were quite
low.”
Pleased with their success and also the
possibilities, the Lokens added 1,200 new vines of
both Zinfandel and Syrah grapes to their three-acre
vineyard. They should be able to start pulling small
grapes from the new vines in the fall of 2011.
Bill believes winemaking can become a credible
industry in Nevada. “The only thing that will kill
it would be local or state government. The taxes
are quite high already and if they make water more
restrictive that could dampen the growth,” explains
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Pahrump Valley Winery's newly renovated barrel room.
Bill. “But we have now removed any doubt
it can be done. And grapes use less than 10
percent of the water that Alfalfa does. It
uses incredibly less water than the number
one crop (Alfalfa) in the state. It’s all good,
you have a new industry, new growth, low
water usage and enhanced tourism.”
Even though Bill is high on the winery
and the possibilities winemaking presents
the Silver State, less than 10 years ago he
had no interest in wine whatsoever. Back
then he was in real estate development and
his wife, Gretchen, was a teacher.
“Until we discovered the Pahrump
Valley Winery we had no particular
interest in wine or wineries, we weren’t
looking for a winery. The property was
definitely a diamond in the rough. The
wine wasn’t good, things weren’t run
well.”
Bill was introduced to the Pahrump
Valley Winery after his brother, who
worked for a company nearby, needled
him into taking a look.
“I couldn’t understand why he thought
it was so important that I check out this
winery. We were living in Arizona at the
time. Finally we took a trip out and I
immediately recognized its potential.
“We knew it would be a challenge.
So we did a couple months of research
and then bought it. Looking back,
frankly it was foolish ambition,” Bill
acknowledges. “It’s a very capital
intense industry so cash flow is one of
the hardest things. That’s why so many
wineries are struggling.”
Capital challenges aside, the Lokens
have renovated about 90 percent of the
winery since they took it over in 2002.
“We gutted the restaurant. And rebuild it
from the ground up so it was 100 percent
new. We installed all new equipment,
tanks, bottling, you name it. As we speak,
we are putting the finishing touches on the
tasting room. We have also renovated the
grounds.”
After the Lokens rebuilt the winery’s
restaurant from scratch they decided to also
give it a new name. “I struggled with what
to do, but Symphony is so well known here
and it’s been our biggest award winner, I just
Bill and Gretchen Loken
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GOLDMETTLEGRAPES
decided to name it after that wine,” offers Bill
of the wine that won Double Gold at the 2009
Amenti Del Vino competition; gold medals
at the 2009 Pacific Rim International Wine
Competition, 2009 San Diego International
Wine Competition, and 2009 Riverside Wine
Competition; and, the prestigious Unanimous
Gold Chairman’s Award.
The restaurant’s chef, too, has found
inspiration in the award-winning Symphony.
Many of the restaurant’s salad dressings and
specialty sauces are made with the eponymous
sweet and fruity white wine. The restaurant’s
Pan Seared Crab Cakes, Symphony Chicken
Limone, Pan Seared Alaskan Halibut, and
Winery Shrimp Scampi are all served in a
beurre blanc sauce made with Symphony as
is the vinaigrette dressing served on their
signature salad.The winery’s Zinfandel has even
found a place on the menu, it’s used in a tangy
barbeque sauce for the Glazed Pork Ribs.
But it wasn’t just a host of renovations
Locals who mention this advertisement will receive
20% off their entire bill through June 30, 2010.
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and revamped restaurant that the Lokens
enthusiastically undertook for their new
venture. Gretchen enrolled at UC Davis in the
enology program and obtained herWine Making
Certificate and Bill has dedicated himself to the
marketing and operations at the winery.
The Lokens aren’t the only ones who have
grand ambitions for the burgeoning Nevada
wine industry. There are two others in the
state: Tahoe Ridge Winery in Minden outside
of Reno, and Churchill Vineyards in Fallon
which is focused solely on growing grapes.
“They (Churchill Vineyards) only have 15
acres, but they are the largest vineyard in the
state,” chuckles Bill. “We have shown this can
be done, you can make money at it and there’s
demand for the product,” Bill pauses and
then quips of Nevada’s three wineries, “The
entire Nevada Grape Growers & Winemakers
Association can fit in a van.”
But it’s just not farmers, winery owners,
and grape growers who see the value of
Nevada’s wineries. “We get more people
here from out of state than we used to who
are return visitors. And we are getting more
serious wine drinkers that want more upscale
wine than five years ago. We have substantially
way more people coming in,” relays Bill.
Evidentially visitors from California are
some of the out of town visitors frequenting
Pahrump Valley Winery as Costco, the largest
wine retailer in the U.S., has noted.The national
wine buyer for the membership warehouse
giant recently asked for samples of wine from
Pahrump Valley Winery because they had been
receiving numerous member requests from
California residents to start stocking it.
“We sent some samples, and the next thing
we knew we were asked to do a test run at the
Henderson location. It must have went over
well because we will be doing another road
show at the Summerlin Costco sometime this
summer,” Bill explains.
Lest you think Loken is only about
promoting his own product, Symphony
started offering a complete wine list about
six months ago. “It’s so our diners have a nice
selection. I do it just for the fun of it. Give
people a choice. This is a great time to be a
wine drinker as the quality of wine in the U.S.
continues to get much better and the prices
are still a value.
“It’s all about the wine -- as long as they
are drinking wine. And frankly, there’s a lot
of great wine out there and we enjoy drinking
it ourselves.” q
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