Florida Jim
Florida Jim
When I turned 60, I started making wine commercially in California. I owned a wine label and made wine for 12 years, finally closing the doors in 2018. And to borrow a phrase, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
In 2004 I began coming to Sonoma County to help other winemakers during the annual harvest and wine making season. And in 2007, I started making my own wine under the Cowan Cellars label.
The guys I came out to help, Russell Bevan and Steve Edmunds, had been friends of mine prior to my stint as their “slave.” Wine tours with Russell, tasting on several occasions with Steve.
Although very different personalities, both were utterly passionate about wine and how to make it. Whatever time of day, no matter how far we drove to vineyards, regardless of how much time we spent pruning, dropping fruit and pulling leaves, if it meant cleaner, better fruit, that’s what we did.
In the early days with Russell it was a small operation; bucketing fermented fruit into a hand press, getting ready to sort “grape by grape” as the next lot came in, punching down by hand, digging out a tank for the next press load - what ever it took. For the first two years, 2004 and 2005, I remember my nails and all of my clothes had a constant deep purple tint.
In 2006, I worked with Steve in two shared spaces in Berkeley doing pretty much the same thing, except when it came time to press. Then we loaded up the fermentations and hauled them to another winery that had a mechanical press. How we accomplished that I’m still not sure.
The following year I was back with Russell and, for the first time, got half a ton of fruit and an old barrel. My 2007 Syrah turned out good and I was hooked.
The following year I went commercial and cut a deal with the local custom crush as a tenant.
FWIW, I had no formal training/schooling in wine-making and only limited experience in chemistry. What I started with I picked up from Russell, Steve and the people I worked with. And 12 years of on the job training.
In 2004 I began coming to Sonoma County to help other winemakers during the annual harvest and wine making season. And in 2007, I started making my own wine under the Cowan Cellars label.
The guys I came out to help, Russell Bevan and Steve Edmunds, had been friends of mine prior to my stint as their “slave.” Wine tours with Russell, tasting on several occasions with Steve.
Although very different personalities, both were utterly passionate about wine and how to make it. Whatever time of day, no matter how far we drove to vineyards, regardless of how much time we spent pruning, dropping fruit and pulling leaves, if it meant cleaner, better fruit, that’s what we did.
In the early days with Russell it was a small operation; bucketing fermented fruit into a hand press, getting ready to sort “grape by grape” as the next lot came in, punching down by hand, digging out a tank for the next press load - what ever it took. For the first two years, 2004 and 2005, I remember my nails and all of my clothes had a constant deep purple tint.
In 2006, I worked with Steve in two shared spaces in Berkeley doing pretty much the same thing, except when it came time to press. Then we loaded up the fermentations and hauled them to another winery that had a mechanical press. How we accomplished that I’m still not sure.
The following year I was back with Russell and, for the first time, got half a ton of fruit and an old barrel. My 2007 Syrah turned out good and I was hooked.
The following year I went commercial and cut a deal with the local custom crush as a tenant.
FWIW, I had no formal training/schooling in wine-making and only limited experience in chemistry. What I started with I picked up from Russell, Steve and the people I worked with. And 12 years of on the job training.
