Owl Ridge Wines
Proprietor
John Tracy
Owl Ridge Wines was the dream of John
Tracy. John grew up in Denver and graduated
from M.I.T., then founded a company where
he made high power semiconductor lasers.
His first step towards realizing his wine
dream was when he and his wife, Deborah,
moved from Tucson to Sonoma County in
2000.
Within a year, this laser whiz-turned-winemaker
had purchased his first vineyard and partnered
with winemaker, Joe Otos. Their winery
was dubbed Willowbrook Cellars and they
began making small lots of Burgundian-style
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in 2001. John’s
true passion, though, is Cabernet Sauvignon,
and after confessing this to Joe, the
hunt for a few very special Cabernet vineyards
was on. After securing fruit from the
Brigden Vineyard at the northern end of
the Sonoma Valley, and the Passalacqua
Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley, they began
making Cabernet Sauvignon under the Owl
Ridge label in 2002.
In 2004, John purchased the Sebastopol
facility that was to become his winery
and custom crush facility. In addition
to Owl Ridge and Willowbrook wines, his
Owl Ridge Wine Services makes about 45,000
cases for other local, high-end labels.
Winemaker
Joe Otos
Some of the best success stories have
humble beginnings, and winemaker Joe Otos’
story is one of those. He got his start
in a chicken coop.
Armed with 400 pounds of Cabernet Sauvignon
grapes which he picked himself, a barrel
made for him by a friend at a local cooperage,
and his passion for great wine, Joe made
his very first vintage in a converted
coop in Penngrove.
Joe took his first official winemaking
job at Wellington Vineyards in Glen Ellen,
where he worked side-by-side with winemaker/mentor
Chris Loxton for three years. At Wellington,
Joe learned the secrets of managing a
vineyard for maximum flavor, and with
that flavorful fruit he was encouraged
to experiment—an artistic license
that would prove to be the key to his
future success.
Out on his own, Joe didn’t want
any part of making ordinary wine from
ordinary grapes. So he sought out a partnership
with John Tracy and together they created
Willowbrook Cellars. Joe honed his winemaking
skills with Tracy’s exceptional,
small-vineyard lots of Chardonnay and
Pinot Noir. One day, Tracy confessed his
preference for big Cabs, Joe Otos agreed,
and Owl Ridge was transformed from deferred
dream to present reality.
Joe continually strives to perfect the
wines coming from a few select vineyards.
His success is evident: in just a year
or so, every one of his Owl Ridge Cabernet
Sauvignons and Chardonnays earned gold-medals,
with numerous double-golds and “Best
of Class” awards thrown in. With
plaudits from his peers and recognition
by the media, Joe has ranged freely and
far from the chicken coops where his winemaking
career began.
Vineyard
Owner Mick Brigden
If there is a nexus between fine wine
and rock ‘n’ roll, it is in
the person of vineyard owner Michael (Mick)
Brigden, who began his career at Woodstock
35 years ago and since then has managed
Van Morrison, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eddie Money,
and Train. He has toured with the Rolling
Stones and Bob Dylan, and currently represents
guitarist Joe Satriani. And he grows world
class Cabernet for Owl Ridge.
Brigden’s 3 _ acre Cabernet Sauvignon
vineyard is located between Napa’s
Spring Mountain and the Sonoma Valley.
It is planted in rocky soil at an elevation
of 800 feet, where the vines struggle
mightily. The grapes produced from this
challenging terrain are better for it,
and are highly valued by winemaker Joe
Otos for their intense color and concentrated
flavors. Brigden’s entire production
is dedicated each year to Owl Ridge Winery’s
Cabernet Sauvignon - Brigden Vineyard.
Owl
Ridge Wines
P.O. Box 1514
Sebastopol, CA 95473
p: 707 823-9585
f: 707 823-8163
info@owlridge.com
www.owlridge.com
