FOUNDED ALMOST 125 years ago, Concannon was for many years a cornerstone of the California wine industry. It was an industry leader in the use of top-quality varietals, and many of the clones from its property were spread widely throughout the state.

In 1982, with the facility becoming antiquated and the family running out of energy, Concannon was sold for the first of many times over the next couple of decades.

In the past few years, under new and aggressive management, the winery has done the seemingly impossible: It has reached back to involve the Concannon family in winery operations, and it has set itself on a path of improvement that focuses on improved handling of the wine, including their No. 1 seller, petite sirah. In this interview with winemaker Adam Richardson, the story of growth and renewal at Concannon unfolds.

Q: Concannon has been a leader in the wine business for more than a century now. What achievements in grape choice and winemaking style stand out as proud moments during your first 125 years?

A: Obviously we are proudest of our heritage as the premier petite sirah producer in California — and much of the future of Concannon is tied to that grape and to related grapes. We were the first to put petite sirah on the bottle as a varietal wine back in the early 60s, and since then we have stuck with the variety and style. Long ago we worked out how to tame the tannins of the great petite sirah grapes and make plush, rich and

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approachable wines across our price range, and today, almost 40 years later, we are still leading the California push in petite sirah. Also, many years ago, Concannon cultivated clones 7 and 8 of cabernet sauvignon, and today, they are the dominant clones in California.

Q: The Concannon family continues to have a role at the winery. Why has that been important to the new owners of the winery?

A: Heritage, heritage, heritage! We have intentionally named our best wine in honor of our heritage — The Heritage Petite Sirah. This is a wine I make with all of our modern winemaking techniques, but in a style and character that harks back to our earliest philosophy of making the wines true to the vineyard from whence they came.

Q: Some wineries try to be "Estate-oriented with most of their fruit coming from vineyards near the winery. How much of your needs come from your own vineyards and what varieties are they?

A: Our aim is to make all of our Reserve wines from our own vineyards — where we have the ultimate control, Mother Nature aside, over the quality of the grapes. We crush enough Livermore Valley petite sirah grapes from our own vineyards to fulfill our needs for the entire Limited Release Petite Sirah program — our national and international showcase petite sirah wine.

Q: Why were those varieties chosen for the vineyard site and not others?

A: Livermore Valley is THE site in California for petite sirah. That's what I think, but I guess someone else must have thought the same in the last 100 years since so much was planted around the winery here. And the site of our estate vineyards on the rocky, sandy soils surrounding the winery is where I see the best combination of soil and climate working together to provide wines that are the most intense and fantastically structured in the valley.

Q: Some of your other wines come from selected sites around the state. Where beside the Livermore Valley do you source your fruit, and what is it about those sites that led you to them?

A: Besides Livermore, we have some great grower's vineyards in Monterey County, especially for the cool climate Concannon Select Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. We have our estate pinot noir and chardonnay vineyards in Edna Valley. And we have taken advantage of the warm maritime climate of Paso Robles to obtain some parcels of syrah for our Concannon Select Vineyards Syrah wine.

Q:You have mentioned a winery style a couple of times. What stands out in your mind as the most important considerations in the Concannon approach to winemaking?

A: My main focus here at Concannon is to make wines that appeal to the consumers instantly. Obviously, I hope that some of them, especially our bigger reds, can also age in bottle for a bit of time. This is my goal across all of our price ranges. I want the wines to show the essence of their vineyard origin, to show their own special characters and individuality, and that are distinctive enough to stick in the taster's mind long after the bottle is empty.

Q: What do you see as the future of the winery? Is there some expansion of grape types and volume produced in your future?

A: We are going full steam ahead developing the winery to take us into the next 125 years. We are in the process of building a new winery facility. We are going to significantly upgrade our barrel processing capability, and make some changes to how we ferment and process our wines. The focus is heavily weighted toward petite sirah winemaking and maximizing the fruit intensity in the wines. I think you should see a pretty cool approach to petite sirah winemaking here in the coming year or two, but let's wait until then to talk about exactly what I have in store.