Growing a Legacy: Pelletiere Estate
Story by Christian Camacho
Photography by Richard Fusillo
In the hills of Paso Robles’ Willow Creek District sits a winery emblazoned with Italian flags, an homage to the owner’s ancestral heritage and an indicator of the wines produced in the vineyard. Italian varietals aren’t commonly grown in this part of wine country, but that’s only part of what makes the story of the all women-run Pelletiere Estate Vineyard and Winery stand out.
Paso Robles is a long way from an Italian suburb in Cicero, Ill. It was in that once small town just outside of Chicago where Janis Pelletiere grew up with an appreciation for home-cooked Italian meals served by the family matriarchs. Jovial conversations around her childhood dinner table built familial connections and fond associations between food and drink.
Janis left home at the age of 21 to find her own seat at a much bigger table in the Bay Area. If a meager resumé is supposed to stop 21-year-old entrepreneurs from pursuing their dreams, Janis did not get the memo. Despite her inexperience, Janis did what all great trailblazers do: She blocked out the noise and got to work. Nearly three decades later, after building a successful research company and raising her son and daughter, it was time to look for greener vineyards.
“I sold my house, I sold my business, and I was going to live in Paso and just retire,” Janis explains, noting that she wanted to be closer to her daughter who was living in San Luis Obispo. “Then I realized, ‘wait, wait, wait, I’m going to leave currency behind [for future generations],’ and I don’t want to do that. I wanted to try to leave a legacy instead. So, in my mind, my legacy required income-producing land, and we were already in Paso.”
Cue the lightbulb moment: “I’m going to buy a winery.”
Acquiring land like that requires good connections, and Janis found a key ally and friend in Amy Butler, the brilliant winemaker behind some of Paso Robles’ well-regarded wineries and current winemaker for McBride Sisters in Napa Valley. Equipped with knowledge of the lay of the land, Amy found the perfect spot for Janis’ winery and was hired on as their first winemaker. Janis purchased the land in September 2014, and Willow Creek was annexed as a sub-AVA (American Viticulture Area) of Paso Robles the following month.
Pelletiere Estate’s first seven vintages saw Janis and Amy create the region’s premier producer of Italian varietals. Janis oversaw the beautification of the property and the tasting room, while Amy’s role was clear, to make the wine good. Theirs was a work relationship founded on mutual trust and respect.
“You always know what [Janis] is thinking because she will tell you,” Amy says with relish. “Working with someone whose expectations were clear was such a breath of fresh air, when my whole career has been, ‘I wonder if he’s just saying that.’”
Even with clearly defined roles, working in a small production winery means wearing many hats. Whether it’s moving and cleaning large format barrels, serving as concierge or managing payroll, the women of Pelletiere lean on one another. “At the heart, it’s a small family–owned business, so you do everything,” explains Morgan Stepp, Janis’ daughter and the social media and wine club manager for Pelletiere Estate.
“She’s discreetly running things,” says Janis, which elicits a chuckle from Morgan. “Morgan is my successor, so she’s going to learn … It’s great. It’s my dream, you know? That she wants to do it and that she’s more than capable of doing it.” Mixing business and family can be a contentious endeavor when familial dynamics get thrown into the workplace and yet the two have built a strong relationship. For Janis and Morgan, they find respite playing golf together to take their minds off the tasting room and focus on being in the moment.
At present, Janis steers the ship with Morgan by her side, and Natasha Boffman serves as Pelletiere’s current winemaker, while her husband helps with the heavy lifting. Though her background is in large-scale wine production, Natasha continues what Amy started, working the land to create a one-of-a-kind product.
“This place is very terroir driven,” Natasha explains on a warm, clear morning. “We don’t do blends here, which is rare for Paso. It’s all single varietals and it’s all right off this ranch.” The beauty of Willow Creek is captured in a bottle with each coming vintage. Whether it’s their sustainably farmed nebbiolo, Sangiovese, or the rare and tedious lagrein, Pelletiere Estate brings the rolling hills of Northern Italy into North County’s backyard.
Pelletiere Estate and the golden Willow Creek soil it stands on will be Janis’ legacy, one she hopes will outlive her, though she’s convinced she’ll outlast the century mark. And if food and wine (especially Italian food and wine) are good for the soul, Janis is built to last. Still, maybe it is best to heed the advice of the Italian adage:
Anni e bicchieri di vino non si contano mai—
Age and glasses of wine should never be counted.
