by Fred McMillin for February 17, 1998 Victor Hugo Roberts Prologue 1982—David and Christina Crawford Koontz buy a 475-acre San Luis Obispo ranch for a vineyard-winery. Christina invites her old high school chum Stephanie Rosenbloom and husband Lawrence to join in the adventure. As both couples lived and worked in Los Angeles, winemaker Victor Hugo Roberts did the on site work. 1987—The Rosenblooms take over the winery. Who continues as winemaker? Victor Hugo Roberts. Also, there is a new infusion of bucks from a new partner-investor, none other than "Jeopardy's" Alex Trebek. 1997—Victor is still the winemaker, and "has provided the foundation for our award-winning releases." ...from Anthony Dias Blue, Robert Balzer, the Rosenblooms, et. al. The Rest of the Story Victor has done alright. His wines were served at the inaugurations of both presidents Reagan and Bush. One wine remained a mystery to me. Zinfandel was planted as early as 1982, yet for about ten years the Pinot Noir and Cabs got more notice. However, the Zin seemed to be coming on. The "Wine Spectator" said the 1990 was very good with special qualities. Critic James Halliday started talking about the estate-grown Zin with words like, "lovely... bursting with bright berry fruits." I put the '94 in a recent tasting and it whipped eight other reds, six of which were more expensive. You can find what Victor has achieved with Zin in the last 15 years for only $12. The Wine 1994 Zinfandel, Paso Robles, Estate Bottled Creston Vineyards, Creston, CA. Quality—My 15 tasters found it rich and gave it a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Price—$12 (bargain) Postscript Co-founder Christina Crawford Koontz is the daughter of someone you will well remember, Joan Crawford. About the Writer Fred McMillin, a veteran wine writer, has taught wine history for 30 years on three continents. He currently teaches wine courses at San Francisco State and San Francisco City College and is Northern California Editor for American Wine on the Web. In 1995, the Academy of Wine Communications honored Fred with one of only 22 Certificates of Commendation awarded to American wine writers.	WineDay Annex More articles by Fred McMillin Welcome to WineDay, the electronic Gourmet Guide's daily update. Monday through Thursday, WineDay presents a wine profile. Then on Fridays we present the Winery of the Week to take you through the weekend Current WineDay 1997 WineDays January WineDays 02/16/98 Galileo and Wine 02/13/98 Winery of the Week Valentine Wine 02/12/98 Lincoln State Dinner 02/11/98 "Foulweather Jack" 02/10/98 Botrytis the Beautiful 02/09/98 Chalk Talk 02/06/98 Winery of the Week Menada of Bulgaria 02/05/98 Something's New Under the Sun 02/04/98 The Meritage Debate 02/03/98 A Musqué to Remember 02/02/98 Toast to Februarius
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