J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines: Rooted In Quality - Tasting Panel Magazine

In 1987, moviegoers were packing theaters to see The Princess Bride and Dirty Dancing; bookworms were devouring copies of Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities; and TV lovers were tuning in to Star Trek: The Next Generation and Married . . . With Children. Enophiles, for their part, would still have to wait a bit to taste the inaugural vintage of J. Lohr Estates Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested that year by California’s J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines—but today, the label is considered a classic in its category no less than those films, novels, and series are in theirs. 

Of course, unlike a work of art, which is created just once, a wine can only become a classic over the course of many successive vintages. How has J. Lohr managed to turn a value brand like Seven Oaks into the bestselling Paso Robles–appellated wine in the U.S., with a jaw-dropping annual production of nearly 920,000 cases and further distribution in 32 countries, while remaining “rooted in a commitment to quality in every aspect of its winemaking,” in the words of Adam Pizer, senior vice president of supplier business development for distributor Breakthru Beverage Group?

According to J. Lohr’s director of national accounts, off premise, Troy Hamilton, the answer lies in “the three pillars” of “Family, Place, and Craft” that embody the company’s philosophy since its founding exactly 50 years ago by Jerry Lohr: “We always position ourselves around those three things—that’s what’s kept us going, is that amazing consistency.” For all their growth, family ownership has facilitated a cohesive philosophy of vertical integration by which they continue to maintain oversight over everything from vineyard site selection to bottling.

Certainly, their vision for Seven Oaks hasn’t changed since the wine’s inception. “What we really wanted to do was to bring forward a Cabernet that had rich fruit and mouthfeel but with a soft-medium tannin profile suited to food pairing,” explains J. Lohr’s second-generation president and CEO, Steve Lohr, “because we knew even almost 40 years ago that on-premise placements would lead to off-premise business. Getting it in people’s mouths while they were enjoying a nice dinner would cause them to then go to their local wine shop, maybe a grocery store, and pick up a bottle there.” What the Lohrs also knew well before most was that Paso Robles was just the place to produce that sort of wine. Indeed, they were pioneers in the area, having acquired property there in the mid- 1980s expressly on the grounds that its relatively warm climate, enhanced by significant diurnal temperature swings, would be ideal for cultivating Bordeaux varieties.

They were right, and to this day, Seven Oaks is sourced entirely from estate vineyards in the region for which it has become a standard-bearer. While the original site source was home to the trees that inspired its name, it now comes from some 400 different blocks on J. Lohr’s Sinclair, Jones, and home ranches, where “we are real sticklers for details,” says Steve—not least when it comes to the sustainable practices that set the producer apart, especially in the under-$20 category. For instance, their team uses pressure bombs to assess irrigation needs rather than soil sensors to monitor the moisture content of the vines, which Steve admits “takes more labor, but it really makes the difference, allowing us to determine exactly how much water each vine needs—not just how much water’s in the soil.” Planting ground cover between vineyard rows also helps J. Lohr manage water use, as the natural grasses aid in not only preventing winter rain runoff but help keep dust levels down (which, in turn, reduces the need to spray for dust mites).

In their Paso Robles winery—which happens to boast the largest solar tracking array of any winery in North America, providing more than 75% of its electrical needs—the Lohrs are likewise sticklers for the kinds of details that ensure Seven Oaks “continues to overdeliver year after year,” in Pizer’s words. For starters, their investment in infrastructure has been such that they can process 600-plus tons of Cabernet a day at harvest and fully vinify 100 lots at a time, evaluating each at their leisure daily without concern for freeing up tank space. But perhaps more important, in Steve’s view, is the aging regimen. “One of the things that really helps us make that excellent quality-to-price ratio is our use of oak barrels,” he explains. “Most wineries our size are not using traditional 59-gallon oak for every drop of their similarly priced Cabernet—at $15–$20, they can’t afford to. But we think it’s a process that you just can’t skimp on. You can’t just put staves in tank or add chips or even oak dust” to keep costs down. “It’s that commitment to an oak barrel regime [that’s reflected in the glass],” he continues—“and when I say commitment, we own 94,000 barrels,” 40,000 of which are allocated to the Seven Oaks program. “And we’re happy to write that check for brand-new oak barrels every single year so that we get that proper balance, that wonderful complexity and mouthfeel in the Cabernet.”

In short, for an SRP of $17, Seven Oaks “is made with a lot more integrity than some of our competitors,” says Hamilton, who points out that “Jerry Lohr’s mission of constant improvement” has led to a refinement of the estate sourcing process across the portfolio: “We’ve upgraded our fruit selection for [higher-tier label] J. Lohr Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon . . . and as the quality of Hilltop has gone up, the quality of Seven Oaks has also gone up, because a lot of the fruit that used to go into Hilltop is now going into Seven Oaks. . . . We’re making better wine all the time, which is something that keeps your consumers [loyal]. Everyone could switch to the cheaper brands, but they haven’t.” Even in a sluggish year for sales like this one, he adds, “This brand is pretty resilient. . . . It tends to rebound and come right back, because consumers don’t forget the quality.” Agrees Adam Pizer, “It has a proven track record with consumers and consistent high ratings; [it’s always] positioned to help retailers and restaurants win with their customers.”

That success may reflect Seven Oaks’ complexity relative to the category as a whole, but its appeal isn’t complicated. “I think having a really nice, rich, great-tasting Cabernet is important for any wine lover—especially given that it’s under $20,” says Steve. “It’s afford- able for everyone from the new wine drinker in their 20s or 30s who’s just getting started to the boomer who’s a more experienced Cabernet consumer who may have more expensive bottles in their cellar but also enjoys a nice everyday Cabernet with Paso Robles quality and character. . . . I would just say that Seven Oaks checks all those boxes.”