1. Central Coast Trailblazers, Wine Industry Pioneers
Larry Schaffer, Owner & Winemaker, tercero wines – Moderator Fred Brander, Owner & General Manager, The Brander Vineyard Gary Eberle, Owner & Winemaker, Eberle Winery Jerry Lohr, Founder & CEO, J. Lohr Vineyards Lane Tanner, Partner & Winemaker, Lumen Wines

2. Lane Tanner First Independent Female Winemaker in Santa Barbara County
1984 – Started LR Consultants and the Hitching Post label
Started her eponymous Lane Tanner label in 1989
Made wine consistently until 2009, when she retired her Lane Tanner label and ‘took a break’
2012 – Became winemaker for the Sierra Madre Vineyards label
2013 – Partnered with Will Henry and started the Lumen label, which is still going strong today

6. Jerry Lohr
Born and raised in South Dakota and graduated from South Dakota State in 1958
Received an MS and completed coursework for a PhD in Civil Engineering from Stanford in 1961
Joined the Air Force and was a Captain from
Went into land development and custom home building – but he became interested in wine grapes
First vineyard was in the Arroyo Seco region of Monterey County, planted in 1971

7. Jerry Lohr
Began planting Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and other varieties in Paso Robles in 1988
Now has over 2,300 acres of Estate Vineyards and is considered a ‘leader’ in the SLO and Paso regions
Gives back on a regular basis to wine education programs throughout the state, especially Cal Poly SLO
Family, Region, Farming

10. Fred Brander
Came to the US from Argentina with his parents and sibling in 1962
Father Erik, on a suggestion from Fred, purchased a 40-acre lot in Los Olivos and began planting a vineyard in 1975, mainly to Bordeaux varieties
Fred worked with his father for 3 decades until Erik passed in 2010
Fred received an MS in Food Science from UC Davis in the early 1970s

11. Fred Brander
First Sauvignon Blanc harvest in 1977 led to Santa Barbara County’s first ever Gold Medal at a major wine competition
Built The Brander Vineyard winery facility in 1979
Those that have made wine under and with Fred are truly a ‘who’s who’ of not only the local Santa Barbara County wine industry, but many others around the world

14. Gary Eberle
Grew up in Pennsylvania and went to Penn State on a football scholarship
Also received a BS in Biology from Penn State
Attended LSU to study cellular genetics, but got bit by the wine bug and moved west to attend UC Davis
Received his degree in Enology in 1971 and moved to Paso in 1973
Helped establish the Estrella River Winery and Vineyard in the 1970s

15. Gary Eberle
Purchased 64 acres down the road from the family business and established his own winery, releasing his first Cabernet Sauvignon in 1979
By 1984, the Eberle Winery production facility and tasting room were open
By 1994, Eberle built the first wine caves in Paso Robles, and now they have over 16,000 square feet
Pioneer for Rhone Varieties in this region – and beyond