Greetings Readers of Our Wine Story. This is the continuation in a series of posts dedicated to an interview held with Captûre’s Vineyard Manager, Dave Komar. We hope this series will allow you an eye-opening view into Dave’s origin, opinions, and passion for wine.
I know you enrolled in Santa Rosa Junior College for viticulture at age 18. Is that a normal decision for a Sonoma County resident or did you find your friends going elsewhere?
Dave Komar: Some of my friends went elsewhere, but the SRJC was also a really popular choice. Anyone who lived in Sonoma County and had a gpa of 3.0 or higher was automatically eligible for the Doyle Scholarship at SRJC, so you could basically go through your first two years of college for free if you kept your grades up. That was part of the reason behind my choice, but the other reason was that the junior college had a great viticulture program, so I was able to knock out my GE [General Education] courses, study viticulture, and work part time at a winery all at the same time.
What attracted you most to the discipline of Fruit Science?
Dave Komar: At the time I went to Cal Poly, they didn’t yet have a viticulture program, but they did have Fruit Science as a major and it included all the viticulture classes. If I were to go there now my degree would end up being in viticulture. It was the natural progression for me after my time at SRJC.
Your first job out of Cal Poly was with Benziger’s biodynamic estate. Did this property appeal to you because it was biodynamic?
Dave Komar: Yes that definitely added to the appeal. It was also really appealing because it was, and I guess still is, considered pioneer Pinot Noir country. 10 years ago most people thought Bodega was too cold for grapes, and Benziger along with a few other really high end producers were brave enough to try it. Much like Pine Mountain is for Cabernet, it was an extreme environment and I really liked the challenge, and of course the reward which is world class wine.
While on that train of thought, what is your stance on biodynamic growing? Is there something to the spiritual aspect or do you believe in the method’s proximity to organic growing?
Dave Komar: I have mixed feelings about biodynamics. The parts of it that are similar to organics are a no brainer and I believe in them whole heartedly, but I’ll admit I had a tougher time grasping some of the more far-out, spiritual elements. For me doing things like using the moon’s rhythms to dictate time of certain operations do make a lot of sense though. But this isn’t specific to biodynamics, it’s something that most farmers have known for centuries.
To be continued…
