A Day in the Life of Jeff Owens

Although he had been with the Plumpjack Group’s winemaking team for more than eight years, it wasn’t until 2014 that the wine industry turned its spotlight on Jeff Owens. “The Wine Advocate founder” and acclaimed wine critic Robert Parker awarded Owens’s 2012 Odette Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon a perfect 100. This was the Sacramento native’s first vintage as head winemak- er at Odette Estate, making him the only winemaker in the world to earn a perfect score on an inaugural wine. Some 500 cases of the historic wine were produced, and it sold out almost immediately. Since the groundbreaking launch of his initial cult Napa Cab, Owens, who has a degree in wine and viticulture with a concentration on enology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, has been keeping his head down to focus on producing high-quality wine. Not afraid to get down and dirty, Owens worked his way up from cellar assistant to head winemaker at Odette Estate, stopping along the way to labor as assistant winemaker at PlumpJack’s other wineries, CADE and PlumpJack. These days, he’s working on his fifth vintage and has the natural confidence of a seasoned winemaker. “I try not to second-guess myself,” he said on a recent sunny but windy morning. “As a winemaker, you have to be really confident when you make your decisions. Once you pick the grapes, you can’t put them back on the vine. Once you press the grapes, you can’t put the juice back in. If I have any doubt, luckily, I have a really great team. They know the exact direction that I am heading and will help me with the timing of decisions.” As he gears up to host a dinner for 20 as part of the Auction Napa Valley vintner dinner series, Owens gave us a glimpse into his busy day.

Here’s what a typical 24 hours at Odette Estate looks like during harvest season, the most hectic time of the year. (Note that most definitions of wine terms provided here within brackets are from the “Wine Spectator” glossary.)

5 A.M. My alarm goes off, I shower, make some coffee, have breakfast (if I’m lucky!), kiss my family goodbye, and hit the road. If I have time to make breakfast, which I often do not, I throw an English muffin or a bagel in the toaster. It’s gotta be something easy that I can grab and eat on the go.

5:30 A.M. I head straight to the Odette Estate vineyard. If we have any grape picks scheduled, I check in with the vineyard crew to ensure we’re on the same page and address any questions or concerns. I show up at the vineyard at the same time as the crew arrives—sunrise. We do a lot of separation with vine- yards, and I flag everything and make sure the pickers have an understanding of what to pick. I mark everything with green tape and red tape. Green means go and red means stop. We usually talk a couple of days before the pick, and I go over and clarify everything with the team. After the crews get started, I walk each block [a row of vines] — we have 19 blocks and they range from .8 of an acre to a little over 3 acres, so I do a lot of walking. While I’m walking, I taste the grapes for flavor and to determine upcoming micro picks in the vineyard. I always bring flagging tape with me to mark the appropriate separations for these picks.

6:30 A.M. I make the rounds throughout the winery and taste all fermenters. After I taste, I write the fermentation protocols, including any press/cut decisions. The day’s game plan goes up on the board, and I meet up with my wine-making crew to discuss the day.