Winery shifts focus away from incubator
WINE PROPRIETOR Jeff Fadness (right) is the winemaker of La Vie Dansante Wines. File photo
Musical chairs has been the theme for tasting rooms in South County this year. We asked Jeff Fadness of La Vie Dansante to set the vinyl straight.
Fadness said Blended, A Winemaker’s Studio, functioned exactly as originally intended, as an incubator for new wineries to make wine and build their brand. Recently, Ron Mosley of TASS turned his attention to Cinnabar Winery in Saratoga, while Ted Medeiros relocated to the Sierra foothills.
“This is fantastic news for them, and for us,” Fadness said. “It was always our intention to grow into the facility ourselves and eventually retire Blended in favor of La Vie Dansante Wines.”
He is still open to hosting another winery that wants to produce 750 to 1,000 cases of wine yearly from local grapes, and participate in events and marketing.
“So far, the people who have approached us only want to use the tasting room to sell wine they’ve already made elsewhere, or they are looking for a place to make wine to sell offsite,” Fadness said. “Neither meet the ‘family’ criteria we’re looking for in a partner.”
Meanwhile, La Vie Dansante Wines will continue to showcase Rhones, while sister brand LVD Wine Company offers cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay, plus additional non-Rhone varietals.
Both brands are now featured in the tasting room.
“To be really clear,” Fadness said, “we’re not killing off Blended, just moving it out of the spotlight for now in favor of focusing on La Vie Dansante Wines.”
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