Brooke and Mike Carhartt
Like me, Mike Carhartt married way up. And he agrees. “She’s smart,
intelligent, good-looking, creative – she takes care of everything,” he says of
his wife of almost 37 years and his partner in the Carhartt Vineyards business,
which they launched in 1996. He grows the grapes and Brooke makes the wine – a
labor of love, these days, with their son, Chase. When the 30-year-old – a whiz both in the
winery and across myriad social media platforms – entered the business, “that
made the whole thing blossom even more,” adds Mike. Carhartt produces 7000
cases of wine a year and sells all of it directly to consumer, both through
their wine club and their trendy new tasting cabin in Los Olivos. It is a seven-day-a-week
gig, and a family affair, which means that the lines between work and home
often blur. “We have a rule that, after six or seven o’clock, we don’t talk
shop,” says Brooke. And then she adds, with a laugh, “It’s not always
successful, but it’s a good theory!” This partnership – and it’s clearly a
happy, healthy one when you spend time with the two of them – is a reflection
of a mutual respect for boundaries. “We both have our own tasks and roles in
our business and we both trust one another in those roles,” says Brooke, “so we
don’t have to micromanage each other.” Their intimate understanding of their
brand and their winegrowing philosophies helps: “We started it together, it’s
our business, and we discuss everything with each other,” she adds. And they
both acknowledge their good fortune – “an incredible ride,” Mike calls it. But
does this couple’s venture bring its share of trying moments? You bet. “The
hardest part,” Brooke says, tongue in cheek, “is that I have to make him lunch
every day!”
Sarah and Blair Fox
This is a story about high school sweethearts who went on to get
married, have two kids and launch, not one, but two, successful wine labels. “I feel fortunate to be able to work alongside
such a talented husband/winemaker who loves what he does and who’s so good at
it,” says Sarah Fox, who started dating Blair during senior year at Santa
Barbara High. She studied at SBCC, and he at UCSB, before the two graduated
from UC Davis. This year, as parents of 14- and 11-year-old soccer star
daughters, they’ll celebrate 20 years of marriage. There’s no denying
Blair Fox’s credentials, or workload: when the winner of the prestigious Andre
Tchelistcheff Winemaker of the Year Award is not making wines for Fess Parker
Winery, he’s working on his own, for both Blair Fox Cellars and Fox Wine Co.
She helps with the winemaking, runs the tasting rooms and manages the
businesses. Sticking together as a couple for decades goes far in making the
wine businesses work. “We’ve been together so long, and we’ve been doing this
together so long, that we’ve figured it out,” says Blair. Sarah admits that “no matter what time of day or night, a
conversation arises about business, [so] we have to constantly remind ourselves
to keep our evenings as personal as possible.” Kids’ schedules and interests
beyond wine keep things fresh, and defined roles keep the business moving.
“When it comes to hard core winemaking decisions, that’s where I step
in,” says Blair. “In terms of business and ideology and what needs to be done,
that’s her. And that helps the relationship – usually!”
Sonja Magdevski & Greg Brewer
Wine is what
brought Sonja Magdevski and Greg Brewer together, and it’s what’s keeping them
together, too. She’s the mastermind behind the fun, popular Casa Dumetz brand.
He’s the phenom who’s made the Brewer-Clifton label, part of Jackson Family Wines, synonymous with the best in
Santa Barbara pinot noir and chardonnay. For the two of them, wine is more than
a job, of course – it’s a lifestyle. And like any passion project – like any
endeavor that means putting your heart on the line day in and day out – it’s
defined by its ups and its downs. “It’s beautiful when you understand someone’s
industry from the inside so well, so that the second they say one word or make
a comment or have a certain expression on their face, you know exactly the
gravity of what that means,” says Sonja. Her marriage to Greg in 2016 was her
first, his second. It was a business relationship first, then a friendship. And
then the mutual respect they had for each other as winemakers “ramped
things up,” recalls Greg, with a laugh. He agrees with Sonja that empathy is
key for them – he calls it “really healthy in keeping our spirits going.” But a
successful personal relationship in the wine biz is also about checks and
balances. “Wine projects are so emotionally fueled that they’re really our own
identity – we’re really deep in it, 100% in,” he says. “Having someone to read
that and help navigate that for the other is a beautiful equilibrium to
maintain.” Sonja brings it back to that mutual respect that fueled their
romance in the first place: “We’re each other’s number one fan.”
Wise words for any relationship, and in any industry, I say.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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