Remembering John Munch: A Paso Robles Legend

By Chelsea Franchi

On Saturday, August 17^th, some 300 friends, family, and members of the Paso Robles wine community gathered to celebrate the life of John Munch. The gathering included people from the many diverse interests that John pursued, from food and wine to music to motorcycle riding and woodworking.

The thriving Paso Robles wine community of today owes its pioneering spirit to that of its founders. As is the case with so many beloved and dynamic wine areas, Paso is a region founded by renegades and dreamers. We are fortunate that so many, from Gary Eberle to Ken Volk to Niels and Bimmer Udsen, are still a part of that fabric. We at Tablas Creek are humbled and honored to call these renegades and dreamers our mentors and peers. And perhaps no one in that founding group was as creative and unconventional a dreamer as John Munch.

John became a winemaker, as he told it, by accident: agreeing to help friends from France make sparkling wines at the old Estrella River Winery, where Gary Eberle was head Winemaker. From there he became a founding partner and winemaker at Adelaida Cellars in 1981, making Adelaida one of the first ten wineries in the region. Less than a decade later, while still running Adelaida, he launched his own small winery, Le Cuvier, on his Adelaida Road property just a few miles west of Paso Robles. But even while he was winemaker at Adelaida, John was a person who always had a few irons in the fire; in the mid-1980s he had already planted Syrah on his own property, and according to lore, a barrel tasting that the Perrins and Robert Haas had of the 1988 vintage of that Syrah was influential in their decision to search the west side of Paso Robles for the property that would become Tablas Creek.

His connection to Tablas Creek was important in other ways. In 1991, John gave our very own Neil Collins his first winemaking opportunity. Neil tells the story of the day he rolled up to his interview in a 1965 Volvo held together by baling wire and duct tape. John apparently took one look at Neil’s vehicle and concluded that if he could keep that thing running, he could certainly keep a winery running. Neil got the job that would change the trajectory of his life and the lives of countless others; the ripple effect of mentorship in a tight community like Paso Robles creates far-reaching and indelible changes. 

Some things never change: to this day, a cold beer and good conversation remain the gold standard after a hard day's work

While Neil and John were working (and likely getting into plenty of tomfoolery) together at Adelaida, Tablas Creek was making forward progress. Bob Haas and the Perrins had purchased land, and vines imported from the nursery that supplied Beaucastel passed quarantine at Cornell University. While those vines were being propagated in our nursery, the partners selected a handful of Rhone varieties available in the US from trusted sources to plant and get some grapegrowing and winemaking experience. Today, we use the acronyms AV and VF to differentiate between “American Vines” and “Vignes Française” (French Vines). The American vines, planted in 1992, bore fruit starting in 1994, and Bob and the Perrins reached out John to rent space at Adelaida Cellars for an interim home to make their first vintages. The partners would fly out for harvest, and there are amazing photos from this era of Bob Haas and Jean-Pierre Perrin sitting on tanks, holding hoses, driving forklifts and operating pumps, like the one below. But they would have admitted, even then, that most of the hands-on winemaking was done by John and by Neil. And in 1997, when we finally built our winery, it was with John’s encouragement that Neil reached out to Bob and started the conversation which ended up with Neil as Tablas Creek’s winemaker, which he is to this day. Given that John mentored Neil and Neil has mentored me, I owe a personal debt of gratitude to John Munch.

Jean Pierre Perrin topping Tablas Creek barrels

Those first few vintages of wine from Tablas Creek grapes, made at Adelaida Cellars, were bottled under various labels including Adelaida Hills, Vineyard Drive, and Tablas Hills. In advance of John’s celebration of life, we pulled some of the original bottles he had helped craft, with the goal of picking one to provide to his celebration of life. My notes on the three wines we tasted, which were amazingly vibrant given they were all nearly 30 years old and made from third- and fourth-leaf grapevines:

1994 Adelaida Hills Assemblage Rouge
On the nose, tobacco leaf, forest floor, iodine, anise, blackberry and pomegranate. The palate is pleasantly minty and herby with dried flowers and undertones of blue fruit with cloves. The wine carries a cool dustiness with vibrant acidity but there’s a slight oxidative note on the finish. Very chewy.

1995 Vineyard Drive Red Table Wine
The nose opens with dried rose petals, stewed plum and meat drippings. The palate is dense and meaty, with iron and flint notes softened by wild strawberry and mint.  The tannins feel velvety and plush, but still carry enough of a grit to hold tight. This wine is beautiful and still going strong. 

1995 Tablas Hills Cuvee Rouge
A lovely meaty character on the nose, accompanied by lilacs, rib eye steaks, cola and clove. On the palate, cranberry and plum skin are tempered by a white pepper and black licorice spiciness. The finish seems to tumble forth and stretch forever, adding raspberry and bramble with thyme sprig. Good acids, grippy tannins, powerful. This was the wine we chose to share at the memorial.

The three wines we tasted

I asked Neil to tell me a little bit about the John Munch he knew, since the two of them had been close friends since that fateful interview in 1991. Neil described John as fearless, innovative, and hilarious. He said John was never one to gloat despite the fact that he was a brilliant musician, an incredible writer, and a great speaker. All of us who knew him remember John fondly as being an animated and passionate human with a deep well of knowledge and ability.

Neil (left) and John (right) at tastings through the years

I think John would have been delighted to taste the wines he helped Tablas Creek create. Thirty years later, they are beautiful and strong with just enough wildness to them. Cheers, John. Thank you for helping to pave the way for the next generations of renegades and dreamers of Paso Robles and beyond.

When co-workers are friends, the line between work and play becomes blurred.  Or in this case, completely non-existent