Central Coast Trailblazers, Wine Industry Pioneers Larry Schaffer, Owner & Winemaker, tercero wines – Moderator Fred Brander, Owner & General Manager, The Brander Vineyard Gary Eberle, Owner & Winemaker, Eberle Winery Jerry Lohr, Founder & CEO, J. Lohr Vineyards Lane Tanner, Partner & Winemaker, Lumen Wines

Lane Tanner First Independent Female Winemaker in Santa Barbara County 1984 – Started LR Consultants and the Hitching Post label Started her eponymous Lane Tanner label in 1989 Made wine consistently until 2009, when she retired her Lane Tanner label and ‘took a break’ 2012 – Became winemaker for the Sierra Madre Vineyards label 2013 – Partnered with Will Henry and started the Lumen label, which is still going strong today

Jerry Lohr Born and raised in South Dakota and graduated from South Dakota State in 1958 Received an MS and completed coursework for a PhD in Civil Engineering from Stanford in 1961 Joined the Air Force and was a Captain from 1961-64 Went into land development and custom home building – but he became interested in wine grapes First vineyard was in the Arroyo Seco region of Monterey County, planted in 1971

Jerry Lohr Began planting Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and other varieties in Paso Robles in 1988 Now has over 2,300 acres of Estate Vineyards and is considered a ‘leader’ in the SLO and Paso regions Gives back on a regular basis to wine education programs throughout the state, especially Cal Poly SLO Family, Region, Farming

Fred Brander Came to the US from Argentina with his parents and sibling in 1962 Father Erik, on a suggestion from Fred, purchased a 40-acre lot in Los Olivos and began planting a vineyard in 1975, mainly to Bordeaux varieties Fred worked with his father for 3 decades until Erik passed in 2010 Fred received an MS in Food Science from UC Davis in the early 1970s

Fred Brander First Sauvignon Blanc harvest in 1977 led to Santa Barbara County’s first ever Gold Medal at a major wine competition Built The Brander Vineyard winery facility in 1979 Those that have made wine under and with Fred are truly a ‘who’s who’ of not only the local Santa Barbara County wine industry, but many others around the world

Gary Eberle Grew up in Pennsylvania and went to Penn State on a football scholarship Also received a BS in Biology from Penn State Attended LSU to study cellular genetics, but got bit by the wine bug and moved west to attend UC Davis Received his degree in Enology in 1971 and moved to Paso in 1973 Helped establish the Estrella River Winery and Vineyard in the 1970s

Gary Eberle Purchased 64 acres down the road from the family business and established his own winery, releasing his first Cabernet Sauvignon in 1979 By 1984, the Eberle Winery production facility and tasting room were open By 1994, Eberle built the first wine caves in Paso Robles, and now they have over 16,000 square feet Pioneer for Rhone Varieties in this region – and beyond