Tom Jones

I am going to veer off the path a little with this blog as I wanted to take this opportunity to pay tribute to a true gentleman...Tom Jones.  No, not the Welsh singer who became one of the most popular icon's of the 1960's, but rather the Tom Jones I was so lucky to have known, the one with a rich history of accomplishments a mile long, and whose passion was wine!  Thomas Victor Jones passed quietly recently in his home on the Moraga Vineyards in Bel Air, CA...he was 93. Tom was a soft spoken innovator who spent nearly four decades at Northrop as its top ranked executive, over time he fought for many technical breakthroughs in the aviation industry that changed forever the military systems that helped to make our country safer during times of war.  I wish I could have been a fly on the wall in those board meetings where his ideas were discussed and put into action!  So many hours and so much dedication to this career...ah, but then in his second career, Tom and his late wife Ruth developed and established Moraga Vineyards and Winery on a hillside of their property in the middle of Los Angeles. When I first met Tom, Kirsten and I were in the beginnings of trying to establish our own vineyards in the Alexander Valley and I had no idea of his history or accomplishments.  At that first meeting, Tom took a keen interest in what we were doing and he shared so much about the trials and tribulations of establishing a vineyard.  Tom had a thing for perfection...he went into great detail describing how he painstakingly made sure that each vine in the vineyard was the right match for the micro climate and soils of his hillside.  The Moraga vineyard is 16 acres situated at a 600 to 900 foot elevation just five miles from the Pacific Ocean.  We spent many an hour sitting in the beautiful setting of his winery, adjacent to his home and Ruth's garden with heirloom irises and roses. At the winery,  looking out over the vines and conversing over a glass of the Moraga White...I would swear I was in the wine county and not in Los Angeles!  But then he would take his guests on a hair raising jeep ride up through the vines, where at 900 feet the city views were spectacular. The trait I loved the most of Tom's was his genuine interest in a person and his ability to really listen ...he never pretended to know more than anyone else, and I do believe he was always seeking to learn something new about grape growing and wine.  The wines he crafted had the complex flavors of the hillside and the elegance of his nature.  The first Moraga Red Table Wine was produced in 1989 and released in 1992. The blend for Moraga Red Table Wine is biased toward Cabernet Sauvignon, but includes a considerable contribution from Merlot, with the objective of producing the best possible blend.  Tom's first Moraga White Table Wine was produced in 1998 and released in 2000. The grapes for the Moraga White Wine consist of a single clone of Sauvignon Blanc. They are grown in the deep gravel beds and cooler temperatures of the canyon floor which is considered the optimal growing environment for this varietal.  The very last time I sat with Tom, the very first thing he asked me was...'How are those grapes doing on the hillside?'  Tom always had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye that told you he was a friend...he was one of the 'original' entrepreneurs,  with a true Bohemian spirit!

Tom Jones, you will be missed.