The Owners - William Westover Smyth
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When Ione Westover was born in the Castro Valley in 1906, she would have never guessed that eventually her grandson would found a successful winery just mile from that very spot. William never would have thought of it either until he had the opportunity to purchase land in the Castro Valley in 1986. He planted vineyards to improve the beauty and value of the land. Eventually he started selling the grapes to local winemakers. He sold grapes for years before trying his hand at producing wine.
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William attended winemaking classes at U.C. Davis, California, but found the class of 50 other novice students to be more tedious than helpful. He sought the assistance of local winemakers Bob Burger, Kent Rosenbloom and Thomas Coyne to learn the art and craft of winemaking. Together they built up a skill set for producing highly palatable small lot wines. By 1994, William decided to try to make it on his own, but maintained his old contacts within the winemaking community.
It can be difficult to find experienced individuals willing to help out in this industry. However, William managed to find exchange students from various wine growing regions around the world to assist him in learning his craft. Students came from South Africa, France, Hungary and Germany to help learn the trade. They would volunteer their services at other wineries as well. When his students returned, they formed a learning circle along with William to share the secrets of creating a great vintage. He slowly built his winery up on direct hands-on experience and the wisdom of those willing to learn with him and from him.
Westover still uses the ideas of other winemakers in the Valley to craft superb wines. William says his best ideas come from friends, customers and other winemakers. Crafting the perfect wine is an art as much as a science. Each varietal is an individual palette, and each vintage a masterpiece. He aims to create wines that he would drink himself. After all, if it’s not good enough for the winemaker, how could it possibly be good enough for his customers?
Currently William works on wines that are interesting to him and present a challenge to work with. Avoiding the corporate environment of a large winery allows him as much creative freedom as he wants when working with a varietal or developing a new flavored port. The perpetual student has also once again become the teacher, teaching wine appreciation courses and occasionally taking on new assistants. Winemaking is a social industry, and as long as there are customers and growers’ associations, William is in it for the long haul, creating works of art with a touch of whimsy.
The Owners - Jill Ramie Smyth
Bob Berger recruited his daughter Jill to help him in his small winemaking business back in the early 90's. Jill learned the industry from the ground up: harvesting, crushing, racking and bottling. There was no intention of making the wine business into her life's work until she met her father's assistant, Bill Smyth. The two hit it off in more ways than one, and they began to build both a winery and a life time together.
Jill is the Director of the Westover and Palomares Vineyards "COW Club" (Connoisseurs of Westover wine club). She also takes care of ordering, event planning and facilities management. Jill is always there to lend a hand in any of the winery's day to day operations. With years of hands-on experience, one of the best teachers in the industry (Bob Berger) and almost a lifetime of expertise, she gets the final say on which vintages bear the Palomares label.
Westover is a fully functioning family farm and the care of the vines, animals and buildings falls on Jill's shoulders. She takes everything in stride. Her philosophy is "Work hard; play hard." The winemaking business is as much a social industry as a manufacturing one, and she takes it all in stride. She makes sure that every visitor's experience at Westover is a great one and that everyone on the staff can keep making the best wines in the Livermore Valley.