Ojai Mountain Estate’s Towering Terroir

The allure of high-elevation vineyards in untested regions can prove too tempting for winemakers to ignore, even if they’re already overloaded with projects and living 400 miles away. 

“As soon as I set foot on the property, I was mesmerized by the possibilities,” said Erich Bradley, the Sonoma-based vintner of the Ojai Mountain Estate, which was planted six years ago at nearly 3,000 feet atop Sulphur Mountain. “It’s one of those places that evokes an emotional response.”

That’s only happened a few times during his quarter-century career, usually at vineyards that scrape the sky and boast other compelling qualities. At Ojai Mountain, those include shale soils, constant sun exposure, and a steady marine influence, with the Santa Barbara Channel just 10 miles away. “The combination of all those factors lead to a terroir signature that’s incredibly unique,” said Bradley. “That’s a big draw for any winemaker.”

There’s a visceral draw for most anyone to the location itself, which sports epic views of Point Mugu, the Oxnard Plain, Santa Paula, and the entire length of Santa Cruz Island, overlooking canyons that even map fans like me didn’t know existed. Or maybe it’s just that positive vortex mojo so often associated with Ojai. “We’re basically in the middle of all that goodness,” said Olga Chernov, the St. Petersburg–born finance executive/fintech entrepreneur who purchased the 120-acre property in 2015 with her husband, UCLA finance professor Mikhail Chernov. 

Their original idea was to have a small family farm where their young boys could connect with the outdoors away from the Los Angeles bustle. “This whole thing is a complete accident,” Chernov told me with a smile when I visited last fall. “I just wanted a little cottage and a couple fruit trees for the family.”

Upon learning that grapes might be the only thing that could grow in that dry, hardscrabble environment, Chernov found herself in charge of a much bigger beast, enlisting veteran Ojai viticulturist Martin Ramirez to brave the steep hillsides to plant more than seven acres of grapes in 2018. The next year, the Chernovs — long fans of Bradley’s Repris brand — approached him at a wine release party and invited him to the property. 

“She’s very direct and not shy,” recalled Bradley. “As soon as they started describing the growing conditions, it sounded intriguing to me.”

Bradley flew down the next weekend, recalled Chernov, and then came Phil Coturri, a pioneer of biodynamic and organic grape-growing. It helped that both were impressed by Ramirez. “He has a nice way about him, but he also has the green thumb,” said Bradley. “There are a few vineyard managers I’ve come across who just know how to grow things.” 

With their dream team assembled, they forged into the inaugural vintage of 2020. “The wines superseded my expectations,” said Bradley. 

But they did make some quick changes to the vineyard, which was planted shotgun-style to a wide variety of grape varieties. “The Bordeauxs were good but the Rhones were head-turning,” said Bradley, who’s especially excited about the syrah. “The nebbiolo was really interesting, but it paled in comparison to the potential that tempranillo showed.”

For now, his primary goal is to shepherd these vines into the wines that they want to be. “I’m really focused on trying to stay out of the way so that my sensibilities don’t somehow mask the true beauty of what comes out of the raw material,” said Bradley, who sees these years as the baby steps on a long journey. “I know I’m not the person who’s gonna be responsible for making the best wines that are ever grown on this site. These things take so long to get established, but I enjoy this role of just helping get it on firm ground and setting it up for the long haul.”

Though this is his first attempt to make wines south of the Bay Area — where he was raised in Palo Alto — Bradley’s mindset feels well attuned to uncovering whatever magic exists on Ojai Mountain. Most critically, he prefers making wines that are reflective of the land rather than achieving the perfect bottling. 

“They have all the right curves in all the right places,” he said of wines, such as top-shelf Champagnes, that aim for such perfection. “But they’re not terroir-driven wines. Those are something else. They may as well be in a different profession from what I do.”

The Chernovs, who spend most of their weekends on the mountain, are excited to plant more grapes in the years to come. “I think I’m reliving all of the stuff I was deprived of as a child,” laughed Chernov, whose urban upbringing in Russia didn’t include pets or gardens. “I’m compensating!” 

For her, this remains an investment in family. “If my kids become decent humans, maybe then it’s worth it,” she said. 

Bradley is still awestruck when he visits, as he will do next week, when he shares the wines at a special Ojai Valley Inn tasting. “I love the experience of trying to figure this puzzle out and get that vineyard set up so that it can be there a very long time,” he said. “There’s no way to even know if it’s ever gonna work out or not. It certainly feels like an adventure.”

Erich Bradley will share wines from Ojai Mountain Vineyard at the Ojai Valley Inn on Tue., Aug. 6, at 3:30 p.m.. Tickets are $225. Click here for more details. See ojaimountainestate.com.