Fifth Generation
Winemaker
Joseph J.
Wagner
By Sherrie Wilkolaski
to talk with Luxe Beat Magazine and
during the interview, he took me
down the Wagner family memory
lane and when we were done, there
is no question where their success
comes from.
upon. Along with the opportunity
that was in front of me when I joined
the family business, came a great
amount of responsibility for the
current times, but more importantly,
to pass the family legacy on to my
children in a better state than when
I received it. The focal point of
being any generation of a family
winemaker is expanding upon the
trade that I was taught, and handing
that down to my children while
working alongside of them. We each
have our domains that we focus on,
which create a broader scope of
understanding for wine styles
throughout the entire family. We
often share our experiments...both
the good and bad, which stir up
great debate and eventually a rapid
Running a business is hard work.
Running a business with your family
must be even harder. I asked Joseph
what it was like to be a fifth
generation vintner and this is what
he had to say about his family’s
business. “When you’re talking about
a family business, I was fortunate
to be raised in a grape growing and
winemaking family. Having the
amount of knowledge and know-how
from generations before me set an
immense foundation for me to build
78
evolution of new styles. We can take
each other’s successes and build
upon them.”
With such a strong family workethic and drive to keep the legacy
of the Wagner family alive for
generations to come, I wondered
where the name “Meiomi” came from.
As it turns, out it means “coast” in
the language of the native, coastal
dwelling Wappo and Yuki tribes, and
pays tribute to and symbolizes the
origin of their Pinot Noir.
“Meiomi began as a blend of Pinot
Noirs from Sonoma’s Coastal regions
with the 2002 vintage. The concept
of diversity of character was well
intact over the years, and then with
IMAGES COURTESY OF MEIOMI WINES
O
enophiles appreciate the
craftsmanship that goes into
winemaking, from planting
crop, harvesting the grapes
to the magic that transcends
the barrels. At the heart of it all
is the care that goes into the
winemaking process, that impresses
us as we raise the wine to our lips,
swish and then spit. One such
impressive family of winemakers,
the Wagners, has been making wine
for five generations in Napa Valley,
California. Their Meimoi and Belle
Glos history originated in the 1880s
and is currently in the hands of
Joseph J. Wagner a winemaker with
a passion for Pinot Noir. He has been
overseeing vineyard operations and
winemaking since 2002. He sat down