Winery of the Month
May 2022
Turkovich Family Wines | Winters, CA
When you think of Turkovich Family Wines, “The Boss” might be the first thing that comes to mind. While the Petite Sirah based red blend is one of the more popular choices by guests who visit the winery, most don’t realize that this Winters, CA based family’s main crop is actually french prunes! In fact, out of their total 5,000 planted acres, only 22 of those are planted to grapevines.
The Turkovich Family has been farming Yolo County soil since the 1960s. It wasn’t until 2007 when Chris Turkovich, the third generation of Turkovich family farming, returned home to plant his own vineyard. After receiving a degree in Wine and Viticulture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Chris traveled the world making wine, gaining rich, global wine industry experience. His travels connected him with future wife and now head winemaker, Luciana Turkovich, and eventually brought the two full circle back to Northern California, and Yolo County. The pair crafted their first two wines from Petite Sirah and Syrah in 2007. Turkovich Family Wines now grows 12 varieties and produces over 25 different wines.
“We are constantly coming out with new wines. We have a vast wine list with tons of variety including sparkling, white, red, and fortified wines. We also have a number of different options for people to enjoy a tasting experience, including a downtown tasting room or a private tasting at the winery.”
The family is still heavily invested in farming other crops besides grapevines, but they make sure to go the extra mile to integrate these crops into the guest experience, exposing guests to the wonders of Yolo County farming. One of the more popular experiences is the “Sunflower Field Pass'', typically in mid-June to mid-July, that offers an immersive sunflower bloom experience, where you can taste wine in the middle of a radiant sunflower field.
Q&A WITH TURKOVICH FAMILY WINES
Q: How long have you been farming in Yolo County?
A: The Turkovich family has been farming in Winters since the 1960s—then and now french prunes are the most important crop. We started making wine in 2007, with just Petite Sirah and Syrah. In the next few years we added Viognier and Tempranillo.
Q: Do you farm any other crops besides wine grapes?
A: The family farms about 5,000 acres in total. Our largest crops are tomatoes, sunflowers and prunes, followed by walnuts, oranges, wheat, melons, cucumbers, and alfalfa.
Q: What wine varieties do you specialize in?
A: Petite Sirah and Albarino are our specialties, as well as Grenche which is in most of our premium blends and is used in our traditional method sparkling wine.
Q: Any other information you would like to share about your winery?
A: We have a new blend that will be released this fall called Buckeye which is a Petit Verdot based blend! Our wine club members get a number for perks including first and last crack at new wines, like the Buckeye, and invitations to special events, access to special pricing on all tastings and reservations.
Follow along with Turkovich Family Wines at turkovichwines.com or @turkovichwines