Wine Notes: Venteux Vineyards in Paso Robles
Wine Notes: Templeton couple's perseverance paid off
Scott and Bobbi Steizle have come a long way since
their days of starting a garage winery
By Janis Switzer

When I first met Scott and Bobbi Steizle in December 2006, the Templeton couple were trying to figure out how they were going to relabel 3,600 bottles of wine already in cases and ready to be sold. They were using their basement as a tasting room, their garage as a winery, and were just about to open a bed and breakfast they had no idea how to run. In my column at the time (Wine Notes, 12/6/06), I quoted German philosopher Nietsche: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
Yet with all these challenges, the couple remained optimistic. Their house was finally finished, their winery under construction, the trademark fight for their original Fortitude name was behind them, and they were starting anew under the name Venteux Vineyards.
Now, with their new tasting room open, and their B&B in full operation, the Steizles aren’t quite at the point where they can say they’re finished with all their plans, but as Scott confidently says, “We’re close.” And they have definitely come through the project stronger.
The “project” as they call it, started seven years ago when they purchased a 10-acre barley farm on Las Tablas Road in Templeton, not far from famed Pesenti and Turley vineyards. Their plans included a large home that they planned to use for a B&B, a winery and a 7-acre vineyard. Scott, with a background in construction, acted as general contractor and started with the vineyard. He planted all Rhone varieties in the same dry-farmed, head-trained style he and Bobbi saw in Europe.
“The vineyards that we really liked in France and Italy were all done that way,” Scott explains. But it wasn’t the easiest choice. “Dry farming is a serious commitment timewise— it’s a lot more work.” And the area where the vineyard is located is known for its strong afternoon winds (the name Venteux is “windy” in French). “We had to do a lot of guessing,” Scott says. “We weren’t sure if the Rhone varieties were going to respond so well head-trained in such a windy area. But they’ve responded perfectly.”
They’ve also been fortunate with the B&B. Bobbi worried about cranky customers, and Scott was concerned about all the work involved. But Bobbi loves it. With two rooms in the main house, and an apartment above an adjacent barn, the upscale accommodations are booked consistently most weekends, and Bobbi has just started midweek specials that are enticing guests on weekdays. “At least 50 percent of the guests we have now are repeats,” Bobbi says. And while she admits there are days when she just wants to sleep in and forget her hostess duties, she says, “that’s not very often; it’s really been a lot of fun.”
The difficult economy has actually been a good thing. “I think in a way what’s going on with the economy is helping somebody like us,” Bobbi says. “Instead of going to Hawaii, they can take a short drive here for vacation.”
Their wines have received positive reviews, and since they make fewer than 2,000 cases a year, they can be selective where they sell them. Venteux currently has distribution in Texas, Las Vegas, Southern California and Arizona, but oddly almost none locally, except wine-oriented restaurants like McPhee’s in Templeton, and now the tasting room.
“We’re trying to be selective,” Bobbi explains. “Since we don’t have very much wine to offer distributors, we want to be in those places that are going to count.” With more than 200 wine club members after only a year, she also notes that it would just be a few extra weeks of sales through the tasting room and wine club at full price to sell out everything they can produce.
Bobbi and Scott are reaching an enviable place: Having finished constructing buildings and the vineyard, they now are focused on building their business and enjoying the life they dreamed about almost a decade ago.
“You get to a point where the learning curve is behind you, and you just have to focus on the work,” Scott says.

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