Mike Farmer
In 1979 I began my career as a harvest employee at Robert Mondavi Winery. We called it the University Of Robert Mondavi. If you had the passion for wine, the sky was the limit as you had some of the best to learn from. In 1993 I took a position as the Cellarmaster of Opus One winery and had the opportunity to work directly with Tim Mondavi and Patrick Leon’. Patrick was the winemaker at Chateau Mouton. Sitting in and being 100% involved in the philosophy of style and the art of winemaking was a wonderful experience. I truly enjoyed working with them both. So much to be learned from two of the greats. Flash forward and 21 years had passed. During those 21 years I had managed all production at Opus One and left as the Assistant Winemaker. During those 21 years I had interns from all over the world to work with and to teach and learn from as well. Great ideas can come from many different places.
I am happy to share this interest with my son. His passion and energy for this project is quite inspiring. To have him share my love for winemaking has given me a renewed energy to focus even more on making wines of small quantities and highest quality with a style that is our own.
Lucas Farmer
My family settled in Napa in 1978 and the wine business became a part of our lives right away. Many of my family members worked for the Mondavi family over the years and I remember walking in the cellars of Robert Mondavi as a child with my cousins. It was like our parents were kings of the winery. We would climb into the empty tanks and sing Disney songs. It was truly an enchanting era in Napa Valley.
My wine education began in the garage with “Sarellen Cellars”, a family wine project. Each year we would produce a barrel or two for family use. Winemaking was not a passion of mine at that point, merely a family task that took away from riding my skateboard. Eventually, something shifted and I started paying closer attention to the process and asking questions. I had an urgency to learn all that I could about making wine. I soon realized that the time spent with my father in the garage had laid a foundation for me to truly understand and respect what he had dedicated his life to.
The creation of Euclid was forged from my desire to invest in a person I strongly believe in and who I have spent my life looking up to. That person is my dad. I first approached him with the idea of making wine together in 2003. I realized we had a real opportunity not only to make great wine, but to make wine with a pedigree and palpable history of blood, sweat, and tears. I started to save for this dream of mine and after the market crash of 2008 my dad told me that if we were going to do this, now would be the time. I jumped in headfirst.
Euclid has been about my education from the very beginning and I consider myself a student who is constantly learning new things every day. It is a privilege to not only learn from the best, but to build something with my dad that we can share with our family and the world.
Lucas Farmer
My family settled in Napa in 1978 and the wine business became a part of our lives right away. Many of my family members worked for the Mondavi family over the years and I remember walking in the cellars of Robert Mondavi as a child with my cousins. It was like our parents were kings of the winery. We would climb into the empty tanks and sing Disney songs. It was truly an enchanting era in Napa Valley.
My wine education began in the garage with “Sarellen Cellars”, a family wine project. Each year we would produce a barrel or two for family use. Winemaking was not a passion of mine at that point, merely a family task that took away from riding my skateboard. Eventually, something shifted and I started paying closer attention to the process and asking questions. I had an urgency to learn all that I could about making wine. I soon realized that the time spent with my father in the garage had laid a foundation for me to truly understand and respect what he had dedicated his life to.
The creation of Euclid was forged from my desire to invest in a person I strongly believe in and who I have spent my life looking up to. That person is my dad. I first approached him with the idea of making wine together in 2003. I realized we had a real opportunity not only to make great wine, but to make wine with a pedigree and palpable history of blood, sweat, and tears. I started to save for this dream of mine and after the market crash of 2008 my dad told me that if we were going to do this, now would be the time. I jumped in headfirst.
Euclid has been about my education from the very beginning and I consider myself a student who is constantly learning new things every day. It is a privilege to not only learn from the best, but to build something with my dad that we can share with our family and the world.
Euclid Wines is a true father-son venture.
After 30 years in the wine business making primarily high-end Cabernet blends, my son approached me with a proposal to make wine together. I have high hopes that this will inspire my grandchildren as they get older to join us in our venture.
Everything begins in the vineyard. But, we are able to determine the method of fermentation and aging to make the style of wine we envision. Our goal is to create a wine of elegance with fruit intensity, fine tannins, silky texture using our experience in the vineyard, knowledge of fermentation, blending and barrel aging.
The impact of aging in the right barrels should not be understated.
My extensive experience with French oak barrels has given me a rare understanding of the balance of the wine and the wood; never to overpower but to create texture and nuance.
We use 50 to 60% new French Oak barrels and the remaining barrels used only once before. The process of aging in barrels can be 19 to 24 months. We taste the wines monthly to watch how the wine is aging and the wood is integrating. The change of the wine from month-to-month with the slow maturity of the wine tannins and the integration of French oak barrels is a pleasure to savor.
Lucas and I chose to make a Cabernet Sauvignon blend as our signature wine.
Our goal is to create a wine of high intensity with silky texture and fine tannins. One that will be drinkable upon release but will age well from respected high-quality vineyard sites.
I believe that extraction during fermentation is essential to high quality and great intensity. The use of French oak barrels from cooperages that I know well will complement the style of wine Euclid is meant to embody.
Lucas and I chose to make a Cabernet Sauvignon blend as our signature wine.
Our goal is to create a wine of high intensity with silky texture and fine tannins. One that will be drinkable upon release but will age well from respected high-quality vineyard sites.
I believe that extraction during fermentation is essential to high quality and great intensity. The use of French oak barrels from cooperages that I know well will complement the style of wine Euclid is meant to embody.
The Journey Begins in the Vineyard.
Our grapes come from a vineyard on the North-East side of Howell Mountain at an elevation of 800 to 1000 feet with shallow, rocky soils. The vines are tightly spaced to promote stress to produce small berries with intense fruit flavors and a great balance of acidity and pH. The nights are cool and the days are warm with very good sun exposure which allows the fruit to mature in balance.
The cool nights create conditions that allow for a slow accumulation of sugar and a long hang time to reach full maturity of flavors and soft tannins. Harvesting decisions are based upon walking and tasting the maturity of the berries.