Robert Goyette

In 1972 Robert (Bob) Goyette left Connecticut and rode out to California on his motorcycle with a few changes of clothes and a refractometer, and it wasn't long after arriving that he became entrenched in California's boutique winery movement.

Fast forward to 1979, the year that Bob co-founded La Crema (originally called La Crema Vinera). La Crema, like other wineries in the boutique movement such as Ridge, Monterey Peninsula, Calera, and Kistler, sought to push Californian wine beyond the "functional beverage" it had been up to that point and into the realm of artistic expression by making small, vineyard-designated lots, and by using traditional French techniques.

Following La Crema, Bob had a stint as assistant winemaker at Chalk Hill Winery before landing at Benziger Family Winery. It was at Benziger that he helped develop, along with his friend and fellow winemaker, Bruce Rector, the Imagery Series.

The Imagery Series was created as a counterpoint to Benziger's Glen Ellen program, which had grown gigantic in its success. Bruce and Bob felt that the Imagery Series could showcase the small-winery backgrounds of the winemaking staff, and allow them to make use of the jewel-like lots of grapes that were to be found throughout the state -- those that are often 'blended away' into larger production runs. As the lead red wine maker, Bob was responsible for the elevation and success of the Imagery Series, and won more than his share of gold medals, best of class, and best of show awards, but perhaps most importantly he was able to recapture the spirit of the California boutique era.

Bob describes his winemaking way as such: "I keep one eye on the successful traditions of Europe, and the other focused on the grapes at hand. Using my own palate as a spring-board, I determine if the wines are really appealing to drink, rather than just done in a proper manner. I keep trying to work towards the best syntheses of the New & Old World traditions, while intuitively striving for wines that appeal to connoisseurs as well as people that just like wine. To me, it's all about balance and about listening." Also an avid photographer, Bob frequently travels to Europe's centers of art and wine to renew his creative energies.

For his Goyette label, Bob seeks out the premium grapes from the heart of California's wine country and does what he does best, working to achieve the ultimate balance between the elements, matching strengths and frailties, high notes with lows, in order to create a wine that evokes the purest beauty, as it is experienced both through the senses and the emotions. Only when he feels that the basal and auxiliary melodies of a given varietal are resonating perfectly does he feel comfortable calling the wine his own.