December 22, 2004
BOB MILLER REMEMBEREDIt’s the week of Christmas. This time of year has always been a happy time in my life. When I was a child I would think about Christmas trees and presents-electric trains. I would wait with anticipation for Santa. This is a time to share-share good thoughts.
I want to take this happy time of year to share thoughts on a person who gave of himself-especially to an industry he loved so much-our local wine industry here in the Santa Maria Valley and Santa Barbara County.
I am talking about Robert N. Miller IV, known by his friends as Bob Miller.
I spoke with James Ontiveros, Director of Sales and Marketing for Bien Nacido Vineyards, French Camp Vineyards, Solomon Hills Vineyard, Central Coast Wine Services and Paso Robles Wine Services. James has worked closely with Bob and continues to work with Steve Miller and the family. A ninth generation Californian and native of Santa Maria, James has worked for the Millers for four years and has been in the wine business for ten years.
Q. James, let’s talk about Bob Miller. Tell me about him.
A. Well-the place to start-his family was fourth generation Californian. They have owned farming and ranching businesses from generation’s prior. Bob was born in New Orleans and raised throughout the world-the cape area in Massachusetts, where Bob learned to sail. The family has lived in Santa Barbara for many years now.
Q. Who was Bob Miller?
A. He was a great visionary who was able to think beyond whatever the current status quo was. He recognized the potential for both the Santa Maria Valley and Paso Robles area for being able to produce great wine grapes.
After recognizing the quality of what he really had in the vineyards, he took the leap and made the effort to sell the fruit to small local wineries, which could potentially produce a grassroots industry here at home. A good sampling of that was done in the early 80s and continued to happen with greater frequency as new local wineries became interested in producing local wines from local fruit.
Of course this principle was greatly expanded in later years by developing CCWS (Central Coast Wine Services in Santa Maria) and now PRWS (Paso Robles Wine Services), which gave small wineries the ability to start a business without the capital expense of buying a building and all of the equipment that’s necessary for producing wine.
As part of Bob Miller’s vision, he thought creating a wine community in Santa Barbara County would require there be actual wineries where the fruit was grown.
The first venture was Au Bon Climat-Qupe, established in 1989. Based on the success of the Au Bon Climat-Qupe venture, additional facilities were built to accommodate Tantara Winery and Ambullneo Vineyards.
Marketing of vineyards helped put Bien Nacido Vineyards on the map. In concert with his brother, Stephen Miller, representing family interests, Bob tirelessly promoted the quality of the vineyards in Santa Maria and Paso Robles. When no one else was really paying attention to vineyard quality in our area, the Millers were promoting the quality of the fruit from these vineyards.
Bob made uncountable trips to Napa and Sonoma, showing off bulk wine samples and trying to find a higher appreciation for what was initially treated as commodity grapes was all part of the cornerstone of what has built one of the best recognized vineyards in the world today!
Q. Bob’s personality?
A. Bob was quick to smile... and laugh (an unforgettable laugh that could fill a room, and the hallways that led into the room).
I would say he was very gracious to make newcomers feel welcome and remind old friends of their importance. He’d step in to leadership roles when he felt something more needed to be done. He was a charter member of the CCWGA (Central Coast Winegrowers Association), sitting on the board for many years. He promoted some of the first pinot noir symposiums (which this columnist has attended) back in the mid 80s.
Although never married was very much a family man.
And although an astute businessman, Bob was continually making efforts to help people achieve their dream in the wine business by taking financial risks with their best interests in mind.
Bob Miller passed away in the middle of harvest, 2004, giving him time to see his third and newest vineyard, Solomon Hills Vineyard, planted for some of the brightest new producers-the likes of Ambullneo, Bonaccorsi, Waltzing Bear, Foley, and Tantara. It’s interesting to note that the Ambullneo 2002 vintage wines from this vintage got the highest scores of any Santa Maria Valley wine ever given by wine writer and critic Robert Parker.
(Bob Senn’s interjection: And I want to add, Native 9 to the aforementioned group. Native 9 is owned by James Ontiveros, whose modesty would prevent him from listing his own label.)
Though Bob couldn’t drink because of his health issues, he was always quick to open a bottle for someone else to enjoy; though he couldn’t be in the sun any more or sail, he was quick to offer his boat or his time for others to enjoy those sails. This was just indicative of the kind of man that he was.
Thank you, James Ontiveros, for spending these moments talking with me about Bob Miller on a cruise ship off the coast of Mexico.
...And thank you Bob Miller.
(And thank you Bob Miller for the time you drove my date and me from the bar at the Paradise Cafe to the Santa Barbara County Bowl for a Tony Bennett concert. Had your generosity not prevailed and we would have had to drive and park, we would have been late for a great concert.)
Merry Christmas! ----- Santa Maria Times wine columnist, Bob Senn, owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium and lives in the bucolic Los Alamos Valley.
