The company also crushed some of its own grapes, which were made into wine and exported mostly to Japan. In the late 1980s, the company continued its foray into the wine business by building Ironstone Winery in Murphys, which is about an hour’s drive from the family’s home in Lodi. It was also a favorite spot of Gail Kautz, who grew up spending summers at the family’s mountain cabin in that town. Today that house is John and Gail’s second home, and Murphys has become a bustling wine town. “When we built the winery, there were a total of three wineries in Calaveras County. Now there are 23 wine tasting rooms on Main Street alone,” Gail said. (Yes, that is the same Calaveras County made famous by Mark Twain’s jumping frog story.) As the Ironstone property took shape, the Kautzes added an 8,000 seat amphitheater a few years later and today that venue attracts world famous acts. This summer Willie Nelson performed at the theatre as well as acts diverse as Boy George and Allison Krause. The facility is also home to the Ironstone Concours d’Elegance, a classic car show, which is Gail’s pet project. Now in its 22 nd year, Gail says it is one of the top classic car shows
in the country, attracting more than 350 vintage cars and raising more than $1 million during its lifetime for 4-H and FFA activities. The Kautzes built the outdoor terraced theater with wide ramps so that it could accommodate the winning cars as they paraded by at the appropriate time during the car show. In the 1990s, Bear Creek Vineyards, a winery in Lodi, was added to the mix. “It’s as efficient a winery as you can build,” John said. It’s a state-of-the-art facility providing wine processing services, including custom wine production. As mentioned, each of the Kautz four children are involved in the operation and have different areas of concern. Steve is the oldest and runs the Ironstone Winery and the Murphys’ facilities. Kurt handles the Bear Creek Winery and also operates the company’s “Hot Wood” brand, which is the number one label in packaged firewood. It is sold to retailers throughout the western United States. Jack is in charge of the company’s property management and land acquisition division. Daughter Joan is running the company’s off-shore marketing program for its wine and is also getting involved in the domestic marketing program as well.
The company does not have a board of directors. “My kids don’t like meetings,” John quipped. He said each of the kids has their area of expertise and they have autonomy in the decisions that need to be made in their sphere. John claims to leave them alone and notes that from the beginning, he groomed his kids to take responsibility and take control of the organization. “We have watched so many families that were successful but didn’t bring their kids into the organization. That was not what we decided to do. As they were growing up we were fairly tight with funds to the kids. They had to earn what they received. But we gave them the opportunity and they all have taken it.” As John and Gail get ready to celebrate their 60 th wedding anniversary, they look over a large agricultural operation that has been built from scratch with no fatal missteps along the way. John explains that as a kid, he loved to play the game of Monopoly, buying Boardwalk and Park Place and constructing houses and hotels as the object of the game was to maximize the value of each property. John H. Kautz Farms has traveled that same path.
16 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2018
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