Last Thursday at The Dove Restaurant in Road Town, winemaker and former Tortola resident Edmund Pascoe feared he would stutter as he spoke to more than 20 people about his California vineyard.
He needn’t have worried. Although it was his first time hosting a wine pairing dinner, Mr. Pascoe appeared at ease and spoke candidly about his wine between each of the four courses that were served throughout the evening.
“Had I known that this was so much fun, I would have done this before,” Mr. Pascoe said. “I have been asked by a lot of places, but I have always said no. I stutter, and I never know what people want to hear. After tonight I may do more wine pairing dinners.”
Mr. Pascoe and his wife Barbara first started coming to the Virgin Islands in 1987 in search of place to retire. Eventually, they bought a home in Cane Garden Bay and later built their home at Sage Mountain.
“We had to cut it out of the bush,” Mr. Pascoe said. “The house was laid out by a compass.”
In 2007, they sold their Sage Mountain home and relocated to California.
The couple now own Barbed Oak Vineyard in Sonoma County, California. The 18-acre vineyard has produced award-winning wine, but it hasn’t come easily, Mr. Pascoe said.
“I wanted to live in the country, and my wife would rather live in a penthouse in San Francisco,” the winemaker said. “So we compromised. We now live on 18 acres one hour from San Francisco.”
However, it was never their intention to become winemakers.
When they moved there, the only thing Mr. Pascoe knew about wine is “what he liked” to drink, he said, adding that his wines are “not typical” California wines. At first, he was just selling the grapes to other winemakers, but a friend convinced him to start making his own.
“I never go into a business unprepared, but this was totally unprepared and in a lot of ways a disaster,” he said. “We lost a lot of money. Now we are on the right track.”
He added that it has taken a long time get where he is now in the wine industry. Over the years, he has learned about the profession through other winemakers and now does almost every job at the vineyard.
“The business side is probably the easiest: That is what I am good at. I don’t get involved too much with the wine making, except for the tasting,” Mr. Pascoe said. “I spend more time in the vineyard than I do in the winery.”
“Banks weren’t going to lend them the money,” Mr. Pascoe said.
So the owners, Scott Hart and his wife Paloma Helm Hart, brought a business plan to him, but “it wasn’t up to par,” he said.
“They polished it up and brought it back to me,” Mr. Pascoe said. “Now look at these kids: They are doing great.”
Last Thursday, long after guests had finished dessert — a “deconstructed” baklava with dark chocolate mousse, honey and cinnamon granola — Mr. Pascoe found a seat on the adjacent deck with a glass of red wine. He was talking with Ms. Helm Hart. Their conversation sometimes moved into debate about business decisions, but their admiration for one another was evident.
“We wouldn’t be open today without you,” Ms. Helm Hart told Mr. Pascoe. “We pass on so much advice that you have given us to other people. You are our business guru.”
Many of his Tortola friends have made the trip to visit his California vineyard, including Premier Dr. Orlando Smith and his wife Lorna, who attended Thursday’s dinner.
“Lorna and Orlando walked the vineyard with us,” Mr. Pascoe said. “They stayed in our guesthouse.”
Others have done barrel tastings at his winery, including Ms. Helm Hart, who has had several hands-on experiences while visiting the California property.
“I have picked caterpillars out of those grapes,” she said. “We have sorted grapes, we have picked grapes, and we have tasted those grapes. It is really special to have Ed and Barbara here tonight. They are family.”
“We wouldn’t do the wine dinners if the wines couldn’t stand up for themselves,” she said.
Barbed Oak Vineyard has won more than 13 gold medals, a couple of silvers and a bronze at various competitions, Mr. Pascoe said.
The Pascoes return to Tortola at least once a year for about a month to visit with friends and family, including their son Zach Pascoe, a science teacher at Cedar International School, daughter-in-law Nancy Woodfield-Pascoe, and two grandchildren. When making wine, he keeps his family in mind, recently naming his Pinot Noir “Zara’s Block” after his granddaughter on Tortola.
“Although they have room for us, we rent a villa because they get up too early,” Mr. Pascoe said. “We never feel like visitors or tourists. We just feel like we have been gone for a bit. It is like coming home.”
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