Ojai Mountain Estate Wines, Hitting All the High Notes

Ojai Mountain Estate Wines, Hitting All the High Notes
March 8, 2025

On a remote and rugged mountaintop in Ventura County, high up Sulphur Mountain, practically above the clouds, a dream is taking root. Ojai Mountain Estate is a small boutique winery, with a stunning 2,800 feet above sea-level vineyard, clinging to the summit. Here, in this fragile ecosystem, at high elevation, a delicate balance is struck, heat and sun is moderated by Pacific Ocean breezes and humidity, the maritime influence a mere 10 miles away. Wild temperature swings of 40-50 degrees between day and night ripens the fruit, and then preserves the acidity. Although an arid climate, Monterey shale in the soils retain moisture and infuse a subtle minerality into the wines. It’s the perfect canvas for biodynamic and regenerative farming, and the vines bear witness to the struggle. This extreme terroir has produced stunning wines in just a few short years, making Ojai Mountain Estate unique, with a rather serendipitous beginning.

Owner Olga Chernov introducing the LA Wine Writers to Ojai Mountain Estate wines

On a glorious February day, a group of LA Wine Writers made the trek to Ojai, driving up the narrow road in a harrowing ascent to the mountaintop. We spent the next few hours admiring the magnificent views, learning their story, tasting their wines and meeting those responsible for bringing this project to fruition.

As the story goes, Olga and Mikhail Chernov were looking for a weekend retreat, far from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Once Olga set foot on the property, she was smitten, “I chose this location because of the spectacular view, it’s absolutely magical here. I didn’t have any expectations of buying it, but I couldn’t get it out of my mind.” Indeed, 120 acres in the middle of nowhere, with a very large house, seemed like a stretch. But it ended up being a project that she could wrap her head around. Maybe it is the supposed positive energy vortex here, according to local legend. Maybe it’s a sacred place, but in any case, this breathtaking vista inspires and illuminates the mind to endless possibilities. After Olga purchased the property, her realtor suggested she plant crops since the land is zoned for agriculture. Checking it out, she was advised to grow oranges and avocados, the most popular crops in Ojai, and discovered that both require huge amounts of water. Olga consulted someone at UC Davis, “He was the first to say, with the winds, the altitude, everything, you’re sitting on a gold mine for a vineyard. So I planted something and thought I would sell it to a local winemaker.” Initially, Bordeaux grape varieties were planted, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, but they didn’t seem to be a good fit. Yet the Syrah was a bright spot, a precursor to today’s Ojai Mountain Estate’s focus on Rhone varieties.

Olga Chernov and Erich Bradley

Courtesy of Ojai Mountain Estate

The Chernovs are longtime wine collectors and clients of Sonoma County winemaker Erich Bradley, renowned for his almost 30 years of experience, crafting award-winning wines under various illustrious labels, such as Sojourn and Repris. Speaking with Bradley in Sonoma in 2020, Olga told him about her fledgling vineyard, and as he was walking away, her husband mentioned the vineyard was at 2800 feet, when Bradley turned around and said, “What did you just say?” For him, it was a “Jerry Maguire” moment, in essence, ‘you had me at high altitude’. He was intrigued, and although he had experience working with high elevation vineyards in Sonoma, he had never encountered an almost 3,000 foot vineyard. Immediately, he came down to look at the property, and as Bradley recalls, “As soon as I set foot on the property, I knew I wanted to be more than just an advisor. There is an emotional response to being here.”

(L-R) Master Pruner Jacopo Miolo, Winemaker Erich Bradley, Head Viticulturist Martín Ramírez, Project Manager David Brodowsky, and Vineyard Manager Paul Hofmeister, Courtesy of Ojai Mountain Estate

If it takes a village to raise a child, planting a vineyard on this challenging site takes an experienced team. Bradley brought his experts, Viticultural Consultant Phil Coturri and Head Viticulturist Martín Ramírez, along with Master Pruner Jacopo Miolo, to work the vineyard, carefully creating something special, really starting from scratch, slowly building topsoil on a barren hillside. Bradley mused, “It’s not a forgiving site, despite all the advantages that it has, the wind can blow damagingly hard, such as the Santa Anas, we have to work around that. It’s fragile, biodynamic farming will build that strength but it takes time. It is its own unique space, no vineyard that I’ve ever made wine from, or visited, has all the kind of geological features that this one has.”

Currently, seven acres are devoted to vine, with plans to expand in the future. Grenache Blanc, Picpoul, and Roussanne are grown for the Estate White; Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah are blended in the Estate Red, along with a new addition in 2022, Tempranillo. According to Bradley, “The Tempranillos are spectacular, they are a good fit, because they have a history of doing well in dry climates, in well-draining soils, and with a marine influence.” And the shining star is Syrah. Bradley is excited about the potential, pointing out that “The signatures are the structures of these wines, you’re able to retain acidity because of the proximity to the Pacific Ocean and all the marine influence that’s native to the site. We can make wines that are big but luscious, without looking to make these California cocktail wines, these are meant to be food wines, balanced, and the alcohol is in control.”

The team is still finding their footing, as Bradley reflects, “I think we’re learning a lot every single year, but the site itself is so unique, we can hit notes, I think of music, sort of context, when I’m making wine and growing grapes. We can hit notes with these grapes that you just can’t hit anywhere else.”

Yet, as the conductor to this symphony, Bradley has no preconceived notions, “I try to treat this like a blank slate.” He finds the anticipation with each vintage invigorating, “The density combined with the power, the elegance, the power and grace, are pretty compelling. I think if we can make wines that are this good, out of vines that are this young, really makes me excited about the prospects once the vineyard is established, reliable and predictable.”

Courtesy of Ojai Mountain Estate

There’s a lot of thought that goes into the nuts and bolts of winegrowing and winemaking here on Sulphur Mountain. Literally, starting from the ground up, Bradley says the farming has to be very precise, since the elements are in charge. Because there’s not much water, Bradley said, “We’re not looking for deep roots, we’re looking to create soil in that first two feet, so that we can retain water where the roots are. That’s really the philosophy, we want them to stay content up top, so composting and precise cover cropping and tilling of the soil lightly, we’re able to do that, but it takes a long, long time, so they can weather adversity. It’s a balancing act, you want to give them what they need but not necessarily what they want.” Everything has to be done by hand, you can’t use machines, but practicing minimal intervention at every step, with a little help from bees, chickens, and a couple of goats, that are nurtured as part of their organic and regenerative philosophy. Birds of prey, such as owls and hawks, are released by the Ojai Raptor Center onsite, and encouraged to stick around for natural pest control.

While the farming is done on Ojai Mountain, the winemaking happens in Sonoma. The grapes are picked and shipped in refrigerated trucks up to Bradley at his facility, where he works his minimal magic. Stir the lees, ferment in older neutral French oak barrels, blend right before bottling, but ultimately it must align with his winemaking ethos. Bradley explained, “The way I like to make wine, is I really pay attention to the texture of the wine, if the alcohol is out of balance, then the wine is not what I want it to be. I want these wines to have great taste, that means that the tannin, the alcohol, and the acidity all have to kind of be in harmony.” He wants vintage variation, but with a common thread, that the wines all have that signature, that is the terroir of Ojai Mountain.

Ojai Mountain Estate produces about 600 cases a year, and we had the opportunity to taste all the wines made in the estate’s very short lifespan, except for the Tempranillo, which included three white Rhone blends, three red Rhone blends, and two Syrahs, all released in the past couple of years. The white Rhones are a blend of Grenache Blanc, Picpoul, and Roussanne, in varying percentages each year, with the Grenache Blanc harvested first, then the Picpoul and Roussanne co-fermented, blending it together at the end. Fermented in older neutral French oak barrels, Bradley feels that it highlights “all the special aromatics that you get out of a white Rhone that is so enticing.” Meant to be structured, ageworthy, and food-friendly, the wines are modest in alcohol and high in acidity, the luminous energy is practically leaping out of the glass. The 2020 Estate White, the very first vintage, is different, as it came from a hot vintage and got slightly oxidized on the six hour trip to Sonoma, its deep golden color revealing intriguing aromas. The 2021 and 2022 vintages were more forgiving, a cooler Spring led to longer hang time, increasing aromatic complexity without sacrificing acidity.

The earlier Estate Red vintages of 2020 and 2021 used the Bordeaux varieties that were here when Bradley arrived, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were blended with Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. In 2022, Tempranillo replaced the two Cabernet varieties in the blend. Again, Bradley likes to co-ferment, here the Grenache and Mourvedre seem to balance each other, then the Syrah is added at the end. Which Bradley is enamored with, bottling a 100% Syrah in 2021 and 2022, he feels that the power and grace “incrementally builds as you’re tasting it, and as it leaves your mouth.”

Erich Bradley and Olga Chernov welcoming wine writers to Ojai Mountain Estate

For Olga, she’s in it for the long haul, giving Bradley free rein to realize her vision, making world-class wine from this wondrous place.

You can taste Ojai Mountain Estate wines for yourself at Olivella and Vine restaurant in the Ojai Valley Inn, or direct to consumer online, https://ojaimountainestate.com/