From Korbel, he moved first to United Vintners and then to Sonoma Vineyards, where he worked for Rodney Strong and further developed his appreciation for the potential of single vineyard sites. In 1974, the founders of Chateau St. Jean chose Richard as their first employee and winemaster.

Within a few years, Richard had gained critical acclaim and a world-wide reputation for his wines. He produced vineyard-designate Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Fumé Blanc, Johannisberg Riesling and Gewürztraminer bottlings in unprecedented numbers: from the 1980 vintage, the winery marketed nine single-vineyard Chardonnays from within Sonoma County.

By producing numerous small-lot, single-vineyard wines, Arrowood successfully demonstrated the significance of site – of terroir. Using virtually identical winemaking techniques for a given varietal, he showed that the differences in the resulting wines came from the vineyard, not the cellar. It was a revolutionary accomplishment, but Richard received perhaps his greatest accolades for botrytis-affected late harvest wines, which rivaled even the great Trockenbeerenauslesen in richness and intensity.

In 1981, Richard met Alis Demers at the first California Wine Experience in San Francisco. They started dating and were married in 1985. In the same year, they created another partnership and began the plans for building Arrowood Vineyards & Winery.

Richard remained at Chateau St. Jean as executive vice president/winemaster until joining Alis at Arrowood full-time in 1990. Together they created a highly-acclaimed prestige brand which Robert Mondavi Corp. purchased in 2000. Richard and Alis stayed on, but after Constellation Brands purchased Mondavi in 2004 and subsequently sold Arrowood in 2005 to the (now bankrupt) Legacy Estate Group, Richard and Alis began Amapola Creek Winery.

Happily, Jackson Family Wines acquired Arrowood Vineyards & Winery through bankruptcy court in September 2006. Richard continues as winemaster there and, free from administrative duties, he devotes considerable time as well to Amapola Creek.

But things change. After Arrowood was sold to the Legacy Estate Group in 2005, everything went south. Our name was still on the label, but the winery was entangled in their bankruptcy. I learned more about bankruptcy than I ever wished to know. So we read the handwriting on the wall and made other plans, which included building a very small winery to produce tiny quantities of handcrafted wines from organically grown estate grapes. So Amapola Creek was born.

Of course, Arrowood eventually was acquired through bankruptcy court by Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke, and the winery was rescued from the brink. So now I enjoy the best of both worlds. I am still winemaster at Arrowood, but I'm no longer burdened by administrative tasks. That's all handled adroitly by the talented people at Jackson Family Wines. I'm honored to remain a part of all this as long as it's fun and Jess will have me.

Were you ever tempted just to walk away from the wine business?

Well, from part of it. I wanted to re-focus on painting pictures and not houses. I dragged Alis along, convincing her that our winery would be tiny, special and fun. We will only produce from our 20 acres of estate vineyards plus acquire a little fruit from our revered next-door neighbor, Monte Rosso Vineyard.

The proof of the pudding is that we applied for a use permit for 3,000 cases. The county questioned that number, asking “Why not 5,000 or 10,000 cases?” Because we don’t want to be that big. We don’t expect to generate more than 40 to 50 tons of grapes on the estate.

Why so small?

To keep it fun. So we only have to travel a little, visiting where we want on our own terms – like our second home in Montana. We want to sell most of our wine directly to our friends who appreciate what we’re doing – people who expect excellence and won’t accept simply “good” wine for their table.

What’s the special part?

First, the land. Our winery, vines and home are above the little community of Agua Caliente near Sonoma on the west slope of the southern Mayacamas Mountains. That particular exposure and the basalt and rhyolitic soils are well-suited to growing exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon, as witnessed by the long and distinguished history of Monte Rosso, literally on the other side of our fence.

We’re taking some Zinfandel from Monte Rosso – off of funky, gnarly old vines planted in the late 1890s. Not too many people can boast of fruit from plantings that date back to the 19th century. Our Amapola Creek vines are all certified organic and Phil Coturri, who practically invented organic viticulture in Sonoma Valley, manages them for us.

In the winery, we’re back to basics. It’s a totally modern facility with tiny tanks, but there’s no filter on the premise and we don’t add fining agents to the wines. We know that we can manage tannins during the growing cycle and winemaking process so we don’t have to fine. We believe in prevention, in keeping the place clean, processing properly and settling the wines clear. We subscribe to the philosophy we developed at Arrowood in the late 1980s -- non-intervention. In other words, do only to the wine that which will not harm it in any way – let the vines and Mother Nature make the best that a vintage has to offer.

Isn’t not having a filter like performing without a net?

No, but it has taken us decades to develop the best methodology. The filter is designed to take bad things out, but it also absorbs good things and removes them from the wine. Just take the filter pad or cake and smell it and you get lots of aromatics. Anybody who doesn’t believe that doesn’t realize the disadvantages of filtration. If you’re not obliged to use it, why would you in a small winery? That said, we are therefore big on the ounce of prevention in keeping a very clean production environment.

Did Phil Coturri win you over to organic farming?

Yes, he did. It took me a long time to accept that grape growing was not necessarily “better living through chemistry.” Organic farming is not benign neglect, by the way, nor is it inexpensive. But I’m convinced that the more you address the nutritional needs of the soil, the more you meet the needs of the vine. And, “healthy vines grow the best wines.”

You farm sustainably. Can you give a brief definition?

Yes. You put back more than you take out. And not because it’s a marketing strategy or politically correct. For instance, I don’t necessarily subscribe to much of the hyperbole about man-made global warming. There may be a growing consensus, but then again, there used to be a consensus that the earth was flat. I have some doubts as to the degree that we’ve been responsible for harming the environment or that is may be too late to reverse it, — if indeed we have harmed it. However, that said, I feel we must do everything we can to be as green and environmentally friendly as possible – in my case, even in spite of the fact that it’s politically correct.

I try to vet out in my mind what makes sense. It’s always made sense to take pomace and incorporate it back into the soil as compost. In one of our vineyards, we have photovoltaic panels that generate 8-1/2 kilowatts of electricity so that we’ll give more back to Pacific Gas & Electric than we take. Our solar panels will pre-heat our water so we use less propane.

I’ve requested that Charlie Tolbert, our associate winemaker, take a look at all our packaging in order to use as much recycled material as possible – not as a selling point, but because it’s the right thing to do. I suppose this is related to my idea of a good time during my visits to Alaska and Montana for catch-and-release fly-fishing with Alis. We subscribe to the old adage that “you should only take photos and only leave footprints.”

Weren’t you tempted just to retire to Montana and play?

I love Montana. When we’re there I fish, hunt and shoot sporting clays four or five times a week. I love it, but just not all of the time.

On the other hand, I want to stay a part of agribusiness, in touch with interesting, dedicated, passionate people. It’s one of the few industries in which people readily share information. Robert Mondavi, for example, would tell you whatever you wanted to know about winemaking. He is crazy like a fox, because he knew what is freely given always comes back to you in higher multiples.

Philosophically, since our time is precious, why not focus on what you do best and have fun with it. For example, it costs a lot more to grow grapes organically. We’re attenuating the crop level in our vineyards to obtain the yields we want, spending upwards of $7,000 or more for two tons per acre of production. However, that fruit will make wines that are unique and special. Am I worried about charging $100 for a bottle of our Cabernet Sauvignon? Not at all, but in doing so I must be certain that the wine in the bottle always delivers on its promise.

The wines made from the hillside fruit we harvested in 2005, 2006 and 2007 share luscious black cherry and black berry fruit. Those similarities could be a real fingerprint of our terroir in Cabernet Sauvignon. Sometimes we obtain only one ton per acre off of fifth- and sixth-leaf vines, but Phil and his crew hand-positioned every cluster and I think darn near had each cluster named. Those wines will make a statement with their concentration alone.

Anyway, Amapola Creek gives me the ability to keep my hand in and yet enjoy some freedom. This isn’t a garage venture – it will be a very nicely done, professional, cutting edge facility, although not Versailles. And it will give my associate, good friend and esteemed winemaker Charlie Tolbert time with his kids and perhaps help him pay for their college educations. I have total confidence in Charlie, so much so that I can take off and relax when I want to – other than harvest or bottling – and know that our wines are being looked after with the same love and attention that Alis and I give them.

Charlie worked with you early on at St. Jean and recently at Arrowood?

Yes, we’ve come full circle together. We’re both really fascinated with putting this little facility together. We know that with the fruit we have and by keeping things clean and tidy, we can do so much less to the product. And less is better. We’re not interested in tweaking and manipulating. Again, we’ll let Mother Nature do what she will to grow the best wines possible.

As for the fun part, it does have to make business sense, but Alis and I don’t have to borrow money this time around and go deeply into debt. We’re not forced to obtain an immediate return in a year or two on our investment. This is about the joy of winemaking, not the pressure to make payroll.

What has been your biggest epiphany as a winemaker?

That you certainly have to keep your eyes and ears open because you don’t know as much as you think. It took Phil Coturri to drag me kicking and screaming into organic farming and now I can’t look at it any other way – sustainable and organic is what it’s about. The health and vigor of a vine make it more resistant to pests and produce a better ultimate product. Fifteen years ago I thought it was more hype than fact, but I was dead wrong.

Phil is really dialed in on matching crop level to the age and vigor of the vine. He leaves one cluster or sometimes even no clusters per shoot on weaker vines. We could have gotten twice the crop that we did. But with properly cropped vines, you can virtually dial in the richness and complexity. I see an interesting direction in our fruit. Sometimes young Cabernet Sauvignons tend to be adolescent and clumsy, but ours are growing into their bodies well, so to speak, and are not going through that interim stage.

Phil is very responsible for what is happening in Amapola Creek’s vineyards. He’s excited about this piece of ground, and I saw his face really light up when he tasted the wines. To me, his expression made it all worthwhile.

Is there ever a point where you are satisfied with the wine you make?

We all have our definition of the Holy Grail. Maybe it’s a 100 score from Robert Parker – that wouldn’t be too bad! The 100-point scale is like democracy: it’s not perfect, but it’s better than anything else that’s out there.

For me, winemaking perfection is like trying to attain tomorrow; by definition, it never comes. I don’t really think of my goal as perfection, but I do strive hard to produce the best, most flavorful product I can.

In sporting clays, my sport of choice, the total number of perfect scores — hitting all of 100 clay targets in a tournament — is less than 50, ever! You have less chance of accomplishing that than you do of making a hole in one in golf. But what keeps you coming back is that hope of getting closer. It’s the process, the striving, the journey and not the destination that’s important.

For sure, you cannot cut corners or compromise. And winemaking is above all about growing the best wines. You can’t get anything better than what comes in from the vineyard, so it’s your job to be a custodian. Then you express that fruit in a style that is neither mundane nor bizarre. And each year you get a fresh start, a clean canvas on which to display your art.

Any other important learning experiences through the years?

If anything, I don’t want to take myself so darned seriously. I try to practice this with Charlie, who is very anchored and down-to-earth. Charlie and Alis look for the fun side of life, and while I like fun, I tend to look on the pessimistic side. I have a solid sense of humor, but I need to learn to laugh at myself even more. As it’s been said before, “The deal’s over when the magician starts to believe in magic.”