Above. Jordan takes
regular breaks from
day-to-day duties to
pilot his Piper Cub
Sport, which he
hangars at the winery,
or to go bass fishing.
Opposite top.
State-of-the-art
solar panels will
save the winery
almost $5 million.
Far right. From his
earliest days, Jordan's
future CEO got plenty
of on-the-job training.
52 TheLandReport | WINTER
2012
In the seven years since he's taken the
reins, John has already made his mark –
from an operational standpoint as well as
on the land. On the one hand, he must
celebrate time-honored traditions, ones
that have built the brand. Simultaneously,
he must modernize a land-based business
using twenty-first century technologies.
Nuance definitely comes into play.
From the very start John kept an eye on
the big picture. One of his first directives
was to grow the sales force. In addition,
he insisted that the customer base be
expanded beyond established accounts.
The timing of this initiative could not have
been better. By 2008, an ominous cloud
known as the Great Recession had begun
to darken the U.S. economy. Yet demand
for Jordan's balanced Cabernet Sauvignons
and Chardonnays remained strong.
Another major initiative was a
comprehensive audit of the winery's
energy use. In the 1990s, Jordan had been
recognized as one of the first wineries to be
certified as a Sonoma Green Business. Yet
decades after Tom and Sally built their
chateau, it was obvious that more needed
to be done. After reviewing the audit with
Director of Operations Tim Spence, the
two agreed that what was required was no
small task: a complete overhaul of energy
consumption on the estate.
"There are so many pieces to the puzzle,"
Tim says. "We looked at everything."
Over a five-year span, from 2007 to 2011,
a never-ending list of upgrades was made
to the chateau, the facilities, and even the
vineyards, including cool roofs, insulated
doors, insulated piping, and LED lighting.
The smallest differences mattered, which
is why motion sensors were put in place
to limit energy use by office equipment.
The results were telling. By 2010, an
estimated 11,945 gallons of gasoline
were being saved, the equivalent of
planting 38 acres of trees.
LANDREPORT.COM