Like many wine lovers, Gerald and Peggy Peterson’s story began with a thirst for wine and a desire to find quality wine that was actually affordable. As the owners of Aimee June Winery in San Juan Bautista, they have now made it their mission to provide excellent wine at a reasonable price.
“The project started as a way to make good wine at a low cost,” Gerald said.
In 2003, Aimee June started as a co-op of three families making homemade wine.
“He started making wine in our basement with two other friends,” Peggy said. “All three of them wanted to make wine and figure out how to do it and it just grew from there.”
When Gerald first began crafting wines, he knew his passion was winemaking—not growing grapes.
“We’re not farmers and we know nothing about farming,” Peggy said.
Gerald began studying winemaking after their first batch of wine was made in a garbage can in 2003 and he found winemakers who coached him along the way.
Eleven years later, Gerald has one important tip for others who are starting out: “Make enough to use a barrel. It gives off the oak taste and the barrel also breathes—the process of breathing is what develops the wine.”
Many people venture into home winemaking but Gerald and Peggy have managed to turn their hobby into a business. By 2009, Aimee June became fully licensed and bonded and in May 2013, it opened its first tasting room in San Juan Bautista. The winery’s name came from the merging of Gerald’s grandmother’s name, Aimee, and the name of his mom, June. His grandfather also had a commercial fishing boat named The Aimee June.
Since 2008, Aimee June has been practicing old world winemaking, which means no sulfites or other chemical additives are in the wine. With this process, they use only natural yeast that is native to the vineyard and age the wine with very little alterations.
“Old world winemaking was used before science came into play,” Gerald said. “Wine was made very naturally. It didn’t have sulfites, so leaves and solids were left in the barrels and barrels were hard to make so you used the same barrels for 50 years. You let the native organisms do all the work. You’ll find there are a few wineries doing this but not too many.”
Something else that sets Aimee June apart is the tasting experience. When crafting the wine, they buy fruit from different vineyards each year, which means that even if you have a Cabernet Sauvignon every year, you’ll taste more variety.
“Our focus is always to be changing each year,” Gerald said. When you visit the tasting room, you will usually find nine or 10 different wines made in small lots, so only 50 to 100 cases of each.
Along with the variety, you’ll also discover that these wines are affordable.
“You can find all of our wines in the tasting room between $16 and $22,” Gerald said.
If it’s still available when you visit Aimee June, try Roussanne—kept in a neutral, French Oak barrel. It’s made like a Chardonnay, but not buttery like one. Instead, it has notes of peach, vanilla and hazelnut. This Rhône varietal is usually only used for blending, but Gerald wanted to make a wine with 100 percent Roussanne—only 64 cases were made.
Chrissy Bryant is a writer, social media manager and Morgan Hill native who loves staying active, California sunshine and a glass of wine. This article is the final in a series to complete a master’s degree project at San Jose State University.
