CINDY STEINBECK ANSWERS TEN QUESTIONS
Cindy Steinbeck-Newkirk has her
roots deep in the Paso Robles soil.
The Steinbeck Family Vineyards
have produced grapes for some of the area’s
most acclaimed wine labels and now they
have their own label and tasting room.
Cindy answers our Ten Questions with
Lynn Diehl. Find out more about the vine-
yards and wines at
www.steinbeckwines.com.
When people ask about your family
story, how do you even begin to sum
up your pioneer heritage? I ask, “How
much time do we have?” The stories are in
my heart and mind, making them come
alive for others takes time, so I unfold sto-
ries as time allows. We are fortunate that
our family took a lot of photographs, so we
display them in order to tell our history
and stories. Our family story is rich in the
pioneering heritage of the Paso Robles
community as my mom’s side of the fami-
ly, the Jespersen and Iversen families
moved here in 1874 and my dad’s side, the
Ernst and Paulus families in 1884. The
ingenuity and drive to build a successful
community and life is an important part of
the Paso Robles story. The families helped
build each other’s homes and barns. They
built the Geneseo Schoolhouse and the
Lutheran churches in the area. The families
were involved in a variety of farming oper-
ations – cattle for beef and dairy, viticul-
ture, wine, barley and alfalfa industries.
The Ernst family brought the concept of
transporting bulk grain rather than sacked
grain to the market. Chris Jespersen was a
California State Senator and Assemblyman.
The families worked and played and raised
their children to be productive members of
the community and we continue that her-
itage.
What’s it like carrying on that tradition
of farming? Do you feel pressure to do
well because of the hard work of previous
generations? The family tradition of farm-
ing is so important for us to continue even
amid the tremendous challenges we face.
The land is our life; growing food and wine
provides work for our hands and minds.
Previous generations worked so hard to
make a good life living off the land and
have passed the land on to us to take care
of. When I get weary from a long day’s
work, often sun up to sun down, I think
about my ancestors feeding, watering and
hitching the mule teams at 4 a.m. and 9
p.m. I think about cooking on a woodburning stove and give
thanks for the modern era in
which we live. The pressure
I feel to succeed, to carry on
our six-generation legacy,
drives me to be efficient, to
work hard and to make
smart business decisions.
Success is the only option,
so my energy is spent listen-
ing to wise mentors, figur-
ing out what we need to do
to succeed and taking action
to carry it out.
Your parents Howie and
Bev Steinbeck are so well
known and active in the
grape growing business.
What have you learned
from them? My parents
have taught me to work
hard, to think smart and to
love learning. I have learned
that integrity, honor and
respect for others must be
guiding principles in busi-
ness. I have learned that
giving takes so many forms
and that genuine hospitality is precious. I have learned that passion for work and life - coupled with wisdom from life experiences- brings riches far beyond any earthly wealth.
What sets the Steinbeck Vineyards
apart? Howie Steinbeck sets Steinbeck
Vineyards apart. We are a family run busi-
ness with three generations working
together toward the future. Howie is train-
ing his grandson Ryan the art and skill of
farming wine grapes. He gives us a great
example of the work ethic required to
maintain and grow a successful family
business. The reputation for quality
Howie has built is important for us to
build on and enhance in the future. We
believe we are stewards of the land and take
great care of the land for future genera-
tions.
Why did you decide to launch your
own label? Was it a tough decision and
how much more work does that add to an
already busy schedule? My husband and I
decided to launch the Steinbeck wine label
because we felt that we needed to be marketing the Steinbeck story and vineyard quality directly to consumers. We will
continue selling 99% of our fruit to large
Paso Robles brands, using only 1% of our
fruit for the Steinbeck label. Each gener-
ation of family members need to make
their mark on the family business. This is
our way of expressing our rich history,
our love for the present and our passion
for the future.
At what point in your life did you and
your husband Tim decide to turn to
the family business? My husband Tim
and I had excellent careers in Southern
California, but the thought of raising our
children, then ages 12 and 10, in a large
city was not attractive. Steinbeck
Vineyards was growing, so Mom and Dad
invited us to move “home” to help farm.
We quit our work and moved home, lit-
erally, into the ranch house in which my
grandmother, my father and I were raised
in. Our children were the fifth generation
to live in this home.
Tell me about the new tasting room
that was just opened.It has many “old”
features and there are some great stories
attached to the artifacts inside. What’s
with the bullet hole? The Steinbeck
Vineyards & Winery tasting room
opened December 19, 2009. It is built on
the foot print of Grandpa Frank’s black-
smith shop, so we included in our interi-
or décor the old forge, hand made tools,
and items that the family used in every
day work life. We’ve created a family
museum. The original family wine press
from 1884 will be making its way into
our tasting room as well. The exterior of
the new structure is the recycled tin sid-
ing from the old building.
The custom tasting bar prominently dis-
plays one of the storied pieces of tin from
the exterior of the old building. Grandpa
Frank heard a skunk in the yard in the
middle of the night, grabbed his shot
gun and shot the skunk. He’d forgotten
about the newly constructed shop, so not
only did he shoot the skunk, but he also
shot the shop.
How many wines are you pouring?
We are pouring four varietal wines,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Petite
Sirah and Viognier. We have one propri-
etary blend, a blend of these four vari-
etals, called “The Crash.” The Crash com-
memorates a B-26 crash in our field, only
150 yards from the tasting room in1956.
I think it’s important for people to know
that you grow grapes and make wine, but
you also are growing a program to help peo-
ple who may not have enough food on their
table these days. How did that evolve?
Vineyards Growing Veggies™, an offshoot
of Urban Farming™ is a program started on
our land in 2008. Starter plants are planted
and fresh food grown on the land our family
donated. The food is farmed by local volun-
teers and delivered fresh to the food bank to
feed the hungry in San Luis Obispo County.
We’ve delivered over 15,000 pounds of fresh
veggies in the past year and a half. We hope
to grow the program from one vineyard to
three vineyards in 2010.
What do you foresee in the coming year
for Steinbeck Vineyards and Wine?
The coming year for Steinbeck Vineyards will include the normal challenges of the weath-
er as is always the case in farming. The
economy will continue to improve. Paso
Robles will continue to be a great commu-
nity in which to live and work. Wineries
will purchase our grapes and people will
fall in love with the Steinbeck story and
Steinbeck wines.
Lynn Diehl is the owner and host of
Wine Region News
Weekend TV and www.WineRegionNews.com.
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