Cilurzo interviewed with both before opting to help Korbel open Russian River Brewing Company in 1997. “It’s more mellow and has a gentleman farmer style that I like.”Īt the same time the Cilurzos made their pilgrimage, two northern California wineries, Korbel and Benziger, were making moves of their own by venturing into the brewing industry. “We knew Sonoma County was where we wanted to be,” said Cilurzo. Cilurzo sold his part of the company in 1997, and that same year he and his wife, Natalie, moved north to Sonoma County, California, an area they knew well from many trips to visit his sister in Napa. “After three years of working 100 hours a week, the writing was on the wall that Blind Pig wouldn’t be profitable for many years,” he said. Consumer confusion and apprehension translated to low sales and a clear-cut decision for Cilurzo. Sadly, they were far ahead of their time, even in southern California, which has since evolved into the hop capital of the country but in the mid-90’s was as green as a Centennial cone when it came to craft ales and lagers.
True to style and packed with flavor, the beers – an IPA, a golden ale and a barleywine – were a far cry from the macrobrews taking up every bit of available shelf space locally. In 1994, feeling his brews were “pretty good,” Cilurzo opened Blind Pig Brewery in Temecula. Rather than trying to wrap his head around brewing a multitude of beer styles in those early days, he focused his energies on his favorite variety, India pale ale, brewing it over and over to develop an exacting recipe and the confidence to produce it on a commercial scale. He immediately started taking hotel/restaurant management courses at a local college while building up his brewing chops on the home front. Just like that, Cilurzo decided to start working toward opening his own brewery. “After brewing my first batch of beer,” said Cilurzo, “I knew it was what I wanted to do for a living.” He gained his own affinity for the beverage early on, and after graduating from high school in 1988, he and his roommates decided to try their hands at homebrewing. It was all I knew.”īeing so entrenched in the family business, Cilurzo learned the truth behind the vintner adage that it takes a lot of good beer to make great wine. “I was kind of the ‘assistant winemaker,’ and there were times in high school where I wouldn’t go to school because it was harvest time. He was born into a winemaking family and grew up living and working at Cilurzo Winery in Temecula, Calif., just north of San Diego. “Fermentation has been in my blood pretty much my entire life,” said Cilurzo during an early spring interview at his newly expanded brewery. A glance into Cilurzo’s past reveals a personal history rife with experiences and ideals that made this imaginative brewer the perfect candidate to make such an unexpectedly sudsy splash in Sonoma County. His many accomplishments are made all the more impressive by the fact that he has built such a respectable reputation for himself – and craft beer in general – smack dab in the center of the wine capital of the United States. In the decade and a half since, he has continued to elevate his status as one of America’s foremost brewing pioneers by using barrels, bacteria, Brettanomyces and a touch of Belgophilia mixed with equal parts brains and guts. Most would have stopped there, but for Cilurzo, introducing the world to the tongue-buckling intensity of over-the-top hops was just the beginning. Widely regarded as the inventor of the Double IPA, the forward-thinking owner and brewmaster at Russian River Brewing Company unleashed this ferocious beer style on the imbibing public in the mid-90’s. Just sayin’.For Vinnie Cilurzo, pushing the envelope is an everyday affair.
See our previous story about the economic impact of Pliny Tourism. The annual release of Pliny the Younger, and the massive crowds that event draws, helped drive the decision to build the new facility.The Windsor location can hold 324 people. The Fourth Street pub in Santa Rosa can accommodate 135 guests it sees about 400,00 visitors per year.In addition to being a brewery, the 85,000 square foot facility, which occupies a 10-acre lot, includes a 200-seat restaurant, a beer garden, a tasting room, and a gift shop.The new facility is in Windsor, CA about 10 miles up Highway 101, north of the Russian River location in downtown Santa Rosa.
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