With its outdoor Wine Bar 107 recently reopened to the public, Testarossa now plans to reopen its actual winery for tastings—outdoors, of course.
The Los Gatos winery will welcome back club members to taste on Aug. 1. They plan to open to the public at the end of August. Reservations will be required.
“It’s eerie having this place so vacant,” says founder/owner Rob Jensen, sitting under the new shade sails outside the old Novitiate that houses the winery. On a typical summer afternoon, this place would be buzzing with human activity. Today, though, it’s buzzing with bees and hummingbirds that feast on the floral displays that now flank all the new padded wicker furniture that has replaced the old picnic tables on the outdoor deck.
Jensen says they have created mini tasting zones for up to six guests that are all properly socially distanced. Approximately 60 tasters can be accommodated at a time. Reservations will be limited to 45 minutes, with 15 minutes between each one for cleaning. Tasting reservations can immediately be followed with ones for an hour and 45 minutes at Wine Bar 107.
The footprint of Wine Bar 107 has been expanded by 400 square feet to accommodate social distancing.
“Gone are the days of having 500 people,” Jensen says. “We want tables far enough apart so people can back their chairs out safely.”
Jensen emphasizes that the team is taking safety precautions very seriously. A top concern is employee welfare. They’ll be doing a lot more walking, the stress level is high and there’s the impact of wearing a mask.
“We’ll need to chill all the wines now, so we’re using the refrigerator we have from the catering kitchen, and we’re also installing a second service station and cash register at the edge of the deck by the parking lot,” says Jensen.
Jensen says the extra effort was worth it, as last year’s vintages are ready to pour.
“We just finalized the 2019 blends,” he adds. “It’s safe to say that the 2018s are better than the 2017s, and the 2019s are as good or better than the 2018s, so we feel good.”
Jensen also feels good about the revenue tastings will generate, as Testarossa has been losing about $60,000 a week since the shutdown forced event cancellations. They’ve managed to retain their key winemaking staff and are slowly rehiring some employees who were initially laid off.
“We’ve had more people reapply than we have open positions,” he says.
Online sales and curbside pickup have been strong, which has helped keep morale and revenue up. Loyal wine club members have also been a boon, Jensen says.
“We’ve been very blessed,” he adds. “We lost maybe 11 percent of our members. We lost 30 percent during the 2008-09 recession, and our base is now three or four times higher. This has given us a huge flexibility to not be desperate.”
Club members will be rewarded in August with tastings Thursday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; Wine Bar 107 will be open 1-7 p.m. on those days.“We’re really looking forward to getting open for tastings again, but we’re taking it really slowly,” Jensen says. “We don’t have our foot on the gas. We want to make the experience similar to how it was, to restore a sense of normalcy.”
Testarossa is located at 300 College Ave., Los Gatos. For more information, visit https://www.testarossa.com.
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