The Lost Boys reunite

Winemaking friends gather in Sonora for bottling party

It was a party-like atmosphere in a garage on Racetrack Road as a group of friends known as the “Lost Boys” and their associates moved to the rhythm of lively Americana music from a community radio station and endeavored to meet their goal of bottling 60 bottles of wine in one day.

The fluid motions of the bottler, corker, shrink wrapper, labeler and boxer were smooth and streamlined. However, working in such small quarters, a dash of chaos erupted now and then.

The group was anything but lost, and it wasn’t an all boy’s club. Spouses, girlfriends and friends showed up to lend a hand or just reunite at the yearly event.

Wine was flowing from the barrels, sipped by the crew and offered to newcomers as they arrived.

“It’s a party, like a graduation day,” said Jim Roeber, whose garage is 1/3 barrel room.

Three members started the group in the early 1980s, making wine in winemaker, academic and sommelier Tom Bender’s basement on Snell Street.

The group called themselves “The Altered Boys” as a humorous reference to their once being altar boys. Bender said that the name presented some difficulties with advertising, so they chose the name “Lost Boys” instead.

Bender, 69, of Sonora, Chris Link, 72, of Columbia, and Rich Larkin, were the group’s original members. Link was present at the bottling party on Saturday and said he hadn’t been to one for many years.

Link marveled at the modern operation and said that, in the early

days, they “used a board with nails as the crusher” and the wine was called “De Pied Rouge” after their red feet.

Winning a silver medal at the state fair and a gold medal at the Amador Fair early on made them “incredibly naive,” Link said.

“We thought it was really easy to win the gold and silver,” he said.

Bender said he prefers to use French oak barrels which give the wine a “defined, gentle oak treatment” rather than flavors that resemble coconut and vanilla from American oak barrels.

“French oak barrels are expensive,” he said, often selling for $1,200 apiece.

The group found a way around that and purchased used ones from Vina Moda Winery in Murphys, who only uses the barrels twice.

The Zinfandel grapes are sourced from Lodi and three Italian varietals, Aglianico, SanGiovese and Montepulciano come from Gianelli Vineyard on Algerine Road. Grapes are also sourced from Chatom and Mayben vineyards in Calaveras County.

“This is the most wine we’ve ever bottled,” Bender said, before adding that the drought “affected the grapes this year, making the fruit more concentrated, so next year’s wine will be ‘fruitier.’ “

One of the crew members interrupted and said Bender was “the brains of the operation.” There was no shortage of joking and

kidding around as most of the crew had a special kinship, of over 40 years in the making.

The Lost Boys do not sell the wine they make, although they could probably earn a small fortune if they did. They prefer to share it among family and friends and donate to local charities.

Standing near a bulletin board filled with ribbons, Bender said the wine has won numerous awards, including three double golds at a competition in Orange County

where there were 800 wines entered statewide and 12 out of their 12 entries medaled.

A double gold medal is when all of the judges award a gold medal to an entry. They also have won several “Best of Class” ribbons at the California State Fair.

Roeber, whose hilltop house once belonged to Union Democrat EditorPublisher Harvey Mcgee, seemed to revel in the camaraderie and organized chaos taking place at his home on Saturday.

The winemaking involved “wives, girlfriends, sons and daughters, friends for 40 years... or five or 10,” Roeber said. “We like sharing what we are doing and sharing the wine. It’s a fun time.”

Jeff Warren, 69, of Vail, Arizona added, “It’s like a

second Christmas Day.’

Shelly Thorene / Union Democrat The bottles are filled, corked, sleeved, labeled and boxed in a small space in a Jim Roeber’s garage (above center left). Pete Larkin, of Sonora (above center right) keeps an eye on the bottles as they are filled. Bottling 60 bottles of wine from 6 1/2 barrels created a festive atmosphere among friends and family of the “Lost Boys” in Sonora Saturday (above).the Lost Boys take a break and line up for a photo — (top photo, from left)tom Bender, of Sonora, Jim Roeber, of Sonora, David William, of Sonora, Sharky Cornell, of Columbia, Steven Umland, of Sonora, Jeff Warren, of Vail, Arizona, Dennis Land, of Sonora and Pete Larkin, of Sonora.

Shelly Thorene / Union Democrat Sharky Cornell, of Columbia (top left photo, at right) teams up with his son, Clayton,, who was visiting from Austin,texas, to cork the wine. Jim Roeber, of Sonora (top right), takes stock of the cases of wine piling up in his garage on bottling day. A collection of medals and ribbons won throughout the years is on display near the entrance to the barrel room (above left). A wine tasting area is set up across from the bottling area near the barrel room (above right).winemaker, academic and sommeliertom Bender, of Sonora (right) is all smiles as he holds a bottle of the first vintage from 1987.