Lost Mountain
Winery

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A long family tradition of winemaking led to the eventual formation of Lost Mountain Winery. Matteo Conca came to the United States around the turn of the century from Northern Italy. He brought with him a love of good food and fine wine - and a family tradition of making both. He became a very well respected chef on the East Coast and made wine at home for family and friends. These early experiences were passed down to his son Romeo.

Although Romeo went on to get his Doctorate in Organic Chemistry and work in research, he continued with the family tradition of fine food and wine production. In 1982, Romeo took early retirement from his job and began a longtime dream of starting a commercial winery.

Romeo's son Steve built the winery building, and he and Romeo completed the first crush that fall. It consisted of about 300-400 gallons, with most of the work done by hand. The wines were sold mostly word of mouth in the early years with all sales done directly from the cellar itself. As customers grew, the amount of wine made was increased to try to keep up with demand.

The business has always been a family run operation with many friends, neighbors, and customers assisting over the years when extra hands were needed. Romeo passed away in the spring of 1997 after a short illness. Steve and the family are continuing with the tradition of making fine wines in limited quantities.

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Lost Mountain Winery offers
hand-crafted wines tucked away
in the Olympic Mountains

By Christina Kelly July 2001

Lost Mountain on the Olympic Peninsula near Sequim, Wash. isn’t really lost, although it’s easy to become absorbed in the beauty of the Olympic Mountain foothills and drive past one of the best wineries in the area.

Lost Mountain Winery produces small quantities of red wine without sulfites. Owners Steve and Sue Conca say their small lot production, careful sanitation and gentle handling techniques makes sulfites unnecessary.

“Our wines are not filtered or fined, which means you are getting as natural a product as possible,” said Steve Conca, who inherited the winery in 1997, after his father and the winery founder, Romeo, died of cancer. “Sulfites are necessary in large wineries where the wines are made in large batches, transferred through long hoses that run into tanks holding thousands of gallons. They have a greater chance to be exposed to air during processing.”

Although the Concas debate the use of sulfites, they are continuing the tradition started by Romeo in 1981, when he produced the first batch of Lost Mountain red wine. The son of Italian immigrants, Romeo believed in making wine with the least amount of interference. Small amounts of sulfites naturally occur on the grapes and are produced during the fermentation process and that was enough for Romeo.

With a Ph.D in organic chemistry, Romeo was confident he could make good, sturdy and complex red wines that could age well if properly stored. He passed down the idea to his son.

For the past four years, Steve and Sue followed much of the style created by Romeo, while adding new equipment and reducing some of the varieties offered by Lost Mountain to concentrate on a smaller selection. The temptation to add sulfites is there, and the couple ponders the possible change. Those who are sensitive to sulfites are urging a no-change policy.

“Romeo always said you let the grapes make the wine,” said Steve. “There are two schools of thought on sulfites and we’re looking at both.”

While Romeo was alive, the winery produced about 600 cases of mostly red wine per year. The Concas increased production to about 1,100 cases, and expect to grow to about 2,000 cases in coming years. They don’t want to get any bigger, preferring to keep the winery at a family-operated level.

“We have a goal to make excellent wines and sell them directly from here (the winery) or online orders,” said Sue, who runs the business side of the winery. “We can maintain the quality and hand-production this way.”

The Concas produced eight wines for 2001. The most popular, Lost Mountain Red, is a hearty blend of Zinfandel, Alicante, Syrah and Muscat. It was the wine Romeo produced under the label of “Pipa’s Blend, in honor of his father Matteo, a world famous chef from New Haven, Conn., by way of Italy.

The 1999 reds include a Merlot, a Cabernet Franc, a Cab-Merlot blend, a Syrah and a Zinfandel.

The Concas also feature a 1998 Poesia, (Italian for poem) which is a favorite of the artistic community because the back label features poetry with a wine or scenic theme. The 1998 poem is “Out of the Greywolf,” by Pulitzer Prize winning author Gary Snyder.

Poesia is a blend of 50 percent Merlot and 50 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. It is available only at the winery or online. (The couple takes submissions each year for the following year’s label.)

Most of the wines produced by Lost Mountain should be consumed within a few years due to the lack of sulfites. These are not light-weight wines, but they are very drinkable now. In particular, the Zinfandel has beautiful fruit aromas with light tannins and a good finish. It will not knock off your socks and make your mouth feel as though you’ve been sucking on dry tea bags, but it’s a very tasty wine with pasta.

The Syrah, produced for the first time by Lost Mountain, is also very good. The Lost Mountain Red is a funky blend that’s interesting to taste. I like it because it is different and it is the most popular wine offered by Lost Mountain.

For those who’ve followed the winery over the years, the taste of wines produced by winemaker Steve has changed. I’ve had the privilege of tasting wines produced by father and son, and I agree the changed are for the better. Both Steve and Sue take courses occasionally at the University of California at Davis, learning new techniques in wine production.

“We didn’t start out with the knowledge Romeo had, so we had to add to it,” said Steve. “I learned a lot from Romeo, but he looked at the winery as more a hobby than a business. When we took over, we literally had to practically start over.”

The winery, located in a peaceful niche on Lost Mountain, has been remodeled. All the old barrels used for wine production have been replaced. Steve said his father had all the knowledge to perform lab tests on the wine, but chose not to.

“He would check the sugar levels, and that was about it,” Steve said. “We’ve cleaned up the process quite a bit, and the exposure to air.”

With all the changes, the winery still has the warmth and hospitality that Romeo made famous. I can almost hear his laughter in the tasting room, and picture him offering a light lunch to a couple driving over from Seattle who caught his fancy and attention.

Sue Conca learned much about food from Romeo and is herself an excellent cook. She is more than happy to discuss food and wine pairing while Steve discusses his wine philosophy and stories about his father with customers.

For those interested in a visit to Lost Mountain, an Olympic Peninsula Winery Loop is available to tour nine wineries within an hour or two of each other. More information is available at www.wineryloop.com.

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