How a couple who knew nothing about wine created a thriving winery in Pahrump

When Bill and Gretchen Loken took over the the Pahrump Valley Winery and Symphony Restaurant in 2004, both knew next to nothing about winemaking and the industry.

Before moving to Pahrump, Bill worked as a real estate agent and Gretchen was a schoolteacher in Scottsdale, Arizona. The winery first opened in the 1990, but Bill said it was in bad shape when they bought it.

Looking for something different and fun, the Lokens decided to take it upon themselves to restore the winery and restaurant.

The couple hired a wine consultant from Napa Valley for their first years and later, Gretchen went to UC Davis for a formal winemaking education and certification.

“My wife is extremely talented, very smart and she can learn things quickly, and she took to it like a duck to water,” Bill said.

Early Thursday morning, Gretchen and 10 employees and volunteers began harvesting Zinfandel grapes that will be sold as wine by 2018.

There are about two acres of grape vineyards on the property, which the Lokens expect will produce more than 26 tons of grapes this year. Their vineyards produce two species of grapes: Zinfandel and Syrah red grapes.

DEEPER PURPLE GRAPES

Grapes grown by the Lokens look smaller and are a deeper purple than typical supermarket red grapes. Instead, their Zinfandel grapes resemble blueberries.

To produce other Nevada wines, the Lokens also rely on partnerships with other grape farmers in Amargosa Valley, Fish Lake Valley and Crystal Heights, Nevada. They are also working with alfalfa farmers who are interested in transitioning into grape farmers.

“The economic benefit for grape growers is much higher than the alfalfa, and it uses 15 percent of the water in alfalfa,” Bill said. “So they make more money, use less water and help grow a new industry and a new tourism incentive.”

With grapes they purchase from California, the Lokens produce an average of 100,000 bottle a year and sell 22 different wines.

Before they could get to this point, the Lokens had to prove that grapes could, in fact, grow in the Nevada desert.

There are three things grapes need to grow: sunshine, water and good soil, all of which, Bill said, can be found in Pahrump. Gretchen added keeping the climate in mind is crucial to deciding which grapes species to grow.

“We are not going to grow a grape that loves cool, coastal climate,” Gretchen said. “We are going to grow a grape that loves the heat.”

The Lokens harvested their first grapes in 2005. Three years later they sold the first commercial red wine from Nevada, the Nevada Ridge. Since then the Lokens’ Nevada wines have won 85 national awards, and were even sold in China for a brief period.

“It’s taken us years of experimenting and finding out what works and what doesn’t, and really you really never stop learning,” Bill said.

FREE TOURS, TASTING

The winery now offers free tours and wine tasting, and lunch and dinner at its restaurant. The Lokens estimate they get 100,000 visitors every year, most of them out-of-state tourists from Las Vegas.

Customer Rolando Ginelsa first visited the winery in 2000 after a friend told him about its free wine tasting. Since then, Ginelsa said he’s been bringing curious family and friends to the winery, and others always ask him to bring them back bottles when he goes.

“People are always surprised that there is a winery in Nevada, because they mostly think of wine as coming from California, but this is the only place I know and it’s pretty nice,” Ginelsa said.

Ginelsa added that the property has changed since the last time he came five years ago. That’s because the Lokens have invested about $2 million into renovations.

Bill said they are just getting started. The Lokens purchased 10 ½ acres adjacent to their property and are planning to expand their wine production by 80,000 square feet, which will allow them to triple production.

Contact Rocio Hernandez at rhernandez@reviewjournal.com or call 702-387-5208. Follow @rociohdz19 on Twitter.