“You can make a bad wine out of a good grape, but you cannot make a good wine out of a bad grape.” ~ Anthony J. Escover, farmer and founder of Idyll Time Vineyards

As with many wineries in California, Idyll Time is a family affair. Our history dates back to 1999 when three mechanical engineers created a partnership around wine. Cousin Steve Pessagno, proprietor of Pessagno Winery, talked Anthony Escover (Idyll Time Vineyard) and his son David Escover (Spring Grove Vineyard) into planting wine grapes on their farmland San Benito County.

Steve hand selected clones of Pinot, Syrah, and Zinfandel for Anthony and David to grow. The grapes were then funneled into Steve’s winery to make wine. This partnership resulted in award winning red wines until Steve’s unexpected passing in 2013. Pessagno winery was sold, and the grapes found new homes in other wineries, including Calera Wine Company and Leal Vineyards.

Anthony loved working in the vineyards on the ranch, and his grandson, Nathan Chang, grew up shadowing his grandfather and learning everything he could about farming, vineyards, and ranch life. When Anthony passed away at the age of 83 in2016, Nathan and his wife Alexia, took over the operations.

In 2019, there weren’t any buyers available to take on the harvest. Nathan’s mom and Anthony Escover’s daughter, Joan, decided she would not let their family’s wine legacy die. They juiced up the grapes in hopes of finding either a buyer or bringing her dream blend of “Syrapinot” to fruition.

Her love of a good blend won. Their first bottles of “Syrapinot” were produced in 2020, and Idyll Time Wines was formed. Their initial launch meant Joan could leverage the power of print as well. The labels and gorgeous boxes are produced by her print company, JP Graphics. Making this truly a family affair.