Clos Pegase Winery
Timeline
1948
Jan Shrem obtains a scholarship at the University of Utah to study political science. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree four years later, he continues selling encyclopedias door to door to fund graduate school.
1953
Shrem begins to pursue master’s degree in international law at the University of California at Los Angeles
1955
On a vacation in Japan, Shrem falls in love with the country and decides to stay, forgoing a master’s degree
1955
Shrem forms a publishing company named Nihon Americana, importing English language reference and technical books
1960
When he opens an art gallery in Tokyo, Shrem meets a local artist named Mitsuko, who becomes the first employee of the gallery and later his wife
1968
Shrem sells his successful publishing company which had grown to 50 offices and almost 2,000 employees
1968
The Shrems move to Italy and form a joint venture with Fabbri Editore; at the same time they begin to create a world-class personal art collection
1970
A move to Paris is next for the couple, where he forms a joint venture with publisher Grolier, and the two continue collecting art
1980
After 25 years in the publishing industry, Shrem leaves it and following his passion for fine wine enrolls in University of Bordeaux’s enology program
1980
Shrem visits Napa Valley for the first time, seeking the guidance of Andre Tchelistcheff
1983
A 50-acre vineyard in Calistoga is purchased by the Shrems
1984
In conjunction with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, an architectural competition is held, in which 96 architects compete to design a “temple to wine” at the base of the knoll and a home on its summit. A design by Michael Graves is selected.
1985
Andre Tchelistcheff makes the first vintage of Clos Pegase while the winery is still under construction
1987
The winery is completed and the first wines are released, which include a Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon
1987
Fifty-acre Palisades Vineyard in Calistoga is purchased and planted to Cabernet
1989
As a tribute to his love for his wife, Shrem purchases a 365-acre parcel of land in the Carneros region and names it for her
1990
Mitsuko’s Vineyard planting begins and continues over several years
1987- 2005
The Clos Pegase art collection continues to grow with the addition of innumerable paintings, drawings, sculptures, wine vessels, and wine-related works from antiquity, reaching almost 1,000 pieces in 2005; among the most important are works by Henry Moore and Richard Serra; the Carrara marble Bacchus from the Italian Royal Palace and a Bronze Italian Renaissance fountain containing 18 different figures
2006
Shrem undertakes a massive project at Palisades Vineyard to build a reservoir and revamp viticultural practice on site; hires consulting winemaker Paul Hobbs for the winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon program
2009
Palisades Vineyard reservoir is completed and the winery is renamed Tenma, the Japanese word for Pegasus, which was also the name of a NASA satellite
2009
Clos Pegase selected as Regional, then Global Winner for Art & Culture by the Great Wine Capitals Global Network
2010
Mitsuko, Shrem’s beloved wife and muse passes away
2010
Richard Sowalsky is appointed winemaker
