August 27, 2004

Pioneering California vintner dies Jim Mirassou

By Bea Baechle
Editor

James Lee Mirassou, lifelong vintner and part of America’s oldest winemaking family, died Friday, July 30. He was 61.

Remembered by family and friends as a quiet, gentle man with an ever-present smile, Jim was born March 26, 1943, in San Jose. He and his brothers, Peter and Daniel, represent the fifth generation of a winemaking dynasty based in Evergreen. They were the great, great grandsons of Pierre Pellier, an illustrious figure who helped establish the prune and vineyard industries in Santa Clara Valley.

The family established its first vineyards circa 1854 in the Evergreen foothills, very near the present-day La Rochelle Winery, which is still owned by the Mirassous. Jim’s career track was predestined from birth; from day one, he learned the wine business at the hands of his father and uncle, industry icons Edmund and Norbert Mirassou.

Jim and his brothers formed the Mirassou Sales Company in 1966. Under their leadership throughout the next four decades, Mirassou wines were sold in all 50 states and several countries overseas.

The Mirassou brothers greatly expanded the family’s role in Monterey County viticulture through their pioneering Mission and San Vicente vineyard properties located there. Monterey’s rise to prominence as a world-class winegrowing region is due, in large part, to the Mirassou’s vision and innovation.

With Daniel as the marketer and Peter running the vineyards, Jim headed the wineries’ administration and finance departments. As chief financial officer of Mirassou until 2002 and then at La Rochelle Winery, James oversaw the family’s various companies and holdings.

Following the successful alliance of the Mirassou brand with the Gallo family in 2002, Jim, Daniel and Peter Mirassou began their boutique wine label “La Rochelle” at the historic family winery on the corner of Aborn Road and Ruby Avenue in San Jose.

The family’s fifth, sixth and now seventh generations still reside in Evergreen after 150 years. Although most of the vineyards have now been replaced by housing and business development, the Mirassous still represent an important link to the Silicon Valley’s rich, agricultural past.

Mirassou was very active in the local community with charitable fund raising efforts. His professional affiliations included serving on the boards of the Wine Institute, the San Jose Chamber of Commerce and the Wine Advisory Panel.

As a member of San Jose’s St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish, he was also instrumental in helping to fund and build its new church on San Felipe Road.

James Mirassou is survived by his brothers Daniel and Peter, sister Colleen, their mother Sherry, four children James, Heather, David and Autumn and five grandchildren.

Family shares personal side of Jim Mirassou

By Bea Baechle
Editor

By all accounts, Jim Mirassou enjoyed a successful, prosperous life in the wine industry and played an important role in the local community. Yet perhaps in the end, it’s his success as a father, and his love reflected through his children, that will be the most memorable accomplishment in his life.

Jim’s daughter Autumn Mirassou, a student at Presentation High School, remembers, “He was always there for us.” Although her dad taught her a lot about grapes, Autumn admits that she has a lot more to learn from her siblings. She shared her angelic voice, accompanied by Presentation’s choir, at her dad’s memorial service on Aug. 12.

Jim’s son David Mirassou, representing the sixth generation of the Mirassou winemaking legacy, works in sales and winemaking with the new Mirassou wines in the Gallo/Mirassou partnership.

At his dad’s memorial service, David shared a few words his grandmother Mildred Mirassou wrote in Jim’s baby book at six months old. “Jimmy Lee is known for what a good baby he is. He never cries or demands any special attention. Since he was born, he was always happy, and when someone would talk to him, he would always just smile,” she wrote.

“I have talked to my dad almost daily all of my adult life,” said David. “And although we might have been on the phone many of those days, we took the time to share our lives with each other, but most of all, to feel and see each other smile.”

David wanted all of Jim’s friends and family to know, “that when Jim left this life, he left it with a smile. And I am sure he is still smiling now.”

“I will always remember him teaching me so very much,” continued David. “How to make wine. How to drive a tractor even before I could reach the pedals. How to paint our house, but once I learned that, I had to paint the winery. How to split wood and how not to be afraid of the dark.”

As a father himself, David said that he too will share these things with his 3-year-old son Tristan. “Already today, we run through the vineyards like my Dad and I did, and when I come home, he listens for my truck. When he hears me, he runs all the way down the driveway and helps me steer back up to the house, with of course, a little four-wheeling on the way.”

He concluded his thoughts in gratitude, “Thank you Dad, for your smile and your kind spirit, it will continue to live through all of our lives.”

Heather Mirassou, who works closely with the marketing department in the Gallo/Mirassou partnership, found it easiest to express her memories of Jim Mirassou in the following tribute to her dad:

About You

Dad, I’m so grateful for you. You have shown me the passion behind the family business, and when I wasn’t sure I could do it, you were there to push me. Thank you for showing me patience. Remember when you made your wine cellar, sanding and painting each board, and putting our family legacy on each piece?

Dad, thank you for showing us how to have fun as kids. Remember how you taught Jimmy and I to ride motorcycles in the vineyards? When you let us ride our bikes, skates, and skateboards in the new empty warehouse at the winery? When you let us all ride our St. Bernards? When you let us run barefoot in the vineyards after we had irrigated?

Dad, thank you for showing us how to work with our hands, starting from our first harvest of grapes, to cutting apricots, to helping work on the house and cars. You showed the boys the basics, and they were able to build their own cars and houses. Even in my later years, you helped me fix my jeep, and I got my fingers dirty, too.

Dad, thank you for showing us the beauty of nature. Remember when we used to go camping near Truckee? You’d show us how to fish, and when you went fly fishing, you couldn’t have been in a more natural element. We used to go to the beach every summer and the mountains to ski every winter.

Remember when we would lay on the cabin deck in our sleeping bags and look at the stars, so close we could almost touch them? You rented a motor home, and we visited Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico and Arizona, visiting all the landmarks.

Dad, thank you for showing us courage. You showed me how to four wheel in the Rubicon, one of the most beautiful places in the High Sierras. Even though many of the areas are rated a “10,” you were always patient with me, and when I would get scared or stuck on the trail, you would help guide me out.

Whenever adversity was against us, you showed us how to be courageous and do what needed to be done to get through it. You showed me how to make decisions in my life and to do things that would make me happy.

Dad, thank you for showing me love. Your eyes and smile are your telltale signs of your love for me. Your sincere interest in what’s going on in my life, your laughter. Your acceptance that I am imperfect, but still strive for excellence.

Dad, I am grateful for you. I will miss you dearly, but you have already filled my heart.