About Joe Otos
Back in 1995, after falling in love with northern California’s beautiful wine country, college student Joe Otos decided to follow his heart and learn the winemaking trade. In 1998, he jumped at a chance to work as an apprentice under one of the industry’s most revered winemakers: Chris Loxton of Wellington Vineyards. Over the next four years, with Chris’ mentoring, Joe proved his talents and soon became a sought-after winemaker in his own right, making distinctive small lot wines from local grapes.
In 2001, Joe became aware of an outstanding premium hilltop vineyard in the nearby Russian River Valley and soon co-founded Willowbrook Cellars with vineyard owner John Tracy. Early production was only about 500 cases, split between Russian River Pinot noir and Chardonnay, but the wines Joe made at Willowbrook were successful and he began seeking out other high-quality vineyards in the area, each with its own microclimates and distinctive flavor profiles. Remembering what he had been taught, Joe extracted the maximum characteristics from each site by using native yeasts and carefully tending each lot by hand. Over these early vintages Joe learned that by working closely with each individual fermentation he could produce consistently high quality flavor profiles. The resulting success of these wines has led to celebrated on-going collaborations with some of the area’s most prestigious grape growers along with numerous accolades for the wines.
In 2002, Joe became the founding winemaker at Owl Ridge Wines, and from 2004 to 2023, he made wine at Owl Ridge Wine Services for various brands such as Carson Scott, Burnside Road, California Republic, Hunted, Sebastopol Hills, Sebastopol Oaks, Clone 5, Smith and Sons, Rowdy Bush, Taraval, Sanborn, and numerous private label wines to various large chain accounts. Joe often jokes, saying “you’ve tasted my wines, you just didn’t know it was me who made it.” In addition to making wines, Joe has done consulting winemaking for various labels over the years such as Treasure Hunter, Axios, Michael LaValle, J. Jacaman, Susie Bynum, Eagle Glen, Fabio Vivani Wines, and Reynoso Vineyards.
In 2021, Joe started Bekjorden Winery in honor of his great-great grandfather Gulik Bekjorden, who left Norway as a teenager with nothing but his bible, knife, and trunk, seeking a new life and new opportunities. Joe says, “Our wines are a tribute to the fearless and adventurous spirits that dare to take risks and forge their own paths.” In 2023, Joe decided to take a note from Gulik, and go out on his own to start Otos Wine Co, which makes wines under brands such as La Czar, Quiet Water Ranch, and Hunted in addition to Bekjorden. With each wine he makes, Joe is reminded of the bravery and determination it takes to follow one’s passion. Today, in addition to making wine for Otos Wine Co., Joe still does consulting winemaking for Treasure Hunter, Axios, Michael LaValle, Susie Bynum, Eagle Glen, and Reynoso Vineyards. When he’s not hiking with his son or playing basketball, he splits his time between the cellar and the vineyards - and continues to source premium fruit from some of wine country’s most respected sites - producing wines which are now gaining national attention. We invite you to try Joe’s hand-crafted wines from some of the region’s most prestigious vineyards.