What strange creatures brothers are" - Jane Austin
Growing up in the vineyards of Sonoma County, California, brothers, Monte and Victor Jones have been surrounded by the entrepreneurial wine making spirit from birth. After being raised on California’s historic El Camino Real, or, “Mission Trail,” a 600-mile stretch of premium fruit-producing land stretching from the southern end of San Diego to the tip of Sonoma, just above San Francisco Bay, some might even say that the brothers have farming and wine making in their blood.
The brothers would leave the familiarity of the fruit-bearing region they had grown up in only briefly, to experience the world outside of winemaking. Monte attended The United States Military Academy, West Point, served as an Army Cavalry Officer and then attended business school, earning an MBA from the University of Virginia. Victor moved to Austin, Texas, where he hand-built some of the most recognized bars, restaurants and nightclubs in the region.
Realizing their true and shared passion for fruit-growing and wine making, Monte and Victor returned to California and began developing their own vineyards and orchards in Bradley, a homestead just down the road from Mission San Antonio, the third Spanish mission established by the Franciscan order, that now resides in present-day Southern Monterey County. It is here that the brothers’ desire to create a sustainable and authentically unique product- is realized. Inspired by the region’s abundance of fruit and excited about the prospect of doing things differently than everyone else, Monte and Victor turned their visions to jerkum, perry, wine, and mead making, creating products that could bear no name other than, “Mission-Trail”.
The Mission-Trail Ranches homestead is a sprawling ranch nestled in the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains just over the Coast Range from Big Sur. With views for one hundred miles, the Jones brothers have cultivated one of the most stunning mountain vineyards and orchards in the region.
Rolling fog from the Salinas Valley blankets the ranch every morning, providing ideal conditions to grow some of the finest fruit on the California Central Coast. Hand built by the brothers, no shortcuts were taken in creating the Mission-Trail's homestead, just as no shortcuts are taken in its production of handcrafted, small-batch styles.
Monte and Victor entered the market in August, 2014 with the release of their Sparkling Heirloom Cider. Soon after was the release of the world’s only 100% California Plum Jerkum, California’s only 100% Perry, and many many others.
Each product is made once per year with fruit pressed directly from the orchard. Mission-Trail never uses concentrate, flavoring, artificial ingredients, or coloring in its wine, and the Jones’ brothers are proud to craft honest and unique products that customers can find nowhere else.
Mission-Trail has one simple goal- create innovative, and artisanal jerkum, perry, wine, and mead, while using traditional and innovative wine making practices.
We
focus on: artisanal and innovative production practices, original seasonals, and creating one-of-a-kind jerkum, mead, perry, and meads done “right”!