To this day, Ellie and Jeffrey Patterson, owners of Mount Eden Vineyards in the hills of Saratoga, feel a touch of sadness each time they look at the photographs their late friend, Ron Tanaka, took of their vineyards when he first came into their lives.
Inspired by a bottle of 1981 Mount Eden pinot noir, the third-generation Japanese-American—who was born in in the Poston War Relocation Center in Arizona in 1944—came to visit the winery in 1983. A Pomona College graduate who earned his PhD in British literature from UC-Berkeley, Tanaka was professor of English at Sacramento State University at the time. He fell in love with the winery, and the Pattersons with him.
Photography and poetry, informed by his Japanese heritage and his love of contemporary American culture, were among Tanaka’s great loves. And good wine was right up there. His association with Mount Eden and friendship with the Patterson’s resulted in several exhibitions of his work, which are viewable on the Mount Eden website. His first poetry exhibit was called “The Mount Eden Poems.”
Tanaka’s daughter Yoi was about the same age as the Pattersons’ daughter, Sophie. In the early 1990s, Tanaka came to the Pattersons with an idea for his second exhibit, based on Sophie, who was 11 at the time. In “Mountain Wines, A Girl Grows Up on Mount Eden,” he created a series of 20 panels that fused Eastern and Western traditions in Pacific Rim art.
In a 2005 revision of his work “The Shino Suite,” Tanaka revealed he had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. These mental health issues combined with physical ones—including diabetes and two quadruple bypasses—led to his suicide in 2007.
The Patterson family grieved the loss deeply. Over the years, they honored Ron in many ways, using his calligraphy on t-shirts and adorning the walls of their reception room with his works. They scattered his ashes in the vineyard he loved.
In 2017, the Pattersons decided to create a special pinot noir to honor Tanaka and to help spread awareness of the mental illness that often leads to suicide. The wine was set for release on Sept. 10, Suicide Prevention Day. Sophie Pattterson Sharabi says that only 75 cases were produced, and there is a three-bottle limit per customer. The wine will retail for $80, and $20 from each bottle sold will be donated to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, a grassroots organization based in Arlington County, VA.
“The 2017 Tanaka Project pinot noir is unique in that it is the first single-vineyard wine we have ever produced at Mount Eden,” Sharabi says. “My parents renamed the pinot noir vineyard for Ron.
“When we targeted 2020 for the release of the Project Tanaka wine, we had no idea what a disaster this year would turn out to be,” she adds. “But frankly, we couldn’t have planned it better. There is such a heightened awareness around mental health right now.”
“This wine was always meant to drive conversations about mental health,” says Jeffrey Patterson, Mount Eden Vineyards’ winemaker. “Given the serious stress people are facing, we’re hoping that putting the Tanaka Project wine on dinner tables will remind everyone to check in with each other and look out for warning signs.”
The NAMI HelpLine, which provides information on resources for those suffering mental illness, as well as family and caregivers, can be reached Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m., at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or info@nami.org. To speak with a trained crisis counselor 24/7, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text NAMI to 741-741.
