This article originally appeared in the October issue of NCGA Golf Magazine
The wine program at Mayacama Golf Club encompasses the best of what California wine country has to offer.
By Adam Schupak
There may be no golf club in Northern California, let alone the rest of the country, where wine and golf are paired more perfectly than at Mayacama Golf Club.
Want proof? Check out this humble brag from Jonathan Wilhelm, managing partner of the private club in Santa Rosa, which sits at the gateway of the wine industry in the adjacent valley. “We have more wine lockers than golf lockers,” he says.
As a matter of fact, each member has a locker in the wine cellar that holds up to four dozen bottles and includes a leather-bound notebook to record tasting notes.
The wine program at Mayacama encompasses the best of what California wine country has to offer. With over 500 selections available in the clubhouse, members enjoy access to some of the most rare and exclusive bottlings crafted both locally and around the globe.
If ever there should be a place that provides visitors an overview of wine country, it probably should be a club built to celebrate the wines of Northern California. Wilhelm credits his father for conceiving the idea. About five years before the club was founded in 2001, his father was a guest at Augusta National Golf Club and it wasn't Amen Corner or the Par-3 Course that was most memorable to his foursome but rather the club's incredible wine cellar and the inexpensive prices.
So, when Mayacama was being designed, the Wilhelms always envisioned the clubhouse on the hill and suggested a wine cave down below. The wine program is enhanced by a membership that includes up to 40 of the world’s most notable vintners.
“Our qualification early on was just to make great wine,” Wilhelm says.
Some of the current members include Gallo, Kendall Jackson, Aperture, Double Eagle Winery and Miner.
“They give us a barrel equivalent, which is 25 cases of wine at cost for a half-price membership,” Wilhelm explains.
This win-win deal allows the club to pass on a pricing advantage to its membership. Wilhelm said the club sells more than $1 million worth of wine between the restaurant and monthly offerings to the membership. Mayacama members also get early access to new offerings and enjoy private tastings. And a good bottle of wine often is paired with delicious food.
“I couldn't get members to eat here if the culinary program wasn't great,” says Wilhelm, noting the plethora of Michelin-star restaurants in the club’s vicinity.
The wine experience at the club is part of the hang at the Jack Nicklaus layout ranked No. 99 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses list, where members regularly stop by their wine locker and grab something they want a friend to taste or another table to try. It’s also part of the wagers, which instead of playing for cold-hard cash is typically for vino. Loser goes to fetch his bottle. Every Wednesday, there's a skins game that pays out gross and net. It’s not unusual for the winner that day to pick up the bill for the 19th hole libations. And every May, the club holds the Vintners Cup, pairing members with leading vintners.
“The wine part of the club really creates a great community amongst our members,” Wilhelm says. “It’s a part of the culture and the ethos here and what makes Mayacama what it is.”