To learn about California agave spirits, click here.
Carlos Rodriguez found a piece of the California dream by taking inspiration from his childhood in Mexico. The Solano County roofing contractor recently planted 2,000 agave plants in his fields outside Vacaville, which he’ll eventually use to propel the state’s newest movement in craft spirits.
Rodriguez grew up in Tonaya, Jalisco, where his early years involved working with corn, beans and agave crops. He was 16 when he moved to the U.S. and started working in construction. Seventeen years later, Rodriguez launched his own roofing company. He enjoys running his eight-man crew, but he’d also been hoping to do something productive with the 33 acres around his house. It’s in the heart of farming country, but it’s on well water. It can’t be irrigated.
In March, Rodriguez and his wife, Cecelia, were visiting family in Mexico when the sweeping views gave him an epiphany. “We saw all the fields growing agave, so when we came back, we started trying to find a way to do it here,” Rodriguez remembers. The contractor soon discovered that Northern California agave pioneer Craig Reynolds was growing agave in Woodland just 30 miles away.
“Ever since we came back, Carlos had been talking about it; but we never knew that this was already going on,” says Cecelia.
Reynolds gave Rodriguez a tour of his farm and ultimately supplied him with plantings. “One of the factors that makes California realistic for agave is how many people we have who already have backgrounds with it,” Reynolds notes. “We have people from Jalisco who know agave, know how to plant it, know how to harvest it, know how to bring that experience to that table.”
Being a tequila fan, Rodriguez intends to sell his matured plants to regional distilleries. In the meantime, friends who grew up around Mexican agave farms have been coming over to help him treat the roots and plant his fields.
“It’s been really fun,” Rodriguez says. “We all really enjoy working with the agave.”
–
Stay up to date on business in the Capital Region: Subscribe to the Comstock’s newsletter today.
Recommended For You
Could Agave Spirits Be a Sustainable Gold Rush for California?
Hardy plants could solve water crisis for farmers and give distilleries a big opportunity
Northern California’s agave pioneers are helping to evolve the crop from a novelty to a force of stability within California’s changing bread basket.
A Cooperative Spirit
Remembering 1972 and 50 years for Davis and Sacramento food co-ops
Both the Davis and Sacramento food co-ops have expanded
exponentially since their inception in the early 1970s, when they
primarily served ”the hippie population.” Fifty years
later, has the spirit of 1972 held up?
The Seeds of Conflict
How the Russian invasion of Ukraine and drought are affecting sunflower farmers in Yolo County
Yolo County’s most photogenic crop is facing a barrage of challenges, including supply issues related to the war in Ukraine, global currency volatility and drought.
Street Food Offers a Road to Success
The Midtown Association’s Street Food Sacramento grant supports entrepreneurs creating an authentic taste of Sacramento
Midtown Association’s Street Food Sacramento grant
is helping to better represent the city’s
diversity in the business district and the thriving Midtown
Farmers Market.
Inflation Hits the Market Basket
How price increases are affecting the micro-economy of farmers markets
In a year of rising costs, farmers have quality as an
advantage. Still, farmers market vendors and shoppers are
struggling to stretch their dollars.