Set atop a ridge overlooking an East County landscape reminiscent of the Tuscan hills, Ray and Daran Grimm’s new home on about 2 acres is everything they’d hoped for and more. Vineyards, wine and art, an indoor-outdoor lifestyle, all central themes of their lives — could they better right-size their lives?
With sweeping views of the Trevi Hills Winery and Muth Valley, surrounded by rolling hills and vineyards, their property is just a short drive from downtown San Diego, La Jolla, the airport and all the city’s arts and sports activities.
Chatting over a glass of Trevi Hills wine at their terrace bar as the sun sank lower in the hills and a Bruce Stillman kinetic stainless steel sculpture rotated in the evening breeze, Ray Grimm explained how he and his wife, Daran, had planned to downsize in 2002, but they couldn’t agree where to live.
“I wanted to move to Temecula and have a vineyard, but Daran’s parents are 93 and 95 and live in La Jolla,” he said.
The Riverside County wine mecca is just too far away, Daran explained.
Then in 2019, by chance, Ray discovered Trevi Hills, a still-developing Lakeside gated community centered around a vineyard and winery in rolling countryside. He hatched a plan to lure the unsuspecting Daran for a visit.
“He said he’d take me to the best steakhouse, but wanted to stop by the winery first,” Daran explained.
“We visited the winery and after three glasses of wine we looked at two houses. One had no view. This one had a great view,” Ray continued, gesturing toward the vineyards. He explained that his wife was equally captivated by the beautiful vistas from the ridgetop home and the potential for a vineyard-based lifestyle and a home to fill with new art.
Did she ever get her promised dinner? Yes, she did, steak and lobster — plus a new home to celebrate at nearby Barona Resort & Casino’s steakhouse.
Both Grimms were eager to downsize from the expansive 11,000-square-foot Fairbanks Ranch house where they had lived for 35 years, but Daran more so. Their longtime home’s size and its huge kitchen had begun to overwhelm her, now that they were empty-nesters. One daughter lives nearby in La Jolla, but their other daughter and her family live in Singapore.
Their motivation to downsize reignited in 2017, when Ray had a serious health scare. The dire prognosis fortuitously proved wrong, but it impelled him to give up racing his Lamborghinis, sell off his cherished collection of 13 of these rare cars and reboot their search for a new home.
When the Grimms saw the 3,100-square-foot home with three bedrooms and four bathrooms set high amid vineyards on a 2-acre lot, they knew they’d found the right spot. They’d had about 200 vines on their Fairbanks Ranch property, but the vines proved mostly ornamental and were unsuitable for serious winemaking.
With their new property, they could have all the advantages of owning a vineyard without any of the responsibilities. Trevi Hills offers owners the opportunity to collaborate with the vineyard’s growers, integrating their vines into the vineyard’s wine, with the winery selecting appropriate vines and managing their care, harvest and wine production.
Last June, Trevi Hills’ staff planted 290 vines, covering about 1 ½ acres, on the long slope extending above the Grimms’ front entrance. In the center of their vineyard, Ray built a pergola with seating offering spectacular views over the valley and surrounding vineyards. Along with planned handrails, Ray is installing small pedestals on either side of the steep pathway, which will soon display yet-to-be-selected sculptures.
For their vines, vineyard general manager Michael Larrañaga recommended planting malbec and tempranillo, two new varieties he wanted to add to the winery’s portfolio, augmenting the now-producing sauvignon blanc (the only white wine grape Trevi Hills grows), sangiovese, syrah and primitivo (zinfandel), with other varietals expected for the next harvest. New vines begin to produce grapes in three or four years and are ready to harvest after four or five years.
“(The homeowner) pays for the planting; Trevi Hills takes care of the vines,” Ray explained. “They manage the estate and make the wine. They count the bins and you get half.
“You can also trade with the winery to get other varieties,” he added.
In early 2019, the Grimms sold their Fairbanks Ranch home fully furnished, complete with many artworks that were too large to fit into their smaller new home. It took them about six months to make minor renovations, start their landscaping and receive the new furnishings they’d ordered. They opted for a lighter, white-centric color palette, in contrast to the browns of their previous home.
They moved in the following June, bringing only smaller pieces of art, both paintings and sculpture. Among them were a European gesso statue of the wine god Bacchus and a beloved 400- to 500-year-old European wooden sculpture of the Archangel Gabriel that they’d found in Mexico. They then purchased fresh art for their home, including wine-themed paintings for the interior and, for their exterior, large stainless steel kinetic sculptures by Stillman, curled brushed aluminum works by Jon Allen and smaller welded steel sculptures by Andre Tourette.
Daran, a professional artist who works in oils, acrylic, paper and bronze sculptures, added her own art to their home, including family portraits. During the pandemic, she painted portraits of her three grandchildren, all in shades of black, gray and white with a yellow background, which now hang in the couple’s bedroom. She continues to paint portraits, donating proceeds of the sales to Childhelp, her favorite charity, which helps victims of child abuse. The Grimms have also sponsored many children for the organization over the years.
A native of Orange County, Daran grew up in Manhattan Beach and met her husband of 52 years at Cal State Fullerton, where she studied art and helped design her college art department’s floor plan. She fondly recalls hanging out with the Beach Boys in their early days.
“I was one of the muses of the Beach Boys while I was going to Mira Costa High School,” she recalled.
Ray, a serial entrepreneur, grew up on an orange farm in Orange County and was involved in many agriculture-centric businesses. As a high school and college student he worked for a landscape designer, learning the principles of landscape design. He was one of the pioneers of drip irrigation in Southern California, deg systems for thousands of acres of avocados in Fallbrook and Temecula and later for Brookside (now Ponte) Vineyards in the 1970s. Working in restaurants in college fostered his interest in and appreciation for wine, which Daran shares. Along the way he was also a property developer, which enabled him to develop in-depth knowledge of construction.
All these tools he brought to their new home. The original owners added only a terrace and a single small barbecue, but no landscaping, nor had they enrolled in the vineyard cooperative program. Ray, a ionate gardener who loves roses, lined the terrace with low-growing white rose bushes, while also installing an enclosed multicolor rose garden at the front and side of the house. He also designed their home’s landscaping, ensuring seasonally changing color.
Future improvement plans include expanding their garage from three to four cars, adding a lap pool with pool house to replace part of their rear terrace and rose garden, and a large wine room suitable for tastings.
Both Ray and Daran embrace an indoor-outdoor lifestyle and especially enjoyed large barbecues outside at their former home. Their new home’s layout appealed to them because both their kitchen and living room spill onto the terrace, allowing seamless movement between inside and out.
While both are cooks, Ray favors outdoor cooking. He designed and built a large outdoor kitchen, complete with several barbecues, a pizza oven, dishwashers, refrigerator, sink and quartzite counters. Surrounding the outdoor kitchen are multiple seating areas, including dining bars with stools, two casual groupings with sofas, chairs and fire pit, as well as a dining table with chairs protected by an overhang, all surrounded by plants and statuary.
Adjacent to both indoor and outdoor kitchens, also protected by the overhang, is their stone-topped outdoor bar, which is equipped for wine tasting, as well as a barbecue for more intimate cookouts. With their outdoor facilities, even with COVID-19 restrictions, they’ve been able to host a few friends for al fresco gatherings.
At the end of the terrace is a stone koi pond with a fountain that Ray designed and had built. Twenty-eight koi of varied colors swim around in the pond, jumping to the surface when food appears.
The lockdown had a surprising effect on the relatively new Trevi Hills community.
“We got to know our neighbors when COVID hit,” Ray said. “I organized evening wine walks, ending with a glass of wine. We met everyone at the winery Thursday nights.
“In Fairbanks Ranch, we knew only a few neighbors,” he said.
“We got to know them all,” Daran added. “It’s a very friendly community.”
The Grimms have no doubt that their downsizing achieved the lifestyle they wished.
How the Trevi Hills winery cooperative program works
Trevi Hills Vineyards Estate is a gated community of about 800 acres centered around the Trevi Hills Winery and Vineyard in rural Lakeside in eastern San Diego. The winery currently has 3.4 acres producing four varietals: sauvignon blanc, sangiovese, syrah and primitivo (zinfandel). It had its first harvest in 2016, with about 5 to 6 additional acres awaiting their first harvest next year. The new acreage is planted in different varietals, including malbec, tempranillo, merlot, mourvèdre, grenache, petite sirah and Montepulciano, all southern French or Italian varietals suited to the vineyard’s Mediterranean-style climate.
The community is projected to have about 250 homes on lots ranging from about 1 to 2.5 acres, making them ideal for small vineyards, explained vineyard general manager and sommelier Michael Larrañaga.
“The plan for at-home vineyards evolved. Since all the homes have at least 1-acre lots, it made perfect sense to offer vines to the owner,” Larrañaga explained. “The lots started with a 1,000-square-foot minimum commitment (to participate), which s 36 vines. But the average is 175 vines per home. It took off.”
About 22 homes have been completed and all current homeowners have enrolled in the program. The homeowners and winery staff decide together on the vineyard’s location and the varietals to plant, with the homeowners picking up the costs for the rootstock and associated materials and irrigation. Winery staff plant and care for the vines, harvest the grapes, make the wines and provide appropriate storage and private labels for the homeowners. Homeowners can participate as much or as little as they want in the winegrowing and winemaking process. The winery and homeowners split the wine from their property 50/50, though the homeowners can trade their wines for other varietals.
For more information, visit trevihillsliving.com or trevihillswinery.com.
Sours Larson is a San Diego freelance writer.
