Obituaries
Local Wine Community Mourns Death of Poetic Cellars' Katy Lovell
Beloved winemaker died July 10 after a brave battle against pancreatic cancer; donations are needed to support her family.
Written by Sheila Sanchez
The local wine community is mourning the death of winemaker Katy Lovell, 57, owner of Poetic Cellars in Soquel, who died July 10 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.
For the past two months, fellow vintners had rallied around Lovell by holding fundraisers in Los Gatos, Saratoga and Santa Cruz to help her family financially during their time of need.
Those fundraisers continue this week, with one having been held Tuesday at Viva restaurant in Los Gatos and one held Sunday, July 21 at Vinocruz in Santa Cruz. Vinocruz is still selling $10 raffle tickets, or five for $40 for a custom wine bag. All proceeds benefit the Lovell family.
Lovell was in the wine making business for nearly two decades and is known as being one of three women winemakers in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
According to information about Lovell posted on the Poetic Cellars' website, she is survived by three children, Julie, 19; Brett, 21; and Zac, 23. For the past two years she also struggled with Lyme disease.
Her three children are attending college. Both sons graduated from Los Gatos High School, and her daughter graduated from Harbor High School.
"To the end, she embraced life with a passion and positive attitude that inspired everyone she touched," the website said.
Born at home on Jan. 1, 1956, in Hemet, CA, to Caryl and Hap Lovell, Lovell "was first at so many things, including being first born of the year in her home town.
"She was both an outstanding athlete and music student, winning President Kennedy’s Presidential Fitness award two years in a row, while she was in fourth and fifth grades."
The obituary on the page described her as "a brilliant flutist, she bested 400 other talented musicians to take First Chair in a youth orchestra in Southern California."
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She played concerts in the Los Angeles area, and was invited by the Glendale Symphony to play as a substitute flutist.
Her love of music brought her to Interlochen’s Center for the Arts, and she subsequently attended Oberlin College where she majored in music studies, according to her obituary.
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Her lifelong love of wine led her to study winemaking at Davis in the mid '90s, after which she founded Rios-Lovell winery in Livermore with her former partner, Max Rios, the father of her children, the obit added.
In 2003, she left Livermore in search of a new dream home and vineyard site in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
She founded Poetic Cellars, and built a winery on a beautiful secluded parcel off Rodeo Gulch Drive, where she made extraordinary wine.
"She was pioneer, a master blender and a hero to many," the obit said.
She's also survived by her father and mother, Hap and Caryl Gault Lovell of Grant’s Pass, OR; sister Jan Laiho, of William, OR; niece Wendy Twelves of Sunnyvale and nephew Tree Simonson of Grants Pass, OR.
Poetic Cellars, at 5000 North Rodeo Gulch Drive, in Soquel, will remain open weekends from noon until 5 p.m. and wine sales will continue until further notice, the business posted on the page.Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
