You could call it a leap of faith.
After connecting on Match.com in 2008, Jeff and Bev Jakus decided to meet in person for the very first time at a local wine bar. Seventeen years later, the now-married couple is betting on a new adventure. They started Figjam Winery, bringing high-quality Sonoma and Napa wines to their hometown of Coronado.
“We’re in it for the camaraderie, the friendships and shared experiences with others,” said Bev. “The support of the community is awesome. I’ve never felt more connected to Coronado.”
While Figjam wines are sourced in Northern California and bottled at a world-class production facility in Sonoma, Jeff and Bev want Figjam to be known as “Coronado’s Winery.” Their wines can be purchased at several Coronado locations, including the Coronado Fire Station Venue, the Bridge Speakeasy, High Tide Bottle Shop & Kitchen and the Coronado Cays Yacht Club. They also host pop ups and tastings at locations like Vom Fass.
Jeff and Bev got the winery going in 2023 with another couple, when they all “threw some money into a box.” Since then, they’ve bought the other couple out, and now function as a dynamic duo.
You could say it’s going well.
“People really like every single one of our wines,” said Bev. “We’ve had a really good response at all of our tastings.”
The Figjam Estate Winery features a “small but mighty” lineup of wines. The offerings include a Napa Cabernet from Mt. Veeder, and a Rosé and a Pinot Noir, both from Sonoma. That’s in addition to an Old Vine Zinfandel and Chardonnay, using grapes harvested from Lodi — the largest wine-growing region in America.
And they took their time. After all, great wines don’t happen overnight: it took two-and-a-half years to make the Zinfandel.
“When you’re making something from scratch and you harvest the grapes and bring them to the winery for the processing, it’s a two-year process, minimum,” said Jeff.
The Chardonnay also needed a lot of attention. It’s Bev’s favorite varietal, so it had to be perfect.
“We took a lot of time to get it right,” said Bev. “Jeff would fly up there, and I would fly up there because Chardonnay is my favorite and I wanted to make sure we got it right. The last time we went up there, I was like…yep…this is it!”
The best part? Philanthropy is central to their brand.
Figjam supports causes related to the military, such as Operation Game On, as well as the KMAC Foundation and Make-a-Wish San Diego. Whether it’s a gift basket or an event, Figjam wants to help. Jeff and Bev encourage members of the community to reach out for partnership opportunities.
“Philanthropy has always been a huge part of our world, and we are always looking for ways to give back,” said Jeff.
And, it’s important to know that Figjam Winery doesn’t operate like a traditional winery. Jeff and Bev didn’t buy land and they didn’t buy a building. Instead, they got their liquor license and use a world-class “custom crush house,” otherwise known as a “collective.” This helps them execute old-style, small-batch production…a total of 500 cases produced a year.
The result? Figjam can offer a best-in-class experience, producing the tastiest wines for each varietal.
“It’s almost like the stock market when you do the sourcing,” said Jeff. “You can go from vineyard to vineyard, and you don’t have to stick with your own grapes, so you can end up with the best of each varietal.”
Jeff says the feedback is so positive, they know they are doing the right thing.
“The most rewarding thing is that everyone likes the wine,” said Jeff. “Then you know you’ve got something. We thought we did. But we’re happy that everyone else seems to feel the same way.”
To be fair, Jeff knows a little something about the wine business. His experience dates back to 2003 when he developed a software program for wine club management. Turns out he was a little ahead of his time, since the program required wineries to use the cloud. The small wineries he was working with in Temecula just didn’t have the computer power yet.
He also started a wine and beer distribution company with his son, called Uber Vino. This was years before the Uber app service, and no one seemed to understand the allure of the name “uber.”
Fast forward twenty years or so. With Figjam Winery, the timing is right.
Of course, there are challenges. For starters, Figjam doesn’t have a tasting room that’s open every weekend to drive sales. That means that Jeff and Bev have to do some of the heavy lifting on their own. So they organize lots of tastings at locations like the Coronado Fire Station Venue and Vom Fass, aka the Coronado Tasting Room at the Ferry Landing.
Figjam also has a very active social media presence, and can be followed at @FigjamEstateWinery or @FigjamPresents for Coronado events.
And then there are the connections within the Coronado community. When Figjam joined the Coronado Chamber of Commerce, Jeff and Bev were inundated with requests from local merchants. According to Jeff and Bev, the support of the community has been nothing less than incredible.
The endgame? To make Figjam “Coronado’s winery.”
“We have all of our friends here,” said Bev. “There’s nothing like Figjam here in Coronado. We thought, lets make it for our neighbors and our friends in the community. And then, it just blossomed.”
