“How come there’s no wine here?” Jeff Jakus thought to himself when he first attended Island Beer Club. “What about the people who like to drink wine versus beer?” These simple questions led to a big undertaking when Jeff and his wife, Bev Burroughs, decided to create an alternative: Island Wine Club.
Creating a Wine Club
Figjam Estate Winery was founded in 2023 by Bev Burroughs and Jeff Jakus. The couple produces the wine in Sonoma and sells it in Coronado and in some businesses over the bridge. Starting a wine club after having created their own wine brand was a natural evolution.
“Most wineries have their own wine club. People sign up at the tasting room at the winery, but we don’t have a winery location,” explains Jeff.
Even before Island Wine Club, Jeff and Bev didn’t let the lack of a tasting room stand in the way of wine distribution. “We do events and festivals. We’ve had our own little following.”
While designing Island Wine Club, Jeff considered Island Beer Club’s setup and what he wanted different. The top two differences were meeting frequency and location. “[The wine club] probably doesn’t need to meet every week, and doesn’t meet in an alley.”
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The idea started simply: get people together. “We’ve had them at our home sometimes. We had people volunteer to host, but there are liquor laws that apply to whether you can, and who can sponsor it,” said Jeff. Once they had the momentum of a solid group, they knew it was time for something more formal so Figjam partnered with the Coronado Tasting Room at the Coronado Ferry Landing, and the Wine Club now meets there.
Island Wine Club Experience
The Island Wine Club meets every other month on the first Thursday of the odd-numbered months (January, March, May, July, September, and November) from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at the Coronado Tasting Room (1201 1st St #101).
At each event there will be a visiting winery. “Even when we had it at our home,” Jeff says, “we always had a different representative come to the meeting and present their product and allow people to buy wine from them. Figjam is always in the background. If somebody wanted to taste it, we could always open a bottle.”
The club is marketed as a relaxed, flavor-filled evening at the Coronado Tasting Room, where you’ll enjoy generous tastings from the featured guest winery, light bites and charcuterie to complement each pour, a fun, social atmosphere with fellow wine lovers, and a chance to learn the stories behind the wines you’re tasting.
Island Wine Club has a $20 per-person fee and five of that $20 is donated to a local charity. In May, the benefactor was the KMAC Foundation. Figjam is committed to supporting Coronado organizations and will be supporting PAWS for an upcoming meeting. The club averages between 25 and 50 people at each gathering.
Figjam wines are always available at the bar at the Coronado Tasting Room, and can be purchased by the bottle at VomFASS, the connected retail store. It’s a partnership that works well. “It made more sense to let Coronado Tasting Room orchestrate the club. We do a lot of traveling, and we’re not always around,” said Jeff.
L to R: Jeff Jakus, Bev Burroughs, Maile Jakus, and Bryan Jakus.
Find Figjam locally
Figjam self-distributes in California and sells retail on its website in 41 states. You can support local businesses and pick up a bottle at VomFASS, High Tide Pizza, and Boney’s. For a single glass, stop by the Coronado Cays yacht club bar and the Coronado Tasting Room. Coming soon, glasses will be available at the Coronado Yacht Club and later this summer at The Bower Coronado.
“We call ourselves Coronado’s Winery, because we’re the only winery owned by local residents.”
The most popular wines are their rosé and Pinot Noir, followed by Sauvignon Blanc.
Figjam wine is often spotted at local events. It’s the official wine of the Coronado Island Film Festival, and during their 2025 gala at the Hotel del Coronado, two bottles of Figjam graced every table; and they’ve re-upped for 2026. In addition, Jeff shares, “We made a big splash at the Coronado Art & Wine Festival!”
At the end of the day, Jeff’s goal for Figjam is simple. “We support various local charities. That’s part of what Bev and I want to do in our retirement: give back. We’re having a good time.”
