The name Booker comes from the two orphan brothers, Claude and Dick Booker, who had purchased the land in the late 1920’s. By the turn of the century the Booker brothers had acquired over 1,200 acres on Paso's Westside. The Booker brothers were Paso's favorite sons, dedicating their lives to being great farmers and humanitarians. Aside from lending their farming knowledge and manual labor to neighbors and those in need, they were the area's biggest philanthropists, leaving 100% of their estate to charity when they passed, Dick in 1990 and Claude in 2000.Eric and Lisa Jensen purchased 100 acres of the property in 2001 with the intent of growing the best fruit for some of the best wineries in the area. After making wine with Justin Smith (of Saxum) for five years and Stephan Asseo (of L'Aventure Wines) for two years the Jensens decided it was time to create their own expression with Booker Vineyard. The 2005 Vintage was Booker Vineyard's first release with the wines being made by owner Eric Jensen.
My Favorite Neighbor began as an homage to our original favorite neighbor, Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure, and has since grown to include a handful of others who surround us on Paso Robles’ west side. Stephan is a close friend and mentor to Eric. For the entire first year they were friends, each time Stephan called he would refer to himself as Eric’s “favorite neighbor”, as if there was any doubt about who would be calling with such a thick French accent! The title was a self-fulfilling prophecy and in 2006 Eric crafted Cabernet-based wine to honor his friend Stephan and his Bordeaux roots.
For many vintages, My Favorite Neighbor was made exclusively from our own estate grown fruit as a part of our Booker portfolio, limiting its production to extremely small quantities. Our team has a great passion for the wines we bottle and over time Eric’s desire grew to share them with wine-lovers everywhere. Our 2016 vintage of MFN was the first step towards that new goal. Today, My Favorite Neighbor is its own Cabernet-based brand producing a variety of wines. Some at a friendly price-point like Harvey and Harriet, an approachable blend named after Eric’s hard-working parents, and others still in limited production like our single vineyard designates offered to club members only.