NEWSLETTER
Thirty-two years ago when we began making wine, the in style was big with high alcohol and even raisiny character. In 1978 we made a Zinfandel with close to 18% alcohol. Were we ever disappointed with how this wine aged and it did not compliment food either. Although the wine sold well, we were not happy about the wine or its quality. This experience initiated our balanced and dry fruity wine style. We found that dry, well structured wines compliment foods easily and also age well, especially the reds. Sierra Vista's wines all have good acidity and this helps with the aging and as food companions. So now 32 years later, we still produce consistent dry, balanced wines with good acidity and plenty of fruit, not overpowered by oak.Our vineyards have consistently produced grapes with lots of fruit character. Our older vineyards are on their own roots and many feel that own-rooted vines have the most fruit character. (Remember that all the old Bordeaux and Burgundy wines that aged so well -20 plus years- were on their own roots until the European phlyoxera infestation arrived) .
Even though the current wine writer bias is for off- dry high alcohol wines with residual sugar, Sierra Vista has continued to produce wines with moderate alcohol and a dry finish. Many chefs are on our side for they find the sweet, high alcohol wines do not pair well with foods. If you read the wine and food magazines, you will notice more and more chefs complaining about the high alcohol wines.
New Releases:
2006 Roussanne
2006 Viognier
2006 Fleur de Montagne
2006 Zinfandel Reeves Vineyard
Enid Reeves in her vineyard
2006 Grenache
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
2005 Merlot Reserve
2005 Mourvedre 
thinning Mourvedre grapes
New Faces at the Winery
Tyler Grace joined John in the cellar last August. Tyler had spent 6 years working at a Napa winery before joining us. His family has a vineyard in Apple Hill. Tyler is serious and meticulous in his cellar and winemaking work. It's great to have him here.
Charlene (Charli) Anderson works part-time in our tasting room and even handles outside sales to restaurants. Charli is from the pharmaceutical industry and an expert at getting products approved by the FDA. You will enjoy her energy and enthusiasm for wine.
I'm sure you have all noticed how "green" is in. At Sierra Vista John has been farming our vineyards with sustainable methods for the past 34 years. As early as 1977 John would buck the current trend and would not use seed suppressant since it leaves a residual in the soil, even though the farm advice at that time was for its use. Now John used an organic product for mildew, mite and leafhopper control called stylet oil which is not the current farm advice either.
Solar panels installed on the roof of the winery.
We were one of the early wineries in El Dorado County to install solar panels. At first they were not very efficient until the inverters were moved inside the winery and out of the sun. Now the system is a constant help reducing our carbon footprint.This past year we began using recyclable products for our events. These products cost more but Sierra Vista feels we all need to reduce negative impacts on the earth.
At the end of July a new software system was installed for retail and wholesale orders. You will see a computer in our tasting room instead of the old cash registers. Finally after many patches and modifications, Barbara convinced John that we needed to upgrade instead of buying more winemaking equipment. The old inventory and invoicing system was purchased in 1980 and we really did get our money's worth. The staff is looking forward to the new system and we are asking for your patience while we convert and get trained with the new one. The wine clubs will all be handled by the new software as well as inventory and invoicing.
Up coming events
32rd Harvest Celebration
We will have our 32nd harvest celebration and Wine Club pick-up barbecue on Saturday, September 6th, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Again this year Rick Custom Meats will bring out their grill and fire it up with lots of shrimp and tri-tip. As always they will serve plenty of beef, shrimp, pasta salad, Caesar salad, garlic bread and brownies. The price this year is $24 per person. We had to raise the price since everything has gone up. Wine club members get to come for $20 per person. Four reservations per wine club member at this price. Please email, call or fax the winery soon to save your place.
Saturday and Sunday, September 13th and 14th, Tour de Vine, El Dorado Wine Harvest Festival. At Sierra Vista we will “Sense the Harvest”. Demonstration of how to tell when the grapes are ready to harvest, hear the fermentation sounds, identify the smells for a particular grape variety fermenting and the aromas of the finished wine, experience the flavors for the same wine alone, and finally savor the wine with food.
Stars Wine Club Winemaker dinner at Zachary Jacques Restaurant
Saturday, October 18th, 6:00 PM
Since our new grandson’s arrival at the end of July prevented our usual dinner on the lawn at the winery, we asked John Evans if he would be willing to host a dinner for us in October. In October we cannot count on good weather for outside dinning and sunset is early so we felt we should plan on dinner inside.
We hope you will join us for this event. There is limited seating so reserve your space as soon as possible. You can see the menu at http://www.sierravistawinery.com/pages/events.php
Our beloved cat, Rocky, never showed up after the Sunday evening of Rocks and Rhones. Rocky had a wonderful last day with lots of attention and petting from the staff and guests. Late in the afternoon he amazed us all when he caught a gopher since Rocky was blind in both eyes at that time. He was very proud of this gopher and John caught this photo of him that evening.
Rockys last catch on his last day
By the way we did harvest our Sauvignon blanc on the 19th and as usual it is delicious even now. When it is fermenting it goes through various stages of taste. When first crushed and pressed it tastes like Sauvignon Blanc grapes, but now after a week it tastes like grapefruit juice (but sweeter). If you come and ask for a taste I will get you one if I am here and it has not finished fermenting. Just ask whoever is in the tasting room to get me. John
The following I will be including on every blog I post. This is because I hope you will forward our blog address to all your email friends and you never know who might be able to help Sierra Vista.
One thing I would like to hear about is when you drink a bottle of Sierra Vista wine that you really enjoy and why you liked it. I would also like to hear about what food you had it with or if you drank it without eating.
Another thing is, as I mentioned in the previous post and will include in all future posts, is if any of you know a small wine distributor in any state, please let me know so I can contact them about carrying our wine. If you don't know any distributors you might ask at your favorite wine shop for the names of several small distributors and include them in your comment on this blog. I would appreciate it very much. If you do not want to comment on this blog you could email me at syrah@sierravistawinery.com
