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Theresa Heredia
Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger welcome Barry Herbst of Bottle Barn and this week’s special guest, Theresa Heredia, the winemaker at Gary Farrell Winery.
Steve asks Theresa Heredia to tell how she became a winemaker. She grew up in Pittsburg, California, which was not a wine producing region when she grew up, then went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and studied microbiology. It was in grad school at UC Davis that she discovered the wine program. She heard that they were using gas chromatography, which she was using for her research. But they were also using “olfactometry” i.e. sense of taste and smell, to identify aromatic components being separated on the instrumentation. She had been doing peptide synthesis, so wine was much more interesting.
At the time UC Davis was the only big university wine program. Today there is also Fresno St., and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has a new program. Dan points to Santa Rosa Community College too and says the programs need more funding as the industry develops. He mentions programs at Columbia, Cornell, Purdue, Michigan State (Steve’ alma mater), U. of Texas at Austin, Mississippi St. and that there are about 30 programs in the country.
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Gary Farrell
Gary Farrell was a pioneer with his 1982 Pinot Noir. Back in the ‘80s people were beginning to develop name brands and get high scoring reviews. But the pioneers were coming together to make wine from what are now iconic vineyards. He built the Gary Farrell winery in 2000, retired in 2004 and now is selling classic cars. Dan says he was tired of all the different social obligations a famous vintner has, so he left the business. He was the handyman at Davis Bynum winery, then in 1978, Hampton Bynum gave him the opportunity to make the wine, which won a Silver Medal at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair that year, where Dan was a judge. He remembers how good it was.
Theresa tells that in 2011 they were purchased by a group called Vincraft. Bill Price is one of the owners. Steve remembers that he has been on the show before. She has been at Gary Farrell Wines for almost five years. Dan remembers knowing Gary since before his first wine came out in 1982. He says this is a winery that respects terroir and respects acidity, which together in the same bottle makes a great wine. Theresa is proud to work with an all-star list of great vineyards. She likes to pick on the early end of the ripeness spectrum, to get better acidity, just as Gary did.
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Tastings
They begin by tasting a Rosé that Barry brought in, a Sancerre Rosé from the Loire Valley. Made with 100% Pinot Noir, with longer cooler growing season and chalky soils, Dan says it gets great cherry flavors and is dry without being austere.
Next they taste the 2014 Olivet Lane Russian River Valley single vineyard Chardonnay. She likes to harvest it a bit early and this is her third vintage for the winery and she is happy with it. Steve really likes it.
Next they have two Pinot Noir bottles to taste, a 2014 Rochioli Vineyard and a 2014 Hallberg Vineyard.
Dan mentions that a Sonoma County vineyard-designated Pinot Noir of good quality should cost about $80 and if the price is lower, it is a bargain. Hearing that this Hallberg is $55, he says it is a bargain. Theresa Heredia says they pride themselves at Gary Farrell Winery in having affordable wines and they want to make the best wine possible.
Next they taste the Hallberg Pinot Noir. Dan says these two wines show the characteristics of their vineyards. The Rochioli is red fruity and velvety while the Hallberg has more blueberry and blackberry and cool climate characteristics. Dan thinks they both have good acid and so an oily fish like salmon would go well with it. Dan thinks the Hallberg would bear three years in the cellar.