From a Silicon Valley Garage to Winemaking in Healdsburg

One Friend, One Garage, One Vineyard...

…the magic of friendship and winemaking.

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, I'm excited to share a series of short weekly posts that take you behind the scenes, revealing memorable moments that have shaped our journey at Amista Vineyards.

Mike and Dale, Punch-Down & Pump-Over

One of the very first people who helped Mike embark on his winemaking journey was our dear friend Dale from Colorado. Dale flew out to assist Mike with the hands-on work of making his first batch of wine in our Silicon Valley garage. That first wine—a Cabernet Sauvignon—was crafted from grapes Mike had bought from a local vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

We became friends with Dale and his wife Meg, back in 1982, when she and I worked together at Storage Technology Corporation. That company was eventually acquired by the next place I worked, Sun Microsystems, which later became part of Oracle. But that’s irrelevant to the real story—how our lifelong friends played such a special role in our wine journey.

While Dale and Mike spent a full day punching down and pumping over the wine, Meg and I took a different approach. We skipped the hard work and opted for a relaxing night at a bed and breakfast along the coast. When we returned, we found two exhausted, grape-stained men whose spirits were high, both from their sense of accomplishment and from sipping some of the partially fermented wine during the pump-over process. That was in the fall of 1994. 

Saying Goodbye to our Young Vines in Silicon Valley

Just six months later, after Mike had transferred the wine into a barrel for aging, I got a job offer in New Jersey. Dale and Meg visited again to help us say goodbye to the vineyard Mike had planted the year before. I vividly remember the four of us standing among those young vines, which hadn’t yet produced grapes. There were definitely some tears as we said farewell to our home, the tender vines we had nurtured and Mike’s winemaking dream.

Though we couldn’t take the vineyard with us, Mike was determined to bring the wine. Even though it wasn’t yet ready to bottle, he made special arrangements with the movers to position the barrel carefully in the moving van. Being the scientist he was, Mike also attached a recording thermometer to monitor the temperature during its journey from California to New Jersey.

Dale and Mike, Bottling Mike's First Wine

Two years later, after the wine had aged in our New Jersey basement, Dale and Meg returned for a visit. It was finally time for the big moment. Dale and Mike headed to the basement, transferred the wine from the barrel into carboys and a few bottles, and we opened one to taste with dinner. The verdict? The wine was delicious. That night, Mike realized he was truly a winemaker, thanks in no small part to Dale’s help.

Dale and Mike Ponder Buying the Vineyard in Healdsburg

Fast forward a few years, and Mike and I found ourselves back in California, looking at vineyard properties. Mike had been quietly researching vineyard real estate online and had connected with a realtor who specialized in vineyards. The realtor urged us to come see three properties near Healdsburg before they were snapped up. Dale and Meg flew in from Colorado to help us decide. Although none of us were vineyard experts, Meg and Dale had one priority in mind: making sure there was a guestroom for their visits in whatever house we chose.

I’ll never forget watching Dale and Mike walk the rows of the vineyard property that would soon become our future home on the banks of Dry Creek. I don’t know exactly what was said, but whatever it was convinced Mike that this was the place. His dream of making wine again was about to come true, and Dale and Meg were there, as always, to help make it happen.

 

Still Thirsty?

If you want to learn more, here is a curated list of resources.

What is a Garagiste?

In Winemaking, What are Punch-downs and Pump-overs?

How Long Does it Take a New Vineyard to Yield Grapes?

Doesn't the act of pouring wine into a smaller bottle to store it expose it to more oxygen in the process?

 

 

Syrah, Serendipity and the Shaping of Amista

A Winemaker's Journey

…in three pivotal Syrah harvests

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, I'm excited to share a series of short weekly posts that take you behind the scenes, revealing memorable moments that have shaped our journey at Amista Vineyards.

 

Garage Syrah – Our First Harvest in Healdsburg

We finally moved to our vineyard in Healdsburg in June 2002, eager to begin a new life in Sonoma wine country. In 2000, we had replaced half of the Chardonnay vines with Syrah, and by 2002, those young vines were just starting to produce. A true viticulturist might have told us to drop all the fruit and let the vines mature for another year to strengthen the vines and roots. But Mike had other plans—he was determined to MAKE WINE!

We harvested 3 tons of grapes—an amount that sounded massive to me—and decided to make our wine right in the garage. Mike’s brother, Bob, and his wife, Anne, came to help, along with some neighbors. Our neighbors even lent us a small crusher/destemmer, which saved time and improved the quality by ensuring all the stems, which can make the wine taste bitter, were removed.

It was hard work, but we had a blast. There was something magical about working shoulder-to-shoulder with friends and family, laughing together as purple juice stained our hands. This was one of those unexpected pleasures of living in wine country—a moment that felt like a turning point in our journey.

Our First Commercial Harvest – 2003 Syrah

October 2003 marked a significant milestone: our first commercial harvest. By this time, Mike had fully roped me into his dream of making wine. So much so that, despite a business meeting in San Francisco, I woke up early and drove back to Healdsburg to join him for this special day. We spent the entire day sorting grapes at the winery on West Dry Creek Road where we made our first wines. Friends dropped by to help, making the experience even more exhilarating. It was one of those perfect fall days in wine country—warm, sunny, and full of promise as we worked with our hands to turn raw grapes into what would become our 2003 Amista Vineyards Syrah.

For both Mike and me, this was uncharted territory. Mike, a former chemist, had spent his life conducting experiments and teaching. I had been a human development expert, advising and coaching leaders. Neither of us had ever MADE anything, started a business, or even worked together before. Little did we know that this harvest would spark a huge life change for us. We had no idea what we were getting into but we found ourselves fully immersed in the wine country dream.

That day, our hands were sticky with grape juice, our bodies sore from standing at the sorting table all day, but we were together, looking out over Dry Creek Valley on a beautiful fall day, making our first Amista wine.

Making Our First Rosé – A Happy Accident

In 2005, Mike’s scientific curiosity led to an experiment: machine-harvesting our Syrah. This process involves a massive machine that straddles the grapevine rows, shaking the grapes free. The harvesting happens in the middle of the night to take advantage of cooler temperatures. While I slept soundly, Mike was out in the vineyard, energized by the sight of this machine in action. He kept encouraging the operator to do just one more row, which resulted in more grapes than we had planned to pick.

The next morning, the winery called with a dilemma. Although all the grapes fit in the fermentation tank, they would overflow once fermentation started. Mike had a quick solution: he had some juice pumped out and transferred into barrels. Since it had only spent a couple of hours on the skins, the juice was a pale pink. His plan was to blend it back into the rest of the Syrah after fermentation.

A few days later, we tasted that pink juice and fell in love. What began as a way to prevent a spill turned into our first Rosé of Syrah. This happy accident was just the beginning of many more surprises, guiding us in unexpected and delightful directions as our wine country life continued to unfold.

Still Thirsty?

If you want to learn more, here is a curated list of resources.

How Long Does it Take a New Vineyard to Yield Grapes?

Destemming

Are Hand-Picked Grapes Better Than Machine-Harvested?

Wine Tip: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Rosé

 

How Do You Start a Winery?

A Dream We Didn’t Know We Had…

…and didn’t know we shared

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, I'm excited to share a series of short weekly posts that take you behind the scenes, revealing memorable moments that have shaped our journey at Amista Vineyards.

The conventional wisdom for starting any business involves carefully picking a name, writing a business plan, creating a budget and obtaining financing. We picked a name but otherwise, we didn’t follow the prescribed plan.  Our journey into the wine business was something that developed gradually and almost unknowingly. Reflecting on it now, I realize that our dream of owning a vineyard was always there, simmering beneath the surface, even though we never explicitly acknowledged it or discussed it—until it was already happening.

Recalling the Dream

We were well into establishing Amista Vineyards before we even recalled what first sparked this dream. It all began when we moved to California’s Silicon Valley from our home in Colorado. We spent our weekends exploring Napa and Sonoma wine country, enchanted by the beautiful landscapes, the process of making wine, and the vibrant community that surrounded it. We were also captivated by a series of Ernest and Julio Gallo TV commercials, featuring the serene music of Vangelis’ "Hymne" and stunning images of wine country life. Those moments planted a seed in our minds, even if we didn’t realize it at the time.

Planting Our First Backyard Vineyard

Nearly a decade later, my late husband Mike came across an ad in a local newspaper for "backyard vineyards." Inspired, he planted 150 Cabernet Sauvignon vines on the hillside of our Silicon Valley home.

Mike’s First Wine in the Garage

Six months later, his curiosity intensified, he decided to learn how to make wine. That fall, he crushed half a ton of Cabernet grapes purchased from a local grower (our vines were too young to produce fruit). In 1994, he made his first wine in our garage, eagerly punching down the grapes each day, coming in with arms stained purple. I’ll admit, I made sure I wasn’t around for the hard work!

An Unexpected Detour in our Wine Journey

Just as we were getting started, life took an unexpected turn. I was offered a job in New Jersey, and we had to move before we could even harvest our first grapes. But we didn’t leave our wine behind. Mike, ever the scientist, meticulously packed the barrel of wine for the move, placing it in the center of the moving van with a recording thermometer to monitor its temperature during the journey. The wine arrived safely and was stored in our basement, where it aged for a couple of years. When we finally tasted it with friends, it was fantastic! That’s when Mike declared, “I’m a winemaker!”

Little did we know that early experiment would eventually lead us into the world of winemaking, where we’d be crafting Rhone-style reds and sparkling wines. What started as a subconscious dream had now become a reality, shaping the future we hadn’t even known we wanted.

Still Thirsty?

If you want to learn more, here is a curated list of resources.

Ernest and Julio Gallo Commercial, 1986

What is a Garagiste?

How Long Does it Take a New Vineyard to Yield Grapes?