Back when the idea of Amista was just taking root—our first wines resting in barrels but not yet in bottles—we decided to take a bold step and host a vineyard tour at Passport to Dry Creek Valley, the premier wine and food event in Sonoma County.
Our long-time friends Meg and Dale (who two years earlier had helped Mike make Syrah in our Healdsburg garage) flew in from Colorado to join us and lend a hand. Together, Meg and I baked cookies and prepared quiches for our morning guests, but her true contribution went far beyond the kitchen.
While we were planning the tour, Meg suggested we invite our guests to sign up for a mailing list. “Mailing list?” I thought. It hadn’t even crossed my mind! At that time, my husband Mike was pouring his passion into making wine, and I was still focused on my career in executive coaching and consulting. Building a wine business was the furthest thing from my mind.
But Meg's simple idea turned out to be a game-changer. That very first mailing list sign-up sheet forged connections that have grown into lasting friendships. The folks who joined us that day didn’t just become subscribers—they became part of the Amista family.
Since then, we’ve shared countless memories with them: barbecues at our home, brunches at the winery, and joyous celebrations of their marathons, birthdays, and family reunions—always with Amista wine in hand. We’ve watched their kids grow up and welcomed their friends and family members into our wine club.
Looking back, it’s incredible to think how one small suggestion had such a profound impact on Amista. It’s a reminder that sometimes the smallest gestures can lead to the biggest changes. You can read more about this wonderful group of friends and our shared journey in another post, “The Best Wines are Those Shared with Friends.”
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Looking back, I realize we were pioneers of the pop-up before they became a thing! In 2005, when our first wines were ready for release, we faced an unexpected hurdle: our winery and tasting room permit was delayed. With no official place to sell or showcase our wines, we had to get creative. That’s when we turned to one of our greatest assets—our friends.
We were fortunate to have many supportive friends in the Bay Area, including several who had purchased futures of our wines. We asked if they’d be willing to host parties to help launch Amista and introduce our wines. Their enthusiasm was overwhelming. These gatherings resembled the classic Tupperware parties, but instead of kitchenware, it was all about wine. Our hosts would invite their friends and offer tasty bites from Trader Joe’s to pair with each of the wines. Some of our more culinary-inclined friends even crafted their own pairings.
With our car packed full of everything needed for a tasting, including 10 cases of wine in the trunk, Mike and I hit the road. Each tasting started with guests gathering around as we poured samples of the four wines from our first release: Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. As we moved through the wines, we shared stories about our journey, the vineyards, and the winemaking process. Then, we introduced everyone to our brand-new wine club.
After the initial tasting, Mike and I split up, each pouring two of the wines and pairing them with the small bites. This informal part of the evening allowed people to mingle, ask questions, and connect with us—aligning perfectly with Amista’s meaning, which is “making friends.”
Once the tastings concluded, we invited guests to join our wine club and place orders. Though today we could easily manage orders on an iPad, back then, I’d sit at the kitchen table with my trusty calculator while Mike filled the orders from the cases in our car.
These pop-up tastings quickly spread throughout the Bay Area. At each event, we invited guests to host their own parties. People loved introducing their friends to a new winery, and they were excited to meet the very people behind the wines—the ones who started it all and crafted each bottle. The idea took off so well that, at one point, a guest joked, “I think I’ve been to this party before!” We were clearly making an impact.
The results were incredible. Not only did people enjoy being part of the launch of a new winery, but the intimate setting helped us build a community. We grew our wine club and sold an impressive amount of wine—sometimes multiple cases per guest! Over time, we fine-tuned the formula for success: 18 guests was the sweet spot, Sundays were the best, and a 4:00-6:00 PM window worked perfectly. Stand-alone tastings were key for club sign-ups and sales, whereas adding a dinner afterward didn’t yield the same results.
Our biggest lesson? When life gives you lemons, make lemonade—or in our case, wine. Waiting on permits forced us to find an alternative way to sell our wine, and it wasn’t easy. Driving two hours, setting up, hosting, and cleaning up before driving back (without even enjoying a glass of wine because of the drive!) was a big commitment. But building a business takes hard work and the willingness to adapt. This experience taught us the value of perseverance, creativity, and the importance of friends. We made wonderful memories and even better friends along the way.
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If you want to learn more, here is a curated list of resources.
Here are the pairings we suggested to our hosts:
AMISTA Chardonnay - Mini crab cakes
AMISTA Zinfandel - Bruschetta (a mixture that can be spread on crostini)
AMISTA Cabernet Sauvignon - Mushroom turnovers
2003 AMISTA Syrah - Assorted grilled sausages (cut into bite size pieces)
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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?
Are Hand-Picked Grapes Better Than Machine-Harvested?
Wine Tip: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Rosé
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