Our Next Release Opens September 30th
The wines feautred in our upcoming Fall Release are borne of relationships.
The day Charlie Heintz’s custom blue Peterbilt rolled into Grand Cru, delivering my inaugural 2017 chardonnay, another winemaker turned to me in disbelief.
“How the hell did you get that fruit?” he marveled. “I have been on the wait list for 5 years.”
Two years into making Soberanes Vineyard pinot noir, a well know pinot reviewer queried, “How the hell did you get Pisoni fruit? Did you give up a child?”
At least that one was easy to answer. “Yeah, since I have twins, I always have a kid to spare.”
But the truth is that back in 2010, Mark Pisoni took a chance on me, as a winemaker, a partner, and a collaborator. I was a novice winemaker, and the newly planted Soberanes Vineyard was ready for her vintage debut. So, I packed the kids into the minivan and hauled them down to Santa Lucia Highlands. Four hours later, at the threshold of the vineyard, my son had but one question. “Mom, can I finally go to the bathroom?” He proceeded to clog the septic system and overflow the toilet. Mark didn’t have kids of his own back then, but heck, now he was prepared for anything.
My Heintz story shares a common thread. Years ago, I stood pouring next to Karen Heintz at World of Pinot Noir. I didn’t know her or even glance at her label. But with gracious bonhomie, she struck up a conversation, on the shared premise we were both women in the business. And in a game of one upmanship, I opened with, “Well, I’m a working mom.”
She volleyed. “I’m a working mom, too.”
I slammed a forehand. “Oh, I have three kids.”
Her solid return? “I have three kids, too.”
I served a sure ace, “I have twins.”
She rallied. “Me, too.”
(Wait? Huh?).
As it turns out, we each had three kids, twin girls and a son. And our twins were exactly the same age. The following fall, our double trouble twins were all enrolled in the same grade, same school. Small world. (Plus, it offered me a nonstop elevator ride to the top of the Heintz chard waitlist).
So when I tell you that these wines are extra special, that they speak of place, and that they represent that most intimate relationship between grower and winemaker, I hope you’ll see why. I could not make these wines without the support of my amazing growers, the folks who took a chance on me, on Bruliam, and my career.
Our Fall Release opens this coming Monday September 30th. It features the following new release wines:
2018 Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (Torrey Hill)
2016 Soberanes Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
You can check out my video tasting of the new release wines below or at: https://vimeo.com/360909946
Allocation list members should look for an email on Monday morning with login and allocation information. You can join the waiting list for future allocations here.
Cheers and enjoy each bottle,
-Kerith