Meyer Family Cellars

Region: Mendocino, CA

Bonny and Justin founded Silver Oak Cellars together with their financial partner, Ray Duncan in 1972. Always a labor of love, Silver Oak’s inaugural vintage was crushed that fall a week after Justin and Bonny returned from their honeymoon. In the early years Bonny managed Silver Oak business and sales while Justin oversaw winemaking and managed burgeoning Franciscan Vineyards, purchases by the partners in 1975. A couple years after the partners sold Franciscan, Justin left and took over primary management duties at Silver Oak. Always part of the management team, Bonny focused on PR, marketing, and package and facility design. The original Silver Oak and Meyer Family Port labels both won design awards, as did the Oakville Silver Oak winery when it was completed in 1982. Today Bonny is an active partner in Meyer Cellars and continues to focus on marketing and design. The legend of Bonny’s Vineyard states that Bonny gazes upon and blesses her vineyard every morning and that’s what makes the wine so extraordinary. Others say the wine is a manifestation of Justin and Bonny’s love for one another. But no one really knows for sure.
The Meyer Family Syrah is sourced from six vineyards in the Yorkville Highlands Appellation. These vineyards range from 800 to 2100 feet in elevation with South, East, and West aspects, and unique soil profiles at each site. We have found that it gets warm up until midday at which point a cooling breeze comes from the coast moderating the temperature. Furthermore the nights are much cooler in the Highlands than anywhere we have seen in the North coast. These nighttime temperatures preserve acidity, color, and tannin in the grapes. Additionally, whether it comes from the old soils or the cooler temperatures most of the wines from the region exhibit a certain minerality.

Poderi Luigi Einaudi

Region: Piemonte, Italy

Inman Family

Region: Russian River Valley, CA

At Inman Family Wines their focus is on small lots of wine made from impeccably grown grapes in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. Their passion is two-fold: elegant Pinot Noir and the beautiful Russian River Valley. Their estate vineyard, Olivet Grange is organically farmed and they encourage sustainable practices in the vineyards of those who supply them with grapes. Their focus on preserving the environment extends to their winemaking and administrative practices: eco-friendly wine labels, recyclable packaging, reduction of waste, participation in recycling, use of renewable sources of energy and a commitment to seeking suppliers that share their vision. Kathleen Inman produces small lots of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay from her family’s organically farmed, Olivet Grange Vineyard and a handful of other sustainable vineyards in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. In 1999 the Inmans acquired an old, 10.5 acre farm in the Russian River Valley and developed the 7.4 acre Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris vineyard they call Olivet Grange; in 2002, she produced her first wine under the Inman Family Wines label. In late 2010, the Inman Family Winery at Olivet Grange was opened. The solar powered building, which is made primarily of recycled materials, was designed with energy and water conservation in mind. The winery’s solar array also powers the first privately owned, publically available Electric Vehicle charging stations in the North Bay which allows guests to “fill up on sunshine” while visiting the estate. The new winery and vineyard are the embodiment of the Inman Family’s eco-ethics.