Wine industry luminaries Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher recounted their history with Gary Farrell Winery in a recent Grape Collective story.
The pair was first introduced to the wines during a visit to Sonoma in 1987, and while Gary Farrell sold the pioneering Russian River Valley winery almost 20 years ago they report that it “continues to produce outstanding, site-specific Pinot Noir and Chardonnay,” and that “much of that success can be attributed to Theresa Heredia, the winemaker since 2012, and to a management team that simply wanted the best person for the job – and found a third-generation Mexican-American woman at a time when, even more than now, there were not many winemakers who were either.”
Gaiter and Brecher spoke with Heredia recently during a Zoom tasting, where they said “she tries to give all the credit to those awesome vineyards,” adding a quote from Heredia: “If you’re choosing to work with the best sites possible, my goal as a winemaker is to — pardon my French — not f— it up.” While this is true, they continued, “we were reminded that, while great wines start in the vineyard, they ultimately also express the soul of the winemaker, who must make about a million decisions, big and small, that ultimately determine how that wine tastes.” In Heredia’s case, it all comes back to bananas and peaches.
“I like to pick on the earlier end of the ripeness spectrum. And when you pick earlier you capture these really vibrant, fresh aromatics, more floral and mineral and citrus as opposed to riper golden fruit like ripe apples, ripe pears, tropical fruit, pineapple – those aren’t the qualities I’m looking for.
“When I eat bananas or I eat peaches or nectarines, I don’t like to eat fruit when they are softening and beginning to get overripe. I like them when they’re fresh. Bananas, as soon as they get spots, I don’t like to eat them anymore because they don’t have that fresh vibrant flavor anymore and they don’t have as much tangy acidity.
Gaiter & Brecher share further context on her philosophy of early picking, as well as other great gems that define Heredia’s winemaking style, which you can read in full HERE
GFW_GrapeCollective_8.14.2020Related Wines
Gary Farrell Winery
Gary Farrell Winery Russian River Selection Chardonnay 2017
Russian River Valley, California
The Russian River Selection bottlings are quintessential Russian River Valley wines blended from some of the winery’s top vineyard sources. They are beautiful expressions of their varietal type and of the appellation’s unique terroir, each blend capturing the richness, purity and elegance that are Gary Farrell Winery’s trademarks. This layered and complex Chardonnay brings together fruit from several of our favorite Russian River Valley vineyard sites.
Gary Farrell Winery
Gary Farrell Winery Russian River Selection Pinot Noir 2017
Russian River Valley, California
The Russian River Selection bottlings are quintessential Russian River Valley wines blended from some of the region’s top vineyards, taking advantage of varied climates and unique site characteristics. Undoubtedly showcasing a beautiful expression of the varietal and of the appellation’s unique terroir, this Pinot Noir blend captures the richness, purity and elegance that are Gary Farrell Winery’s trademarks.
Gary Farrell Winery
Gary Farrell Winery Hallberg Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016
Russian River Valley, California
Named for its previous owners, the 100-acre Hallberg Vineyard is today owned and managed by wine industry veterans including vineyard manager Kirk Lokka. Nestled in the Green Valley sub-appellation, the site enjoys refreshing daytime breezes and cool nighttime temperatures. The strong marine influence means less severe daily temperature shifts so the vines never completely shut down, producing fruit with deep, dark color, great structure, silky tannins, darker fruit flavors and earthy characteristics. This blend is a composition of many of the best blocks on this cool, foggy vineyard site, which include clones 667, 777, 828, Pommard and a mysterious “suitcase” selection.
Gary Farrell Winery
Gary Farrell Winery Olivet Lane Chardonnay 2017
Russian River Valley, California
Pellegrini’s Olivet Lane Vineyard was planted in 1975 to Wente selection on AXR rootstock. The vineyard sits on 65 acres of sloping bench land in the Santa Rosa Plain, in between the warmer Westside Road region and the cooler Green Valley,where warm summer days are moderated by cool breezes and chilly evening temperatures. The combination of low temperatures, regular fog intrusion and well drained loam, clay soils create an excellent environment for growing Chardonnay that develop cool-climate characteristics and impeccable acid at fairly low sugars.The wines from this vineyard simultaneously express power and finesse, and they do so with tremendous balance.
Related Producers
Gary Farrell Winery
Russian River Valley, California
For over 40 years, Gary Farrell Winery has crafted small-lot artisan wines capturing balance and stylistic elegance from some of the finest vineyard sites in the Russian River Valley. Since 2014, the current owners have been dedicated to enhancing Gary Farrell’s legacy with a single-minded focus on quality, relying on rigorous vineyard selection, outstanding grower relationships and superior quality fruit.