Meyer Family Cellars, Yorkville CA

Category & Type :

Wineries And Breweries

Location :

19750 Highway 128 , Yorkville CA

Phone :

707-895-2341

Website :

http://www.meyerfamilycellars.com/

Information about Meyer Family Cellars...

History

Meyer Family Cellars is a small, family-owned winery situated in the picturesque Yorkville Highlands of Mendocino County. At once a leading artisanal winery in one of California’s emerging viticultural areas, Meyer Family Cellars blends establishing this new Appellation with the legacy of Silver Oak Cellars.
 
One of the state’s iconic wine brands, Meyer Family Cellars occupies a unique place in the story of California wine. It was established in 1987 by Silver Oak founders and former owners Justin and Bonny Meyer, who dreamt of a family wine brand that drew upon their extensive experience in the Napa and Alexander Valleys. Incorporated in the plan too was their son, Matt, a well-traveled student of wine and graduate of the enology and viticulture program at the University of California Davis.

Today

Today Meyer Family Cellars is in the capable hands of co-winemakers Matt and Karen Meyer. Their approach to winemaking mirror the unique position of their product. While their wine incorporates “old world” balanced acidity and minerality with “new world” ripeness and forward fruit, similarly, Matt and Karen apply the wisdom gleaned from family history while welcoming new ideas into the process.

Vineyards ~

For decades the Meyer family has created red wines that express a sense of where they have been grown. With each subsequent vintage you learn something new about the character of a vineyard. Will the fruit express green notes or spice in a cold year, will it become luscious or fall apart with extended hang time, or can a drought create great fruit intensity or cause the vineyard to shut down prematurely? The wines produced at Meyer Family Cellars are as diverse as the vineyards in which they are grown.
 
Syrah

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.
 
Port

The Meyer Family Port was originally sourced from Zinfandel vineyards in Lodi and more recently from different parts of Mendocino. The fruit from Lodi was able to get extremely ripe, and the pronounced fruit helped balance out the intensity of the brandy.

After we bought the winery in Mendocino we started working with two distinct areas, both exciting for their unique aspects. Zinfandel from the hot Ukiah Valley provides similar grapes to the Lodi region with great fruit intensity, again a complement to the alcohol. Zinfandel from the much cooler Yorkville Highlands provides acidity and intense color to balance the sugar level of the Port. The result is the smooth carefully aged Meyer Family Port we have come to know and love.
 
Bonny’s Vineyard Cabernet

The Bonny’s Vineyard Cabernet was one of the country's first and deservedly best examples of a single vineyard designate wine. Over thirty years ago these precious four acres stood out among thousands that Justin Meyer cultivated in the heart of the Napa Valley's Oakville Appellation. The old creek which runs nearby deposited gravely soils which cause the vines to struggle and produce the most beautifully intense fruit imaginable. This is not a wine we make, but rather one we watch develop itself during its five year ageing process. Whereas we are actively developing the style of the Syrah, when it comes to the Bonny’s we stay true to the techniques Justin Meyer used many years ago. Rather, when each vintage is tasted it is a way of looking back to the year in which it was grown.