Mira Winery
by
Terry Sullivan
Images provided by
Mira Winery
unless otherwise noted.
This article describing Mira Winery is based on an online interview, online data and photos supplied by Mira Winery. Mira graciously sent us three samples of their wines. The article was written during the time of the world-wide 2020-2021 pandemic. Co-founder and winemaker, Gustavo A. Gonzalez answered our questions.
Summary: Mira Winery was founded by James “Bear” Dyke, Jr. (pictured left) and Gustavo A. Gonzalez (pictured right). The duo believe that at Mira Winery, miracles happen all the time. For example from the vineyard seasons to the bottling, many miracles occur. Mira is the root of the word miracle. The team is dedicated to crafting wines that reflect the vineyards and the winemakers creativity.
Destined to become a premier Napa Valley winery, Mira Winery focuses on vineyards and crafting small lots of wines. They do not just want to make a good Napa wine, they want to make exceptional Napa wines.
History
In 2005, James “Bear” Dyke, Jr. and Gustavo A. Gonzalez hatched a plan to create a small wine project. By 2009 they created their first vintage of wine. By 2012, the first wines came to market and both co-founders decided to quit their day jobs and focus solely on Mira Winery.
Even with a young history there are interesting moments. In 2014 they began aging wine in the ocean. In 2016, Mira Winery did very well in a blind tasting. Gustavo commented, “Mira Winery holds the Judgment of Charleston blind tasting where 2012 Mira Winery Schweizer Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon tops the other Napa Valley heavyweights in the the tasting that include Screaming Eagle and Schrader Tokalon.”
In 2017, Mira Winery broke ground on the Mira Winery production facility. By 2019, the winery building and the Hospitality House opened for production and visits.
We asked Gustavo to tell us about his journey to wine.
"I always tell people that I‘m the youngest of six and the good jobs were already taken! In reality winemaking was my calling and I realized this soon after I graduated from college.Though I had been exposed to wine early on thanks to my Mediterranean heritage. I was recalling the summer days spent with my dad when I was kid at the various aspects of the ag business. That made me realize I needed to be in agriculture: fields, orchards, vineyards, canneries."
Vineyards
Mira Winery has 10.5 acres of vineyards planted on their estate (pictured right along with the winery and hospitality house) in the Yountville AVA. They have plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Gris and Sauvignon Blanc. The first planting of grapes was in 2018 and another planting of grapes was in 2020. The winery also sources grapes from growers in Napa. Mira Winery has their own blocks of grapes where they source grapes year after year. Gustavo commented, “We are very hands on and work closely with the growers to manage the growing season according to our high quality standards as well as determining the harvest date.”
One of the advantages of sourcing fruit is that they can acquire varietal grapes that are not grown on the Mira Winery estate. Another advantage is to source grapes from different AVAs. The esteemed vineyards where they source grapes offer different terroirs.
We asked Gustavo what was his most enjoyable part of viticulture. He replied, “As a grower, I find the different aspects to the growing season as well as the variations from year to year to be the most enjoyable. For example, we just pruned our estate vineyard in Yountville and that sets in motion the vintage 2021 season, a story waiting to be written.”
In an introductory video about Mira Winery, the term precision viticulture is used. We asked Gustavo to give an example of precision viticulture.
"A perfect example is treating different areas of the same block differently. For example, it’s very difficult to have perfect, homogenous vineyard blocks and so there may exist an area that ripens faster or slower than the rest of the block. We make sure to identify the area and harvest it separately even on a different day than the rest of the block."
Winemaking
Not all of Gustavo’s time is spent in a vineyard setting. He is the winemaker and on some days he feels like it was a miracle just to get through the day. There are winemaking times that are enjoyable. He wrote.
"I love every aspect of winemaking. Just like grape growing, we have seasons where we are doing different things in the winery. I am creating something new using my own creativity and intuition as well as using chemistry to support my decisions. This culminates with enjoying the journey and telling its tale with other people, whether at dinner with family or with friends visiting our tasting room."
During the next five years, Mira Winery will explore what wines they can craft from their estate grapes. They are also looking forward to greeting more wine enthusiasts at their hospitality house and increasing their customer base.
We asked about what makes Mira Winery unique. Gustavo responded.
We designed the winery to accommodate a very specific approach to winemaking. We have a combination of stainless steel tanks of various capacities as well as French oak tanks, all with the technology to allow us to cater to any of the tanks individual needs. These tanks were all sized to accommodate our approach to small, single vineyard lots but also gravity flow throughout the process. In addition, we also have the only French oak egg in all of North America and South America (pictured left). We would love to get more ovums but it will be awhile since the cooperage is only able to make two per year. The Chardonnay in the Ovum has a different texture than what’s in the barrels. However, my main goal in choosing Chardonnay was to absorb some of the oak flavor that the Ovum has on its first use.
Wines
The 2015 Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay, Napa Valley (pictured right by Wine Trail Traveler) was crafted with grapes from the Carneros District. The must was fermented in oak barrels as well as the wine aged in French oak barrels. The wine spent 24 months on the lees with minimal racking and stirring. The 15.5% alcohol wine had a yellow color with golden hue. As soon as uncorking the bottle, an intense aroma was noticed. The aroma was fruity and floral. The taste included apple, pear, honeysuckle and freshly baked bread. The full-bodied wine had a fruity finish with a trace of caramel apples. Despite the high alcohol there was little or no heat on the taste. There was a perceived sweetness to the wine; however, the residual sugar was a low 1.6 g/L.
The 2016 Stanly Ranch Pinot Noir, Napa Valley was also crafted with grapes from the Carneros District. The wine had 14.5% alcohol and a very slightly, transparent ruby color. The aroma was reminiscent of raspberries, plums and chocolate covered cherries. The taste also included raspberries, plums, chocolate covered cherries as well as hints of tobacco and licorice. The wine was full bodied with mild silky tannins. The finished had a nice integration of fruit and oak. Kathy had made dark chocolate fudge brownies and I could not help pairing the brownies with the wine.
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley was made with grapes from the Yountville District. The color was an opaque purple/black with a dark ruby hue. The 15% alcohol wine offered a berry fruit salad on the aroma. The taste included blackberries, black caps, cassis, cooking spices and freshly ground black pepper. There was a lot going on in this full bodied, velvety mouthfeel wine. The wine had bold, silky tannins. The finish was fruity with some oak influences in the background. The wine also had a perceived sweetness even though it had a residual sugar of 0.5 g/L.
All three wines were delicious and depending on your mood, could pair well with a variety of foods, or just enjoy on a rocking chair on a porch or in front of a fire.
Wine Tourism
Since its opening in 2018, wine enthusiasts can visit the winery for tours and and the Hospitality House for tastings. They will learn about Mira Winery’s pure winemaking approach and taste single vineyard wines. Tours are offered in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
On your next visit to Napa Valley, visit Mira Winery and discover single vineyard wines.
Mira Winery
6170 Washington St.
Yountville, California 94558
Article written March 2021.
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