12/25 SUSAN CANNON, HEIDI BARRETT, LA SIRENA, JOHN HILLIARD

SUSAN CANNON, SUSAN G. CANNON ESTATE WINES & HEIDI BARRETT - WINEMAKER, LA SIRENA    

Heidi Peterson Barrett is a winemaker who has been responsible for some of California's most notable cult wines, including Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle Vineyards, Paradigm Winery, Grace Family Vineyards, Amuse Bouche, Lamborn Family Vineyards, Showket Vineyards and Fantesca, is a consultant for Diamond Creek Vineyards and Niebaum-Coppola, and has her own wine label, La Sirena.

Welcome to La Sirena, where our mission is to make wines of high integrity and purity that are simply delicious. I focus on the wines that I personally love best - Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Moscato Azul (our dry Muscat Canelli). Our flagship wine is our Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a beauty indeed. I have become famous for making this variety during a 30 year career making such wines as Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Grace Family, and so many more. My philosophy is to make the best wines possible by blending modern technology with traditional winemaking. These are wines of high pedigree that are ultimately handcrafted - a magical blend of art and science. Simply put - an incredibly delicious bottle of wine. All the wines are finely balanced, flavorful, pure and elegant. At the end of the day, if I don’t love it, I don’t bottle it, and the results are in the glass!

SUSAN G. CANNON ESTATE WINES - PROUDLY REPRESENTING: Kapcsandy Family Vineyards | Lamborn Family Vineyards | La Sirena Winery |  Miro Cellars |  Grand Cru Imports | Grof Degenfeld Tokaji | Oakville Cross Wines | Six Sigma Winery|   Et Cetera Wine Company |  Domaine Georg Rafael | Laird Family Estate |  Consulting for Meyer Family Cellars

SCESTATEWINES.COM  
WWW.LASIRENAWINE.COM

JOHN HILLIARD – CO-FOUNDER & WINEMAKER, HILLIARD BRUCE VINEYARD

Hilliard Bruce planted 21 acres of vineyard on 101 acres starting in 2004. Our wine is made 100% from estate vineyards, strictly Pinot noir and Chardonnay. We farm the vineyards to the standards of Sustainable In Practice. There are 5 clones of Pinot Noir (667, 777, 828, Calera, Pommard) and two clones of Chardonnay (76,96). Three unique land features create the orientation of our property, two hillsides and a valley floor. Our average day time temp is 70 with our evening lows dropping into the high 40's. This moderate climate paired with our intenesly sandy soils, allows for long hang times resulting in perfect ripening for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Being 11 miles from the Pacific Ocean means the cooling effects are paired with heavy winds, that take a toll during flowering, but provides just the right tool for keeping our grapes from developing mold.

One might visit all the vineyards in the world and never see another with as impeccably-farmed rows, perfectly-trellised vines and unbelievably precise watering mechanisms as the Hilliard Bruce Vineyard, located on the cool slopes of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. To describe this Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyard as carefully farmed is an understatement: both John Hilliard and Christine Bruce are former artists (in visual art and music, respectively) and master gardeners and it shows. This is a vineyard that winemakers dream about, all the while giving agricultural workers nightmares considering the amount of work and detail that goes into such a work of art. The goal is to produce wines so wonderful and so redolent of this beautiful place that every effort in the vineyard will be rewarded exponentially with each passing vintage.

Husband and wife team John Hilliard and Christine Bruce purchased the 101-acre ranch in the Sta. Rita Hills in 2002. Christine, a successful Arabian horse breeder, and John, who had just undergone a second kidney transplant, had been looking to relocate their farm from their native Texas to California for years. Christine needed a place she could raise her horses, and John, a wine lover, artist and businessman who had just come back from the brink of death, was determined to pursue his dream of cultivating a vineyard.  For both, much of their desire to relocate to California stemmed from a love of living, eating—and now, drinking—straight off the land. “It was a matter of growing what we like to eat, and with a vineyard in California, growing what we like to drink,” says John.

WWW.HILLIARDBRUCE.COM