Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/807384
102 / the tasting panel / april 2017 T here's something special about discovering a new, up-and-coming brand, a wine or spirit that has just hit the U.S. market or, better yet, one that has yet to be imported stateside (but you ferreted a few bottles home from your last study trip). For sommeliers and fine wine retailers, the excitement of sharing something new, fresh and unknown with guests and customers is a palpable emotion—one that is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. Imagine, however, a brand whose star rose high and bright and then, simply, got a bit lost for a decade or so. "Call it the 'Rip Van Winkle effect,'" laughs Nancy Bailey, General Manager of Gary Farrell Winery. This producer of boutique Russian River Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is back on the collective radar after more than a decade of being in what Bailey calls "a hibernation of sorts." Gary Farrell Winery has a long, rich history in the Russian River Valley (before there was even the thought of an appellation designation), and Farrell was one of the pioneering winemakers in the region. "He really helped put this appellation on the map," explains Theresa Heredia, Winemaker at Gary Farrell Winery. "The first wine under his own label was a 1982 Pinot Noir sourced from what would eventu- ally become two of the Russian River Valley's premier vineyards: Rochioli and Allen." Farrell's wines—along with those of other pioneers such as Davis Bynum, Joe Rochioli, Tom Dehlinger, Robert Stemmler and Joseph Swan—were a decisive first step in making the world sit up and take notice of this small valley in the heart of Sonoma County, California. "Gary Farrell Winery has always stayed small and boutique," explains Bailey. "But being owned by large wine groups, it really got lost in the shuffle. As a result, the trade lost sight of the brand, too." In recent years, however, the dedicated team behind Gary Farrell Winery has been taking steps to bring the brand back to the spotlight. Although he sold the brand in 2004, Gary Farrell stayed on with the winery through 2006. After Farrell's departure, the winery went through a series of different owners before being purchased in April 2011 by Bill Price, the managing partner of Kistler Vineyard and owner of Three Sticks, Lutum and the famed Durell and Gap's Crown Sleeping Beauty THE ICONIC GARY FARRELL WINERY IS BLOSSOMING ALL OVER AGAIN by Karen Moneymaker Theresa Heredia, Winemaker at Gary Farrell Winery. PHOTOS COURTESY OF GARY FARRELL Built in 2000, the state-of-the-art Gary Farrell Winery is nestled in the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County, California. The Hallberg Vineyard, one of the "Grand Crus" of Sonoma.