Founded in 2019 by husband-and-wife team Michael & Stacey Schriefer, Fest Wine Co. focuses on the production of small batch, single-vineyard wines from organically farmed sites in the rugged terrain of the Sonoma Mountain AVA. Fest Wine Co. partners with environmentally-conscious organic growers and seeks to create wines that reflect the uniqueness of their vineyards through minimal intervention winemaking.
We believe that hand-harvesting and winemaking in small batches ultimately leads to better wines, because it allows us to monitor our wines at every step along the winemaking process, ensuring the highest quality control. Our winemaking philosophy seeks minimal intervention winemaking, without compromising quality in the final product.
We seek to create wines from vineyards that possess a unique combination of soil, topographical features, sunlight, and daily temperature conditions. In sum, these elements work together to create premium grape growing sites. Through the exclusive production of single vineyard wines, we intend to capture and reflect such unique terroir of these vineyard sites.
While minimal intervention winemaking is our philosophy in the cellar, we source our fruit exclusively from organically-farmed vineyards. We believe that organic viticulture is not only responsible farming of the land, but that it also leads to wines of greater finesse and character. In addition, organic farming improves the soil quality of the vineyard and benefits the immediate ecosystem.
To answer this question, it is important to note that there is no specific definition of natural wines. In most cases, the term refers to wines made from organically or biodynamically farmed grapes with simple or traditional winemaking methods while limiting or, in extreme cases, excluding any additions or interference during the winemaking process.
When we first founded the brand, organic grape growing practices became a requirement while we sought our first vineyard site to purchase fruit from. Furthermore, while our initial 2019 Pinot Noir was fermented through an inoculation and then produced with minimal interference in the cellar, we have since utilized native fermentations in our winemaking and, whenever possible, minimized any interference during the winemaking process.
Natural WinesWith a size of approximately 5,000 acres, the Sonoma Mountain AVA stretches from the Eastern end of the Petaluma Gap, at its Western border, to the small town of Glen Ellen, located at the base of the Eastern edge of Sonoma Mountain. Historically, this area used to be part of the Pacific Ocean floor and was created from volcanic uplift approximately 12 million years ago. The volcanic uplift of this 2,400 feet tall mountain range resulted in many irregular crevices and folds, each with its own micro-climate, on either side of the mountain.
Today, differences in topography, climate, and soil conditions provide many opportunities for grape growing. Through this unique terroir, grape growers have found ideal growing conditions for varieties as diverse as Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, two important Sonoma Red Wine varieties.
Our VineyardsAt Fest Wine Co., we intend to craft California Pinot Noir that reflects the terroir of its vineyard and exhibits elegance over power on the palate. By hand harvesting our Pinot Noir grapes at lower ripening levels compared to many other wineries, we like to ensure adequate acidity in the finished wine while also keeping alcohol at a moderate level.
In addition, we prefer to minimize any oak influence during the winemaking process to retain the delicate aromatics and flavors found in the Pinot Noir grape variety. We believe that this winemaking style does not only produce delicious, well-balanced wines, but that it also creates Pinot Noirs that are extremely versatile when paired with food. We hope that you will join us in exploring the many possible food pairing options for our wines.
Food + Wine PairingsWhile our current alcohol license does prevent us from conducting formal wine tastings in a tasting room setting, Fest Wine Co. frequently participates in wine tasting events in Northern California. Please sign up for the mailing list below and follow us on social media at @festwineco to be informed about such future events and about upcoming wine releases.
Our wines are available for sale through the Purchase section of our website and can be shipped via UPS or can be personally delivered in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Please do not hesitate to contact us, should you have any additional questions.
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