Sunday February 18, 2024
Hello from Healdsburg. Join me this weekend in Healdsburg here if you can. I'm leading a tasting of our "first borns", offering one session per day next Saturday and Sunday only. It's going to be so special to have you here and to pull corks and let you in on our journey along the way. Seating is limited to 20 people each day. I'm only opening one bottle of each wine, a few bottles will be available for purchase afterwards too. We don't have ample inventory. Details and to secure a seat are on TOCK
I'm writing to you today for more reasons than you probably care to hear about. But a few things on my mind I think I should share, so here's a story.
I've been in the wine business pretty much my entire adult life. This business has taken me around the world, taught me lessons no class nor school could come close to, connected me with the dearest humans beings on the planet, heck, it's how I met my wife! Now here I am in 2024, sitting behind a laptop waiting to host guests with a new Smith Story ballcap on and a wearing a decade old flannel shirt spilling my guts to you.
Celebrating Ten Years of Smith Story Wine Cellars is a big deal in my world. Ten years ago is more like 14 years ago to me. 14 years ago I began falling pretty hard for a gal from Texas with big hair and an even bigger sense of humor. A woman who was nearly possessed about creating success for family owned wineries and also made me laugh. Ali had become a leader among leaders in the wine biz and a real protagonist for family owned wineries across the world since the day we met in 2003.
It was then 14 years go that we both began saying to each other "What if, what if one day we started a winery ourselves? What wines would we make, how would and could we afford to do such a thing". We both knew Anderson Valley Pinot Noir and a bright, fresh and tasty Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma County were first on our list of wines to make.
So we went deep into planning together and began detailing our future of starting a small winery mostly at night after work and over dinner and bottles we found inspiration from. Ali and I both loved our current jobs, mine as a head wine buyer for K&L Wine Merchants and Ali's sales and marketing role consulting for family owned wineries. As soon as we began asking vintner friends and wine biz pros what they thought of our new winery plan, they unanimously said YES! DO IT! YOU GOT THIS!
Fast forward to today, February 18, 2024. The wine business for boutique family owned wineries has changed. Mostly due to modest financial means of a boutique winery now having to compete with the well-funded and huge wineries from here and all over the world more than ever before.
So today, I only look back on the struggles of recent years to lean into boundless strength and continue to move forward. Two very special wines in our 2024 Smith Story Spring Wine Release are from the 2022 vintage. Ali and I were waiting on results during this harvest season from her scans after 18 months of breast cancer treatment. God knows we were trying our best to "never let them see you sweat'. Well, it was in the middle of harvest that we did receive news of "no evidence of disease". GOOD NEWS! These 2022 wines are full of emotion for us. A vintage full of celebration and also a vintage that we began rebuilding, we could finally take a breath. The past few years were almost to much to bear. But oh how the business has changed since fires and the pandemic years, yet again we got to work pushing ourselves harder than we could have ever imagined.
So wearing my heart on my old flannel shirt today with you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for loving our wines, thanks for the endless support and understanding of what our small family has endured these last handful of years to just keep making wine with integrity, create a livelihood for our family and our future.
Please don't hesitate, jump on these new release wines now. They will not be available on your favorite discount websites or even in our own personal favorite wine shops, we could only make tiny amounts due to limited budgets. If you are reading now this far along, you probably enjoy our single vineyard Pinot Noirs from the Anderson Valley. The Filigreen Farm linked below is a stunner, take my word for it, it's one for the ages. Once you've enjoyed good, real fine wine, there's no going back!
- Eric
2022 SMITH STORY FILIGREEN FARM PINOT NOIR, ANDERSON VALLEY
Our Storytellers have secured their allocations and remaining inventory is now available for purchase.
Our single vineyard Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs have been nothing less than a huge success since we began producing wine in 2014. You loved our 2017 Pinot Gris from Filigreen Farm. 2022 is our first Pinot Noir from this biodynamic and organically farmed beloved Anderson Valley vineyard. Our first time using 50% whole cluster too.
Quintessential Anderson Valley spice on the nose, 100% pommard clone clusters that produced juicy wild berries with vivid aromas. The mouthfeel is layered and full of fruit packed with blue and black berries intermingled with glamorous intensity but remains very fresh. A true Smith Story Star.
Biodynamic farming, hand harvested on 9/24/22, hand sorted 50% destemmed, 50% whole cluster, fermented in stainless steel tank, Rested in French Burgundy barrels 65% neutral & 35% new. 100% Pommard clone. Alc. 13.3%, 250 case production (this wine will begin shipping and be available for pickup April 2024).