To our longtime reserve club members: you might recognize this wine. Years ago we featured their Estate Cabernet in your club. The “Cellar Scraps” is a blend of that Estate Cabernet and Petite Sirah, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc from both 2016 and 2017. They have found a delicious way of making great wine out of their “scraps” – and at an amazing price too!
Located atop Spring Mountain right next to Pride Mountain Vineyards, Sherwin Family started making wine and growing grapes in 1996. Steve Sherwin was a builder and developer in the Bay area for over 30 years before taking advice from a friend to purchase some land in Napa and grow grapes. His 5th generation grape growing buddy assured him that, although farming is a lot of hard work, it was not nearly as stressful as building and developing. They released their first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1999 and have since brought their son and daughter into the family business.
Matt and his sister Lindsey grew up in the family vineyard and naturally fell into their roles as assistant winemaker and event manager. I had the pleasure of meeting Matt at their estate last year where I learned about their story and toured their vineyard. Right now, they are working to rebuild their winery that sadly burned in the recent 2020 Glass Fire. They have a ways to go but with that builder and developer background I believe they will rebuild and be better than ever.
Fun fact: Sherwin Family Vineyards is the only company in the United States that can place the American flag on a bottle of alcohol. This came about shortly after September 11, 2001, when they were asked to participate in an international wine auction benefiting the families of employees of Windows on the World restaurant that was lost in the disaster. They still feature the American flag on their Commemorative Etched large format bottles in honor of 9/11.
Taylor Morgan – January 2021
Bacchus & Venus Wines 