A tale of two wineries

WITH the annual grape harvest having wrapped up, I had the pleasure of visiting two arguably cult wineries on a recent trip to Napa and Sonoma Counties in Northern California. Both wineries, Williams Selyem and Fairest Creature, embrace very different winemaking philosophies, as expressed in the character of their wines as well as their business models.

Williams Selyem is well-known for the ageing potential of its Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. Its storied history began when its first vintage of Pinot Noir was launched in 1982. Its wines quickly grew in stature, becoming the first North American Pinot Noir to be awarded 100-points by an international wine publication in 2009.

Delving a bit more into its winemaking process, all its red wines are produced via labour-intensive, traditional foot-treading in repurposed, open-top dairy tanks, and subsequently fermented using their native, proprietary yeast. Williams Selyem sources its grapes from across multiple American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in Northern California to make its wines, primarily from the Russian River Valley AVA.