Recently, I attended the Boston Wine Expo.  Out of the hundreds of vineyards there, one had a story that made it very memorable.  That vineyard is Saviez Vineyards, located in Calistoga, California.

Fortunately, I was able to visit the Saviez Vineyard booth before the Expo was open to the public.  This gave me more time to speak with Mike Saviez, Sales & Marketing Manager.  After sampling a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon, I asked Mike about his vineyard.

We discussed the wines produced at their vineyard, and I was most interested in the story of a newer wine, Yogi’s Reserve Petite Sirah.    In 2005, seventy cases of this wine were produced.  However, that amount was much smaller than had been intended, due to a local black bear who ate 60-70% of the grapes.  Thus, the wine has been named to reflect the interest of their grape-eating friend.

Saviez Vineyards has many other wonderful wines available.  Their most popular wine is their estate zinfandel.  They also offer Muscat Canelli, a delicious dessert wine.

This vineyard has plans to produce new varieties of wine in the near future.  One example is their Cabernet Franc program which they started in 2007.  That variety should be available in 2009.

Saviez Vineyards not only produces excellent wines, but it also has a great history as a family vineyard.  Visit their Website to learn more about both.