Neyers Vineyards Bruce's Journal
Winding Back the Clock
By Bruce Neyers
Thursday 27th June, 2024
A few years ago, Barbara and I were traveling through the southeast and our trip to South Carolina ended after a Friday morning sales meeting with our distributor there. At the time, we worked with a company that I’d been introduced to many years earlier, and we had developed a friendship of sorts with the owner. At the end of the meeting, when he learned that we planned to stay in the area for a few days before returning to California the following week from Atlanta, he suggested we stay at his then-vacant home in Myrtle Beach for a few getaway days. We had no formal plans, so we took him up on it. That was our introduction to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and we had a wonderful weekend at our friend’s ocean-front house — walking on the beach, listening to the waves, enjoying the great food and drink in the area, and relaxing in a way to which neither of us had really been accustomed. Now, some 30 years later, we learned that our footprint remains there, in the form of our wine, as some mutual friends made us aware of our appearance in ‘The Grand Strand,’ a publication referred to as “The Lifestyle Magazine for the Myrtle Beach Area.”
We were delighted to read their review of our 2020 Chardonnay ‘Carneros District’ and wanted to have those of you who are close to us see it as well:
Neyers 2020 Chardonnay ‘Carneros District’
“Bruce and Barbara Neyers opened their winery in 1992, in the heart of Napa Valley, and this chard from the Carneros district stands out among their best. Whole-cluster grapes are pressed, not crushed, in French oak (25% new) barrels. The result is an aroma of toasty almond and ripe mango, plus a rich palate of chamomile, peaches, and notes of vanilla. A hint of oak lingers in the long finish. Pair with your favorite cheeses, fresh seafood, or roasted lemon chicken.”
The El Novillero Vineyard in southwest Carneros District is one of the most beautiful spots to grow Chardonnay in the world. The vineyard is owned by the Donnell Family, and farmed by the Sangiacomo Family, with whom I’ve worked for over 40 years. The grapes from this parcel are a regular component in our Carneros District Chardonnay.
Photo by Mike Pucci
Barbara and I moved to our Conn Valley Ranch property in the fall of 1984. The following spring, with the help of a long-time friend, we planted six redwood trees, each purchased in a one-gallon plastic bucket from our local nursery. All six of them fit easily in the trunk of our Volkswagen Rabbit. Now, 40 years later, we gaze on these majestic trees every morning when we leave for the office, and every afternoon when we return home. They are an inspiration.
Neyers Carneros Chardonnay
