Neyers Vineyards Bruce's Journal
An Update on the 2022 Sage Canyon Red
By Bruce Neyers
Friday 19th December, 2025
Bay Area wine legend Tonya Pitts had some comments on our 2022 Sage Canyon Red in a recent issue of ‘Wine Enthusiast.’ Here’s what she had to say:
“Notes of mulled fruit and spice arise on the nose of this wine, and concentrated baked red plum, cassis, dried florals, and clove waft across the palate. The juicy red fruit and blackberry finish leaves grippy tannins and a longing for another sip. 91 POINTS”
Reading her copy sent me back in time, to 2005, recalling the trip that led to the idea behind this wine. I was driving through central California with Daniel Brunier from Domaine Vieux Télégraphe of Châteauneuf du Pape fame. Daniel and I traveled together often in those days, and he loved visiting California. At one point, we were virtually surrounded by vineyards, and Daniel asked me to pull over. A sign identified the vineyard as planted to Grenache, so Daniel took several photos. After we started up again, he asked: ‘Why don’t you make wine from these grapes at Neyers Winery?’ The vineyard was beautiful, but I struggled to explain. He persisted. ‘It’s warm in Châteauneuf du Pape too, but these are hot-weather varieties,’ he said. Soon, he had me convinced to look into the possibility.
After I returned home and discussed the idea with Tadeo Borchardt, we scheduled appointments with several northern California growers farming Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, and Syrah — the grape varieties historically included in the red wines from the southern Rhône Valley. We made a small quantity in 2006, then more in 2007. I took samples of our wine to France with me the following January, seeking advice from Daniel and a handful of other like-minded vignerons. It wasn’t until 2009 though, that we produced a finished wine that had the characteristics we sought. We named it Sage Canyon Red, after the sub-region of the Napa Valley where our winery is located.
Over the ensuing years, we’ve had the chance to fine-tune our approach, and receive further advice from many talented French producers. We now crush these grapes entirely by foot – pigeage in French – in order to retain 100% of the stems. We ferment using wild, native yeasts, and the new wine is aged for one year in neutral French oak barrels – naturally settled in the process — then bottled without fining or filtration. I’ve long been fond of the wines from the southern Rhône, and I’m charmed by that elegant rusticity and robust quality that’s in the best of them. I find plenty of complexity in our Sage Canyon Red, and it adds immeasurably to both the flavor and finish. It’s a wine that improves every dish it accompanies, and it’s way too easy to drink.
Lake Hennessey serves as an attractive and comforting backdrop on the way to the Neyers Winery facility on Sage Canyon Road, and from this south-side perspective, you can almost make out where Conn Creek flows into the lake, after it flows through our Conn Valley Ranch. The winery itself is about a mile further to the east, or off to the right.
Over the years, Barbara and I have enjoyed scores of meals with Daniel Brunier and his family at Domaine Vieux Télégraphe. The most memorable for me is the first, a lunch in 1995 with Daniel, his brother Frédéric, and his parents. It was prepared by Daniel’s mother Maguy, a cook of legendary skills. It began with a simple platter of locally cured ham draped over some ripe figs, then doused with olive oil and lime juice. His father Henri selected a bottle of 1981 Vieux Télégraphe Rouge for the meal, which also included a platter of Maguy’s Tomatoes Provençal and shirred eggs with garlic toasts. My notes of the meal are simply a row of exclamation marks. When the Prosciutto from our local market is available, and just right, Barbara will occasionally replicate Maguy’s meal for us.
Neyers Vineyards 2022 Sage Canyon California Red Wine
The Cinsault in our Sage Canyon Red was a great find by Tadeo, and comes from the Lomo Del Rio Vineyard in King City. The vineyard is as beautiful as the grapes that come from it
Our recent trip to Hawaii involved establishing a neighborly relationship with a pair of Nene Geese. The breed is native to Hawaii, and was driven almost to extinction before some creative forces intervened to halt the loss. The population is now believed to be in the thousands. In 1957, they were named the state bird of Hawaii. They are friendly and curious, which probably played to their disadvantage, but it’s was wonderful to see this pair find some shade during the day while napping in a chair on our lanai.
