Fest Wine Co.
Get the Dirt from winemaker Michael Schriefer
“By selecting the name Fest Wine Co, we wanted to convey the idea that opening a bottle of wine can be a celebration itself.”
What was your first vintage year? 2019
How many cases do you make per vintage? We started with 60 cases in 2019 and have since increased production to about 100 cases.
Do you have a Tasting Room? At this time, we do not have a tasting room. Therefore, we are grateful to be able to participate in events like the Garagiste Festival to offer the public an opportunity to taste our wines.
What wine made you want to become a winemaker/start your own winery?
Working harvest at Williams Selyem winery in Healdsburg allowed me to taste most of the finished Pinot Noir fermentations including the various blocks/clones from the many vineyards that the winery sources their fruit from. This experience sparked my affinity for Pinot Noir as a red variety and gave rise to the idea to start my own small wine brand some day.
What varietals do you work with?
We currently produce Pinot Noir only, but we intend to add a white variety in the near future. Pinot Noir is my favorite red variety, because of its versatility, especially when paired with food. I believe that it is one of the few red varieties that can be enjoyed year-round due to the variety’s subtle tannin profile. Slightly chilled it can still be enjoyed in warmer weather.
What vineyards do you source from?
We currently source our Pinot Noir fruit from the van der Kamp vineyard on Sonoma Mountain. This includes fruit from the historic Old Vine block of vines planted in 1952, making them some of the oldest Pinot Noir vines in California. In addition to being farmed organically, I believe that the vineyard’s terroir, especially its north-facing aspect at about 1,500 elevation, allows this cold-climate variety to enjoy a long growing season at this historic site for Pinot Noir.
What type of oak treatment do you use?
We exclusively use neutral oak during barrel aging because we believe that Pinot Noir’s delicate fruit aromas and flavors are best shown with little or no oak influence in the wine. In addition, the neutral oak treatment allows us to reflect the vineyard’s character in the finished wine.
What do you love about your winemaking region? What makes it different special?
We believe that the rugged terrain of Sonoma Mountain offers a great location for growing Pinot Noir. From a grape growing perspective, the Sonoma Mountain AVA benefits not just from its elevation that allows for large diurnal shifts, but its location at the eastern end of the Petaluma Gap exposes most vineyards to the same fog influence from the Pacific that vineyards of the Petaluma Gap benefit from. In addition, Sonoma Mountain’s many micro-climates, resulting from the mountain’s varying slopes and canyons created during volcanic activity thousands of years ago, make it a unique grape growing region in that Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon are being grown successfully in the same AVA.
What’s the story behind your winery name / label?
By selecting the name Fest Wine Co, we wanted to convey the idea that opening a bottle of wine can be a celebration itself. We decided to further reflect this idea by depicting a group of friends sharing and enjoying a bottle of wine under a tree – in a casual setting. In addition, our brand name pays homage to my German heritage. In the German language, the term Fest refers to a celebration among families, neighbors, or friends.
Most importantly, what's so great about being small? What can you do as a small winery, that wouldn't be possible for larger wineries?
As a small family business, you must wear many hats ranging from managing the website and social media, bookkeeping, customer support, to all winemaking decisions. However, this also allows you to present your brand as you desire and to craft the wines that you personally enjoy the most. Among the tasks that I especially enjoy as winemaker and owner are maintaining a close relationship with our grape grower and building new customer relationships, two things that likely would be the responsibilities of multiple people at a large winery.
If you could choose another wine region to work in what would it be?
Baden in Southern Germany. There are some excellent Pinot Noirs made there these days and it is an incredibly beautiful part of the country – as a native, I might be a little biased, though.
For more information about Fest Wine Company, please visit their website or follow them on Instagram.