“We had an amazing experience.”  That’s what Juelle Fisher, owner of the renowned Fisher Vineyards, said about the time she spent at the Wine Fest in February, 2008.  It’s why she’s coming back next year, and why Fisher has consented to be our signature vintner for the upcoming event.

View of the Fisher vineyards

Today, after 37 years, she’s content to watch her three children achieve their own success at running the family business, while she travels around the world as an ambassador for Fisher wines.

Enjoying Fisher hospitality with new friends

Unlike most wineries in the Napa/Sonoma area, Fisher is not easy to find.  There’s no glamorous tasting room and gift shop on Route 29, no group tours, and no slick commercial roadside presence.  Rather, you have to be willing to go up in the hills – way up – to enjoy the hospitality they’re always eager to extend.

The Fisher winery

From the Calistoga side, you wind your way up Porter Creek Road, branch off at Calistoga Road, then hang a hard left again onto St. Helena Road, which runs along the very top of the Mayacamas mountain ridge, and forms the border between the Napa and Sonoma regions.  “We knew we wanted mountain fruit,” Juelle told me.  Well, they got it, because you can’t get any higher up in the mountains than they are.

And the wines?  Extraordinary.  At a recent extremely-well-attended Fisher wine dinner at Angelina’s Ristorante, Juelle poured a selection that included the Fisher Mountain Estate Chardonnay, the Unity Napa Valley 2006, Fisher “Cameron” Napa Valley, and their flagship Coach Insignia Cabernet Sauvignon 2005.  There wasn’t any left over.

Deb and me with the official Fisher dog

Juelle and her husband Fred started the winery from scratch in 1973, locating just the land they wanted.  When they cleared it of the trees, they milled the lumber to build the winery and associated structures.  Now, more than three decades later, they also farm 57 acres on the Silverado Trail adjacent to the famed Eisele Vineyard, and encourage their children Whitney, Cameron, and Robert in their efforts to continue the family tradition.

Juelle and Fred Fisher

Family.  It’s an important word to Juelle, who maintains that “the family is in the wine.”  She understands that when visitors meet the family who makes the wines, they gain an added understanding of the ground, the grapes, and the mission of the company.  “When you find a wine you like, you have to go there,” she says.  “When you do, you understand the emotional and spiritual part of what we do.”

And, as we have all discovered, the love of good wine opens us to relationships with new friends and interesting people.  “Our visitors enrich our lives,” says Juelle.  “Wine makes us meet amazing people.”

She’s right.  After all, I met her, didn’t I?