CorkSavvy

Rick Sayre has been making wine in Sonoma County for over 40 years, 30 of them at Rodney Strong Vineyards. Here he talks about the evolution of Sonoma County and the style of wines he likes to produce.

What are some of the changes you have seen over the years you have been making wine in Sonoma County?
This is a very large subject with many side roads. Consumer trends, Grape growing, Wine making fads, Winery ownership/change, use of oak barrels, all are important and all interrelated. Competition can dictate what the consumer wants and you need to stay informed to keep in business.

What are some of the basic wine pairing principles that you follow?
If you like the wine then drink it. Keep experimenting and have fun doing it. The kitchen can be a great tasting and evaluation area for wine. Not everyone has the same taste preferences so add some variety.

What is your wine making style?
Consistency. In answer to your question, I think there are 3 major factors to the consistency of Rodney Strong Wines. First, as a long time Sonoma County winemaker(10 years at Simi starting in 1970, and 30 years here at Rodney), my position is like a chef.  Most other wineries have a revolving door of winemakers. Each winemaker has his/her own style of influence on the wines they make, so change the winemaker and the wines change as well. Second, we own approximately 1,000 acres of the best vineyards in Sonoma County and have owned them for some time. This also spells consistency where other wineries are drawing their fruit from all over the place and not necessarily getting the best fruit. We know our vineyards intimately and each year make improvements based on our past experiences. Vineyard ownership also keeps the cost of grapes down. Lastly, we are family owned since 1989. The family knows agribusiness and are good stewards of the land putting back into the property more than just taking out. If we were a public company, our focus would be on the Stock Market and quarterly returns first, then comes the question if there is enough money left over to buy French Oak barrels or to keep your employees. So, we are a group of passionate people doing what we like to do best. The best comment you could make to me is that you would like to have another glass, and I believe that is what alot of people are doing!

Can you tell us what it means to be Carbon Neutral? What steps did you take to make Rodney Strong the first Carbon Neutral Winery in Sonoma?
Carbon Neutral is when our total output of Greenhouse Gases is offset by our actions. For example, we have a number of vineyards that sequester CO2 and our solar panels offset the amount that would otherwise be created if we had to purchase conventional electricity. We also support a few projects that offset some of our GHG such as a methane capture project at a dairy and a wind farm in Kansas.