Mira produces hand crafted, all-natural wines, each a singular expression of unique grapes. Aged to produce flavors defined by their purity and understated elegance, Mira wines are ready to drink upon release and are built for enjoyment after years in the cellar.
In 2009 entrepreneur Jim “Bear” Dyke and winemaker Gustavo A. Gonzalez launched Mira Winery and began to acquire some of the best blocks from leading vineyards exclusively from the Napa Valley. We were determined to build a broad portfolio of single vineyard 100% varietal wines with production limited to the grapes from each block. Wines that were interesting, balanced and a true reflection of their place, varietal, and season.
Mira has small blocks of Syrah, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc at Hyde Vineyard in the Carneros AVA of the Napa Valley and produces a vineyard designated wine from each block.
Mira’s two small Cabernet Sauvignon blocks at Schweizer Vineyard, one of the oldest continuously planted vineyards in the Stags Leap AVA of the Napa Valley, ferment in three specially designed 5 ton French Oak fermentation tanks. Mira’s 2012 Schweizer Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is the first vineyard designated wine from the historical property released in 2016 quickly proving to be one of the Napa Valley’s leading Cabernets.
In the spring of 2018 we planted small blocks of Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris and began construction of our new winery and hospitality house on our 16 acre property at 6170 Washington Street just south of Yountville. In June of 2019, on Mira’s 10th anniversary, we will open to visitors by appointment. Our new winery will allow us to further our hands-on small block approach to winemaking. Visitors will have a vine-to-bottle and beyond experience that reflects hundreds of years of wine making history in a facility inspired by early settlers of the Napa Valley and could have been built by George C. Yount himself.
Albert Einstein famously said there are two types of people in life. Those who don’t believe in miracles and those who believe everything is a miracle. Mira has other meanings but we chose it because it is the Latin root of miracle. Many miracles are unexpected but in our case we have been believing and building it everyday for 10 years. We couldn’t be more excited about the future as we continue our quest for perfection.
For over 20 years Mira winemaker and cofounder Gustavo A Gonzalez has been practicing his craft in the Napa Valley and around the world to critical acclaim. Gustavo has worked in California, Italy, France, Argentina and Brazil, establishing vineyards and producing wines in areas that never have before. His local knowledge and global perspective bring a highly experienced and creatively expansive approach to Mira’s vineyard practices and wine making techniques.
Gustavo has a long and decorated history of making exceptional wines both at Robert Mondavi Winery and around the world. He was responsible for the 2001 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia “Masseto” Toscana which received 100 points from Wine Spector. In fact, James Suckling of The Wine Spectator described the 2001 Masseto as “possibly the best Tuscan red ever.”
In his 17 years at Robert Mondavi Winery, Gustavo earned the title of Head Red Winemaker and established the Robert Mondavi Winery Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon as one of the leading Napa Valley Cabernets, consistently receiving Wine Spectator ratings of 95 or higher. He produced the best Sauternes style wine of the new world and raised the Pinot Noir program to cult status.
In Mira’s infancy Gustavo’s reputation provided us with unmatched access to the finest blocks of grapes in some of the Napa Valley’s premier vineyards including Hyde Vineyard in the Carneros AVA and Schweizer Vineyard in the heart of the Stags Leap AVA.
In a recent blind tasting of eight of the world’s top wines from Bordeaux and the Napa Valley, the 2012 Mira Schweizer Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon took the top slot for Cabernet from the Napa Valley besting Screaming Eagle, Schrader To Kalon and Shafer Hillside Select.
With his superb craftsmanship and attention to detail, Gustavo has quickly established Mira as one of the top producers of small production single vineyard wines from the Napa Valley. In just the past year, Mira has received 90 plus ratings on 11 different wines highlighting both the breadth and quality of the winemaking.
Gustavo grew up with a love for winemaking that was developed through his family, and his interest in wine as a career stemmed in part from their agriculture business. Simply put, in Gustavo’s mind wine was a way to be creative through agriculture.
Gustavo believes that there is always something new to learn in the pursuit of making the highest quality wine. Every vintage is different, and you have to understand how to adjust to those differences. His experience allows him to do that at a higher level, in Napa, a place with the unique combination of optimal climate and exceptional soils. Working in an area that creates some of the finest grapes in the world, his goal is to allow the innate spirit of those fruits to shine through in the wines Mira produces.
He takes great pleasure in the response from those who enjoy savoring Mira wines, but is even more excited about where we are headed and what the future holds for Mira. With the soon to be completed winery and tasting room at 6170 Washington Street just south of the town of Yountville in the heart of the Napa Valley, Gustavo sums it up simply, “the best is yet to come.”
Our Collectors Series wines are 100% varietal, hand crafted and produced from the best small blocks from internationally renowned Napa Valley growers Hyde and Schweizer Vineyards. These limited production wines, representing the soul of Mira Winery, require longer aging in 100% French Oak Barrels, as well as in bottle, to allow their delicate nuances to fully express themselves.
The Mira process begins before the vineyard. Napa Valley is renowned for its diversity of soil and micro-climate which means different grapes grow better in different locations. Therefore in order to produce a exceptional broad portfolio of wine we have identified the best blocks from vineyards around the valley. Our blocks from these different vineyards provide the best grapes for the type of wine we want to make whether its a Cabernet Sauvignon from the Stags Leap AVA or a Pinot Noir from the Carneros AVA year after year.
The decision to harvest grapes is a combination of science, intuition and experience. Our primary objective is to pick the grapes when they are closest stylistically to the type of wine we are making. The grapes will ultimately reflect the season and their origin. All Mira blocks are hand harvested.
From harvest to fermentation we are minimally invasive so that the grapes are in pristine form when they make it to the tank. We use three 5 ton Taransaud French Oak Fermentors which were the first of their kind in the United States among other tanks for fermentation which includes a mix of whole clusters and de-stemmed grapes depending on the wine.
We use French Oak Barrels from 6 different cooperages with a variety of toasts for aging as well as some stainless steel barrels on our whites. Typically our white wines age for 12-24 months and our red wines age from 14-24 months depending on the wine.
After bottling mostly nonfined and nonfiltered we hold the wine for 12-18 months or until the wine is ready for release.
Home of our boutique, limited production winery.
Home of our tasting room for our Napa Valley wines.