Miracles Happen Every Day

Miracles don’t grow on trees. But they can grow on vines.

Mira is defined by our wines, which at their bare essence are composed of the soil, the vines, and the winemaking. That’s where our winemaker Gustavo Gonzalez comes in. His experience and expertise are captured in every bottle. In the past 25 years, Gustavo has overseen vineyards in many of the world’s most renowned wine-growing regions – from Burgundy, to Tuscany, to Mendoza, to nearly every corner of Napa Valley and Sonoma. Famous for its unique soils and microclimates, the Napa Valley is where Gustavo has overseen close to 3,000 acres, planting 15 different varietals. From the heights of Howell Mountain and Atlas Peak to the depths of Oakville, Rutherford, and Stags Leap on the valley floor, Gustavo’s approach is informed through his ability to comprehend these differing soil profiles. This is what enables him to produce such exceptional wines.

Miracles happen every day.

Throughout the year, Mira releases a limited allocation of select wines which represent our single-vineyard, single-varietal approach to winemaking. Made with the dedicated collector in mind, these wines are designed to age from 15 to 30 years. “We use 100% French oak with varying degrees of new oak, grain types, and toasts all carefully selected to complement and enhance the inherent qualities of our exceptional grapes,” says Jim “Bear” Dyke, proprietor.

Don’t all the best wines come from gigantic wooden eggs?

Mira holds a high regard for craft and care. We also prize innovation. So we are constantly on the lookout for new and exciting tools to help us in our pursuit of the purest expression of each wine. These two threads merge with the latest addition to our winery: a wooden, egg-shaped fermenter called Ovum. With only two Ovum barrels produced each year, demand has vastly exceeded the supply. But thanks to the longstanding relationship between winemaker Gustavo Gonzalez and Tonnellerie Taransaud, Mira has received the first Ovum barrel located in the Americas.

Taste miracles at the source.

We invite you to join us for an exclusive tasting at our brand-new Winery & Hospitality House, just south of Yountville in the heart of the Napa Valley. There, you will taste our single-vineyard, single-varietal wines and learn firsthand about our pure winemaking approach. You’ll be able to explore the unique features of our new bespoke winery. And you’ll gain an in-depth understanding of why our one-of-a-kind vineyard is the starting point for Mira’s never-ending pursuit of miracles.

The roots of Gustavo’s love for wine reach deep into his childhood. He grew up in California’s Central Valley, surrounded by family with longstanding ties to agricultural business who instilled in him a love of the land and an appreciation for wine. He enrolled in college planning to pursue a career in Aerospace Engineering but felt himself drawn to literature and philosophy, and as he shifted his studies towards those subjects he found wine flowing through the history of Western Civilization.

Gustavo’s newfound appreciation for winemaking’s heritage took him to the Napa Valley where he joined the Robert Mondavi Winery in 1995 as a harvest sampler, working in the field collecting samples. It was this first opportunity to witness the transformation of grapes into fine wine that made it clear: winemaking was not just Gustavo’s job, it was his vocation.

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, all while working with other wineries around the world. He was responsible for the 2001 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia “Masseto” Toscana which received 100 points from Wine Spector and was described by James Suckling as, “possibly the best Tuscan red ever.”

It was Gustavo’s strong relationships with leading Napa Valley grape growers that brought Mira from shared dream to reality, providing the young winery with unique 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.

With his superb craftsmanship and attention to detail, Gustavo quickly established Mira as one of the top producers of small production single vineyard wines from the Napa Valley. At a blind tasting commemorating the historic Judgement of Paris and featuring eight of the world’s top wines from Bordeaux and the Napa Valley, the 2012 Mira Cabernet Sauvignon Schweizer Vineyard took the top slot for Cabernet from the Napa Valley besting Screaming Eagle, Schrader To Kalon, and Shafer Hillside Select.

Gustavo’s love of winemaking has never diminished because he knows there is always something new to learn in the pursuit of producing the highest quality wine. Every vintage is different and presents unique opportunities for those who understand how to embrace those differences. The Napa Valley offers an unmatched combination of optimal climate and exceptional soils, and with 20 years of knowledge and experience Gustavo is able to allow the innate spirit of the fruit grown in this special place to shine through in the wines of Mira.

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.