HERON WINES OVERVIEW

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Remember in the early ‘90s when Merlot was the “it” grape? Writers wrote about it, merchants merchandized it and consumers consumed it in great quantities. Problem was, most of the Merlots on the market at the time were overpriced and underwhelming. They rarely lived up to their billing as softer, juicy, fruitier versions of Cabernet. That gave Laely Heron an idea. Having spent a number of years in France studying wine, she knew where to find high quality Merlot at reasonable prices. The Languedoc, or as Laely calls it, the "Wild, Wild West of France," was an up-and-coming region capable of producing delicious Merlots that would put the domestic competition to shame. Though she knew nothing about business and had only two credit cards to her name, Laely headed back to the land of the Gaulles.

There, Laely met two young Frenchman. One man’s family had an old-vine Merlot vineyard and the other had a winery next door – perfect for her start. She obtained a 20-year lease on a single vineyard property in St. Chinian and began making her award-winning French Merlot, which debuted in the U.S. in 1995 and continues to make today.

As things have evolved over the years, Heron’s portfolio has expanded to include California Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah; Pinot Noir from Limoux in the Oceanic zone of southwestern France; and a six varietal blend called Sexto from Terra Alta, one of the most exciting wine regions emerging in Spain.

Heron’s philosophy and wines are direct reflections of Laely’s spirit and experiences – pioneering, adventurous, smart, adaptable, irreverent, non-traditional and international.

• We at Heron think delicious fine wines should be an unalienable right. 
• Our wines are soulful and true. To achieve greater balance, flavor and character we use small-lot, hands-on winemaking methods and French oak exclusively.
• Heron vinifies fruit from around the world, from the best appellations for each varietal.
• In California we work with premier sites in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, Russian River, Carneros and Santa Maria.
• We still make our French Merlot, which is now used as benchmark teaching wine at the Institute of Enology in Montpellier, France.
• Our Spanish wine, Sexto is in limited release to rave reviews.
• We continue to search the globe for the next great, lesser-known region capable of producing delicious, distinctive and definitive wines.
• Heron wines have been continuously praised as “Best Buys” by the national wine press. Often the praise compares Heron with much more expensive wines. For the last decade, Heron has been a “cult wine” among master sommeliers and chefs and a favorite “by the glass” pour in the nation’s top restaurants.

THE HERON STORY

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AN UNCONVENTIONAL APPROACH   Laely Heron was raised by unconventional parents, and has lived an unconventional life in Africa, Asia, Europe and the U.S. She spent the first three and a half decades of her life fulfilling her appetite for adventure, her thirst for risk taking, and her endless curiosity in places, people and things that offer what she describes simply as “something more.”

This is what to expect from Heron Wines; something more than what you ordinarily find in wines at such an everyday price range. Wines with balance, character and soul.

“I've never followed the rules," say's Laely,  "I thought I had a good idea, and wanted to make it happen. It's amazing to see not only that it worked, but how." 

FROM A PASSION, AN IDEA   In college Laely spent a year in France and became fluent in the language. After school she returned to enroll in the Institute of Enology in Bordeaux to learn winemaking.

Her interest in wine led her to adventures around the world. She helped introduce then little known Australian wines to the U.S. market. From there she went on to Denmark,  imported New World wines, showcased them in her wine oriented restaurant, taught classes and even hosted a food and wine radio program. These experiences following her love of wine were building up to what came next.

In 1995 she returned to France to see about making a wine of her own. She saw that there was little high quality, reasonably priced Merlot sold in the U.S.  It was her intuition and love of France that led her to some lesser known, and thus under-appreciated, vineyard sites in the St. Chinian region of the Languedoc, an area that could reasonably produce Merlots of perfect plumpness and intensity.

“Looking for good vineyards was discouraging at first,” says Laely. “I almost gave up and left before I found my growers in St. Chinian.  I found out quickly that was just the beginning of the challenge.  I had practically no capital, no backing, and no business experience! In a way, not knowing the rules by which to play helped. I found my vineyard by looking for the best - not just what I could afford, and once I had made the first vintage I had no way to sell it except the old fashioned way, literally door to door. I was so nervous, I started in my own neighborhood in San Francisco – walking from restaurant to restaurant, visiting the sommeliers and wine retailers, asking them to taste my Merlot.”

WINES WITH CHARACTER AND SOUL   Laely introduced her wine, but after that the wine spoke for itself; and within five years Heron Wines expanded, from one varietal to a portfolio of five varietals including: an immensely popular Chardonnay, as well as a Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot all from California.  Heron also introduced a 2002 Pinot Noir in August of 2004. The wines consistently receive awards and accolades from the wine press as well as those who enjoy them.

The beauty of Heron Wines is that, like Laely herself – they are bound by neither tradition nor commercial trappings. They are as curiously interesting and approachable as Laely herself. Best of all, they represent the possibility of “something more.” 

In other words, Laely Heron and her wonderfully accessible wines are living proof that fulfillment is not necessarily achieved at huge expense, but by recognizing what the best things in life truly are!