2025Spring Village Cellars Wine Catalogue“ I make this wine to balance my creativity with the meticulous “ The vineyards on the hills of Sonoma Mountain get a lot of fog CODE12866 Michael Stewart established Stewart Cellars in 2000 to handcraft the Napa Valley wines he loved to drink in his previous life as founder and owner of a technology company in Texas. He was joined in 2006 by his son James and in 2013 by daughter Caroline, as co-proprietors, and in 2014 by Caroline’s husband Blair Guthrie as winemaker and vineyard manager. Blair and Caroline launched Guthrie Family Wines in 2014. Stewart Cellars leases and farms the Juliana Vineyard in Pope Valley in the Napa Valley AVA. In 2022, they purchased the Montecillo Vineyard in the Moon Mountain Appellation in Sonoma, in which they are slowly grafting in new varietals. In 2024 Stewart Cellars produced 9,000 cases covering 22 individual wines, and Guthrie Family is expanding production from 2,000 to 4,000 cases in 2025. shoehorned into one location. Then we build long-term relationships with our growers. That’s important because you can’t make wine over one vintage, it takes you 4 or 5 years to figure out a vineyard: how it grows, should you be picking early or late.Compared to Paul Hobbs, I probably pick a little bit earlier, I think you get a better expression of terroir, and acidity is really important for freshness, and a little less alcohol to better complement fine food. We inoculate all our fermentations, I have specific yeasts strains I’ve chosen over the years I really like, and it is different for each wine. A lot of that started out as a security blanket, using yeast strains to help successfully complete fermentation. Our reds age for 2 years in the barrel and are bottled unfiltered, so it is really important to ferment all the sugar and complete malolactic fermentation 100 percent. You don’t want anything left over, because it is only a food source for bad bacteria. Then we barrel age. Every Stewart wine except Rose and Sauvignon Blanc goes into the barrel ‒ the Bordeauxs for two years, the Burgundies for one. It is all French oak and the percentage of new depends on the varietal: for Pinot Noir we use 28-30 percent new oak, the rest is old. For the Bordeauxs it can be between 40 and 85 percent new depending on the wine. It takes several years to learn which vineyards and lots can or can’t handle a lot of new oak.After two years comes blending. That’s when the fun begins. After fermentation I know from experience what works and what doesn’t with oak, what coopers to use, so I barrel them down as if they were going to be bottled as a single lot, treating every barrel with the utmost importance, like a pure single vineyard varietal. At blending, we get the bonus of filling in the holes and gaps. Then we bottle, and after 6 to 12 months release it. Guthrie Family started as my creative outlet, to explore the ‘no rules’ side of winemaking, different varietals, different styles of fermentation, focusing on organic fruit and minimalism ‒ as opposed to producing the best wine in the world at Stewart Cellars. I have a philosophy and direction I want to go, but am quite happy to snake my way there. I make the wines for a purpose and time. For example, the whole cluster Syrah aged in amphoras is made to drink in wintertime, when it’s cold Grapes are hand-picked and pressed whole-cluster. Barrel fermentation and aging for 10 months (29% new).and cold air rolling in off the ocean and won’t start warming up until about 11:00. It slows growth so we pick the vineyard really late ‒ often the same time as Napa Cab. It’s an amazing vineyard right up on the hill, with thin soils so the vines get stressed and get good concentration in the fruit. It lacks a bit of natural acidity, so we adjust the malolactic fermentation depending on the year.”Origin: Sonoma Mountain, CaliforniaVarietal: Chardonnay Alc. 14.4%CODE12869outside and there’s a stew on the stove.For Guthrie, I use only organic grown fruit as a minimum, biodynamic and regenerative farmed fruit if I can get it. Then in the winery avoid any additions if possible, try to limit it to sulphur. All native fermentations of sugars and malic acids, and taking a minimalist approach to remove as many steps as possible. The fruit is all handpicked, I don’t destem any, the white goes straight into a press and the reds go straight into a fermenter whole cluster with stems and everything. So we remove that entire step from the process. Then with fermentation, avoiding pumps where possible, I do a lot of foot stomping. Because the wines are whole cluster we get a lot of carbonic fermentation. For the reds it is very much a style, I can make a red like a Syrah but it will have an underlying tone of the carbonic character you get in Beaujolais, all the way through to pure carbonic reds that get no maceration, and are just like a Beaujolais Nouveau. Fruit goes in, don’t touch it, let it go through carbonic fermentation, and then press. If we do maceration it is all foot stomping and a little punch down with tools. For the whites it’s a direct press off into the fermentation vessels to ferment naturally. I usually put them in the cold room to try and keep them pretty cold while fermenting, because I love light, aromatic whites. I’m trying to create a Sauvignon Blanc and Vermentino that is linear, fresh and vibrant.Yes, I take things from both and intermix all the time, that’s the joy of it for me. Over the years as I gained more experience and confidence in my own ability, and seeing the dynamic of the market shift and what people want changing, going in that direction. For Stewart Cellars we traditionally used 225-liter barriques, but are now slowly moving into larger 500-liter puncheons. I also do some native fermentations to expand expression until halfway through fermentation, then I’ll inoculate to get a pure and clean finish. In the last two years we’ve started doing more whole cluster fermentation in the Pinot and Grenache. I experimented with 10 percent, and for our last harvest increased it to 40 percent. Ultimately, we’re looking at creating a winery that has the culture to stand the test of time, with brands known for elegance.layered flavours and a touch of residual sugar.”Origin: California Varietals: Zinfandel 81% / Carignan 8% / Petite Sirah 6% / Chenin Blanc 5% Alc. 14.1%RRP ￥6,200Organically grown grapes are whole bunch macerated and carbonic fermented with native yeast. Aged in stainless steel tanks for 4.5 months. No barrels are used.winemaking of Stewart Cellars. I don’t use anything other than grapes, except for a minimal amount of SO2 for stability. It’s a simple method of unfined and unfiltered wine. It’s lower in alcohol, high in acidity, and has clean, fresh, vibrant berries. Enjoy this ‘adult fruit punch’ with A more natural approach for Guthrie Family winesStewart Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay 2022Stewart Cellars and Guthrie Family WinesRRP ￥9,500From left: James Stewart, Caroline Stewart, Blair GuthrieDo the two brands inspire mutual evolution?－9－Guthrie Family Wines Pufferfish Red Wine 2022Montecillo VineyardWinery & Cellar DoorFor wine information, please see www.village-cellars.co.jp.
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