Viticulturist and Wine Maker
Randy Czech
Randy Czech came to wine production in 2002 with a Geology degree, 5 years of professional beer brewing experience, and some experimentation in home winemaking under his belt. He spent three vintages learning lab and cellar work in the Napa Valley while studying winemaking at Napa Valley College. He also worked southern-hemisphere vintages in South Africa and New Zealand. In the summer of 2005, he found a vineyard-focused job at Flowers Vineyard and Winery on the Sonoma Coast. Randy left Flowers in 2009, committed to practicing only organic farming, and determined to at least experiment with giving up modern winemaking controls.
After leaving Flowers, Randy spent two years planting and training up an organic vineyard near the town of Duncans Mills, and then went on to farming and vineyard work at Failla Wines (2012-2015). In 2012, he started Unturned Stone Productions with his wife, Erin Mitchell, a wine production company dedicated to making natural wine from organically farmed grapes grown in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Randy is currently the vineyard liaison for Gary Farrell Wines and works as a viticulture consultant. He is thrilled to be part of the Pigasus team!
Vineyard Manager
Luis Miranda
We met Luis in the fall of 2017. Every day that we walk the vineyard with him, he reaffirms his commitment to treat our grapes with the love and attention they need to be their very best. We are currently working with Luis to redevelop certain blocks of the vineyard including a doubling of our Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon acreage in 2018 and potentially expanded production of Pinot Noir in the coming years.
Luis has enjoyed tending plants since first working at nurseries as a teenager. Luis completed his formal viticulture education in 2012 while working for North Pacific Vineyard Management. In 2016, Luis went on his own with the establishment of Miranda Vineyard Management.
Wineries Buying Our Grapes
We’ve enjoyed getting to know winemakers who are as excited about our fruit as we are. We aim to work with people we like as life is short and this should be fun. We’re pleased by the winemaking friends we have and we look forward to making new friends in the years to come.
We provide 100% of the fruit for Smith Story’s Lakota’s View Semillon. In April, 2018, Antonio Galloni, founder of Vious Media, noted: “Smith Story’s 2016 Semillon Lakota’s View is powerful and also quite distinctive, with a good deal of phenolic intensity that gives the wine its distinctive feel. Tangerine, almond, mint and lightly honeyed nores all open up in the glass, but it is the wine’s hillside character and structure that stand out most.”
Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc
We are also an important ingedient in Smith’s Story’s Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc. As Galloni says: “The 2016 Sauvignon Blanc is fabulous. Rich, layered and also quite structured, the Sauvignon Blanc exudes character. There is so much to like in the 2016. Above all else, Smith Story’s Sauvignon Blanc is full of personality. Varietal notes are nicely delineated, but not at all overpowering. Stony and floral notes add brightness throughout.”
Anaba first purchased our Syrah in 2017 for their flagship Turbine Red, Rhone Blend as well as a new red fortified red wine. Wine makers Ross Cobb and Katy Wilson received 90+ point scores for the 2014 and 2015 Turbine Red. We are excited to be a part of the Anaba wine program.
Syrah
Anaba was named for the anabatic winds that bring cooling air from the Pacific Ocean and the San Pablo Bay which slows the ripening process and helps grapes develop more robust flavors. Anaba also harnesses this wind through use of a 45 foot wind turbine which powers many of the winery’s operations.
Cellars 33, a San Francisco based winery, began buying our pinot in 2019 and we look forward to working with John and his team for years to come. We barrel tasted the 2019 vintage and can’t wait to see how it continues to develop between now and release!
Pinot Noir
In 2020, John saw an opportunity to make a Rose of Pinot Noir. In a year filled with heartbreaks, his Rose is a blast of sunshine!
Starting in 2019, Reeve Wines began sourcing merlot from us. Noah and Kelly Dorrance are the husband and wife collaborative behind Reeve Wines. In 2015 they launched Reeve Wines on a wild and rolling hillside estate property in Healdsburg, California, as an exploration of Noah’s love for California wines with verve and intensity, produced from land that tells a story.
Merlot
In addition to Reeve, Brehm Vineyards has distributed our fruit to the many home winemakers they support. Peter Brehm shares our love of merlot and we enjoy connecting our high quality grapes with his customers across the country. We are pleased to support small winemakers who love wine as much as we do!
In 2018, we started to make a little wine for ourselves and our friends. We produced Merlot and Syrah and both varietals are available for sale – please see the Our Wines tab on the website for more information.
Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah
In 2019, we continued to explore the vineyard with a second bottling of Merlot and our first Pinot Noir! These wines will be released sometime in late 2021 or early 2022. Check back for more updates.