Ewald vineyard Sonoma,California -June 6,2010

Grapes for fine wines grow in Great Falls native’s vineyard

The Russian River Valley, approximately 50 miles north of San Francisco in Sonoma Coun­ty, is the location of some of Cali­fornia’s most distinguished wine country.
Along one of the area’s beauti­ful roads is the sculptured iron gate at the entrance to the Ewald Vineyard. The vineyard is owned by Sally and David Ewald and boasts 4,321 pinot noir vines. Sally Ewald, formerly Sally Hatcher, is a Great Falls native and Great Falls High graduate.
My daughter and I were fortu­nate to be houseguests of the Ewalds this spring just as the grapevines were about to bud and leaf out.
With a master’s degree from Stanford, Sally has had a long career in business.
Early on, she took a job with Western Airlines in San Jose before going into consulting for Wilson Learning Corporation. Eventually, she left that job and started her own company, Learn­ing Solutions Alliance Global, where she continues to serve as chairman of the board.
David, an aeronautical engi­neer, was a spy satellite test con­troller in the late 1960s and early ’70s. After working in that field for years, he switched gears and went into residential and com­mercial real estate in the Palo Alto area.
But even with busy careers, they both found time to practice winemaking. The house they pur­chased in Los Altos came with h 50 grapevines.
“Initially, we made batches like Old Lead Pencil and Chateau Garage,” Sally said with a grin.
When they moved to their Sebastopol vineyard in 2002, the vines already established there had a good reputation, and the Ewalds looked for a vineyard manager who would oversee the growing, harvesting and market­ing of their grapes.
Even with that help, it doesn’t keep her husband out of the vine­yard, Sally said.
“He’s a perfectionist,” she said. “He’s out here all the time.”
Climate, sun exposure, soil makeup and surrounding flora make this prime grape-growing country for pinot noir and chardonnay. As we headed down the land­scaped path of rosemary, laven­der and decorative grasses, we looked at the symmetry of the grapevines, stretched out in per­fect form and supported by hori­zontal wires. David said grape­vines can live up to 100 years, but production drops off after about 30 years.
In the spring, the danger of frost occupies much of David’s attention. A weather station in their master bedroom provides temperature readings for every row of vines.
“It (an alarm) is set at 37 degrees and tells me if I have to turn the water on,” explained David, whose nightly activity sometimes involves getting out of bed to turn on the various sprin­kler systems that will encase the vines in ice to protect them from frost damage.
“I want water flowing at 36 degrees,” he said. “I recheck the forecast to know the dew point. If it is above freezing you are less likely to get caught with frost. April and May are of great con­cern when the plant is leafing out and buds are beginning to form.” David’s operation is powered by 50 solar panels placed on the roof of his barn. He has more than enough power for his vine­yard, house and other projects, and what he doesn’t use, he sells back to the electric company’s grid.
As summer progresses, the Ewalds and Jim Pratt, their vine­yard manager, keep a close watch over their three and a half acres of premium vines. Their autumn harvest goes to Siduri Wines, their contract winemaker. Adam Lee, Siduri’s co-owner, and his wife, Dianna, have been producing premium wines since 1994. As the grapes ripen, they come out to the Ewald vineyard to taste, pick and then haul the crop to the Siduri winery in a Santa Rosa industrial park.
Lee has been called “a power­house pinot noir producer,” and the Siduri Pinots regularly make the San Francisco Chronicle top 100 wines list.
We were eager to try some for ourselves at the Siduri winery, a short drive away.
We toured the winery and enjoyed a tasting of six to eight wines including pinot noir, chardonnay, syrah, viognier and zinfandel.
Siduri wines can be ordered through Pizazz in Great Falls.
We decided that the Siduri Ewald Vineyard Russian River Pinot Noir was the best, a classic wine to be remembered.







ABOVE: A grape vine budding in the spring
RIGHT: Sally and David Ewald in their vineyard