Shypoke

Shypoke
2882A Foothill Blvd
Calistoga, California
USA 94515
Phone: (707) 942-0420
http://www.shypoke.com

Contact: Peter Heitz

The idea for Shypoke Wines took root in 1904, the resulting wines are a tribute to our century of honest, careful farming in Calistoga, at the Northern tip of the Napa Valley. Now five generations of Winegrowers into this, we have stuck it out through Prohibition, the Depression, Phylloxera as well as more than a few up and down cycles of economic fortune- winegrowing isn’t a passing fancy, it’s a way of life in our family. We keep a simple philosophy about making Shypoke wines, understand our land; respect that land by cultivating it sustainably; and allow its unique qualities to characterize the wines. We find that our wines are eminently suited to the table, with vibrant clarity of fruit expression and place. When looking for a name for our vineyard and winery we wanted the name to convey our care for our ranch, our family history and the old world quality of our flagship grape variety, Charbono. Shypoke ties together these three elements. It is an old family folk name stemming from Michael and Louise at the turn of the 20th century referring to the Blue Herons that nest in the river along the ranch. This folk name has been enjoyed by successive generations on the ranch, and the Herons continue to find the edge of our little patch of Calistoga soil to be a sweet spot.

Inglenook Winery had been producing their widely acclaimed Charbono from the Heitz Vineyard for many years. They asked Gary about replanting the entire vineyard to Charbono, thus ensuring a long term consistent source of Charbono grapes for their needs. Now years later the vines are wonderfully mature and busy making grapes of uncommon quality.

In 1996 Gary and Ginny’s son Peter Heitz joined the family tradition and along side his father Gary started making Shypoke wines from our century old family ranch. By 2001 Gary had turned over the winemaking to Peter and his wife Meg.

Winemaker: Peter Heitz

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