Sustainably Delicious
Organic Wines by Terra Sávia
by Terry Ryder Sites
When I arrived at Terra Sávia Winery at 9:00 on a Monday morning, things were already bustling. Pallets of wine and olive oil were moved past the olive mill, through the tasting bar, under the art gallery, and into an adjacent storage area. I noticed a snappy looking vintage Porsche parked inside, while a large grandfather clock ticked nearby. As their website states, “There is a lot going on under this roof.” Current owners Jurg Fischer and his wife, Yvonne Hall, have a great love for everything living including people, animals, and plants.
As a reflection of this multifaceted love, Terra Sávia Winery is just one aspect of an operation that includes an olive oil mill, an animal sanctuary, a native plant nursery, and an art gallery. Their 65 acres are located in the Sanel Valley of Hopland. The winemaking operation includes two distinct labels: Terra Sávia and Ettore, and all the wines are organic, estate grown, and hand-harvested.
Resident winemaker, Sofia Rivier, is also the vineyard manager, and she explained how she has been privileged to work side-by-side with the two veteran winemakers who established these labels. Sofia chatted with me warmly as we headed to the Ettore House further back on the property for a tasting. As we drove, she filled me in on the recent history of the property, which was established by Jim Milone, a winemaker and previous owner of the property with four generations of family history in the area. Jim stayed on for a transition period with Sofia, and she has maintained his “Mendocino style” for the Terra Sávia label wines, incorporating a bold structure, sharp tannins, big mouth feel, and strong aging potential.
Wine has always been a big part of Sofia’s life. Her grandparents immigrated to Argentina from Switzerland to establish vineyards and a winery, one her father continues today. She decided to pursue a winemaking career in 2006, ultimately earning a degree in Agricultural Engineering in Argentina before moving to Switzerland. There she continued her education by adding a B.S. in Viticulture and Enology, followed by a Master of Life Sciences in Enology and Viticulture degree, which she completed in 2017. During her education, she used internships to balance out her academics with “boots on the ground” experience.
Sofia came to Terra Sávia through her acquaintance with Ettore Biraghi, an Italian man she met in Switzerland. Ettore was looking for someone to help with the new wines he was planning to make in California with Jurg and Yvonne. His Ettore wines married old world Italian winemaking to new technology, resulting in lighter, higher in acid, and very fruit forward wines. Ettore Chardonnay Pure, Ettore Chardonnay Reserve, Ettore Red, and Ettore Cabernet Signature are all organic wines. Ettore Chardonnay Zero and Ettore Merlot Zero go one step further by allowing only naturally occurring sulfites using a method called “Purovino,” which controls the hyperoxygenation of grapes, as well as a CIP (Clean in Place) process on all the equipment with ozone-enriched water, eliminating the need for any additional sulfites. For those wishing to avoid sulphites, the “zero” wines are a great pick. Sofia manages the developing Ettore wines day to day, with Ettore visiting from Europe every two months for a check-in.
The Ettore wine catalog states, “One hundred miles north of San Francisco in the timeless California frontier of Mendocino, wine finds a nuanced new expression seen nowhere else in the Golden State. In a vast expanse of wilderness that has for centuries captured the imagination of California’s farmers, environmentalists, winemakers, and mavericks alike. Terroir is the key to crafting wines of character and distinction and here. Ettore Biraghi brings old world Italian wine heritage to the new world in the pursuit of exceptional organic wines.”
Sofia’s Swiss grandfather originally considered settling in California instead of Argentina, so her new life in America feels a little like fulfilling a family dream. She oversees both of the developing wines as well as the grapes produced by the estate vineyards. Her work comes with a lot of responsibility, but she relishes the challenge. As a modern winemaker, Sofia takes advantage of new technology, utilizing computer analysis to gather and chart data. Yet she relies on the people who walk through the vineyards everyday for their insights and advice because, as she puts it, they “really know the grapes.”
Terra Sávia is a business owned, created, and managed almost entirely by immigrants. Jurg is from Switzerland, Yvonne from the Dominican Republic, Sofia from Argentina, and Ettore from Italy. Carlos, the olive oil manager, and Fernando, the “reader of plants,” are both from Mexico, as are many of the other staff. Together they’ve created a company that is multifaceted and dynamic, providing a multitude of benefits for the living people, plants, and creatures involved in and impacted by their work— which is exactly what Yvonne and Jurg had in mind when they created Terra Sávia in the first place.
Terra Sávia
14200 Mountain House Rd, Hopland
(707) 744-1114 | terrasavia.com
Tasting Room Hours: Mon -Sat 10am - 5pm, Sun 11am - 5pm
Families welcome. Pet-friendly.
Photo top left by Terry Ryder Sites. All other photos courtesy of Terra Sávia.