Daniel Gehrs Syrah 1999

Daniel Gehrs Wines is the personal expression of winemaker Daniel Gehrs, whose vision of wine is simply this: “The holy grail of my winemaking is the taste of the grape on the day of harvest.” Dan hastens to add: “The first duty of a wine is to be interesting. Life is too short for boring wines”. Closely following this dictum is a second, simply put “A wine must taste good. Not just for ‘tasting’ but for ‘drinking’!” Dan firmly believes in wine as food. He remembers: “When I worked at Paul Masson back in the ‘70’s, I guided tours for awhile, through their vast cellar. One of the signs I always pointed out to visitors said: ‘Wine is food’. That’s stuck with me to this day. My greatest experiences with wine have always been in the company of food. So when I’m making and blending wine I’m really thinking about it in terms of complimenting and enhancing food. That rules out blatantly ‘over the top’ or ‘trophy’ wine styles that the press loves to fawn over. They can be terrible with a meal!” He is quick to add: “I’ve never liked the ‘Hollywood’ celebrity image some wineries and winemakers seem to crave. After all, there are better ways to become rich and famous than to make wine!”