Our Story
We dreamed of owning a vineyard and making wine since we first met in 1982. It took us over a decade before we'd plant our first vine, and another six years before we'd find this gorgeous vineyard in Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley.
"It was a dream we didn't know we had and didn't know we shared." ~ Vicky and Mike Farrow
Along the way we learned a lot. Most importantly, that wine is a source of endless discovery and rich friendships. Join us in the pleasures of wine country living - good wine, good food and good friends.
Our Style
It all starts in the vineyards
Here's a view from our cottage on Amista’s estate Morningsong Vineyards. This is the Chardonnay block from which we make our 100% Amista Chardonnay and Amista Sparkling Blanc de Blanc.
Our goal is to preserve the essential characteristics of the fruit
These are Syrah grapes from which we make Syrah, Sparkling Syrah and Tres, a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. We also use Syrah in the blend for Ilusíón, our port-style dessert wine, Fusión, our first sparkling blend, and Sparkling Tres, our newest sparkling blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
Our style is light on the oak and focuses on the fruit flavors in the wine
We aim to produce wines that are approachable, friendly and pair well with food. This is a glass of our Amista Chardonnay, which goes beautifully with a Grilled Shrimp, Avocado and Grapefruit Salad.
Our Name
Why Amista?
Amista, roughly translated, means "making friends" in Spanish. We chose it for three reasons.
First, our journey into wine has been all about friends. Our friends were with us when we made our first wine, said good-bye to our first vineyard and first set eyes on this beautiful property in Dry Creek Valley. They have always been here to cheer us on, help us through the challenges and celebrate wine country living.
Second, we chose a Spanish name for our winery in honor of those who originally settled this area. In fact, our vineyard straddles the boundaries of two former land grants, Rancho Tzabaco and Rancho Sotoyome.
And third, we chose it simply because it begins with an "A", putting it at the top of every list!
Our Journey
The Amista Timeline
1994 – We planted our first vineyard at our home in Saratoga, California in the Silicon Valley – 150 Cabernet Sauvignon vines; we bought ½ ton of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and made wine in our garage
1995 – I (Vicky) got a job offer in New Jersey and we had to leave our vineyard before ever experiencing a harvest (we took the barrel of wine and let it age in our New Jersey basement)
1999 – After secretly exploring vineyard properties on the internet, Mike whisked me off to Sonoma and we purchased this beautiful vineyard - 20 acres planted in Chardonnay - in Dry Creek Valley near the charming town of Healdsburg
2000 – We removed 8 acres of Chardonnay vines and planted Syrah
2002 – We finally moved to our vineyard in Healdsburg and Mike harvested 3 tons of our estate Syrah to make “Garage Syrah”
2003 – We harvested estate Syrah and purchased Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon from local Healdsburg neighbors for Amista's first harvest, and the Amista dream became a reality
2004 – We officially established Amista Vineyards, Inc.
2007 – We opened the Amista Vineyards tasting room surrounded by estate Morningsong Vineyards planted to Chardonnay and Syrah
2008 – We released Amista's first sparkling wine, Sparkling Syrah
2010 – We released our first Amista Rockpile Cabernet Sauvignon
2011 – We budded over some of the Syrah vines to one acre each of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Petite Sirah
2011 – We released our first Amista Sparkling Blanc de Blanc
2014 – We launched Amista Sparkling Friends, the first sparkling wine club in Dry Creek Valley
2015 - We debuted three estate grown sparkling wines: Amista Sparkling Grenache, Amista 2013 Blanc de Blanc and our first sparkling blend, Amista Fusión.
2017 - We replanted the front of the property to Chardonnay and Grenache and Mourvèdre in the back.
2018 - We debuted our first ever Amista Sparking Mataró
2019 - We released our first Amista Rosé de Tres
2020 - We released for the first time a standalone Mourvèdre and planted a small block of a Rhône white called Roussanne. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram or join our list to discover what we do next!