To keep a close relationship with every aspect of their grapes as they grow and mature, Rolando and Lorena Herrera did away with contracting outside vineyard management companies in 2003 – a rare move for a winery of Mi Sueño’s size – and never looked back. After six years of using such companies, Rolando and Lorena saw their philosophy shifting; and as they delved further into the creation of their unique product, the Herreras soon asked themselves: “Why are we outsourcing the grape-growing, the most important part of the winemaking process?” It was then that Rolando created Herrera Vineyard Management Company – which not only farms and harvests but maintains and over-sees the eight-estate vineyards that comprise the Mi Sueño portfolio. As a result, Mi Sueño is a rare contemporary producer that can boast not only total control over its production but total connection with its product. This, and the delicious wines, is what sets Mi Sueño apart – but it is the land itself that always shines through.
According to the Herreras, some of the most fascinating aspects of winemaking come from the appellation: the individual expressions and unique characteristics that each place and climate can impart on the grapes it nurtures. To the Herreras, there’s nothing more boring than Pinot Noir grown in Carneros tasting the same as that grown in the Russian River Valley, or Syrah from Dry Creek Valley unchanged in its characteristics from, say, being grown in Coombsville.
Fortunately, the differences in soil, moisture, and sun exposure between appellations – and the results from these differences, expressed in the fruit – are what make winemaking so fascinating to Mi Sueño, and what the Herreras strive to demonstrate in their wines. When expressed correctly, the final product will deliver a true sense of the land in which the Herreras not only work and harvest, but the land that forms their livelihood, and that Rolando and Lorena call their home.
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