Sept. 22, 2023 – In late September 2020, the National Weather Service issued Red Flag Warnings for Napa County because of high wildfire risk. Shari Staglin, founder and owner of Staglin Family Vineyard in Rutherford and new Chaîne partner, and her team decided to start harvesting their more than 50 acres of vines so their grapes could be immediately placed in the vineyard’s 24,000 sq. ft. underground cave system. Shari also offered their storage space to neighboring vintners so they could protect their grapes from smoke damage. That outreach was not unusual; it’s the Napa way. Amber Mihna, Staglin’s global sales director, moved to Napa from her home in Wisconsin 12 years ago and is living her dream. “The Napa community is the best community I’ve ever lived in and I’ve ever seen, to be honest. And I’ve been to almost every wine country in the world. Napa’s camaraderie and community focus are world class. There’s nothing like it. The food, the wine, the beauty of it all is just absolutely amazing,” Amber said to Chaîne during a Sept. 18 telephone interview.

The Napa ethos is not that far removed from her roots growing up in a small farming community in Wisconsin. However, there is one major difference. “Coming from the Midwest, you have this pesky thing called winter. You don’t have that in Napa. You have some rainy days. That’s our winter. The sun is always out. Everybody is always outdoors,” Amber said.

The transition from a small town girl who knew nothing about wine to a wine expert who travels around the world from 250 to 300 days per year and speaks at the annual global conference of the Club Management Association of America (CMAA) is a testament to her persistence, curiosity, hard work, and of course, a deep love of wine.

Her future career literally took root in Wisconsin soil as she helped her grandparents on weekends at their small family farm where they grew corn and hay. Other weekends she would work at her best friend’s family restaurant, starting at the sink washing dishes and then progressing to serving, cooking and working behind the bar. She liked it.

With her experience, the local country club hired her. There she learned about fine wine and fine dining. And she met wine, beer and liquor representatives who gave her a window into the wide world of wine.

She identified a glaring gap in the spectrum of wine offerings in her small community. Now 21 years old and with all of the confidence of a person who had been around a few more blocks than she had, Amber approached General Beverage, a local family-owned beer, wine and liquor distributor. She said, “I think it’s time that you guys invest in somebody in wine.” And she would be that person!

They hesitated of course as this was 24 years ago. There was not a young woman to be seen in that capacity anywhere. “I was quite persistent. They finally gave me a chance,” Amber said. That springboard was all she needed to launch her stellar career.

One day 12 years ago, the Napa Valley Vintners called her to offer her a job as their domestic marketing manager. About 95 percent of wineries in Napa Valley belong to the association that provides its clients with a plethora of services covering all aspects of the industry. Amber was well acquainted with the region as she had probably visited Napa 50 times through her job with General Beverage before being offered the job. There was not much debate whether to accept the offer. “Napa was kind of my heart. I loved it there. From my first trip there when I was 21, I knew I wanted to live there someday. I just thought it was a dream,” she said.

The association moved her to California. She was one of the first employees not to have lived in the area before being hired. As part of her job responsibilities, she helped run ‘Premiere Napa Valley,’ the world’s largest trade auction. Because she loved to travel, Amber had visited wineries around the world before even moving to California but now she was embedded at the center of the wine universe in the United States.

Shari Staglin was very involved in the Napa Valley Vintners. She and Amber met and collaborated on many events together. When the Staglins were looking for someone to join the team to help run the winery, they asked Amber.

Having lived in Napa now for 12 years, has her dream been fulfilled? “In my head, I thought Napa Valley was paradise and it was going to be the best thing that I have ever done. It was going to be the dream and I have to tell you, it’s exactly that and more,” she said. “It was better than I thought it was going to be.”

Staglin Family Vineyard

Shari and Garen Staglin also hail from the hearty Midwest, Shari from South Dakota and Garen from Nebraska. Both were students on scholarship at UCLA in the 1960s when they met on a blind date. They shared a love of wine, fell in love, married and became parents of two children, Brandon and Shannon.

In 1985 while Garen was busy commuting to Ohio for his job as a business executive, Shari bought the historic vineyard that dates to 1864 when John Steckter and his wife, Mary, propagated 60 acres of grapes.

After a major renovation that preserved its original foundation, the 19th century Steckter home is now the Steckter House where the Staglin Family Vineyard has two offices and hosts their tastings in rooms overlooking the vineyards on the Rutherford Bench.

From day one, Shari and her team have operated the vineyard and winery on core principles from which they have not wavered. As stewards of the land and planet Earth, the vineyard has been organically farmed since 1985 and since 2002, solar power has provided 100 percent of their energy needs. In addition to grapes, they grow olive trees to produce olive oil, and maintain beehives to produce honey and pollinate a two-acre fruit and vegetable farm. Northern California regulations prevent vineyards from operating restaurants on the property so the crops they grow are available to their 15 employees and used for private events.

Many of their employees have been with the vineyard for more than 20 years, including David Abreu, vineyard manager. When he started with Staglin, he was not well known in the industry. Today Amber describes him as a “celebrated farmer” and a driving force behind Staglin’s commitment to uncompromising quality. “He’s definitely the person you want to farm your vineyards organically” she said.

Staglin specializes in Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon through their original Staglin label, established in 1985, and their Salus Estate label they launched in 1999. Today they grow grapes on 55 acres of their 70-acre property with a total production of 6,200 cases per year.

Now President of Staglin Family Vineyard, Shannon is taking the reins from her mother who continues to be her business mentor and is still very active in the business. Their loyal customers and wine buyers are breathing a sigh of relief that Staglin wine will continue far into the future. It’s not the case for many other small wineries. “So many small family-owned wineries have sold in the last couple of years because they don’t have the next generation to take it on,” Amber said. “Customers and wine buyers are upset about it but they don’t understand. Owners are in their 70s and 80s and want to retire. We are dedicated to continue with the next generation with Shannon in place and living on the property.”

One Mind

Uncompromising quality comes at a cost. “I am not ashamed to say our wines are not inexpensive,” Amber said. Prices vary from $60 to $325 or more per bottle. However, all proceeds from their Salus label are donated to their mental health research charity, One Mind, the reason the label was created in 1999. “Salus is the Roman Goddess of health and well-being and that is why we have her on our labels,” Amber explained. In total, one-third of their production is donated. “I can tell you there are no other wineries in the world that give that much to charity.”

That deep commitment to mental health research emanated from the Staglin family’s personal experience with a mental health crisis.

In 1989, their son Brandon was attending Dartmouth. In his second year, in what he describes as a light switch turning off, he had a psychotic episode and attempted suicide. Thirty years ago there were few options other than institutionalization for patients like Brandon who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Shari and Garen refused to accept that option and nurtured their son back to health. And they started the charity that year!

In 1995, the Staglin family started the Music Festival for Brain Health and One Mind, a nonprofit organization to close the gap in mental health research funding and patient support. To date, they have raised $580 million and have helped millions of people suffering from brain health related issues such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety/depression, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, PTSD, autism and traumatic brain injuries.

The family turned “tragedy into triumph” as Shari states in a moving and beautiful four-minute video about One Mind. Brandon is successfully living with schizophrenia today and is President of One Mind. Brandon, Shari and Garen are featured in the video:

A Family Advancing Brain Health Research – The One Mind Story

LINK TO THE ONE MIND STORY VIDEO (YouTube)

Travel and Future

For those who take months to plan one trip, it’s difficult to imagine that Amber travels up to 300 days per year. She said she does about 180 to 200 wine events as she travels. About one-half are at private clubs. In addition to private clubs, because of their price point, Staglin’s customers are high-end resorts such as Auberge Properties, the St. Regis, and the Four Seasons to name a few.

What location would she recommend to a consumer who wanted to take one wine trip? In addition to Napa Valley, of course, she said:

“I will say one of my favorite places as a consumer would be New Zealand. The wine regions are amazing. The actual place itself – Mother Nature – and what it has to offer, the beauty, the hiking; it’s just spectacular,” she said. But it’s a very long trip, she added. “For a less faraway trip, I would do Italy. I love the food. I love the freshness. I love their wines, the diversity. They have over 3,000 different grape types.”

For 2024, Amber is planning to reduce her travel days to 200 and is very aware of balance in her life even for someone who loves what they do. “I work extremely hard. Finding balance is important. I love to travel. I love my job. I love seeing new places. But I also love home. Home right now is the United Kingdom,” she said. There she and her British partner purchased seven acres of property in the Cotswolds two years ago where they planted four acres of vines to make English sparkling wine. “We’re one of the pioneers in the Cotswolds doing this,” she added. “How Napa Valley is to San Francisco, the Cotswolds is to London, a special and beautiful place to visit, to eat, drink and relax.”

She already has distributors interested in carrying wine from her new Fossebridge Vineyard’s first vintage in two to three years but first the wine has to taste good, she said. “We’re doing all the work ourselves.”

Her seven years under Shari’s tutelage have been invaluable. Shari herself broke the mold in the 1980s as a woman-owned winery and then went one step further by calling on customers herself to sell Staglin wine. “She’s just a force. She’s fabulous. She’s intensely hard working, She remembers everyone’s name. She’s a great mentor to not only many women in the business but men as well,” Amber said.

Amber also credits the Wisconsin executive from General Beverage who took a chance on her 24 years ago, a hire that was far outside the norm, especially in the Midwest. They have stayed in touch over the years.

In addition to sparkling wine, Fossebridge Vineyard will also offer still Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir wines. “We’re very excited about that,” she said.

No doubt Amber has planted Midwest grit and Napa ethos with her vines in England.

Links

Staglin Family Vineyard
One Mind
Napa Valley Vintners