- Hi, all my name is Alicia Ysais. I'm the winemaker for the Collection wines. I'm here to tell you a little bit about the wines today and also a little bit about myself. 

After graduating from Cal Poly, I wanted to put my degree to use. I took a job analyzing fermenters during harvest at a winery. I absolutely loved it. 

As anybody knows who's worked any type of harvest, harvest can be exciting but yet unpredictable. That has kept my interest and has kept me in the wine industry for over 25 years. I love what I do. 

There are many women who have inspired me and mentored me that it's difficult to just choose one. There are women like Charlotte Madison, Carol Thorup, Evelyn White, Carol Shelton, Heidi Barrett, Helen Turley, just to name a few. 

These are women who are legends in their own right and have made their way in a male-dominated field. 

The one person that I also need to give credit to is my sister, Emma. She is smart. She's caring. She's a professional. She chases after her own dreams and she really leads by example. I'm happy to be able to share a glass of wine with her. 

So people always ask me, what's your favorite wine to make? And honestly, it's really difficult for me to answer that. I've made so many varieties in my career that each one has its own personality and I respect each one for it. 

One of the ones that I still find challenging though today is pinot noir. It keeps me on my toes. It changes in the fermentation every single day and I never know what I'm gonna get. So the Collection pinot noir, you're gonna find some aromas of strawberry, red cherry, some baking spices, and a little bit of vanilla. It pairs really well with lighter dishes like veal, pork, even some light pastas. 

So which wine brings out the fun? I have to say it's the pinot grigio. That is a really nice wine to have on a hot summer day, where you're sitting by the pool and you want something that's just refreshing. The Collection pinot grigio has aromas of honeysuckle, honeydew melon, and some stone fruit, little bit of a nectarine and some peaches that really brings me back home to the Central Valley and where I grew up. So it all comes back together. 

I've even gone as far as putting that on some ice with just a sprig of spearmint and it's fantastic.