Warmest Holiday Wishes And Our Thanks for a Wonderful 2024!
Dear Friends,
As another year draws to a close and we prepare to make merry in the festive days ahead, we want to express our gratitude for your patronage. We are incredibly fortunate to have such an amazing community of friends. Thank you for your support—it’s a constant source of inspiration for our team!
Sunset Memories
Looking back on 2024, we have so many wonderful memories. In June, we launched our incredibly popular Sunset Series, an evening experience where we featured a different live musician and local chef each month. From the delectable Asian cuisine of Second Staff to the Middle Eastern delights of Shwarmaji to the lobster rolls from Brunch Boys, it’s been incredibly fun to pair our wines with an array of cuisines. Nearby Healdsburg has emerged as a foodie paradise, and we are excited to announce that we will be continuing our Sunset Series next year where we will continue to spotlight the talents of Sonoma County’s amazing chefs and musicians.
Nightwing Takes Flight!
Marking the debut of our new Nightwing Calera Clone Pinot Noir, Swan Clone Pinot Noir, and First Flight Pinot Noir, 2024 was an amazing year for our youthful Nightwing Estate Vineyard. Like our winemaker, Heidi Bridenhagen, Nightwing has earned a reputation for excellence at an early age, with the promise of more great things to come. While it often takes years for new vineyards to produce the highest quality grapes, Nightwing has matured at an extraordinary pace. For Heidi, this reflects the site’s inherent quality and the care that goes into its farming. “We have tried to give everything we can to the vines. The vines are giving back.”
Looking ahead, Nightwing’s future looks bright. In 2025, we will be releasing some exciting new small-lot wines that continue to highlight the uniqueness of the vineyard. We will also be debuting a brand-new Nightwing Tasting Experience that will include barrel samples and a comparative tasting of our acclaimed Nightwing wines.
Unforgettable Events
2024 was filled with fantastic events, including our Spring Soirée and Autumn Affair. To reflect our commitment to the environment and our connection to nature, our Spring Soirée had llamas and sheep as special guests. For our Autumn Affair, we were joined by West Coast Falconry, who brought five adorable owls for guests to interact with—both to highlight the fact that Sonoma is home to more than 200 species of birds, and as a nod to the name of our Nightwing Vineyard, which honors the Petaluma Gap’s many indigenous birds.
High Praise for MacRostie
With the release of wines from the exceptional 2021 and 2022 vintages, 2024 was another banner year for great press. So far, our wines from these two vintages have earned 107 scores of 90 points or higher, with the promise of more great reviews to come. In the 12 years since becoming our winemaker, Heidi’s wines have earned more than 500 scores of 90+ points, which is remarkable! Following on the heels of earning the “Winemaking Excellence Award” at the 2023 Women in Wine Awards and being named one of North Bay Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40,” we just found out that Heidi is being honored with another exciting award in 2025. While we’re not allowed to tell you what it is just yet, we look forward to sharing this exciting news in the New Year!
The Promise of the 2024 Vintage
As a winery dedicated to cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the 2024 growing season was excellent. Because everything was picked before a big October heat wave, the grapes arrived in pristine condition, with pure, profound flavors and an electric intensity that promises a standout vintage. While it is still very early to properly assess the characteristics of individual wines, overall, 2024 looks to be an extraordinary vintage, with the potential for our 2024 Chardonnays to rival our acclaimed 2021 bottlings!
A Memorable Milestone in 2025
This coming February we will be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of our stunning MacRostie Estate House. Back in 2015, when we opened the Estate House, we had just a few hundred club members. Today, we have a vibrant community of several thousand. The Estate House changed everything for MacRostie. It gave us our Thale’s Estate Vineyard and a new small-lot Pinot Noir winery. Most importantly, it gave us a home where wine lovers could come and explore our wines and share their passion with like-minded wine enthusiasts. Thank you for your passion and patronage over the past decade, and if you haven’t visited us recently, we hope to see you soon!
Until then, thank you for another amazing year. May your holidays be filled with joyful gatherings and unforgettable wines!
Warmest holiday wishes,
The MacRostie Team