Wine Wise introduces Singer Baker Lane Estate Syrah and Viognier

For the first time in its 30 year history, WineWise has added a California estate to its portfolio. Stephen Singer will be known to many of you as a ground-breaking figure on the California wine scene. In the 1980's, he opened a wine shop in San Francisco called Singer & Foy, whose Saturday afternoon tastings were the stuff of legend. I (Hiram) personally attended probably too many of them, and was able to encounter wines from the likes of Jayer, Chave and Raveneau for the first time. Equally importantly, Stephen and I became friends. Stephen was also the long-time wine director at Berkeley's Chez Panisse, whose list was something of a Holy Grail. He opened a series of restaurants to great acclaim, among them César and Table 29, as well as pioneering the importation of top-flight artisinal olive oil from Tuscany. In 2002, Stephen decided to complete the circle of his vinous odyssey by doing the one thing he had not done - grow grapes and produce wine. His innate inclination to seek elegance over power drew him to the cooler confines of Sebastopol, where he found a promising, west-facing hillside site totalling all of six acres on Baker Lane, whose name gave rise to the estate's initial identity. The Syrah and Viognier grapes that he and his long-time viticulturist and wine-maker Greg Adams grew quickly developed a reputation for top quality and were eagerly snapped up by some of the best-known names among Sonoma wineries, such as Arnot-Roberts and Scribe. In 2019, however, Stephen decided that the way forward lay with making less, not more wine. So he prepared to wind down the Baker Lane brand, which encompassed an array of excellent wines including several bought varieties, and he re-launched in 2022 as Singer Baker Lane Estate. Today, Stephen makes tiny quantities of just two wines - a Syrah (270 6-packs) and a Viognier (90 6-packs) - from the choicest parcels of his undulating estate, while continuing to supply his long-time customers with grapes that are surplus to his needs. Being an artist by avocation, Stephen also designed the striking labels of his new wines himself. Oh, and let us not forget to mention that he also cultivates a large number of olive trees from which he squeezes exceptionally fine oil. It is therefore with great pleasure and pride that WineWise announces its representation in California of Singer Baker Lane Estate. It will be apparent that there is not very much to go around. But if you are an aficionado of great Rhône wines from Syrah and Viognier, these wines will speak to you. Please do not hesitate to ask your sales representative about them. We thank you for your attention to this long announcement and look forward to hearing from you.