Sherrie Holzer is a seasoned sparkling winemaker, who is very passionate about bubbles and winemaking in Paso Robles! Specializing in Methode Traditionnelle sparkling wines, she is currently the winemaker at Rava Wines, a boutique and custom crush sparkling house. In addition to using the traditional Champagne grapes, Rava Wines is known for its diverse lineup of sparkling wines using German, Rhone, Burgundy, Italian, and Spanish varieties. Balance and beauty are the goals for each bottle produced.
Sherrie moved to Paso Robles to make wine in 2007, after getting her start at J Sparkling Wines in Healdsburg. She earned her Bachelor of Science with a double major in Enology and Chemistry from Fresno State. Soon after, she received her Wine Business Management Certificate from Sonoma State and WSET Level 3 Certification. She is currently working towards her Masters in Champagne from WSG.
Media Inquiries: sherrie@ravawines.com | https://ravawines.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, memorable about your brand?
Rava Wines is the first winery in Paso Robles to focus on sparkling wines crafted using the time-honored Methode champenoise technique and is the first and only custom sparkling wine facility on the Central Coast. The Rava’s, a third-generation farming family, own more than 1,200 acres of premium vineyards that span from the foothills of the Santa Lucia Range in Monterey County to the Rava Estate in the heart of Paso Robles Wine Country. Rava wines are made from 100% estate-grown fruit.
In addition to the traditional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier sparkling wines, Rava embraces the diversity of grapes that are grown on the properties, and the diversity of Paso Robles winemaking. There are almost 20 different sparkling wines made, and most are single vineyard and single variety: Gruner Veltliner, Albarino, Riesling, Muscat canelli, Pinot Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul, Cinsault, Cinsault Rose, Grenache Rose, and a red sparkling made from Negro ‘Amaro. Diversity is what separates Rava Wines from Champagne and other sparkling wine regions.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained. Sky’s the limit!
My dream is to spend a harvest in different sparkling regions of the world to learn commonalities and differences with California sparkling. I want to know how I can apply these techniques or methods in Paso Robles. How are they processing the grapes, blending the Cuvee before tirage, and adding the dosage at the finish? I want to make Cava in Penedes, Franciacorta in Lombardy, Champagne in Reims, Crémant in Alsace, Sparkling in Tasmania, and Cap Classique in Cape Town. The science behind the sparkling method is the same, but the craftsmanship is different across the world.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
Rava Sparkling Grenache Rose because I love Grenache noir, the artistry of a Rose, and the challenge of making sparkling wine.
Grenache grows so well in Paso Robles and it’s one of my favorite grapes because of the perfect red hue, the chalky tannins at the finish, and the Bing cherry and Hibiscus aromas. Grenache made as a Rose wine is vibrant and lush in the mid-palate, but also delicate at the finish. The key is to find this perfect balance between red wine and a white wine.
A winemaker can really show their artistry with a Rose wine in the cellar. Is the Rose picked intentionally or is it a Saignee? Barrel ferment or stainless ferment? Malo-lactic or no Malo-lactic? What color of pink? This sparkling Grenache Rose was picked early specifically for sparkling wine. The grape clusters settled in the press for a few hours to extract the perfect pink blush, fermented in stainless steel to capture the red fruit aromas, then lees stirred in neutral barrels during aging to build weight or softness in the mid-palate.
Sparkling wine is challenging because It’s hard to mask any flaws or imperfections. If red wine isn’t terrific, it’s easy to fix with an expensive barrel and time. Everything is amplified with effervescence, so the sparkling base wine must be pristine and perfect. Because the base wine goes through a secondary fermentation to get the bubbles, sulfites can’t be added to protect the wine from oxygen, since sulfites hinder the yeast. This makes the wine especially vulnerable and requires special attention and care. The Cuvee is very unforgiving.
Each individual bottle has its own fermentation, so I marvel at the fact that I can taste two bottles side by side and they will taste just slightly different from each other. That is so fascinating to me! You can read the Sparkling Wine review here.
Bonus Question – Why Winemaking?
To make ends meet, I waited tables throughout college at a high-end resort restaurant with an amazing wine list. I learned as much as I could about the wines, purely for financial reasons. The more wine that I sold, the more money I made. I discovered that I had a great nose and palate and became curious why a Merlot tastes different from a Cabernet and why two Merlots taste different from each other. This led me to a spring break wine-tasting tour in Washington to learn more. I met a winemaker that told me that he was a former chemist, now a viticulturist and enologist. This changed my life. Two months later, I moved to California to pursue Enology and Viticulture degrees.
Why winemaking? I love creating something that brings joy and pleasure to others. I think of how many bottles are shared with friends and family and conversations ignited with a great bottle of wine. Some of my favorite dining experiences were elevated with the perfect wine selection. Sparkling wine, more specifically, being popped open at the most important milestones. I’m honored and humbled when people tell me that my wine was part of their wedding toast, promotion celebration, or poured at their retirement party. Hearing a champagne cork pop has the Pavlovian effect of joyfulness and will immediately brighten the mood.