La Sirena Napa Valley was founded in 1994 by winemaker Heidi Barrett. Her first several vintages were of a Sangiovese; the first vintage of this wine was not originally meant for Heidi. Rather she was making it for a custom crush client who for a number of reasons eventually abandoned the project and was going to sell the wine in the bulk market. Heidi realized that the quality of this particular wine was too good for the bulk market, decided to purchase it and then quickly secured all the necessary wine permits as the wine was ready to bottle.
Heidi has grown up in the wine industry – working in vineyards and in wineries from a young age. She had a very good mentor early on, her father Dr. Richard Peterson is an accomplished winemaker, scientist and vineyard experimenter. He is noteworthy for his decades of winemaking work including at Gallo and Beaulieu Vineyard among others. He also designed and offered at no cost to the industry, the Peterson pallet, the metal racks used for stacking barrels, used at wineries around the world.
And in 1980 he discovered a 2,000-year-old clone of Pinot Noir, the Wrotham Clone growing in Wrotham, England. He brought back cuttings, planted a vineyard in Yountville and began making wine from this extremely rare clone. He continues to produce a limited production sparkling wine each year from the Wrotham clone bottled under Richard G. Peterson, from a small vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County.
And perhaps this is the only family in Napa Valley currently with three active generations of winemakers.
Immediately after graduating UC Davis in 1980 with a B.S. degree in Fermentation Science, Heidi went to work for Justin Meyer at Franciscan Vineyards and Silver Oak Cellars (back when Franciscan was under the same ownership as Silver Oak).
By age 25 she was the winemaker at Buehler Vineyards (a well-established winery located in the hills east of the valley floor). By 1988 she decided to become consult and became and independent winemaker. By the mid 1990s her wine making abilities and knowledge were much in demand. Today she continues to selectively make wine and consult for a select group of clients. And along with her husband, Bo Barrett, the proprietor of Chateau Montelena, produce a single Cabernet Sauvignon each year bottled under the wine brand, Barrett & Barrett (see our notes on this site for more details about that brand).
Heidi has worked more than 40 harvests in Napa Valley.
From author’s personal collection
La Sirena means mermaid in both Italian and Spanish and based on Heidi’s love for the ocean and passion for SCUBA diving, she decided this would be the perfect image to represent her wines.
There is the science and art of crafting wines; some winemakers take a strict opinion on the matter and call winemaking all science, but most we have talked to over the years agree there is an aspect of art that goes into the entire process. Bo likes to compare Heidi’s creativity and talent to a painter who works with a variety of paints and brushes (and yes Heidi does paint). And in a similar comparison, he refers to his own viticulture knowledge as having and knowing how and when to use specific tools from a “toolbox” to manage vineyards.
Select Wines
The La Sirena Moscato Azul is exceptionally fragrant and perhaps unlike other varietals that lose their aromatics the colder they are served; this wine remarkably continues to aromatically produce even when it is kept quite cold. As a result, this wine should be well chilled and as Heidi simply says, “I prefer this wine colder“. Muscat Canelli is a variety that is often associated with being sweet. However, this is a dry wine with the amount of residual sugar left so small it is imperceptible on the palate.
The fruit for these grapes come from Calistoga. For several vintages Heidi had to in part source the grapes from central California, but moving forward this wine is entirely from a small vineyard block in Calistoga. This wine is fermented very slowly and entirely in stainless steel. It is quick to market and is often released only 4-5 months after bottling.
The 2013 La Sirena Moscato Azul aromatically shows fresh, lively and floral aromas that quickly envelope the glass and beyond after is poured. Floral and tropical aromas show including honeysuckle. It is a wine that just smells pretty! On the palate it shows a surprising, rounded mouth feel and slight viscosity on the finish (considering how it was fermented and aged). Notes of citrus and some mineralities show mid palate through to the finish.
This is a wine that certainly stands out on the shelf and is instantly recognizable due to its blue bottle color. And over the years has developed quite the following among her customers.
When one becomes familiar with the La Sirena wines – one soon realizes that each wine has its own inherent character, but also, its own accompanying story; and the labeling on each wine is representative of this.
Take for instance the wine named “Pirate TreasuRed”. This has certainly earned a solid following among Heidi’s fans and is now her most produced wine under the La Sirena brand. The bottle might lead one to believe this is a Port-styled wine but in actuality it is a dry wine composed of seven different varietals. This is a wine she did not set out to make – while making a red wine she reviewed her notes based on the blends that tasted the best. Surprisingly she saw seven varietals listed.
Tying this into a name, she thought about the Seven Seas, the Pirates of the Caribbean and her own diving trips which invariably involve a costumed pirate party. Thus, the name, The Pirate was born. Her creativity on the packaging ties in well with the name. She and her daughter wrote a pirate themed verse for the back label – which in the spirit of this wine involves some salty pirate language. The front label depicts a historical map of Napa County shown as an island with X “marking the spot” of their home vineyard.
This wine is a blend of varietals one would be hard-pressed to find in other wines. It contains Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Grenache, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Petite Sirah. The 2011 vintage offers generous aromatics filled with black fruit and is dusty and almost earthy along with notes of black licorice and blackberry. The wine is lively on the palate with complexity of flavor – and good acidity.
This wine is also offered as a 6-pack, housed in a cardboard box packaged to look like a treasure chest. It is a thoughtful and seriously made wine which is decorated by playful and very distinctive packaging.
The Art Bus Red wine certainly has some interesting origins. One morning Heidi noticed an old “hippy bus” that had been abandoned in the Solari Vineyard in Calistoga (a vineyard she purchases fruit from). She called the owners, and they were immediately apologetic to have such an eyesore show up in a beautiful vineyard. They were surprised when Heidi asked if she could take the bus – which she then towed over to her own property. It reminded her of some of the old buses from the United States that had found second life as school buses or for public transportation in a number of Central American countries.
The image for this wine is the front of this bus with Heidi peering through the window on the driver’s side. This wine was made in 2008 and 2009 and was reintroduced to the market with several newer vintages starting in 2012. This wine is 80% Syrah. The 2009 La Sirena Art Bus Red wine shows lively aromas with both red and black fruit and a meaty component – with just hints of white pepper. The palate is juicy, mouthwatering and big. Broad tannins anchor a long finish.
15% of all proceeds from the sale of any vintages of this wine are donated to Heifer International, a charity organization working to fight poverty and hunger worldwide.
Le Barrettage is a wine creatively named after Heidi had an inspiration in the car while driving to Lake Tahoe for a ski trip. She has long enjoyed some of the Rhone wines from L’Hermitage but did not want to simply call this wine a Syrah. Rather she borrowed a bit of French, her last name, the image of a crown (common in labels from this part of France) and an old-world design to come up with a catchy label and name.
The 2012 La Sirena le Barrettage vintage is a dark in the glass; this muscular wine is chewy with a robust structure that lasts for some time on the palate. The bouquet shows an eclectic mix of aromas including black olive, forest floor, white pepper and meaty components. The fruit on the palate is decidedly black in nature with rich mouth filling flavors.
The 2011 La Sirena Cabernet Sauvignon is mostly sourced from the Barrett & Barrett Vineyard on the rocky eastern hills north of Calistoga (a short drive in on Lawley Toll Road from the Silverado Trail). The bouquet is dusty and smoky with hints of sage and mocha. As the wine breathes the bouquet becomes more and more about the fruit. If there was a quintessential Napa Cabernet Sauvignon bouquet that hooks people to wine, and specifically this varietal, from this region, this is it. The tannins are well integrated with the fruit; this wine drinks very well young but has good acidity and structure for aging.
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Refreshingly there is no wine club or allocation for the La Sirena wines. The wine is available as a three-pack, six-pack or in magnum format. When the wines are released, they are available on a first come, first serve basis. Production of each wine varies each year but is usually no more than 300 cases per individual bottling.
In 2016, Heidi’s youngest daughter Chelsea created a label called Aviatrix (a Grenache) sourced from the El Dorado Hills. Aviatrix refers to a female pilot; Heidi is a helicopter pilot. An accompanying sparkling wine is also produced and select other wines other than Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are made by Chelsea with blending consultation from Heidi and are released and available for purchase as part of La Sirena. Chelsea’s sister, Remi Barrett rounds out the family Aviatrix team; she is the sales and marketing director for the brand.
For visitors to Napa Valley, tastings are by appointment at a winery with a cave located just south of Calistoga where Heidi makes her wines (part of a custom crush operation).
For a few years, La Sirena was also represented as one of the vintners at the no appointment needed Cellars of Sonoma tasting room in downtown Healdsburg (neighboring Sonoma County). Cellars of Sonoma offered a rare La Sirena only tasting (see photos below). The latest update we have in regard to this shop, is that it is now closed.
Total production each year is approximately 2,500 cases. A very limited number of library wines are sometimes available on the website. For more information, to schedule a private tasting, to sign up for their mailing list or to join their first ever wine club launched in 2023, La Sirena Mermaid Circle (with three tier membership options including wines from Barrett & Barrett & Aviatrix), visit: www.lasirenawine.com
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