Southern Roots, Napa Grapes
NAPA, Calif., August 27, 2015 – The opening of the Mira Winery Napa Valley Education Center & Tasting Room (NVEC) in the historic heart of downtown Charleston, South Carolina is a perfect fit for a city that has become renowned for its fine dining and craft beverage scene.
Mira, which is the Latin root of miracle, was founded by President Jim “Bear” Dyke and 20-year veteran Winemaker Gustavo Gonzalez as a producer of Napa Valley wines with understated elegance, expressing the flavors and uniqueness of the specific vineyard each represents. Mira works with Napa’s leading vineyards, including Hyde and Schweizer, then Gonzalez employs his uncanny intuition to craft a portfolio of distinguished wine.
The NVEC is distinguished on the outside with a mural by local artist David Boatwright entitled “Renoir Redux: Exceptional Pairings”. The mural is a take on Renoir’s “Luncheon of The Boating Party” set on a Charleston veranda and featuring many of the city’s culinary leaders. Some residents have begun to refer to the mural as Charleston’s Mount Rushmore.
“We believe that the best of the South and the best of Napa are an explosive combination providing wine lovers a unique experience,” said Charleston resident and Mira President Dyke. “We don’t just want you to taste the wine we want you to feel the soil, touch the barrels – truly experience wine.”
The inside of the NVEC features a number of teaching tools including a 100 year old vine, a topographical map of Napa Valley, barrel staves with varying toast levels, soil samples from several Napa vineyards and more. The Napa Valley Education Center & Tasting Room is open to the public from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with Sunday hours to be added soon. Visitors to the NVEC can purchase the following wine flights, each containing a 3 ounce serving of 3 of Mira’s wines:
- White Wine Flight, $20
- Mixed Flight, $35
- Red Wine Flights, $45
EduTastings are offered for $55 per person by appointment and last approximately one hour. Led by Certified Specialist of Wine, Wendy Keefer EduTastings provide a more in-depth exploration of the relationship between viticulture and grapes, grapes and wine, and wine and your pallet.
Whether enjoying a wine flight or through a private EduTasting visitors will learn how geography, altitude, climate and soil combine to make Napa Valley one of the world’s premier winegrowing regions. Designed to appeal to everyone from the seasoned oenophile to the budding wine enthusiast, programs at the center will allow visitors to discover how, in the hands of a master winemaker, grapes grown in the region are transformed into wines that display the classic characteristics of each grape type and how they are influenced by the spot of earth in which they’re grown. Every visitor will come away with a greater appreciation for the wines they drink – and most likely with a case of the fine wines created by Mira.
To learn more about the center, visit https://miranapa.com/napa-valley-education-center-tasting-room/ or call the center’s director, Wendy Keefer, at 843-952-7013.
About Mira
Mira Winery produces a limited amount of single vineyard wines in California from the well-known Napa Valley American Viticultural Areas (AVA), Stags Leap District and Los Carneros. With over 20 years of winemaking experience, Winemaker Gustavo Gonzalez is a craftsman whose critically acclaimed wines are of exceptional character and complexity. Mira’s well-established relationships with some of the oldest and most elite growers in Napa Valley allow the winery to manage the process from bud to bottle, vinifying the grapes to maintain the characteristics of these exceptional geographies. This level of involvement in the vineyard permits Mira to produce a portfolio of uniquely luxurious wines.
About The Napa Valley Education Center & Tasting Room
Located in the historic heart of Charleston, S.C., our Napa Valley Education Center & Tasting Room provides unique access to Mira Winery and the wine industry through educational and tasting programs. Visitors can experience Napa Valley and the world of winemaking through interactive displays, wine flights, private EduTastings, videos and a series of classes that appeals to everyone from the casual wine drinker to the savvy connoisseur. While in Charleston, be sure to visit the Napa Valley Education Center & Tasting Room at 68 ½ Queen Street.
To learn more about Mira Winery, visit www.miranapa.com and find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn.
