Hi, my name is Stew Epstein and I am the winemaker for Sunfire Winery in California.

I am an unabashed lover of all things Spanish — art, architecture, food, and especially… wine. And no wine says “Spain” more than the wines of Rioja, known here in America as Tempranillo.

There’s nothing pretentious about Iberian wines – they’re the ultimate anti-establishment wine. It’s all about having fun, socializing with friends and pairing with a meal, be it a big fancy dinner or that burger you just tossed on the grill. You don’t need a degree in wine tasting to enjoy them. In fact, most stuffy wine people don’t have the faintest idea what they are.

Why did I start making Spanish wines? When I first became interested in wine, my experience was with tasting and drinking as part of a meal. My parents more often had a Chateaunauf at the table than a Cabernet. Years later, I tasted a Tempranillo and I began to explore the wines of Ribera and Rioja. In a way, it was a revelation – here was a variety that at its best could be as complex and dense as a good Cabernet, as long-lived as a Cote Rotie, yet never lose sight that its purpose was to be a great food wine. This is the kind of wine that I wanted to create.

As an avid nature photographer and conservationist, I wanted Sunfire to operate in an environmentally conscious way. In 2005, we installed a solar array to take advantage of the abundant sunlight in the San Joaquin Valley and the winery has been 100% solar-powered ever since.

Sunfire Winery… Transcend the ordinary – let your senses take you there.