Our exclusive interview with Joy Sterling

Be sure to join our LIVE CHAT with Joy Sterling on Thursday, July 29 at 8 pm EST!

Girls on Grapes chatted ‘Girl to Girl’ with Iron Horse’s Joy Sterling. Joy represents the second generation at Iron Horse. She is a partner in the winery, in charge of sales, marketing and public relations. She is the author of four books: A Cultivated Life, published by Random House, Vintage Feasting, Vineyard: A Year in the Life of California Wine Country and A Vintner's Guide to Red Wine published by Simon and Schuster.

GOGO: Iron Horse’s “Wedding Cuvee” is featured as the Girls on Grapes “most interesting” Pinot Noir. Can you tell us a little about this wine and what makes it so interesting?
JS: I love that Wedding Cuvee is such an excitingly different expression of Pinot Noir. The most obvious aspect are the bubbles, which give the wine an especially rich, creamy mouth feel. It’s dry, brings to mind strawberries, dark berries and spice. It’s crisp and refreshing. I describe it as dangerously easy to drink. It is the most renown of our Sparkling Wines and definitely the most romantic. On my travels I meet many, many people who became engaged over Wedding Cuvee, had it at the rehearsal dinner, for anniversaries, in the delivery room. All of these stories inspire us to make Wedding Cuvee especially delicious. I love that our wine becomes a part of someone’s life.

GOGO: What foods do you think match best with a sparkling Pinot Noir?
JS:

• Breakfast: Berries, sweet, ripe melon, smoked salmon, eggs any way you like them, ham or bacon, toast, muffins, bagels, croissant, brioche, waffles or French toast with strawberries.
• Lunch: Asian chicken salad, avocado and shrimp salad, spinach, mushroom and bacon salad, or better yet, spinach soufflé, rock shrimp and new potato frittata, a grilled Portobello mushroom sandwich, poached salmon, cold or grilled shrimp, croques monsieur.
• Dinner: Oysters, smoked salmon; poached egg with caviar, sautéed fish, grilled salmon, chicken, quail, duck, baby lamb chops, fresh asparagus, anything to do with mushrooms.
• Anytime of Day or Night: Chocolate dipped strawberries. That’s really all you need. This Sparkling could easily be called Love Potion.

GOGO: How about food matches for a non-sparkling Pinot Noir?
JS: Still wine Pinot Noir is my favorite red. It is extremely versatile with food. I love it with fish – especially salmon, tuna and swordfish, chicken, game birds and Thanksgiving turkey, baby spring lamb, a rich mushroom ragout.

I practically use the same thought process matching Pinot Noir with food as I would a Sparkling Blanc de Noirs – because they are both made from the same grape. The one difference is that the bubbles in the Sparkling have a great way of marrying a jumble of flavors as with Asian food, enhancing subtle herbs, cooling off hot spicy dishes and cutting through richness.

GOGO: What’s your favorite wine to sip on a porch swing?
JS: Bubbly.

GOGO: What’s your favorite wine to sip when you’re all dressed up?
JS: Bubbly.

GOGO: What are your biggest challenges as a woman in the California Wine World?
JS: The wine world is a great business for women – truly receptive and rewarding. The biggest challenges I face are the same for both men and women. One is staying fit. I run my body like a bank account with credits and debits. I earn credits by working out. The better part of my work is done over lunch and dinner and it is very important for me to have an appetite and be enthusiastic about wining and dining, yet remain human sized. Another challenge is the travel. I travel on behalf of the winery about 50% of the year. Staying in gorgeous hotels and eating in the finest restaurants is as glamorous as it sounds, but getting from point A to point B has become very grueling. I can’t wait for teleportation! I would rather risk molecular decomposition than sit in an airport with traffic delays.

GOGO: What aspect of your job do you love the most?
JS: The people. The wine world is filled with the most naturally gracious, fun loving people you could ever want to meet. I am also extremely lucky to get to live on the vineyard. It is so beautiful. Our lifestyle is everything its cracked up to be. I pinch myself every day.

GOGO: What advice would you give a burgeoning woman wine lover?
JS: Taste as much as possible - it’s the best way to learn. Trust your own palate. Drink what you like. And, if you are going to get drunk, do it lavishly.