I Love Wine Profiles Stiekema Wine Co.
We’re grateful to Jonas Muthoni of I Love Wine for a thoughtful profile of Stiekema Wine Co. and the road that led here.
From cellar hand to winemaker
The piece follows Mike from his first job as a cellar hand at a large winery in 2012, through winemaking experience in South Africa, to finishing a Bachelor of Science in Viticulture & Enology at WSU Tri-Cities. It is candid about the hard parts of starting a winery in March 2021 with no estate vineyard, no tasting room and no equipment of our own, and about how much of a stretch that dream was. As Jonas tells it, ingenuity and resourcefulness carried the winery through those early hurdles.
Balance, sustainability and South African roots
Jonas also writes about the things we care about most: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre from the West Side of Paso Robles, a winemaking style shaped by South African technique, and a signature GSM blend built to show the best of each variety. He covers our efforts to waste less by cutting water, power and additives, and to reuse what we can, turning old barrels into planters and bottles into candles. It is a small-winery approach to sustainability, built around using less and wasting less.
The profile highlights how much Mike values pouring for people in person rather than relying only on digital marketing, and his hope to grow by adding vineyards while staying small-batch. The article notes early recognition too, including 96 points and Best of Class for our 2021 vintage at the LA International Wine Competition, and gold and Best of Class for the 2022 Grenache at the Central Coast Wine Competition. For more of that story, see our About page.
One line from Mike sums up why we do this: Wine is the tool that allows me to break the ice with each acquaintance.
The article talks about the 2022 Grenache. Our current release is the 2023 Grenache.
Thank you, Jonas, for telling our story with such care.
