Winemaker Laely Heron

Point to any spot on the globe and chances are that Winemaker Laely Heron has been
there. At last count, she has resided in or visited 6 of the 7 continents and all 50 US States.
In addition to English, Laely speaks fluent French and Danish and can order dinner, drinks
and a cab in Swedish Norweigen, Spanish and Italian.

By the age of 10, Laely had already lived in 12 states. Her father was a mining engineer
and an adventurer and moved the family to Africa for business. After a couple of years in
North Africa, Laely's family hit the road, traveling first throughout southern Africa in a
Volkswagen bus and later backpacking their way through Madagascar, Mauritius,
Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Eventually, the family returned to the States so Laely
and her sister could attend high school.

After two years of university, wanderlust called Laely back to Europe to spend her junior
year in France. Her interest in wine led her to enroll at the Institute of Enology in Bordeaux.
After university, Laely moved to San Francisco and became the first American employee
of the Australian wine giant Lindeman’s. Two years later, Laely moved back to Europe -

Denmark specifically - where she started an import company, opened a restaurant, taught wine classes and began studies to become a Master of Wine.

Laely moved back to San Francisco and launched Heron Wines in 1995. At the time it was rare to see a woman owning a business in an industry
traditionally populated by men. Her first release, a Merlot from St. Chinian in southern France, debuted in the U.S. in 1995. Her portfolio soon expanded to
include California Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah as well as a six-grape blend from the Terra Alta region of Spain’s
Catalonia. Heron has become a “cult wine” among master sommeliers and chefs, a favorite “by the glass” pour in the nation’s top restaurants and a
consistent “Best Buy” in the wine press.

In 2004 Heron started another venture, Bodega 3 Suenos in Spain. The first release is Sexto a six grape varietal blend from Terra Alta, Catalonia. Like her
foray into France making wine ten years prior, she has identified another exciting wine frontier and has plunged in ahead of the pack.

Heron’s philosophy and wines are direct reflections of Laely’s spirit – pioneering, adventurous, daring, smart, adaptable, thrill seeking, irreverent, non-
traditional and international.
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