Get to know Eislynn Wines
Emily Myers talks about her transition out of tech sales, her love for donuts, and all things wine. Plus, a red for these rainy nights in.
First off, this issue introduces you to winemaker Emily Myers. She shares her favorite donut flavor and how she went from tech sales to the wine cellar. Then we feature a wine that is perfectly cozy with all the this rain we have been getting. We pay to live in California for that coastal sunshine, not these atmospheric rivers! But hey, it gives us an excuse to warm up with a bold red. And of course, there are some stellar multi-day events coming up to scope.
Interview with Eislynn Wines
In our time spent with Emily Myers, owner and winemaker of Eislynn Wines, we learned that nothing pairs better with Syrah than some good belly laughs. If Emily’s sparkling sense of humor doesn’t charm you, than her wines certainly will. In this interview you’ll learn how Emily’s journey started with a smutty book, evolved with the renunciation of a typical 9-5 office job, and has culminated with the creation of Eislynn Wines.
Q: Introduce yourself and your path into wine?
A: I’m Emily Meyers and I am the owner of Eislynn Wine Company. I'm originally from L.A. and Orange County, but attended UC Santa Barbara for college. My first job out of college was in tech sales and I had this idea from my parents that I was going to be really good at sales and make a lot of money, but I hated it. Just hated it. I hated every second of it. It was just the nature of sitting in front of a screen that I had trouble with. So, I started thinking about what else I could be doing and I had a friend I knew who was working in wine. She really enjoyed what she was doing and ended up giving me a weekend job at Grassini.
I then worked my way up to the GM over at Sol Miner for a couple years before 2020 happened and I realized that I was still sitting in front of a computer and not enjoying it. At that point I decided, come hell or high water I was going to do manual labor and work in production.
It ended up being perfect timing, as I met Ryan Roark who started Roark Wine Company. He needed somebody to help out doing a little bit of sales on the weekend and we completely hit it off. He started having me do some cellar work for him. And then, again, the timing was lucky because he took over as winemaker for Demetria.
I became his assistant winemaker for Roark Wine Company and he took me on as assistant for Demetria as well. I've been there ever since and still work for both companies. It is a lot going on, but I do cellar work happily.
When I got into the industry I immediately loved harvest so much and loved the manual labor. I love the feeling of doing something with your own hands. You feel a little bit closer to death than you did the day before because you're so worn out and beat. But that feeling just makes you feel more alive!
Q: What inspired you to start your own label?
A: Ryan and I were walking through the vineyard one day and Ryan asked me if I wanted to make my own wine. I was like, “No, no.” But then I thought about it more and asked myself, “Why did I say that?” And why was I so adamant about saying no? I realized that it was my thinking that starting your own label was what other people did, but not something that I do. I also realized that that's completely something that I could do, and I'm good at this and I will do it for myself. I changed my mindset on that…maybe it is time to have something that's completely mine. I make wine with people and I make wine for people, but I didn't have something that was completely my own.
I decided then that, at the end of the day, even if I start this, make my own wine, and and I don't like it, I don't have to do it anymore. But if I love it, then I have something that's completely mine. From soup to nuts everything is my say. And so it became this reclusive spot where I can just have all of my own ideas and it’s my own version of me time.
Q: Where did the name Eislynn come from?
A: Eislynn is my middle name that my mom gave me. She was reading a smutty romance novel when she was pregnant with me, called The Wolf and the Dove. The main character's name was Eislynn which I believe is a Gaelic name, but it's in the book spelled “A I S L I N” or some version of that. My mom decided to add an E and so she made it up a bit. I ended up reading it and I made my book club read that book. Then after we read it I told my mom that we all read it and she's like, “Oh, how was it I never actually finished it” (laughs).
I've also always hated the name Emily. There's literally millions of us you know, you're never the only Emily either at your place of work or school or anything. You're never the only one and I've never really felt like an Emily and Eislynn has just felt like this thing that I have that’s a bit of an alter ego or another version of me. I'm just figuring all this stuff out as I go and figuring out what I like in this industry. And especially in production it's so male dominated there can be so much impostor syndrome. God I feel like this has been a good practice for me to move away from my impostor syndrome and just be like “oh, there's no reason I can't do this right”.
Q: Are there any winemaking practices that you pull from working at Demetria?
A: Yeah, definitely. I feel like I've taken inspiration from both of the companies that I'm working with (Demetria and Roark Wine Co.). The focus across both companies is using good, high quality, ideally biodynamic or organic fruit…the best farming quality we can get our hands on. And then very low intervention across all the brands including Eislynn, meaning we only add low amounts of sulfur and that's it.
But Demetria is also beholden to its client base it has built up over the past 15 years. We have to make the wines taste a certain way or style. And then Roark has just the nature of Ryan Roark himself where the wines can be whatever he wants, and they can just be very devil may care and can be whatever he wants to make by the seat of his pants. He's much more of a creative wild type than I am. I'm a little bit more conservative. So I feel like my winemaking style is right in the middle. Still making a very clean, very low intervention, classical style. But every once in a while I'll get a little bit weird. Maybe leave something on the skins for longer, nothing too crazy but just taking the grapes for what they are and then not feeling beholden to any kind of winemaking style and doing what I want.
Q: So how would you describe your winemaking style?
A: I would say that what I aim to do is more traditional, old world traditional is what I would like to do ideally. And that's what I have been doing where I'm not adding any additives. Even starting in the vineyard looking for high quality fruit. I don't want to be looking for fruit because it's cheap and I can make more of a margin on the wine when I sell it. I want fruit that I believe in, and believe in the farming practices. I believe in being biodynamic and organic and all that. And again no additives, just sulfur, keeping it pure. I have no intention of being the “00” natural kind of winemaking style. I think it's a little too far out there on that spectrum for me. But it's a more traditional classical style of winemaking looking at the old world rule techniques.
Q: Today you’re focused on Syrah, but are there other varietals you’re planning to produce and what goes into choosing which varietals you focus on?
A: Syrah was an easy one, because it’s my favorite grape to drink. It’s also very forgiving to work with and it's very versatile. There's some grapes you work with where out in the vineyard there’s so many problems. Like with Pinot Noir, there's so many problems that go into that. it can be so finicky, but Syrah is so sturdy, it can go in so many different directions. I had access to really good Syrah so it was a no brainer slam dunk. So I did that in 2021 and 2023 I’m doing it again. And then I do Sauvignon Blanc, because that's my favorite white fruit, and again great to work with. I did some work with it at Grassini during my first harvest so Sauvignon Blanc I felt comfortable working with, and I love Sauvignon Blanc. I felt comfortable making it in a little bit of a less traditional method. I had it spend a solid few days on the skins this year. Nothing crazy. And again, this is another good example from Demetria. We made a direct press Sauvignon Blanc, but for Roark we made one that was two weeks on the skins and mine was four days. So blending a bit of the styles.
In the future I would love to do Cabernet with fruit from here, from this area. Chenin Blanc would be another one that would be really a fun one to add to the whites program but it is tricky to find. That's the problem finding the right fruit. I'd also love to work with something that I've never even heard of yet.
Q: Your website states that as a kid you wanted to work in a donut shop. Is this true? And what’s your favorite donut?
A: Yeah, it is true! I did want to be a donut man. Because we’d go to Winchell’s all the time. My parents would take us to Winchell’s before elementary school. For favorite donut oh my god. I don't know. I forget exactly what it's called because I feel like it's called different things but it's the chocolate bar but it has to be a firm one like it's almost crunchy with a deep fried chocolate glaze bar. I want to say they called it a buttermilk chocolate bar. It’s not the soft flat ones that's not it, it has to be the firm one with ridges.
Q: Why is the central coast special to you and your brand?
A: A big thing for me is that everything in my life feels real. I don't want to feel like I'm ever in a situation where I'm pretending to be something I'm not, or I’m playing a game. That's part of the reason that the sales thing in software didn't work out. Compared to some other regions, like Napa for example, this region is very real. The people here are very real and there’s this sense of community where we all support each other. There's very little bullshit. It's just everyone enjoying each other and helping each other out and that to me is really important. I also love that we have access to the fruit that we have. There is great quality fruit and a huge spectrum of varieties. We're very, very lucky to have that. But the main thing is the authentic people that we have and the culture that's here in the valley.
Q: Lastly, what’s the best way for people to support you?
A: Follow me on Instagram, visit my website, and tell your friends! Eislynn is available at Satellite in SB and I'm dropping off some wine at Clean Slate in Solvang as well.
Be sure to swing by some of your local wine shops to try Eislynn wines and keep a lookout here for future releases. Huge thanks to Emily and follow her on Instagram!
Uncorked
Azios Cellars godspeed. goodnight.
This wine comes from the Los Olivos District AVA and is comprised of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Syrah.
Nose: plum, tobacco, cherry
Palette: white pepper, cranberry, cherry, oak
Pairs well with: mushroom pizza, gnocchi in a sage and butter sauce, hearty bean soup
Available at: Good Land Wine Shop in Goleta, Sunburst Wine Bar in Carpinteria, Villa Wine Bar in Santa Barbara, plus this is such a steal on sale on the Azios Cellars website for $25
What’s Happening
Book Signing with Iris Duplanter Rideau: “Iris is not only an author, but became the first female African American winery owner in the United States when she founded Rideau Vineyard in Santa Ynez in 1997. Books will be available for purchase.” At La Lieff Wines in the funk zone of downtown Santa Barbara on Sunday, February 18th from 3-5 PM.
Winemaker Pop Up with Dreamcôte Wine Co.: “Hey SLO town we are coming to you! We’ll be hanging with our friends over at Saints Barrel pouring you our newest lineup of fruit driven easy drinking wines! Join us on Wednesday, February 28th from 6-9 for a good time! Featuring oysters by Flying Colors Co. and live music by Kahonukai Boro.”
World of Pinot: Choose from a plethora of seminars, tastings, luncheons, and dinner all in honor of the grape that is king, Pinot Noir. The celebrations are from Thursday, February 29th to Sunday, March 2nd at Bacara in Santa Barbara. Tickets are moving fast!
“at her table” Festival: From Friday, March 1st to Sunday, March 10th, the “at her table” festival will be putting on over 40 events between San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles to celebrate Women’s History Month! Check out the link for tickets, food and wine specials, and vacation packages.
Los Angeles Wine & Food Festival: Head down to Santa Monica for an incredible weekend of food and wine with legendary participating talent. Tickets range from $225-$700 and the festival takes place Friday, March 1st to Sunday, March 3rd.
Wine Grower Dinner with Melville: “Join us on Tuesday, March 5th for a curated dinner with Chad Melville. Indulge in an exquisite five-course culinary experience paired with a selection of five Melville wines. Immerse yourself in the atmosphere at The Mission Club as you savor each moment of this elegant pairing.” Tickets are $125/person and the event starts at 6 PM.
Women Winemakers and Culinarians Celebration: “The four-day celebration [March 6th-March 10th] will bring together a varied sampling of the County’s female winemakers in a show of support for each other, and other working women, world-wide;” There will be brunch, bubbles, tastings, and dinners across Santa Barbara County, so find an event that appeals to you!
Cheers!