La Sirena

With the incredible success of La Sirena, one might think the idea for the brand was a well thought-out plan; a plan that was as deliberate and calculated as every other winemaking detail in Heidi Barrett’s portfolio.  Heidi would tell you otherwise.  “It was a fluke opportunity.  "The first wine I made for La Sirena started as a custom crush wine for a client.  The client hired me to make Sangiovese for a new brand, but ran into a conflict of interest situation with their family, who had other winery ties.  The wine was already made and quite delicious, yet the client had to abandon the project.  They were going to put this beautiful wine on the bulk market and I thought, Here’s my chance to start my own winery, maybe I could buy it!” So, I had the wine and I needed to come up with a winery name, design a label and get approval and permits, etc. all within a 30 day time period. The wine was ready to bottle, so time was of the essence.”


A couple years later, in 1996, Heidi decided to focus the project on the varietals she is truly passionate about.  Cabernet Sauvignon was the obvious choice since she is best known for her amazing track record with it.  As the Sangiovese was fazed-out after the 1999 harvest due to a grape contract loss, La Sirena added Syrah as its second red varietal. This  led to making not only a delicious Napa Valley Syrah but also a tasty Santa Ynez version, showing off what Syrah can do in a cooler climate. Eventually a third Syrah was added, designated “Barrett Vineyards“,  from her own 2-acre vineyard at the foot of Mt. St. Helena.  “The wine was just too distinct to blend into the Napa Valley Syrah and such a standout lot deserved to be its own blend,” said Heidi. 

Always wanting to experiment, Heidi decided it would be fun to make a dry Muscat. Muscat is such a beautiful fragrant variety that makes a delicious, unique, and fun white wine encompassing all the perfumey, floral qualities of the grape, without the sugar. La Sirena introduced the first tiny, 122-case production of Moscato Azul to the market in 2003. They now make around 500 cases a year of this beautiful white wine in a cobalt blue bottle finished with a blue cork!