April 6, 2003
Edition: STYLE
Section: STYLE
Page: 50
Estimated printed pages: 4

California DREAMIN'
These former Sarasota residents have a way of making their dreams come true
Author: DOOLEY WORTH

Many people dream of owning a vineyard, particularly after visiting one. The symmetrical beauty of row after row of vines on the trellis, the headiness of the earth, the challenge of handcrafting a world-class product from nature's bounty, all contribute to the dream.

For most people, the dream remains just that. But not for Susan and Barry Collier. The former Sarasota residents have a way of making their dreams come true.

The couple lived in London for eight years, first in Kensington, and then in Wimbledon Village after their second son was born. Barry moved to London to set up Ronco UK. You may remember the Veg-a-Matic? Finding the English less gadget crazy than Americans, he went on to produce records and eventually sound tracks for movies. While in London, he and Susan developed an interest in fine wines, including the wines of Bordeaux, which ranked among their favorites. At the ripe old age of 38, Barry decided he would retire. He and Susan and their two young sons joined Barry's brother, Ron, his wife, Janice, and the brothers' parents, Leon and Sylvia, who were living in Sarasota at the time. They lived on Bird Key enjoying a sedate life filled with sandy beaches and spectacular sunsets. While in Sarasota they met Michael Klauber, who introduced them to California wines, particularly cabernet sauvignons. The couple and Klauber, who was buying wine for The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort at the time, became fast friends.

It would prove to be a significant friendship.

Barry says he became "antsy" in retirement. He was asked to join a company in California, but decided against it, opting instead to go back into business for himself. The family moved to Encino and in 1983 he started his own video and film production business, Prism Entertainment. He took the company public three years later and over a span of 13 years, produced more than 50 films.

While living in California, he and Susan installed a wine storage system and began collecting the California wines Klauber had first introduced them to in Sarasota. They bought mostly young wines, usually their favored cabernets, from a variety of wineries including Silver Oak, Silverado, Chateau Montelena, Robert Mondavi and Spottswoode, among others.

A 50th birthday trip to Napa Valley that Susan had planned for Barry would change their life and lifestyle once again. While relaxing at the famed resort, Auberge du Soliel, Barry told Susan he would like to retire (again) and live in wine country. It was Susan who said, "Let's do something about it."

Their nest empty, they started studying viniculture and reading everything they could about winemaking. Between 1994 and 1996 they began looking at vineyards for sale. Napa Valley, their inspiration, had few vineyards on the market at that time, so their search switched to burgeoning Sonoma County.

Susan says they realized they would have to move quickly if they were going to obtain a property. They sold their home in Encino, and while Barry temporarily moved to their beach house, Susan moved to Santa Rosa where she enrolled in a vinicultural course at a local college. All the while, the search for the perfect winery continued.

Susan looked at parcels in Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley and Alexander Valley. However, it was an unlisted property in Healdsburg in the Dry Creek Valley that would eventually become Collier Falls Vineyard in 1997.

The Colliers had been looking for 50 acres with 20 acres of vines to make cabernet. What they found, and what Susan and Barry fell in love with, was a 100-acre parcel with only eight acres of old zinfandel vines. The other 92 acres of the isolated vineyard was composed of forest, steep ravines and a 60-foot waterfall that now appears on their wine label. The Colliers began working the property themselves, first retrofitting the eight acres of zinfandel vines. This done, they then planted an additional 18 acres of vines in 1997 and 1998, including six acres of their beloved cabernet grapes.

Their first wine, produced in 1997, was a zinfandel made at Everett Ridge Winery by winemaker Alex MacGregor. It surprised the Colliers and others when it received an impressive 90 point rating from The Wine Spectator (every wine lover's bible) and won the Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel Taste-off. It sold quickly as restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles snapped it up.

Klauber, who had played an early role in the Collier's journey, took a pallet of their wine before he had even tasted it, because, as he says, "They did it right. They got good grapes, made a great wine and have not gotten too big too fast."

Having known them and their love for wine, he trusted that their zinfandel, which he describes as, "more elegant than the typical California zinfandel," would be something special.

In 2000, the Colliers acquired a new winemaker, Cécile Lemerle-Derbes, who grew up in Champagne, was educated at the University of Paris and was the director of wine production at the prestigious Opus One Winery before moving to Healdsburg. She produced the 2000 Collier Falls Private Reserve Dry Creek Zinfandel and a just-released Collier Falls Hillside Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, which is also getting rave reviews.

She describes the Colliers' zinfandel as a dense wine, having the fragrance of rose petals and violets with a hint of sweet cherries, vanilla and licorice on the palate. The medium-bodied wine also has a subtle toasty flavor attributed to the French oak casks in which the wine is aged. The new cabernet is, according to Derbes, an elegantly structured wine that has an intense bouquet with the aroma of cassis and raspberries with silky tannins and a long finish that hints of chocolate. Both of the Colliers' wines, say Susan and Barry, are excellent companions to chocolate in addition to Tuscan pork roast and rich duck breast, among other dishes.

The love that the Colliers feel for their vineyard (even with the considerable physical labor involved in a terraced vineyard) and their new lifestyle is reflected in the quality of the wines they are producing. The couple is likely to go on to further accolades, and say that their idea of heaven is "more of the same," making more wine. And they would love it if their sons, one of whom is in the Marine Corps, and one who is a sportscaster for NBC, would come into the family business.

In the meantime, they look forward to their next visit with friends and family on Florida's Gulf Coast. It will just be the latest journey in the lives of this adventuresome couple who have turned their love of wine into wine that people love. *

Caption:
COURTESY PHOTO
Barry and Susan Collier have turned their love of wine into wine that people love.
PHOTO BY MARK SICKLES AND SITA D'OYEN OF 12EXP PHOTOGRAPHY
The 2000 Collier Falls Zinfandel has the fragrance of rose petals and violets with a hint of sweet cherries, vanilla and licorice on the palate.
COURTESY PHOTO
Collier Falls is a 100-acre parcel of land composed of vineyards, forest, steep ravines and a 60-foot waterfall that appears on their wine label.
The 2000 Collier Falls Hillside Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is an elegant wine with an intense bouquet of cassis and raspberries.PHOTO 4
Copyright (c) 2003 Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Record Number: 0304060042