A first in Nevada: Pahrump Valley vineyards

Wines & Vines, July, 1991 by Philip Hiaring

The big hotels and restaurants in Nevada have been very supportive," in Sanders' words. Further "every one in the wine industry has been extremely helpful ... the support has been phenomenal." Bill Nakata of Delicato told Wines & Vines he has helped in the interests of more Americans enjoying wine.

The vintaged Symphony Dry and Medium are Pahrump's big sellers at $8.50 retail. A Charleston Peak White made mostly of Riesling is $7, as is a Desert Blush (Gray Riesling and Colombard, with Royalty blended in for color).

Suppliers include California Glass, Santa Rosa Stainless Steel, The Compleat Winemaker, Process Engineers (who sold the winery a Kreyer instrumentation system) and Prospero.

The winery personalizes labels. If you buy a case you don't get the 10% discount if you want special labels, but you can get each bottle with a different name if you wish - all free.

A native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvanka, Sanders lived in Novato in Marin County, California in 1974-85 and was "on the fringes" of a national cosmetics manufacturer and distributor, Holiday Magic. He is largely self-taught in the wine business - "Dmitri Tchelistcheff is a great tutor." Living in Nevada from 1985, Sanders and Shaner attended the American Society of Enology and Viticulture in about 1986 or 87 and first heard about Tchelistcheff there. He suggested Symphony and the partners went along with it on the feeling that it had a name customers could identify and it made a good white wine popular in the market.

LEAD SCARE UNFOUNDED

Recent media reports, noted the Wine Institute, have raised concern about the level of lead found in wines - neglecting to specify amounts or to point out that nearly all food products contain trace levels of naturally-occurring lead.

The Institute answered that federal authorities-including BATF and the FDA - have indicated lead levels in wine should not be a cause for alarm to the average consumer. Besides the trace levels naturally in fruit juices, nothing is added in making wine that would add lead.

Moreover, most of the winemaking equipment is made of stainless steel and the glass bottles are lead-free.

The lead drinking water standard set by the EPA is 50 parts per billion, based on consuming a half gallon of water a day for 70 years. Obviously, water is consumed in much greater volume than wine.

Groups considered at the greatest risk from lead exposure are infants and children; they don't drink wine.