[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 132 (Thursday, September 8, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1568]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING J VINEYARDS AND WINERY OF HEALDSBURG

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                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 8, 2011

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, along with my colleague, 
Representative Mike Thompson, to recognize and honor J Vineyards and 
Winery of Healdsburg, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this 
year.
  J was conceived and developed by Judy Jordan, an exuberant, fiercely 
independent 25-year-old who saw an opening in Sonoma County's wine 
landscape for a high quality, all-American sparkling wine brand. It was 
a lofty goal for a product that was first made in an old, ramshackle 
prune processing barn that routinely flooded when the nearby Russian 
River overflowed.
  From those humble beginnings, J sparkling wines have become some of 
the finest in the world. The winery's J Vintage Brut is a fixture on 
high profile wine lists and top hotels around the world. Queen 
Elizabeth sipped J at the White House. Mikhail Gorbachev spoke of world 
peace with a glass of J in his hand and J sparkling wines were the 
official celebratory bubbles of the Academy Awards Governors Ball for 
four consecutive years.
  To produce this remarkable wine, Ms. Jordan and her team rely on ten 
distinctive vineyard estate properties located throughout the Russian 
River Valley Appellation. These vineyards have at least twenty 
different soil profiles, with each vineyard displaying a different soil 
type and distinctive microclimate. This diversity allows J winemakers 
to coax the best flavor characteristics from each vineyard.
  Ms. Jordon also came to the realization that her vineyards would also 
be ideal for producing site-specific, cool-climate Russian River Valley 
varietal wines like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris in addition 
to her sparkling wines. These wines were added to the portfolio and 
have become immensely popular products.
  The ten estate wines will be ``Certified Sustainable'' in 2012 by the 
California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. After a number of energy 
savings initiatives were implemented throughout the winery, J was named 
a ``Green Winery'' in 2010.
  One of the first wineries to offer food and wine pairings to visitors 
in the ``Bubble Room,'' J was named ``Best Winery Tasting Room'' by 
Sunset Magazine in 2009.
  Mr. Speaker, from its humble beginnings, J Vineyards and Winery has 
become an international success story and one of the linchpins of the 
Sonoma County wine industry. It is therefore appropriate that we honor 
them today on their Silver Anniversary.

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