[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 143 (Tuesday, August 11, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING BARRY STERLING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 11, 2020

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise with my colleague Congressman Mike 
Thompson today in memory of Barry Sterling who passed away on July 26, 
2020 at the age of 90 after a lifetime of exemplary service to his 
community and the California winemaking industry.
  Mr. Sterling was born in Los Angeles on October 25, 1929. He spent 
his formative years living in Southern California before moving to 
Northern California to attend Stanford University, where his law school 
classmates included future Supreme Court Justices William Rehnquist and 
Sandra Day O'Connor. Importantly, Mr. Sterling also met Audrey Shapiro 
at Stanford. The two were married in 1952, and this month would have 
marked their 68th wedding anniversary.
  Following law school, the Sterlings moved to Washington, D.C., where 
Mr. Sterling served in the Judge Advocate General Corps and they 
welcomed their daughter, Joy. Upon moving back to Los Angeles, Mr. 
Sterling opened his own corporate law firm and the Sterlings soon 
welcomed a son, Laurence. The family moved to France in 1967 where 
their dream of living on a vineyard was cultivated. Towards this end, 
they returned to California and founded Iron Horse Vineyard. Many were 
skeptical of this purchase given the colder climate and the prevailing 
theory that chardonnay and pinot noir grapes would not thrive in 
western Sonoma. Undaunted, the Sterlings opened their winery in 1979, 
with the first of their sparkling wines released in 1980.
  In 1983, the Sterlings helped to establish a federal designation for 
their distinctive wine area, known as the Green Valley American 
Viticultural Area. Only a few years later, Iron Horse was served during 
the Geneva summit meetings between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet 
General Mikhail Gorbachev, ending the Cold War. Since then, Iron Horse 
has been consistently served at White House dinners. Iron Horse also 
produces wines to support charitable causes including a cuvee for ocean 
conservation in partnership with National Geographic and a vintage Brut 
that benefited the Redwood Empire Food Bank, which is the largest 
hunger-relief organization serving the north coast of California. In 
addition to winemaking, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling were founding members of 
the Los Angeles Music Center and the Los Angeles Art Museum. Mr. 
Sterling was on the board of the San Francisco Symphony, a Lifetime 
Trustee of the Leakey foundation, and he was actively engaged in 
Democratic politics. In 2005, Mr. Sterling semi-retired from running 
the business of Iron Horse but he remained involved in its operations 
until he passed away.
  Mr. Sterling is survived by his wife, Audrey; children Joy, Laurence 
and his wife Terry; grandchildren Justine, Mike, Barrie, and Joseph; 
and great-grandson Calvin.
  Madam Speaker, please join Rep. Thompson and me in extending our 
appreciation for Mr. Sterling's many accomplishments and relaying our 
deep condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. His was a life 
well lived, and while he will be missed by many, Mr. Sterling's legacy 
will live on through the indelible positive impact he had on his 
family, friends, and the extended winemaking industry.

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