A vineyard all their own is a sweet dream come true

Editor's note: This is one in a series of community portraits published in this space Fridays.Down a long winding road past rolling hills that look like they come out of a painting, is Bill and Karen McGillivray's long sought-after dream. And when a dream becomes reality it's sweet. For years Bill and Karen McGillivray had a dream to own a vineyard and commercially make their own wine. After years of studying, planning, building, planting, pruning, worrying and learning the ins and outs of winemaking, they proudly can now pour their own Dono dal Cielo wines made from grapes grown on their estate vineyard on Wise Road in Newcastle.On the old Ferreira Ranch in Newcastle, the McGillivrays manicured a beautiful 30-acre piece of land and started planting their vineyard in 2002. Area residents for more than 22 years, the McGillivrays moved to their vineyard property in 2001. In the late afternoon the setting sun illuminated the vines with a warm light, and Dono dal Cielo couldn't look any better. "We have about 12 acres of vineyards and that's enough for now," said Karen McGillivray. "We planted 982 vines per acre with our spacing, because our philosophy is what's good for the vines is good for us." In their vineyard they grow mostly zinfandel, though they have just planted some petite syrah and chardonnay. The vines planted in 2002 were harvested and made into the first vintage bottling of Dono dal Cielo wine, which means "Gift from Heaven" in Italian, in 2005.The McGillivrays operate what is called an estate vineyard, which means they make their wine from grapes grown exclusively on their land. Considered a small vineyard by California standards, producing fewer than 25,000 cases a year, Dono dal Cielo's harvest is increasing. The first harvest in 2005 produced 750 cases of zinfandel. The 2006 zinfandel vintage produced 1,275 cases. In years' past a typical harvest for Dono dal Cielo is about 16 tons, but this year's 2008 harvest yielded 26 tons of grapes. "It was always Bill's dream to own a vineyard. We counted the costs, did our homework, spoke about it for years, and now that we have the vineyard, I love it," Karen said. Bill McGillivray owns a company that distributes electro-mechanical components and includes facilities in Loomis, San Jose, Guadalajara and Hong Kong. His business responsibilities keep him out of town for many days a year and much of the day-to-day vineyard operation is Karen's responsibility. "I really love the vineyard and love being in the vineyard," McGillivray said. "I'm really anxious to have people come out and tour the vineyard."Wine tasting is now offered at Dono dal Cielo from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and the winery is part of The Greater Auburn Wine Trail. "Our goal is to build a simple winery and make the wine here, keeping everything on the property, doing everything for ourselves," she said.