Our Story

Miracles Happen Every Day

Mira Winery is a name inspired by the Latin root of “miracle” and Greek for “destiny.” Co-Founder/Winemaker Gustavo A. Gonzalez’s long-held approach to winemaking is one of intention, precision and artistry. Using only sustainably farmed, 100% Napa Valley fruit, Gustavo allows each wine to reveal itself in its own time as a deliciously magical snapshot of a time and place, meant to be shared now and for years to come.

A chance meeting that changed everything.

Miracles happen every day in a variety of ways both small and large from the growing season that produces the grapes, to a chance meeting, to sometimes just getting through a day. Mira’s miraculous journey began one spring evening in 2005, when two guys—Napa winemaker Gustavo Gonzalez and entrepreneur Jim “Bear” Dyke, Jr.—walked into the Off the Record bar at DC’s Hay Adams hotel. “I had just finished hosting a winemaker dinner,” recalls Gustavo. “I was having a beer and talking with the bartender when Bear walked in and we struck up a conversation.” The two discovered a shared love of wine while Gustavo discussed his fascination with mathematics, in particular the perfect beauty of the Golden Ratio and its relationship to the Fibonnacci sequence, a mathematical concept used at least since the ancient Greeks and Egyptians that is expressed in nature, architecture, art and even the stock market.

Gustavo noted that while he was happy as the head red winemaker at Robert Mondavi Winery, “Like a lot of winemakers we all dream of having our own little side project.” He explained how it doesn’t take infrastructure or a big investment to get started, just relationships that give you access to high quality fruit and a nearby custom crush facility. “I had heard plenty of stories about how difficult the wine business can be, so Gustavo’s perspective was surprising to me,” says Bear. “And Gustavo is such a deep talent, so real and passionate, that it left me wondering if this could be something special.” A few hours and a few glasses of wine later, the two new friends parted with the idea of starting a winery together someday.

Healthy grapes growing on the vine

A Golden Opportunity

Gustavo and Bear’s dream sprang to life in 2009 with the serendipitous purchase of coveted fruit from Hyde Vineyard in Carneros, soon followed by Cabernet Sauvignon from the venerable, 100+ year-old Schweizer Vineyard in Stag’s Leap District.
The Golden Ratio’s divine proportions inspire everything. A particularly stunning example is embodied in the gleaming wooden egg-shaped fermenter called Ovum. Fibonacci’s principles not only create beauty on the outside but in this case also allow for the fermentation to mix itself inside the egg naturally, without the human intervention of punch downs. Tonnellerie Taransaud makes only two of these works of art per year and of the 12 in existence, Mira is the only winery in the Americas to receive one.

Our Team

Mira Winemaker Gustavo A. Gonzalez

Gustavo A. Gonzalez

Winemaker

For over 20 years Mira winemaker and co-founder Gustavo A. Gonzalez has been practicing his craft in the Napa Valley and around the world to critical acclaim. Gustavo has worked in California, Italy, France, Argentina and Brazil.
Mira Proprietor Jim ”Bear” Dyke

Jim “Bear” Dyke

Proprietor

Over his 30-year career, Jim “Bear” Dyke, Jr. has consulted with Fortune 100 and 500 companies, trade associations, public policy makers and helped manage numerous national and state political campaigns.
Mira Society 610 Club Coordinator & Customer Service Molly Pearson

Molly Pearson

Society 610 Club Coordinator & Customer Service

Molly Pearson has been with Mira since the very beginning, growing and learning about the industry and all things wine. Through the years she has developed deep-rooted connections to Mira’s many supporters around the world.
Mira Winemaker Heather Mathias

Heather Mathias

CFO

Heather Mathias has been a part of the Mira team since the brand was launched and has worn many hats during that time, supporting all aspects of Mira’s business operations.
Mira Harvest Kickoff in 2019

Golden Ratio

The Mira brand and wines were designed around the Golden Ratio

The golden ratio is best approximated by the Fibonacci sequence and is at the heart of architecture, art and nature. It is also at the heart of Mira from our first connection and our Ovum, the winery’s wooden, egg-shaped fermenter. Ovum embodies the Golden Ratio in both form and function, allowing for fermentation to mix itself naturally inside the egg.

Bottle of Mira 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon

Finance

“Fibonacci retracement” is a tool that technical analysts use to guide their outlook about buying and selling behavior in markets. This technique is named after and derived from the famous Fibonacci sequence, a set of numbers with properties related to many natural phenomena. While using these numbers to predict market movements is a lot less certain than using it to calculate sunflower seed patterns, the appearance of the sequence in the field of finance is yet another testament to its power in capturing the human imagination.

The Fibonacci sequence is often used in architecture

Architecture

The Fibonacci sequence and is often used in architecture and art because it is believed to produce aesthetically pleasing divisions and proportions. In many cases, the golden ratio was applied later during the analysis of the artwork/building, and the eye sees what it wants to see.

The Mona Lisa golden ratio

Art

One very famous piece, known as the Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, is drawn according to the golden ratio. If we divide that rectangle with a line drawn across her eyes, we get another golden rectangle, meaning that the proportion of her head length to her eyes is golden.

Fibonacci numbers are found in nature

Nature

Many examples of Fibonacci numbers are found in phenotypic structures of plants and animals. Indeed, Fibonacci numbers often appear in number of flower petals, spirals on a sunflower or nautilus shell, starfish, and fractions that appear in phyllotaxis [4, 18, 10]. Another simple example in which it is possible to find the Fibonacci sequence in nature is given by the number of petals of flowers. Most have three (like lilies and irises), five (parnassia, rose hips) or eight (cosmea), 13 (some daisies), 21 (chicory), 34, 55 or 89 (asteraceae).

Join the Mira Winery 
Email List

chevron-down
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram