The first thing Matt McDermaid learned on the water was that hesitation is expensive. In sailing, the mistake isn’t changing direction. The mistake is waiting too long to do it.

Wine operates on the same principle. He launched Staysail in 2019 as a hands-on learning project at Meeker Vineyard, amid early challenges like the 2019 Kincade fire and a pivotal 2020 pivot from Cabernet Franc.

From those beginnings, Staysail Wines was never about chasing momentum or aligning itself with whatever gust happened to be blowing through the market. It was about choosing a line and holding it—sometimes against the wind, sometimes in relative obscurity, always with intention. That choice was Grenache. Not as a trend, not as a supporting player, but as a foundation. A grape that rewards patience and punishes indecision. A grape that forces you to read conditions rather than overpower them.

What’s easy to forget is how unresolved that decision once felt. Looking back, with Staysail firmly established and its voice increasingly clear, the path seems inevitable. At the time, it was anything but. After the 2020 LNU fires destroyed his Cabernet Franc crop, Grenache didn’t come with a ready-made audience or a guaranteed payoff. It came with risk, and with responsibility.

McDermaid’s comfort with uncertainty was shaped long before he ever stepped into a cellar. His relationship with wine began on the water, where sailing instills humility early—establishing a lane, anticipating shifts, mastering fundamentals. There is no forcing your way forward. The boat only moves if you understand what the environment is offering and align yourself with it. Power without awareness is wasted effort. Precision matters more than strength.

Those lessons stayed with him through his 2017 harvest internship at family-owned Glen Lyon Vineyards, and later at Meeker, where he immersed himself in winemaking. He noticed that the producers he respected most weren’t imposing style so much as responding to circumstance. They were listening—to site, to season, to fruit. The work was less about control than about timing.

Grenache behaved the same way. It did not tolerate shortcuts. Pick it too early and it felt hollow. Too late and it lost its edge. Overwork it and it revealed every fingerprint.

But when farmed carefully and harvested at precisely the right moment—often early, at 24–25° Brix on high-elevation hillsides—it offered something rare. Transparency. It told the truth about where it came from, without artifice and without shouting.

In a wine world dominated by varieties that reward extraction and structure, Grenache felt like a quieter, more exacting conversation.

When Staysail evolved into a full brand, Grenache was not the obvious commercial choice. It lacked the built-in prestige of Cabernet Sauvignon and the cultural gravity of Pinot Noir. It wasn’t a safe bet. But safety, McDermaid understood, is often just another word for indecision.

Rather than assemble a broad portfolio and wait to see what stuck, he made a deliberate commitment. Grenache would not be a side project or an experiment. It would be the spine of the winery.

Grenache can be misunderstood. In careless hands it becomes either overly ripe or disappointingly simple. Staysail’s wines push back against that assumption, offering lift, texture, and quiet complexity without austerity. They don’t announce themselves loudly. Like a well-sailed boat, the motion is smooth enough that observers sometimes underestimate the speed.

As the identity of Staysail became clearer, it also became clear that Grenache was not meant to stand alone. Grenache Blanc from Ceja Farms on the Sonoma Coast entered the lineup not as a departure, but as a natural extension. Grenache Blanc shares many of the same virtues—and risks—as its red counterpart. Farmed carefully and picked with intention, it delivers texture, lift, and savory depth that resists easy categorization.

Cabernet Franc followed a similar logic, its 2019 Dry Creek Valley debut harvested for Loire-like freshness and Bordeaux blending elegance rather than California heft. If Grenache represents feel and Grenache Blanc represents balance, Cab Franc brings structure without weight. At Staysail, it is harvested for freshness, handled gently, and allowed to speak without heavy framing.

None of this works without vineyards that support the vision. Staysail’s success begins long before harvest, in partnerships with growers who value balance over brute force. In an industry addicted to constant novelty, Staysail has resisted the urge to explain itself endlessly.

McDermaid remains deeply involved at every stage, but never heavy-handed. Like a sailor trimming sails mid-race, adjustments are constant but rarely dramatic. The goal is efficiency—moving cleanly through the conditions at hand.

In retrospect, the decision to build Staysail around Grenache and expand outward thoughtfully rather than broadly feels prescient. Staysail didn’t wait for permission. It tacked early.

The wines featured in the Wine Recommendations section were provided by the winery for the purpose of review. The selection and tasting of these wines were independently conducted. No compensation or incentives were provided for inclusion in the story. As always, the top priority is to provide readers with informative reporting.

Wine Recommendations

2023 Grenache, Rockpile AVA
A densely fruited effort with an explosive nose of fresh blackberry, crushed cherry, macerated strawberry, and brambly raspberry, laced with blood orange zest, violet, dried thyme, cracked black pepper, graphite, and shattered stones—hallmarks of this iron-rich, shale-strewn hillside terroir.

2023 Grenache Blanc, Ceja Farms Vineyard
Vibrant and high-toned, offering aromas of white peach and honeysuckle layered with lime blossom and saline minerality. The palate delivers plush texture and layered melon, dried herbs, and brioche, with racy acidity and a briny spine carrying through to a long, persistent finish.

2021 Grenache, Caelesta Vineyard
Red plums, strawberries, and cinnamon lead, followed by warm baking spices, dusty yet balanced tannins, medium body, and lively acidity for a classical, elegant structure.

2019 Cabernet Franc, Dry Creek Valley
Black cherry, blackberry, and crushed strawberry layered with black olive, and a hint of tobacco leaf. Concentrated yet poised, with soft, fine tannins and a bright line of acidity keeping the dark fruit lively.