There are many wonderful women in the business of wine, and Joy Sterling is quite truly unique. Some are owners, winemakers, tasting room managers, publicists, and viticulturists, but today I’m off on a rare tangent. I’m introducing Joy Sterling, an owner of Iron Horse Vineyards, who’s amazingly connected to our environment and some really proper people.

Joy is currently finalizing a Coho salmon habitat restoration project, on their stretch of the Green Valley Creek. She’s referring to it as “Earth Day in action” around there right now. Frankly, some of us are connected to Earth Day as Earth Day Every and Joy is one of those people. So no surprise there with Joy, in my observations, she was given the right name at birth!

Joy Sterling, Partner and CEO of Iron Horse Vineyards

Mother Earth With Joy Sterling

Over the years, Joy was able to provide important people, during her years of being an environmental superstar at the winery, to emphasize Earth Day events. She’s still this connected just thinking globally, as she thinks about climate change. And there’s a story behind each important and influential relationship. Joy’s proven herself to me that she’s a public relations star on steroids, upon reflection.

Joy Sterling is a Mother Earth representative.

Karen Ross ~ 2017

The theme for this year’s Earth Day event was the future of food. It was held on April 19, 2017. Participating wineries include were DeLoach Vineyards, Dutton-Goldfield, Freeman Vineyard & Winery, Hartford Family Winery, Iron Horse, Lynmar Estate, Marimar Estate, and River Road Family Vineyards. The keynote speaker was California Secretary of Agriculture Karen Ross. Acclaimed San Francisco Chef Traci Des Jardins was on board to showcase the “Impossible Burger,” made entirely from plants, she’s served at the Paris Climate Change Conference as tartare.

And, Ronstadt Generations performed live, honoring the family’s musical traditions with the Southwestern and Mexican songs of their heritage, blended with original material. Imperfect Produce provided a beautiful display of “ugly” produce as crudités. She also enlisted Copia, which is a mobile app that helps businesses and events connect excess edible food to feed communities in need, instantly. The proceeds benefited Sustainable Conservation, a non-profit organization uniting people to solve California’s toughest environmental challenges. This was chosen by Secretary Ross, to be the beneficiary.

Karen Ross Secretary of CDFA

Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell ~ 2015

How about one of her guest speakers in 2015, at the Iron Horse Earth day celebration? In January 2015, Kevin Jorgeson along with partner Tommy Caldwell, bravely accomplished a free-climbed of the 3,000-foot Dawn Wall of El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park. Kevin was a very fitting speaker for how to enjoy Mother Earth’s riches responsibly. How many of us know anyone with this much guts and glory? Together they faced El Capitan and achieved what seemed to be impossible for most people. This daring duo completed the first ever free climb of this wall. And, they made serious history, by finishing their quest, to be the first ever to free-climb the Dawn Wall.

Today, Both climbers are still climbing, and I truly respect their mothers. When I climbed cliffs as a 10-year old child, my mother told me I couldn’t, and I didn’t really understand why. Climbing was fun and I had a good grip. I survived the 500-foot vertical ledge, because some angel was watching that I didn’t have that one slip.

Fearless climber Kevin Jorgeson, who’s still professionally climbing all these years later.

Sandra Day O’Connor ~ 2014

If you don’t know Joy, you now will, and those that do, this is a great primer, lest you’ve forgotten. So let’s start with Joy introducing me to Sandra Day O’Connor. I was beside myself stumbling for words, but it didn’t stop there. What I told Sandra Day O’Connor brought tears to both of our eyes.

“In 1992, I moved to California with my husband, two children, three cats and a dog. When I left Maine, I had just attended a meeting with Senator George Mitchell, who at the time, was also Senate Majority Leader. I was at the top of my PR game, in Portland, Maine. Then I moved to California, no one knew me from Adam, and I didn’t know anyone else, either.”

My Handicaps

“I wasn’t born into wine, I didn’t know anyone in the business, and I didn’t know much about it, either. But, I still wanted to segue into the wine business from a radio PR career. And I didn’t want to take a good job away from someone else, while I waited patiently for a break. So, I took a menial job, and worked really hard for the next year and a half as a housekeeper with lots of clients.

“My break came in Belvedere Winery’s marketing department, with full time employment. All the while telling myself. ‘Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom.'” This was my Sandra Day O’Connor daily mantra. She felt my pain, I felt her generosity. Thanks, Joy. It would never have been possible without you.

Quote from Sandra Day O’Connor, which we discussed.

Jared Diamond ~ 2013

My reason for wanting to join Joy Sterling at this next event, besides the experiences that she brings to my life, was her guest speaker. It was Pulitzer Prize winning and best selling author Jared Diamond. His latest book at the time was “The World Until Yesterday” studies what we can learn from Traditional Societies (subtitled). “JARED DIAMOND is a professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author, most recently, of Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis, as well as The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies Collapse?:

Awards Galore And Sure There’s No More

One at a time, the National Medal of Science, a Tyler Award for Environmental Achievement, how about Japan’s Cosmos Prize. It continues with the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and the Lewis Thomas Prize, which honored the scientist as a poet and presented by Rockefeller University. Also at the time, the Pulitzer Prize for his book Guns, Germs, and Steel.

Jared Diamond at Iron Horse, 2013 for Earth Day.

Ted Turner ~ 2011

Joy brought in CNN founder Ted Turner, as the guest speaker. She first met Turner in 1979, when she was a news editor at KPIX Radio in San Francisco, a CBS affiliate. She later went to work for him at TBS evening news. That year, the profits from ticket sales were going toward Ted Turner’s Captain Planet Foundation, which supports youth environmental education programs. (Special $300.00 tickets brought visitors to a private tasting event, with an intriguing the guest of honor.)

It’s called: Earth Day with invited Ted Turner: National Geographic adventurer Boyd Matson conducted the question and answer session ~ April 17, 2011.

I was told by Joy that it would be a very exciting day, and she was right. In the spirit of Earth Day, there were no paper tickets. We were all given a clever string wrist band, with a tiny jade bead that connected the wrist band. It was Joy at the “door” to personally welcome everyone. The one-hour VIP reception started at 12:00 noon. We all received a Riedel flute of Iron Horse bubbly, served with sustainably farmed caviar from California Caviar. We all had the chance to meet and greet Ted Turner at Joy’s parents’ home in the garden. Joy was meticulous in her presentation.

Boyd Matson with Ted Turner at Iron Horse Vineyards

I believe Mother Nature is cleverly disguised as Joy Sterling, of Iron Horse Vineyards. For as long as I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Joy, I’ve found this to be true. She has intellect, understanding, compassion, and resources to pull it off.

She cares for the earth in ways that many of us can’t even begin to imagine. Joy has many other sides to her personality, knowing exactly what and when to create as a special sparkling wine with focus coming from Green Valley of Russian River Valley. Her brother Laurence Sterling is director of operations, and Joy markets it, besides being the winery’s CEO. Audrey Sterling couldn’t be more pleased, you can just see it as she looks at what her children are accomplishing.

Bubbles on Earth Day at Iron Horse Vineyards

Mike Drop

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Written by Jo Diaz, a partner of Diaz Communications, who is helping to make stars realize their dreams. Edited by partner Jose Diaz. To reprint, please contact Jo Diaz: jo@diaz-communications.com