 |
| C.M Syar and his 1938 International dump truck. |
has over seventy years of achievement beginning in 1938 when C.M. “Tony” Syar started his construction business in Vallejo, California with his new contractor’s license and a 1932 International dump truck. Always looking to the future and working to provide the best for his customers, in the early 1940’s Tony began supplying ready-mix concrete to the construction industry with plants in Vallejo and Fairfield in Solano County.
These original Syar Industries plants provided high-quality building materials for Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Travis Air Force Base and provided for other critical military needs during the war years.
 |
| Syar Industries corporate office. |
In the early 1950’s Syar Industries added a major sand and gravel operation and a ready-mix plant in Madison, Yolo County, which provided much of the building material for Monticello Dam and Interstate Highway 80 and served a new construction industry market. During the next two decades, Syar Industries continued to add aggregate production facilities, including the Lake Herman Quarry near Vallejo, to serve its growing base of satisfied customers.
Syar Family Vineyards
Syar Family Vineyards is one of Sonoma County’s leading supplier of quality grapes for premium wines. With over 360 acres under cultivation in three Sonoma County appellations, Syar Family Vineyards property is nestled along the Russian River and supplies grapes for the wines that have made Sonoma County synonymous with world-class wines.
Syar Family Vineyard’s roots in Sonoma County were planted in 1986, with the purchase of several hundred acres of agricultural lands along the Russian River south of Healdsburg. For generations the Russian River Valley ands its rich alluvial soils have supplied high quality agricultural products to California and the world. Prunes, apples, cherries, and even hops were extensively grown in the Russian River Valley before vineyards became dominant. Syar Family Vineyards completed the transition to vineyards on the property it purchased in 1986. With subsequent acquisitions, most recently the 2006 purchase of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards from the Estate of Sonoma County wine pioneer Rodney Strong, Syar Family Vineyards has over 300 acres of vines in the Russian River appellation, with additional small holdings in the Dry Creek and Alexander Valley appellations.
Syar Family vineyards primary varietals are chardonnay and pinot noir, which are both well suited to the Russian River Valley’s warm days and cool, foggy nights. Other varietals under cultivation include cabernet sauvignon, merlot, zinfandel, and syrah. From its first vineyard purchase, Syar Family Vineyards has been supplying the Rodney Strong Winery with grapes, a partnership of over 20 years built on mutual respect and a shared vision that great wines start in the vineyards. Some other wineries current supplied by Syar Family Vineyards include Toad Hollow Vineyards, Martin Ray Winery, and Beaulieu Vineyards. Other wineries that have used our grapes include Jordan Vineyard & Winery, Clos du Bois, Korbel, and Sterling Vineyards.
Syar Family Vineyards has also played an instrumental role in reclaiming former aggregate mines to a productive use. Syar Family Vineyards currently has 12 acres of vineyards on land which was once a sand and gravel terrace mine. For other terrace areas, Syar Family Vineyards has planted tens of thousands of trees and shrubs and seeded hundreds of acres with grasses in order to reclaim these areas into wildlife habitat. These successful efforts have resulted in hundred of acres of wildlife habitat, with vegetation so dense in some places that a person cannot walk though it. These reclamation areas provide high-quality habitat for native species, such as bald eagles, osprey, red tail hawks, and various species of small mammals and fish. There is even a large flock of white pelicans that have taken up residence.
As with most successful business, the most valuable asset of the Syar Family Vineyards is its employees and the relationships they have built with customers. As observed by Rand Dericco, Vineyard Manager for Syar Family Vineyards, “We’ve had a long association with many of the wineries. I think it is because we strive to deliver quality fruit to them. You can’t make good wine with poor quality grapes.” As for the vineyard crew, Rand continued, “Some of the people that work in Syar’s vineyards have been working on this same River West Ranch for 40 years, like me. Jim and Susan Syar, and before them Tony and Boots Syar, make you feel like a member of their family. That’s not something you see with many large businesses.”
Syar Family Vineyards is a proud part of the rich agricultural heritage of Sonoma County and looks forward to the many years of great wines to come.
Additional Syar Industries news & articles:
Syar Concrete, LLC
Syar Concrete LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Syar Industries, Inc. announced that on May 1, 2010, it expanded its concrete production operations into the Marysville area through the lease of a concrete plant on Hammonton-Smartville Road owned by Big Valley Ready Mix. Strategically located near Yuba County’s
Read more on this Syar article
Syar Industries, Inc. donates $5000.00 to City of Healdsburg for community garden.
The largest donation, $5,000, came from Syar Industries, a rock and gravel mining company.
"It's been a real community project. Everyone has really come forward on this one," said Healdsburg Assistant City Manager David Mickaelian.
Read more on this Syar Industries article
Syar Industries corporate web site
Here you can learn all about the history of Syar Industries and the services that Syar Industries provides.
View Syar’s corporate web site
