D’Alfonso-Curran: A Perfectly Pleasing Pairing

February 4, 2020

Some things just make the perfect pairing. Like, a summer day and a fine breeze. Or a crisp, peachy, highly acidic Grenache Blanc and spicy Thai food. Similarly, winemakers Kris Curran and Bruno D’Alfonso of D’Alfonso-Curran wines are that complementary pairing.

The Recipe for D’Alfonso-Curran Success

It’s in their winemaking philosophy. Curran believes a winemaker must be flexible enough to treat each wine individually, taking into consideration, things like its ripening time or the size of the lot.

D’Alfonso sees a need to be rational. He believes a winemaker must anticipate the potential fails in order to be prepared to deal with such an eventuality.

Individually those winemaking styles give their respective labels identity. Together, they represent a union of strengths, forming the D’Alfonso-Curran line of wines designed to pair with food. And the Santa Ynez Valley is the perfect place for a culinary adventure as they determine the foods that pair best with the wines they are working on.

Our Interview with Kris and Bruno

D’Alfonso and Curran joined us recently to discuss their winemaking, their backgrounds, and their individual and D’Alfonso-Curran labels.  Learn more about what makes their winemaking styles unique in this month’s video interview.

The History of these Two Established Winemakers

D’Alfonso, who’s earned a reputation for producing outstanding Pinot Noirs, celebrated his 40th year as a winemaker last year. His career started at Chalone in the Edna Valley in 1980. A few years later he joined Richard Sanford at Sanford Winery. D’Alfonso became a partner at Sanford where he spent 25 years, before starting his own Badge and Di Bruno labels.

Curran, whose name is often cited as one of Wine Spectator’s Top Winemakers, started her winemaking career as the assistant winemaker at Cambria Winery in Santa Maria right after college. From there she became a founding member of Koehler Winery. She went on to become the first winemaker at Sea Smoke and helped build that wine’s cult status. After producing seven vintages at Sea Smoke, she accepted a winemaking position at Foley Wines where she made wines under the Foley, Lincourt, and Two Sisters brands. She built her Curran label in 1996 and was one of the first vintners in California to popularize Grenache Blanc, which she started making in 2003.

Together, the two renowned winemakers started the D’Alfonso-Curran brand in 2006 producing ultra-premium vineyard-designated Pinot Noirs from Sta. Rita Hills and Chardonnays from Santa Barbara County.

About us:

At the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe we focus on providing a true wine country experience. Much of our produce for the Café is organically grown at our Café farm in Los Olivos. And our award-winning wine selection of over 500 mostly local wines compliments our fresh wine country cuisine. As a hub for the local California Central Coast wine scene, we love getting to know our local winemakers and sharing their stories with you! We welcome you to browse our over 30 interviews and blogs featuring local winemakers HERE.   

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