Wes Hagen

September 10, 2016

You are at a dinner party, and suddenly you hear it, the sound of a popping cork. After that first cork is pulled the sound of the house changes, the conversations begin to flow freely, the laughter comes more quickly. You aren’t discussing the taste, it is time to relax and let the wine take us some place emotionally, and flavor wise, without having to feel the need to define it.

“Great wine should lead to a conversation about everything except itself. Wine is not egotistical, it is not narcissistic, it doesn’t care if you talk about it.”  -Wes Hagen

Asked to describe himself in one word Wes said, “Performative”. There are a lot of winemakers with the same knowledge he has but the ability to be able to engage anyone with a glass of wine is what sets him apart. We certainly won’t argue with that!

Wes started his winemaking adventures in 1996 here in Santa Barbara County. Ranked among the top 100 most influential winemakers in the United States by Decanter magazine, Wes is an incredible resource for wine knowledge. He researched, wrote, and had approved three AVA’s in Santa Barbara County; Sta. Rita Hills, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, and Ballard Canyon. He has written for various publications and taught at many prestigious institutions.

After 21 years as winemaker at Clos Pepe estates, he became the brand ambassador and winemaker for J.Wilkes winery. Founded by Jeff Wilkes in 2001 focusing on Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, and Chardonnay. The untimely passing of Jeff left the label at a standstill until it was purchased by the Miller family in his honor. Wes is continuing to represent Jeff’s legacy and his ideas about how to make great wine. Letting the vineyards speak, not getting too stylistic with the wines. Trying to keep the way they represent the place and the time they were grown, intact.

“…to put a bottle of wine on the table every night, and to use wine to keep the people you love at the table for an extra hour”-Wes Hagen

If you would like to meet Wes and try his incredible wines, he will be mingling with guests during our dinner service at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe on September 30th. Can’t make it in? All of J. Wilkes wines are 20% off the whole month of September in the retail store and online! Take advantage of this discount that will only last until the end of September, and try the sampler 4-Pack to get a taste of a wonderful selection of J. Wilkes wines. For reservations call 805-688-7265 or schedule online via open table

Pragmatic and Positive – Winemaker Larry Schaffer – Tercero Wines

August 4, 2016

Larry Schaffer started off in the educational and trade publishing industry, but after a number of years felt he had finished everything he set out to do in that field, and started wondering about what was next. He had always been interested in winemaking, wondering how the process worked. How do you develop different wines from one grape varietal or another?

Learning more about winemaking was the challenge he was looking for, and he left his career to get a degree in Viticulture and Enology. After studying and working for years, Larry began his new career as the Enologist for Fess Parker Winery. He chose to settle in Santa Barbara County because of the openness of the winemaking community, their willingness to help each other, and because the Santa Ynez Valley is a great place to raise children.

After a year with Fess Parker, Larry started buying grapes to make his own wines, focusing on Rhone varietal wines under the label Tercero Wines. Tercero means “third” in Spanish, and the number three has many ties within Larry’s past and present. He was the third child in his family, he lived in the third dormitory complex at UC Davis, and he has three children of his own!

When asked, Larry describes his style of winemaking as “pragmatic”. He believes that if he’s done a blend correctly, the sum will be greater than the its parts. So, when he is putting his blends together, he’s never sure exactly what he’ll have. In his head, he’ll be thinking “This is going to add this and this is going to add this…” but in the end, sometimes it works out fine and sometimes it doesn’t.  He believes that if he has done his job right, when one of his bottles is opened, he wants it to speak of the vintage, to speak of the vineyards that he worked with, the varieties he used, and he wants it to speak of his knowledge, education, or lack of knowledge – whatever it was that went into making that wine at that time. He says, “That’s an evolving process to me. My wines are never going to taste the same, or smell the same, and that’s ok! Because it’s going to hopefully be reflective of that time period when I made the wine. If I was going to be dogmatic, rather than pragmatic, I don’t think I would achieve that.”

Jessica Gasca of Story of Soil (formerly Iter)

June 10, 2016

I like on the table, when we’re speaking, the light of a bottle of intelligent wine. -Pablo Neruda.

“This is what wine is to me, sharing with friends, fantastic conversation, the light and energy of a wine, but not just any wine– an intelligent brilliant wine.” -Jessica Gasca

Jessica Gasca is an intriguing woman who dipped her toes into the wine industry interning in 2009. She described her first harvest as “absolutely magical.” Born and raised in southern California, Jessica realized in her late twenties she wasn’t passionate about the career path she had been working towards. The summer before starting a masters program, she quit her job, left her friends and family, and moved to the central coast to dive into the wine business.

Jessica landed a job with Matthias Pippig of Sanguis, at Grassini Family Winery, and has worked as an enologist for Blair Fox. Jessica is currently working at Dragonette Cellars while pursuing her dream of making her own wine under the label, Story of Soil, formerly ITER [e’tair]: n. (Latin) the journey.

Jessica is grateful to her uncle, Gary Burk, for his inspiration and mentorship along her journey as a winemaker. Gary has been making wine in Santa Barbara County for 20 years. He previously worked as the GM and assistant winemaker for Au Bon Climat and Qupe, and now has his own highly-acclaimed winery, Costa de Oro wines.

Jessica’s intention for her wines is to see what Mother Nature provides each year and follow her intuition. Each vintage, varietal, and vineyard is different. It’s about connecting to the earth, sculpting the wines to show a sense of place and style—following what’s inside.

Jessica describes harvest as her favorite part of winemaking. Waking up before the sun, picking the grapes, processing, crush, getting sweaty and dirty. It’s a beautiful process, one that she fell in love with immediately.

Santa Barbara County is a remarkable place for grape growing and for making world-class wines that Jessica is grateful to be part of. She is passionate about the industry and this region, and hopes to continue helping it become more widely known and recognized for the quality wines being produced.

Like most winemakers, Jessica Gasca’s career started as a dream—a passion to create “intelligent” wine—a dream she nurtured. We are honored to pour the fruit of her labor created from the grapes lucky enough to express themselves through Story of Soil.


 

Jessica was part of our Final Friday Winemaker series in June 2016.

 

 

Meet Blair Fox & Family

May 13, 2016

Blair Fox, of Blair Fox Cellars, is a Santa Barbara native who found the passion for wine and viticulture in his own backyard. Blair began attending UC Davis as a pre-med student, before transitioning into fermentation science for brewing. Due to uncontrollable circumstances he had to switch a class last minute, and Blair stumbled into his first viticulture course, which marked the moment he fell in love with the grape growing side of the industry. At first he thought he would solely be a grape grower, but once he realized that he would have to relinquish the grapes to someone else to turn into wine, he knew he wanted to have his hands in that side as well.

 

After graduating from college with a degree in both Viticulture and Enology, Blair began employment as head winemaker for a family-owned winery in the Santa Ynez Valley. This was the time he and his wife, Sarah,Blair and Sarah Fox established their own label Blair Fox Cellars. As Santa Barbara wine country’s premier restaurant for highlighting local winemakers, we are proud to say the Los Olivos Café was the first to offer Blair Fox Cellars on a wine list! After a few years of making incredible wines, Blair traveled to the Rhone region of France, and shortly thereafter traveled to Australia to expand his knowledge of the extraordinary wines made around the world. After coming back to his roots in the Santa Barbara County, he began working for Fess Parker and now also makes the wine for Epiphany—yes, Blair stays very busy

The focus for Blair Fox Cellars is on Syrah and other Rhone varieties. The estate vineyard, planted by Blair himself and farmed organically, has Grenache, Syrah, Petite Syrah, Vermentino, and a small amount of Zinfandel planted. Blair feels it is very important to be part of the grape growing process as a winemaker. He enjoys being able to control the wine from vine to glass, not only in his estate vineyards but the ones he sources fruit from as well.blair fox cellars Looking for grapes with beautiful concentration and intense varietal character, he currently sources grapes from Zotovich, Kimsey, Tierra Alta, Larner, and his own Fox Family Vineyards.

Blair and his family take pride in the creation of the small production wines for Blair Fox Cellars. While Blair manages the winemaking, Sarah does the marketing. His two adorable daughters love riding on the forklift and helping with Pigeage – foot stomping the grape cap! The grapes are hand harvested, hand sorted, fermented in small lots, and basket pressed to ensure the highest possible quality and true expression of the vineyard. The results of this family’s hard work are wines with a modern feel, while showing a reflection of historically made French wines.

 

Learn more about fabulous local winemakers at in our Featured Winemaker series.

The History of Los Olivos

April 29, 2016

The history of Los Olivos began with a stagecoach route in 1861, The Overland / Coast Line Stage established a station at Ballard, just south of present day Los Olivos. Running from San Francisco down to Ballard, and continuing south through Los Angeles before ending in San Diego, the stage provided important transportation back in the day.

How Los Olivos Got Its Name

Los Olivos Rancho painting
Courtesy Santa Ynez Valley Historical Society

In 1885, twenty-two year-old Alden March Boyd, from Albany, New York, paid $8,000 for approximately 157 acres of prime farmland on a bluff overlooking the Alamo Pintado Creek. Boyd constructed a two-story house, planted 5,000 olive trees, and named his new property “Rancho de los Olivos.” Two years later, on November 16, 1887, the Pacific Coast Railway successfully completed their narrow-gauge extension line from Los Alamos into the new town, which the developers successively called “El Olivar,” then “El Olivos,” before eventually settled on “Los Olivos” after Boyd’s nearby ranch.

Where is Los Olivos?

In 1988 the Boyd ranch was sold, and the new family built a more modern home next to the century-old two-story. Recognizing the historical significance of the farmhouse, the home was moved in two pieces to a new site at the corner of Nojoqui and Alamo Pintado Avenues in Los Olivos. Across from St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church, the elegant home with its wide, covered front porch, symmetrical arched windows in the center gable, and curiously low placed door knobs is well maintained and currently houses a variety of offices.

The Pacific Coast Railway

A development boom came with the anticipated arrival of the Pacific Coast Railway to a new station in Los Olivos. Chinese workers were hired to level the streets, and the developers boasted the town would become the “center” of northern Santa Barbara County. A Map of the town, created by the Los Olivos Land Association in the 1880s, shows a large “Courthouse Block” with elaborate walkways, and the location of the proposed “Los Olivos Hotel” with its own grand street named “Hotel Ave” leading up to the site. The Railroad did open the “Hotel Los Olivos” at that location May 1, 1888, but it burned down January 1890, and never rebuilt. The old map is carefully delineated with parcels, which extend way beyond the current township, and it is entertaining to try and match the present day reality with the optimism of the past.

Old map of the town of Los Olivos
Courtesy Santa Ynez Valley Historical Society

Entrepreneur Felix Mattei had been watching the development of the Railway and was patiently waiting for the right moment. In 1885 he heard the news about the incorporation of the “Santa Ynez Land & Improvement Company” and its purchase of a large acreage in the area of Boyd’s ranch. Mattie hurried to San Luis Obispo to study the plat of lands.

Locating the turntable and roundhouse that was to be built a block east of Grand Avenue, he recognized that this signified the southern terminus for the railway, and bought his land right next to the station in order to cater to rail and stage passengers making the north and south connections. Mattei’s “Central Hotel” was completed in 1886, but after the Railroad’s “Los Olivos Hotel” burned, he changed the name to “Hotel Los Olivos,” however the colloquial label “MatteisTavern” quickly became the recognized name of the establishment.

The Growth of Los Olivos

Photo of the exterior of the Los Olivos Cafe

During this time period Los Olivos started to boom. A small Christian Church was erected at Santa Barbara and Alamo Pintado Avenue, which still remains to this day. False-fronted stores, a U.S. post office, public school, livery stable, and a blacksmith shop, along with a drugstore, and more graced Grand Avenue. A few of the buildings are still standing, and it is interesting to take a self-guided walk with the “Los Olivos Historical Walk Tour” map to check them out. Part of the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café, was formerly owned by a local Butcher, Bent Clausen, who operated “Clausen’s Old Fashion Deli” on the site, prior to being “Allmendinger’s Deli” before Sam bought the property.

The Town’s Charm

Many residents still live in and around Los Olivos. They are inspired by the quite, country charm and sense of community. Their love for the area is probably still very close to those of Alden Boyd and Margeret Alexander Boyd’s daughter, Joan, who is quoted in William Etlings “Sideways in Neverland: Life in the Santa Ynez Valley” as remembering “There seemed so much to do – the hayrides; the horseback rides; the picnics and swims in the Santa Ynez River and Zaca Lake; picnics to Nojoqui Falls; the trips at Christmas time in the buckboard to the upper part of the Santa Agueda Canyon to get our Christmas tree, a digger pine; the long hot summer days, lying in the hammock on the veranda and listening to the bells on the grain wagon teams as they went by on the road below our hill, lost in a cloud of dust…it was such a thrill, too, listening to the eerie cry of the coyotes at night, in the hills across the road from our house – probably one or two, that sounded like ten.”

Los Olivos on the Big Screen

The identity of Los Olivos is so authentic that the iconic town has been used as the location setting for some of the scenes in the made-for-tv movie “Return to Mayberry” – based on the 1960’s “The Andy Griffith Show,” the infamous double date scene with Wine Wall backdrop at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café in the 2004 movie “Sideways,” and numerous commercials shot within the area.

This past year, Los Olivos District officially became the latest AVA designated in the Santa Ynez Valley. Named after Alden Boyd’s Rancho de los Olivos, it encompasses the townships of Solvang, Los Olivos, Ballard and Santa Ynez. This district has the largest concentration of vineyards and wineries, and is the oldest in the Santa Barbara County – going back to when the Spanish Franciscans founded Mission Santa Ines in 1804 and planted grapevines, which produced small quantities of wine. The Los Olivos Wine Merchant and Café are proud to have relationships with many of these boutique wineries, offering their unique vintages for tasting and sale. Be sure to stop in and speak with their knowledgeable Wine Merchants to discover these local jewels.

Currently, Los Olivos is home to unique, locally owned boutique shops, art, fine dining, and wine tasting rooms. The intimate nature of the town makes it easily accessible to explore on foot.

Sources:
Wikipedia.
William Etling, Sideways in Neverland: Life in the Santa Ynez Valley
The Los Olivos District Winegrowers Alliance
LOBO – Los Olivos Historical Walk Tour

Humble & Honest Wines

April 19, 2016

Meet Kevin Law of Cotiere Wines

“To share and enjoy wine and food with friends is why I believe we are all in this industry.” 

The Cotiere Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, is one of those wines that stops you in your tracks, once you try it you have to find out what it is, who made it, and how to get more! It is a head turner, the flavors are rich and textured throughout, with plenty of resonance and fabulous overall balance.
After about 10 years of harvest work, and assistant winemaking, Kevin Law began his own label, Cotiere, in 2006. A geology major who found himself getting involved with atmospheric sciences, meteorology, and mapping, Kevin decided to expand his experience into something he was genuinely passionate about; wine.  Like all great winemakers, there are individuals who influence and guide them along their journey, Barbara and Jim Richards of Paloma on Spring Mountain in Napa, were incredibly helpful to Kevin.
In his mid-twenties there was an old vine California Zinfandel that turned Kevin into a wine-lover. From there it seems, there are many benchmark wines and varietals from around the world that captured his imagination. The first California Pinot Noir that truly got his attention was the 1994 Williams Selyem Allan Vineyard – “on release that wine was singing.”
Cotiere wines are made humbly out of respect for the fruit, to reflect that year’s unique growing conditions. The wines are crafted to offer a sense of place, an expression of the Central Coast terroir. Kevin wants to stay true to the grapes individuality per row, block, vineyard, and year. The fruit for Cotiere wines is sourced from selected vineyards such as River Bench, Thompson, Hilliard Bruce, La Encantada, and Presqu’ile. Keeping each vineyard separate he shows the honest truth of terroir, creating a unique experience for wine drinkers.  We’ve had the honor of meeting Kevin, tasting his wines, and getting to know him on a personal level. We can vouch that Cotiere wines express the true authenticity of their place because of the character of the person behind them. Can’t think of a better way to experience the terroir of the our Santa Barbara Wine Country then enjoying these wines.

Kevin’s Pinot is one of many fantastic wines he produces for his Cotiere label.

 

Truly Sustainable Grassini Family Vineyards

March 22, 2016

Nestled in the heart of Santa Ynez’s Happy Canyon AVA you’ll find Grassini Vineyards, a family owned vineyard and winery dedicated to making overall balanced wines with beautiful aromatics, and elegant mouth-feel. Happy Canyon is an area blessed with warm days and cool marine influenced nights with few variations. The combination of warm days and cool nights makes Happy Canyon ideal for growing Bordeaux grape varietals.

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The Grassini family are firm supporters of sustainable and renewable business practices. The vineyard and winery are not only solar powered but irrigated with a well-fed lake on the property, in addition all the water used in the wine production is reclaimed and used to irrigate the landscaping surrounding the winery. The wine cellar is embedded in a hillside to ensure humidity and temperature control using limited energy sources.

The vineyard management team has been with the family since planting the vines in 2001. They have 35 acres planted to vine, varietals include Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Each lot from the various vineyard blocks are fermented individually to ensure proper fermentation temperatures. After generous amounts of time in barrels the wines mature to express the unique character of this special estate and those who work there. Their 2014 Sauvignon Blanc is a uniquely floral addition to our by the glass options.

Tune in every month to our Featured Local Winemaker series.

 


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The Friendly Faces at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant

March 15, 2016

The Los Olivos Wine Merchant offers visitors over 400 labels to choose from – many of them sourced from local, family-owned boutique wineries dedicated to producing excellent, small production wines. With such an extensive selection, it could be a bit challenging to pick just the right bottle, but savvy owners Sam and Shawnda Marmostein have knowledgeable staff on hand to help make sure you chose a wine that will please your palate.

2016-03-03 10.33.35Andre2016-03-03 10.29.01w Scherer, Wine Director, has been with the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café since early 2015. Starting out as a busser in the hospitality industry at the Pebble Beach Resort in Monterey, CA, Andrew worked hard to make his way up from a busser to becoming a server and sommelier. His professional progression included passing the first two levels of the Court of Masters Sommeliers, an independent examining body established in 1977 that offers certificates and diplomas for Sommeliers, and a move to Beverly Hills, where he became part of the team opening Wally’s Vinoteca – with 1,000 labels in their retail space. Although he learned a lot about the wine industry’s retail side, Andrew missed the Central Coast. So, when the opportunity came to work at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant, he jumped at the chance. Andrew has loved working with Sam and Shawnda. He feels they provide a working environment that is comfortable and caring. And, he has appreciated their mentorship. One of the “perks” of his job is the opportunity to get out into the community and develop relationships. Los Olivos is a close-knit township with 48 tasting rooms, which have a long-standing tradition of mutual respect and support, something Andrew says is unique and that you won’t find everywhere. The Santa Barbara County is home to 6 AVA’s (the latest addition, the Los Olivos AVA, was officially added February 22, 2016). Andrew enjoys the opportunity of meeting and supporting winemakers from operations of all sizes. He is proud that the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe’s labels include many from small family wineries and is excited to introduce their product to the public. Since moving to the Santa Ynez Valley, Andrew has begun learning how to horseback ride.

IMG_61932016-03-03 10.45.18Sarah Farley, Wine Merchant, spent some time studying wine in Europe through a vineyard apprenticeship in Tuscany and wine classes in Bordeaux, before moving to Temecula, CA, where she managed a wine tasting room. Gradually she developed an interest in learning more about the Central Coast’s Pinot and Chardonnay varietals. While searching for more information, she found a job posting for the Los Olivos Wine Merchant and Café, and immediately called to set up an interview. Recognizing a great opportunity, Sarah accepted the position and has been happily working with visitors to find just the right wine for the past 6 months. Sarah feels her job is to be a liaison between the producers and the buyers. As one of the largest local wine providers in the area, there is so much to offer – many of them unique mom and pop labels that she is excited to represent. She is fascinated by the people who walk through the door, many from Los Angeles, and feels that she learns so much about wine from their conversations and exchange of ideas. Sarah is delighted to work in a place where she feels empowered to learn and do better. She feels that Sam and Shawnda lift people up with positive reinforcements rather than micro management. Because of that, everyone does well – because everyone wants it to do well, this makes for a happy, warm environment that is felt by everyone who walks through the door. With the encouragement of Sam, Shawnda, Andrew and the rest of the staff, Sarah is currently studying for her level 1 Sommelier exam in April. When she isn’t studying, Sarah likes to play a mean game of pool.

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2016-03-03 10.50.342016-03-03 10.45.37Cassy Misiewicz is the latest Wine Merchant to join the staff. After graduating in 2014, she moved back to the Central Coast. At the time she didn’t know much about wine, but a close friend of hers offered her a job in a tasting room. Although she was nervous, the experience opened her eyes, and she found herself wanting to learn more about wine. Eventually, she decided to make the move to the Los Olivos Wine Merchant and Cafe when a position opened up. She enjoys working with the people who come in and feels that part of her job is to interpret – trying to figure out what the buyer likes and match it to a wine they will enjoy. Cassy also enjoys the mutually beneficial relationship with the other winetasting businesses in Los Olivos. She likes to share new wines, and gets a lot of enjoyment from seeing the changes. Cassy feels that Sam and Shawnda take the heart of food and wine and bring it all together. When she first arrived, she felt there was a true communal effort to help her learn, with a respectful exchange of information and knowledge. She enjoys knowing she can be herself, which makes coming to work and meeting with buyers fun. Eventually Cassy would like to take WSET courses to learn more about the technical aspects of the wine business. Perhaps she will also expand her knowledge of the little French and Russian languages she speaks too.

With all of the choices before them, the wine all three were most excited about at this time was ‘A Tribute to Grace’ 2015 Rose of Grenache, Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard, Santa Barbara County, California Wine. Winemaker Angela Osborn, born in New Zealand, does not have a tasting room, so Andrew works with her directly to get her wines into the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café. “Exceptional” was the word used to describe this offering. Sarah also remarked that she was getting very excited about the Pinot from the Santa Maria Valley – learning about the specific traits they had in common. And Cassy has been enjoying a lot of Syrah, especially ‘Zotovich’ 2013 Syrah, Blair Fox.

No matter where your tastes lead you, one thing is clear. When you visit the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café, you will be met by wine merchants who are knowledgeable, friendly, and who will take the time to talk with you about your preferences – making sure that you leave with a bottle (or two) you will truly enjoy.

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“Cupid’s Choice” at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant and Cafe

February 2, 2016

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café have selected the perfect wine to accent all of the romantic moments you have planned for your day. The Cupid’s Choice features three local wines from distinct wineries that pride themselves on the love and care that goes into each vintage. Each winery is unique, yet shares a common thread – that of close family and friends, coming together to pour their heart and soul into creating wine that reflects their own joy in life and pride in the land and grapes they love. Let “Cupid’s Choice” lead you on a day of mutual discovery! Start with a lovely burst of brunch-time bubbles courtesy of a sparkling “Brut Rose.” Then, after a day of adventures, you can look forward to a “Slice of Heaven” served with a great meal. As the evening deepens, bring your Valentine closer for a “Sweet Ending” with a premier dessert wine. “Cupid’s Choice” has romance written all over it! The collection sells for only $93 (regularly $108) and if you come in to purchase in-store, it includes a beautiful Italian Wine box, a suitably charming gift for your favorite Valentine.

Riverbench 2013 Sparkling Brut Rose

Riverbench Vineyard & Winery was established in 1973. Located on the southeastern side of the Santa Maria Valley, the alluvial soils proved a match made in heaven for the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes planted on the property. The winery is committed to sustainable winegrowing practices, and their wines brilliantly reflect their inspiration – Champagne in France, the country of romance and celebration. Their tasting room, located on the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail, is in a restored 1920s craftsmen style house. The garden includes a bocce ball court and a horseshoe pit, and is a lovely property to visit for a wine country picnic. Riverbench presents a small portfolio of wines from their outstanding vineyard, which results in wine of “uncommon character and dimension.”

Riverbench’s 2013 Sparkling Brut Rose is lightly perfumed with aromas of lilac and a hint of rosewater. This palest blush pink wine boasts noticeably fine bubbles, and in the mouth, flavors of meringue, marzipan, and raspberries are made all the more intriguing by a sensual hint of sauvage.

Babcock 2012 Pinot Noir, “Slice of Heaven”

Babcock Winery & Vineyards was established in 1978. Mona and Walter Babcock purchased the 110-acre property, off hwy 246, in the western side of the Santa Ynez Valley. Originally planting 20 acres to Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, in 1983 they created their first experimental vintage. Encouraged by the results, the couple decided to move forward with plans for a small winery. In the meantime, their son decided to investigate the “wine thing” with his parents, which prompted a change in his education plans. He spent a couple of years of enology course work, but after crushing some Gewurztraminer in 1984, he forgot about school and ended up being awarded gold medals at the L.A. and Orange County Fairs for his 1984 Estate Grown Sauvignon Blanc. From there, a love affair with wine has been blossoming over the last 40 years. Says Brian “…I do like the idea of pulling corks on wines that are like a dream come true.”

Babcock’s 2012 Pinto Noir, “Slice of Heaven” is dry and bright in acidity, and would be excellent with beef, pork, and dishes of wild game. The tannins are fairly thick for a Pinot Noir. The winemaker notes, “If you want to get a handle on what the excitement is all about in the Sta. Rita Hills, just taste this wine that was grown in the absolute epicenter of the place.”

Foxen 2013 Sweet Ending Dessert Wine

The Foxen Vineyard and Winery lies deep in the Santa Barbara wine country. By following the quaint, twisting, rural Foxen Canyon Road, visitors will discover the historic Rancho Tinaquaic, on what remains of the original Mexican land grant ranch that covered most of the current Foxen Canyon. Once there, stop first to see “The Shack.” Renamed foxen 7200, the small, rustic building is where it all began when friends Dick Dore and Bill Wathen founded the Winery in 1985. Then, travel a little bit farther up the road to the new solar-powered winery and the FOXEN tasting room. Although far from the sea, the name of the winery is in memory of Dick’s great-great grandfather, Benjamin Foxen, who was an English sea captain in the early 1800s before coming to Santa Barbara and purchasing the land. His love of the sea is reflected in the distinctive anchor which became his cattle brand, and then later the trademark of the Foxen Vineyard & Winery.

Foxen’s 2013 “Sweet Ending” Dessert Wine brings to mind a walk through a blossom-filled meadow in the prime of spring. It’s taste, like an unforgettable kiss.

Let “Cupid’s Choice” 3-pack collection from the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café provide the romantic notes of a very special Valentine’s Day!

Perpetual Dawn: Solminer Rising

December 9, 2014

Solminer vineyard
Anna, Linus, and David

Prior to my life in the wine business, I worked for a small record label based in Los Angeles called Plug Research.  Operating an independent record label, and putting together a roster of artists that reflect a forward-thinking curator, is in many ways like creating a winery: the vineyards you work with are your artists, and your role in the cellar functions much like that of a producer, guiding your artists to their highest expression without losing the essence of what makes them special.  David DeLaski, a veteran of the Los Angeles music scene, understands this concept better than anyone, as reflected in the beautiful wines he is making alongside his wife Anna under their new label, Solminer.  I met the two of them at their vineyard and home in Los Olivos this past week to discuss life after the music business, organic farming, and winemaking with an eye toward the natural.

“Music is something you can get deeper and deeper into, with a great community, and there’s a bit of an obsession there,” says David DeLaski.  “There are a lot of parallels with wine in that sense.”  As both winemakers and musicians can attest, there is an all-consuming quality to these passions; once you’ve got the bug, you can think of nothing else.  “I came to wine through my dad,” recalls David.  “He was a businessman who enjoyed wine and so I got exposed to it at a very young age.  I don’t have a cellar of old dusty bottles, though.  I never became a big wine collector; wine was never a huge part of life until all this, until we started making wine.  Some people are big collectors of music, but I was never an obsessive record collector; I loved to create it.”

Solminer did not begin with the grand ambitions of becoming the next cult winery or building a 10,000 case brand.  Rather, it grew naturally out of the love of the craft of winemaking and the joy of farming.  “Honestly, we weren’t quite sure how we’d fit into all this,” says David.  “At first it was like ‘well, we’ll be weekenders and make a barrel of Gruner Veltliner.’  But you get sucked into this community in a really wonderful way.  So we took a chance on it all, and we’re really glad we did.”  The two also fortuitously connected with Steve Clifton of Palmina and Brewer-Clifton fame to guide the winemaking and help them focus their goals in the cellar.  “We got hooked up with Steve because we loved his wines, and I think he was open to what we’re doing because it was something different, Gruner Veltliner,” recalls David.  “If we were just another producer making Pinot Noir I don’t know if he would have been interested.”

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While their first vintage of Gruner came from John Sebastiano Vineyard, going forward it will come entirely from their estate DeLanda Vineyard in Los Olivos.  Their small home vineyard is a beautiful property, with a palpable energy that one can sense upon entering the driveway, originally planted entirely to Syrah when the DeLaskis took it over.  Starting with a clean slate, they made the decisions to alter the varietal focus and to farm it organically, in large part because of concerns for their young son Linus.  “The bottom line is, it was never a choice, because Linus is down there playing, in the vineyard, in the dirt,” emphatically states Anna.  “So we decided from the beginning, if we have to deal with something, it’s going to be done organically.”  The couple has also begun incorporating biodynamic practices in the vineyard, a philosophy which, again, grew out of the development they saw in their children first.  “Our background in biodynamics comes from the side of Waldorf education, which has opened us up to a lot of ideas and philosophies that Steiner had,” says David.  “My older boys go to a Waldorf school, and if our vines grow anything like they have, then maybe there’s something to Steiner’s philosophy.”

Though their vineyard still has quite a bit of Syrah planted, they’ve grafted increasing amounts to Blaufrankisch and Gruner Veltliner.  Anna, a native of Austria’s famed Wachau region, guided the couple towards this decision to plant two of Austria’s most noble grapes, rarely seen outside of their homeland.    They’re also making the unique choice to create a Blaufrankisch-Syrah blend, the first of its kind to my knowledge.  “Adding a little Blaufrankisch to the Syrah is amazing,” smiles David.  “Just 5 or 10%, it’s really cool.”  Their winemaking, following along the lines of their farming approach, leans toward the natural, utilizing native yeasts, mostly neutral vessels, and minimal sulfur.  “We never really made a conscious decision to be ‘natural winemakers’,” states David.  “It’s kind of ingrained with the rest of our philosophy.  The more I understood about the winemaking process, the more I started to taste the difference in those kinds of wine, and the more I taste them, I find myself drawn to them.  I appreciate mistakes or natural occurrences from year to year.”  The DeLaskis interpretation still means that there must be a core of deliciousness first and foremost; these wines are natural, but they are also clean, precise, and bright.

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Tasting through the current Solminer lineup was a revelation.  Their Gruner, utterly distinctive, seemed to marry the lentil and pepper notes the variety is known for with a textural weight reminiscent of Roussanne, as well as autumnal notes of baked apple and cinnamon.  Their estate Syrah was also singular, sort of Crozes-Hermitage meets the Langhe in its marriage of iron, pepper, earth, and dried leaf.  The star of the lineup, however, was their sparkling Syrah, “Nebullite”.  It reminded me of one of my favorite wines on the planet, Camillo Donati’s Lambrusco.  There was a living quality to the wine, imbued with the same notes of earth their still Syrah possessed along with extra dimensions of macerated raspberry and a thrilling sous bois, Balsamic character.  “As a musician, I was never classically trained.  I always liked to improvise, and to me, natural wine has that improvisatory nature, it’s like jazz.”  To continue the jazz comparison, that sparkling Syrah was like the first time I heard Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come: You either get it or you don’t, but if it speaks to you, it is an experience like no other.

When I first met Anna and David months ago here at the Café, I noticed their exuberance and air of positivity, qualities that were in abundance on my recent visit.  One immediately senses that these are two people in love, living their dream, and that joy radiates through their wines.  “The key was meeting Anna and coming here, and falling in love with her and with this place,” smiles David.  “And then going to Austria together, and seeing how ingrained wine is in the culture and the community there.  When we returned, we realized we had that same community here, and that we could create that same lifestyle in Santa Ynez.”


Check out Solminer’s wines at our first ever Natural Wine Fair!
This Wednesday December 10th at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant and Cafe, 6-8 PM

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