Our Producers
Moretti Wines
What started as a focus on Italian varietals made in the Santa Ynez Valley has turned into a collaboration among some of the region’s greatest winemakers to craft a small production of Old World style, one-off blends found nowhere else.
Moretti Wines was started in 2010 in Lompoc, CA, by Antonio Moretti and winemaker Steve Clifton. Antonio, a native of Italy, had moved to Santa Barbara County from Los Angeles with his wife Jeni. Intrigued by the Italian varietals he tasted from Santa Barbara vineyards, he partnered with Steve, who shared his passion for Italian wines, to create the Moretti label. Together they released locally grown bottlings of Sangiovese, Malvasia Bianca, Pinot Grigio, Vermentino and other Old World style blends. The portfolio grew to include an imported Prosecco DOCG from Valdobbiadene, Italy, and a second winemaker joined the team: Paul Lato. Today, with Moretti Wines under new ownership, the winemaking partnership also includes the best Bordeaux-blend producer in Santa Barbara County, Crown Point Vineyards.
THE VINEYARDS
The vineyards are as diverse as the wines and winemakers themselves, and each vintage carries the Old World touch we strive for. The latest release includes a Rosé and Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Crown Point Vineyards in the Happy Canyon AVA, the easternmost growing region of Santa Barbara County. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and other Bordeaux varietals thrive in this vineyard, known for its mineral-rich rocky soil and warm days, cooled at night by a coastal sundowner wind that the canyon draws in. A mainstay each vintage is the Moretti Prosecco imported from Valdobbiadene, where Glera grapes grow in the clay and limestone foothills of the Italian Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
WHAT'S IN THE
GLASS
The locally grown wines are an homage to Old World style wines meant to be enjoyed with food, while the Prosecco can certainly be enjoyed on its own!
VISIT
Moretti Prosecco is typically the first pour on our Flight of the Day in our tasting room because of its freshness and palate-cleansing qualities. You can taste our other Moretti wines as they rotate into the Flight of the Day as well. Other than a couple of local Italian restaurants, you won’t find them anywhere else!
A TRIBUTE TO OUR FOUNDERS
Antonio and Jeni Moretti opened Moretti Wine Company in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto in 2010. Realizing there were other small wine producers like them, making a few hundred cases of quality wine but without a storefront to pour for would-be customers, they saw the opportunity to expand their offerings. Taste of Santa Rita Hills became the new home in Lompoc to showcase these boutique winemakers.
Long-time customers will also fondly remember the olive oil, truffle cheese and salami that Antonio sampled at the Lompoc tasting room. Since moving to Los Olivos in 2019, food licensing and supply chain issues prohibited the continuation of these Italian delicacies (we still get customers asking us to this day!).
While Antonio and Jeni are enjoying semi-retirement, Jeni is still leading food and wine tours to Italy. Check out Moretti Wine Travel for details.
