We celebrated our third anniversary as proprietors of this tasting room by inviting back the original owners, Antonio and Jeni Moretti! And we did something completely different by pouring wines from Italy -- Antonio's homeland and a favorite wine-producing country of ours too. It was fun and heartwarming to hear Antonio and Jeni's voices explaining the wines again, bringing back memories of our visits as club members. Of course the Italian wines were exceptional, from Fuligni Brunello de Montalcino to Chiara Boschis Barolo to Elena Walch Pinot Bianco in Alto Adige to Terre Nere Etna Bianco in Sicily and more. We carry a small but well-thought selection of our favorite Old World wines on our website. After all the positive feedback from customers about our "Taste of Italy" event, we're considering another wine region to feature at a special event in the future -- stay tuned! 

We were thrilled to welcome Sea Smoke's winemaker Don Schroeder to our tasting room for his first event with us! All three seatings for this tasting event sold out -- not surprising considering Don's 20+ year history with Sea Smoke and the exclusivity of these prestigious wines. Guests had the chance to taste through the 2023 Estate bottlings of Chardonnay and both Ten and Southing Pinot Noir. Plus, we poured the re-released and reimagined 2024 Botella Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Prior to 2014, Botella was made from estate-grown grapes and aged less time than Southing and Ten wines. Upon its return, Botella's grapes are sourced from neighboring vineyards such as Fiddlestix and Sanford & Benedict for the Pinot Noir, and Rio Vista and Sebastiano for the Chardonnay. Aged 10 months in barrel, these 2024 bottlings were bright and energetic -- a distinctive style from the more serious and age-worthy Estate wines. The wines were just as approachable as the winemaker Don, who impressed the group with his authenticity and humble confidence.
 

What an honor to host Etienne de Montille from Burgundy, France! Etienne was here to introduce the inaugural vintage of Racines' Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from his namesake De Montille vineyard -- a 26-acre vineyard planted on a northern hillside in the Sta. Rita Hills. Etienne explained that he and his partner, Rodolphe Peters from Champagne house Pierre Peters, scoured the west coast looking for a site to plant their vineyard. They chose Sta. Rita Hills because of its ability to produce wines with salinity and savoriness, which is difficult to find outside of Burgundy. Imagine their excitement when they found limestone soil among the clay and sand -- a unique soil type in this region but widespread in France. The flight included Racines Sparkling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir alongside 2 Domaine de Montille wines -- the 2023 St. Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Chardonnay and 2023 Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans Pinot Noir. It was truly a unique experience to taste through the Burgundy and SRH wines with the mastermind behind it all!

There are some people that leave you feeling smarter than you were before you met them -- and that, in a nutshell, is Ryan Deovlet. We were happy to welcome him back for his second event with us to share his knowledge of winemaking from the Sta. Rita Hills, which he's been doing since 2008 from the same 3 vineyards (Sanford & Benedict, Zotovich, La Encantada). With each pour of his Sparkling wine, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Ryan spoke about the characteristics of the vineyards and how he selects the aging vessel to complement each vineyard. As Ryan said "there's no better education than experience." From large format oak barrels to smaller cigar-shaped barriques and stainless steel egg-shaped vessels from Slovenia, Ryan seems to make the right vinification decisions that bring out the freshness and elegance of his wines. Coming soon(ish) from Ryan is his first estate Sparkling wine from his vineyard in Los Osos, where he's planted Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio grapes. We're excited to taste what Ryan creates from his far west SLO vineyard!

Gavin Chanin may be one of the more elusive winemakers due to his busy post-harvest travel schedule -- so we were indeed lucky that he made time for his first ever event in our tasting room. Gavin explained his winemaking style, which is to pick the grapes early to maintain fresh acidity, then age the wine longer to soften and integrate the acidity. He poured two 2021 Chardonnays, one from Los Alamos which is the first vineyard he sourced from in 2007 to make 3 barrels, and the other from Bien Nacido vineyard. Next were his Pinot Noir: 2023 Sta. Rita Hills blend, 2021 Wild King vineyard (aptly named because this vineyard was largely neglected but miraculously yielded tons of small clusters), 2020 Sanford & Benedict (at 45% whole cluster, hand-pressed and partial carbonic fermentation). The last pour was Gavin's 2020 Reserve Syrah, which at only 12.5% alcohol is the most delicate syrah we've tasted. If you've seen any Chanin wine bottles, you know his artistry extends to the label itself. When asked if any of his art is displayed in a gallery, Gavin replied that "his wine is his gallery". Every bottle displays his different artwork-- which is 120 wine bottles of art so far!

Dave Phinney returned for a second year to share his 2023 vintage from Our Lady of Guadalupe vineyard, including the OLG Estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and the inaugural release of the OLG Reserve Pinot Noir. His flight also included Acolytes Chardonnay from Santa Barbara County (whose label was designed by his daughter) AND 2 gems from his vineyard in France:  Department 66 2022 Painted Scars Grenache-Syrah and Manqué 2018 Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru Burgundy. Dave was full of stories from his 29 vintages (and counting), but his humility as a winemaker is evident. Having worked his way up from the very bottom, one quote he shared from his father rang true: "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."

Matt Dees of Mail Road Wines snuck away in the midst of crush to make it to this tasting event! Not only did he share his Sparkling, Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, but also shared a day in the life of a winemaker during harvest season. His authenticity and passion for his craft were evident in his speech and with each taste. As quickly as he arrived, he was gone back to crush, so understandably (but unfortunately for us) we didn't get a picture with Matt!   

Paul Lato probably has one of the most diversified portfolios of Central Coast winemakers, and his flight of wines was proof of that. Today, he poured through a Malvasia, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and late harvest Viognier dessert wine.  We congratulated Paul as a group for his highest rated Pinot Noir ever -- his 2023 Drum Canyon Pinot received 99 points from critic Jeb Dunnuck. 

Wes Hagen was (and always is) equal parts entertaining and educational as an ambassador of the Ranchos de Ontiveros family of wines, and quite remarkably of  Santa Barbara County viticulture. Guests tasted 2015 and 2019 Chardonnay from Rancho Vinedo, 2016 and 2022 Pinot Noir from Native9 and a 2021 Canada de los Pinos Cabernet Sauvignon from Los Olivos District. 

Ryan Deovlet joined us for the first time in April to pour his Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from local vineyards, as well as a sparkling brut wine in collaboration with McPrice Meyers from Paso Robles. Ryan discovered his love of winemaking after an injury put a stop to his minor league baseball career. He studied winemaking in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and the Central Coast before launching Deovlet Wines out of San Luis Obispo with 2 tons of Pinot Noir from La Encantada vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills.

We were honored to host Chef de Cave Brian Sieve from Domaine de Montille (Burgundy, France) and Ryan Hannaford from Racines (Sta. Rita Hills). Both labels are the creation of Etienne de Montille and Rodolphe Peters of famed Champagne house Pierre Peters. These French wine masters have stamped their approval on this wine region, having planted their own vineyard on the north side of the Sta. Rita Hills. Guests tasted through a lineup of both local Racines Sparkling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as well as Domaine de Montille wines.

Dave Phinney poured a special treat for guests this month – not only his newly released 2022 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from his Our Lady of Guadalupe vineyard, but a Grenache Gris and Syrah-Grenache blend from his vineyard in France. The creativity behind his labels was talked about just as much as the distinct wines.