Small-Production Wines in Santa Cruz: Alfaro Family Vineyards and Farm Cottage

I have long believed that the Santa Cruz Mountains are a truly special place to grow grapes. This rugged coastal range forced up by the collision of two tectonic plates has an incredible bounty of complex soils. It’s a geological kaleidoscope of ancient uplifted seabed, volcanic deposits, and metamorphic rock bent and twisted by the immense pressures below. All of this is churned up by the San Andreas fault and weathered down by several millennia of coastal storms.

California Wine, domestic, K&L Hollywood, K&L Wine Blog, K&L Wine Redwood City, K&L Wine San Francisco, K&L Wines, On the Trail, pinot noir, producer profile, Ryan Woodhouse, wine blog, Wine Travel, Wine TrendsRyan WoodhouseSeptember 27, 2023K&L Wine Merchantsklwines, ryan alfaro, alfaro wines, farm cottage wines, trout gulch vineyard, terroir, soil, geology, wine geology, understanding vineyard soil, california wine, california wine travel, ryan woodhouse, wine news, wine newsletter, k&l wine merchants, on the trail, vineyard redwoods, wine travel, wine tasting, redwood city, heritage clones of pinot noir, swan pinot noir, mount eden pinot noir, wente-clone chardonnay, vosne romanee suitcase selections, syrah, pinot noir, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, richard alfaro, wine, wine blog, robert young clone chardonnay, santa cruz, santa cruz mountains, santa cruz wine, santa cruz winery

Where Chablis Meets Champagne

Our Champagne Buyer, Gary Westy, is at it again, finding the perfect pairing for an extra special bottle of Champagne. The 2012 Jean-Jacques Lamoureux "Alexandrine" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne is sourced the same Kimmeridgian clay soils that are found in Chablis, and the similarities don’t stop there. If you love clean, expressive Champagnes with the perfect touch of minerality, then you’ll certainly want to read on.

champagneGary WestbyJuly 31, 2020champage, vintage champagne, food pairing, soil

Soil Talk: Sta. Rita Hills with Brandon Sparks-Gillis

Terroir geeks: can we talk? Soil, bedrock, micronutrients—it’s downright complicated unless you have a degree in geology. Am I right? Luckily the wine world has Brandon Sparks-Gillis, geologist, winemaker, Master of Wine candidate, cofounder of Dragonette in Santa Barbara County, and all-around great resource on wines and soils. Brandon indulged me all my nerdy soil questions about the special place that is Sta. Rita Hills.

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