Our Domestic Buyer Ryan Woodhouse shines a spotlight on the Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County’s rising superstar wine region. This cool climate zone produces some of the most exciting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the state, and our pages are packed with some of Ryan’s favorites. He also includes a focus on an Oregon Riesling producer who knocked his socks off and a roundup of under $20 bottles that overdeliver.
Read MoreGreg Brewer has been making gorgeous wines in the Sta. Rita Hills since 1996, first with his eponymous winery Brewer-Clifton, opened with Steve Clifton, then at Melville and Diatom wineries. Though the style is different at each winery, the message is the same: Sta. Rita Hills is world-class terroir, and it’s here to stay. If you want to understand Pinot and Chardonnay from the Sta. Rita Hills, Brewer’s wines should be where you start.
Read MoreWe are so lucky in California to be a stone’s throw from great wine regions, no matter which part of the state we live in—and it seems a particularly good moment to celebrate this unique part of the world while it suffers under smoke and fire right now. Hollywood staffer Illya Haase recently took his family on a short jaunt from LA to Ballard Canyon, home to Stolpman Vineyards and their great lineup of wines. He was impressed by their thoughtful winemaking and farming, but mostly by the deep connection to their people and their land.
Read MoreThe Melville Winery has set the benchmark for silky, aromatic Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir during its 20+ years in the region. Chad Melville is the man behind the magic—son to the founder and both lead winegrower and winemaker. He spoke with me about their 2016 Estate Pinot, a wine that is always special, but that shines particularly brightly in the 2016 vintage, which also happened to be his first as lead winemaker.
Read MoreTerroir 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.
Read MoreOn a recent two-day jaunt through Santa Barbara wine country the team and I visited several producers who we believe are among the most exciting in Southern California. Our tastings confirmed that the wines from these producers are in fact drop-dead gorgeous.
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