One of the joys of being a small winery is the freedom to follow curiosity. Some years that means working with a 100-year-old vineyard that has survived against all odds. Other years it means taking a chance on a variety we've never bottled before, or experimenting with a blend that has never been done. This upcoming summer release captures both sides of our winemaking philosophy. The wines span multiple regions, varieties, and traditions, yet they share a common thread: each challenged our assumptions and taught us something new about the vineyards and this region that we love.
2025 Tierra Alta Vineyard Grenache Blanc
Ballard Canyon
We have come to believe that Grenache Blanc is the greatest white grape variety for Ventura County and California's Central Coast overall. Those may be fighting words in a region where Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay has earned worldwide acclaim, but Grenache Blanc possesses a remarkable ability to reflect both site and season.
Depending on where it is grown, it can produce broad, richly textured wines or lean, citrus- and mineral-driven expressions. This bottling from the steep slopes of Tierra Alta Vineyard in Ballard Canyon captures a bit of both. The vineyard's extremely old, low-yielding vines—producing perhaps just half a ton per acre—yield tiny berries packed with flavor and concentration.
The cool 2025 growing season preserved vibrant acidity and freshness, while the old vines contributed texture and structure. Notes of citrus, crushed stone, and subtle floral aromatics make this an absolute joy to drink today, though it should gain additional aromatic complexity over the next two years.
2023 Past and Present
California Red Wine
Past and Present is a wine built on both tradition and experimentation.
The blend begins with 100-year-old Zinfandel from Lopez Vineyard in Cucamonga Valley. We paired it with Primitivo—its Italian cousin—from a new vineyard in Los Angeles County, then added a generous portion of Tannat for structure, acidity, and age-worthiness.
For centuries, winemakers have blended small amounts of white wine into red wine to enhance aromatics. We took a slightly different approach. While we don't know of anyone blending rosé for the same purpose, we decided to try. The result incorporates small amounts of Grenache Rosé and Tempranillo Rosé, creating a wine with unexpectedly lifted aromatics wrapped around a bold Southern California core.
The finished blend is rich, structured, and deeply flavored, yet remarkably expressive on the nose. It is both familiar and entirely its own.
2024 Lopez Vineyard Zinfandel
Cucamonga Valley
The Lopez Vineyard is one of California's great viticultural treasures. For more than a century, these organic, ungrafted Zinfandel vines have survived on their own roots in deep sandy soils without irrigation. Today, it remains the last large-scale vineyard in the historic Cucamonga Valley and was recently featured in the San Francisco Chronicle.
The vineyard produces tiny clusters of intensely flavored fruit with a character unlike Zinfandel grown anywhere else. Bright acidity, layers of baking spice, and a blend of red and dark fruit define the wine, while the ancient vines contribute both concentration and complexity.
Aged for 18 months in American oak barrels, 25% of which were new, and rested in bottle before release, this is the finest expression of Lopez Vineyard Zinfandel we have produced to date.
2024 Solitude
Ventura County Grenache
Grenache is often described as a warm-climate grape, but coastal Ventura County reveals an entirely different side of the variety.
Solitude is sourced from our three Grenache vineyards and captures the tension between ripeness and freshness that defines the region. Twenty percent whole clusters were included during fermentation to enhance structure and aromatic complexity.
The resulting wine offers aromas of raspberry, licorice, spice, and wild rosemary layered over a vibrant core of red fruit. Aged for 18 months in neutral puncheons and bottled without fining or filtration, Solitude is both expressive and transparent—a reflection of Grenache grown in a place where cool ocean influence shapes every vintage.
2024 Merlot
Ventura County
Each year we produce a small experimental bottling as part of what we call our Explorer Series. These wines allow us to challenge assumptions, explore new varieties, and better understand the potential of our region.
This year's release is 100% Merlot from a hillside vineyard in Santa Rosa Valley. The wine surprised us. While many Bordeaux varieties struggle to achieve balance in cooler coastal sites, Merlot appears perfectly suited to Ventura County's moderate climate. It ripens remarkably early—often in late July or early August—while maintaining both freshness and full flavor development.
The result is a beautifully balanced wine with fine-grained tannins, vibrant acidity, and a core of lush dark fruit. Whether this remains a one-time experiment or becomes part of our permanent lineup remains to be seen, but this inaugural release makes a compelling case for Merlot's future in Ventura County.
