Our Kind of Winery Visits
Visiting small wineries is what really speaks to us.
Our most fulfilling experiences at other wineries have come when we could talk to the winemaker or owner and really get to know them and their approach. We hope to do the same for you. We always say we prefer to taste amazing wine in a shack than mediocre wine in a palatial tasting room.
Some of our best visits have come by happenstance.
Skye’s favorite tasting experience was at the enoteca in Greve In Chianti, where for the first time we encountered the wine dispensers where you put a prepaid card in and you get a pour…long before the machines were introduced for tastings in the U.S. We had never seen such a thing, and the three of us were like kids in a candy store, going around and tasting!
In fall of 2019 we visited Piedmont during harvest—probably one of the most magical places and times of year in all of winedom.
We tasted some amazing Barolos with both large and small producers, but our best winery visit was when we met Pietro Rinaldi in Alba. Not only were the wines outstanding, but when we toured their wine production facility, it was of a size and scale that, for the first time, Sarah turned to Skye and said, “Seeing this winery, if we had something this size I think we could totally manage it.” Prior to that moment, it felt very overwhelming to try to embark on a full winery of our own. Pietro Rinaldi produces about 4,000 cases—and we’d be producing less than that (call it 2,000)—so that felt attainable.
Just now, in 2024, we had an illuminating journey to Chile.
Viña Koyle, in the Colchagua Valley, was a major highlight. Colchagua is on the same latitude as Santa Ynez CA: 34.67° South versus 34.58° North, where we are. The terrain is similar too, with coastal mountains and the interior mountains of the Andes—and Colchagua also has some of the mountain formations that create the same transverse, east-west pockets we see in Santa Barbara County. Even the plant life is similar. Interestingly, the similarities continue with Koyle also making Grenache, Syrah & Mourvèdre! Their Basalto label is a thrilling high-end GSM blend called Mediterraneo. We were able to do some barrel tasting of Syrah destined for a new monovarietal bottling, and also tasted a pitch-perfect Grenache out of concrete egg headed for their GSM.
Another highlight was Antiyal, a small, family-run, biodynamic winery founded by Chilean wine pioneer Alvaro Espinoza. It was so wonderful to spend time with them and see how they approach their vineyard practices and winemaking.