Cocktail Corner: Walt Wines

Clos Pepe Vineyard, photo courtesy Walt Wines.

Clos Pepe Vineyard, photo courtesy Walt Wines.

A Spirited Toast to All Things Alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg  

“Wines of a Place” was the theme for a recent media event put on by Walt Wines, and this place was certainly a beauty!

We started the day boarding a shuttle at the Bacara Resort & Spa, which was all abuzz with World of Pinot Noir festivities coming up that weekend. Thanks to our recent rains, the hills were abundantly lush and green as we made our way north on the freeway to the renowned Clos Pepe Estate Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in Lompoc.

Megan Gunderson Paredes and Steve Leveque lead a tasting of Walt Wines "Clos Pepe" Pinot Noir, photos courtesy Walt Wines.

Megan Gunderson Paredes and Steve Leveque lead a tasting of Walt Wines “Clos Pepe” Pinot Noir, photos courtesy Walt Wines.

Founder Steve Pepe (who retired in 2015, giving Walt Wines a long-term lease on the vineyard) led us on a walking tour of the vineyard, which is acclaimed for producing excellent wines under the Clos Pepe label, as well providing grapes, from 1998-2014, to pinot noir and chardonnay producers such as Walt (Hall Wines), Siduri/Novy Wines, AP Vin, Liquid Farm, Arcadian, Au Bon Climat, Hitching Post, Ojai Vineyard, Ken Brown Wines, Longoria Wines, Babcock Winery, Loring Wine Company, Flying Goat Cellars, Small + Tall, Conarium and Wan Fiore Project.

“Great wine is about place,” said Pepe, as a lead in to our vertical tasting of Walt “Clos Pepe” Pinot Noir vintages 2013, 2014 and 2015. All were delicious—and unique—and as we sipped Walt winemaker Megan Gunderson Paredes walked us through

WALT Clos Pepe Pinot Noir, courtesy photo.

WALT Clos Pepe Pinot Noir, courtesy photo.

the process that went into creating these three wines. They use optical sorter technology to hand-sort the fruit, with the ability to make adjustments throughout the process, as she explained. For example, in 2013 harvest took place in October and in 2015 they lost 30-40% of the crop to frost and started harvest much earlier, in late August.

The company—is part of the Hall Wines family in Napa Valley, owned by Vintners Kathryn Walt Hall and Craig Hall—has a unique approach to crafting Pinot Noir. Essentially, as Vice President of Winemaking Steve Leveque explained, Walt sources its fruit from premier vineyards along the Pacific Coast representing 1,000 miles of Pinot. Each wine is designed to express the character of the site where it is grown.

Tasting the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Clos Pepe Walt Wine Pinot Noirs, photo by Leslie Dinaberg.

Tasting the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Clos Pepe Walt Wine Pinot Noirs, photo by Leslie Dinaberg.

In addition to Clos Pepe, in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA Walt also sources grapes from Rita’s Crown, Radian, Bentrock and Fiddlestix.  They also create estate and single vineyard wines from Santa Lucia Highlands, Anderson Valley, Los Carneros (Napa County), Sonoma Coast and Willamette Valley—hence, the 1,000 miles of Pinot.

Clos Pepe Vineyard, courtesy Walt Wine.

Clos Pepe Vineyard, courtesy Walt Wine.

After the tasting we made our way to S.Y. Kitchen in Santa Ynez for a delicious Italian feast, paired with Walt Wines from other appellations, including:

—Lobster tail, onion mousse, fried salsify and citrus with Walt 2015 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

—Yellow beet, pickled plum, hazelnuts, goat cheese and fresh lemon thyme with Walt 2014 Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir

—Prosciutto and Burrata with Walt 2014 Rita’s Crown Hills Pinot Noir

and

—Ricotta gnocchi with taleggio and porcini with Walt 2015 Bob’s Ranch Pinot Noir.

Walt Wine pairing lunch at S.Y. Kitchen, photos by Leslie Dinaberg.

Walt Wine pairing lunch at S.Y. Kitchen, photos by Leslie Dinaberg.

Talk about a delicious day. For more information, visit www.waltwines.com.

Cheers! Click here for more cocktail corner columns.

Leslie Dinaberg

When she’s not busy working as the editor of Santa Barbara SEASONS, Cocktail Corner author Leslie Dinaberg writes magazine articles, newspaper columns and grocery lists. When it comes to cocktails, Leslie considers herself a “goal-oriented drinker.”

 Originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons on March 10, 2017.

Cocktail Corner: Wine & Fire

Courtesy Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Allliance

Courtesy Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Allliance

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg

A weekend filled to the brim with world class wines and wood grilled food awaits Aug. 14-16 in Sta. Rita Hills. The Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance is pulling out all the stops for this annual event. It’s actually a series of intimate wine and food experiences, all of which sound amazing.

Wine and FireFirst up, next Friday night, Aug. 14 from 5-8 p.m., is the Kick Off Barn Party at Sanford & Benedict Barn. Set at the historic barn which housed the first winery in the Santa Rita Hills, located just above the iconic Sanford & Benedict vineyard, planted in 1971, winemakers will share their library stash, large format bottles and small production bottlings (all exclusive to this event) to get the party started, along with an assortment of pizzas and antipasti from Bello Forno Wood Fired Cuisine and live music by The Caverns .

Participating wineries (and wines) include: Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards (library selection of Pinot Noirs & 2013 Barrel Select Pinot Noir); Babcock Winery; Bratcher (large format 2112 La Encantada Pinot Noir, 2112 Bentrock Pinot Noir); Brewer-Clifton; Cargasacchi (Cargasacchi Sta. Rita Hills 2012 Pinot Noir); Crawford Family Wines (past vintages of Pinot Noir from magnum); Fiddlehead Cellars (2006 ‘Seven Twenty Eight’ Pinot Noir, Fiddlestix Vineyard SRH – 3 Liter, 2010 ‘Seven Hundred Twenty Eight, Bubbles’ Blanc de Noir, Fiddlestix Vineyard, SRH – 750ml, 2011 ‘Lollapalooza’ Pinot Noir, Fiddlestix Vineyard, SRH – 750ml); Flying Goat Cellars (2010 Flying Goat Cellars Rio Vista Vineyard Clone 667 (MAGNUM); 2005 Flying Goat Cellars Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard; 2012 Goat Bubbles Blanc de Noirs Clos Pepe Vineyard); FOXEN Vineyard & Winery; Gainey Vineyard (Evan’s Ranch 2013 Morgan’s Pinot Noir); Hilliard Bruce (2012 Moon Pinot Noir); Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Wines (Rio Vista Pinot Noir, Perfect Set Pinot Noir, Cargasacchi Pinot Noir); Jalama Wines (2012 Pinot Noir Cargasacchi Vineyard); Ken Brown Wines (2004 Clos Pepe, 2005 Sanford & Benedict, 2005 Cargasacchi, 2006 Clos Pepe & 2006 Cargasacchi); and Kessler – Haak (Library 2008, 2010, 2012 Chardonnay, 2009 Pinot Noir, 2010 2A Pinot Noir, 2010 Pommard Pinot Noir).

Additional participating wineries (and wines) include: LaMontagne Winery (Magnum of Kessler – Haak Pinot Noir & 2011 Huber Vineyard Pinot Noir); Liquid Farm (White Hill, Golden Slope, Four); Loring Wine Company (2010 Cargasacchi Pinot Noir, 2010 Clos Pepe Pinot Noir, 2010 Rancho La Vina Pinot Noir); Montemar (2011 large-format Pinot Noirs from La Encantada, Rio Vista, Santa Rita Hills); Pali Wine Co. (Fiddlestix Vineyard Pinot Noir Vertical: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011); Rozak (2006 & 2007 Estate Pinot Noir); Sanford Winery & Vineyards (Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Viognier, La Rinconada Vineyard Pinot Noir Magnum); Seagrape Wine Company (2013 Chardonnay & 2012 Pinot Noir Rancho la Vina); Siduri Wines (2013 Siduri Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir, 2013 Siduri Cargasacchi Vineyard Pinot Noir); Thorne Wine (2010, 2011 Thorne Pinot Noir, Rio Vista Vineyard, Sta Rita Hills) and Transcendence (2012 Zotovich Chardonnay & 2012 La Encantada Pinot Noir).

Courtesy Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Allliance

Courtesy Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Allliance

The Saturday morning seminar (Aug. 15 from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the Sanford & Benedict Barn) pays homage to fire. “And the Secret Ingredient is…. Fire” will spotlight the fire and passion of local chefs and their four unique grilling styles. BBQ Masters Frank Ostini of The Hitching Post II (which specializes in Open Pit Red Oak BBQ, a central coast classic BBQ style that is gaining attention nationwide), Matt Toll of Tollhouse BBQ (a smoking expert for the long slow cook with his dry rub spices and big rig smoker), Argentine BBQ Rodrigo Gimenez (who will demonstrate a technique fashioned by the gauchos for hundreds of years, which has been the traditional method for grilling in Argentina), and wood fired pizza chef extraordinaire Steve Clifton (local expert on everything Italian and noted Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producer of Brewer-Clifton) will share some hot grilling tips. Then the chefs will team up with Sta. Rita Hills winemakers to pair wine and delicious BBQ, all accompanied by The Luck, an Americana band from the Lompoc area.

The Wine and Fire Grand Tasting at La Purisima Mission is Saturday evening’s highlight (Aug. 15, 5-8 p.m.), where more than 40 member wineries and sizzling local chefs and farmers will be on hand for an evening of chillin’ and grillin’. Avant, Babe Farms, Campbell Farms, Central Coast Specialty Foods, Homegrown Cowboy, The Hitching Post II, Los Amigos BBQ, RGC Argentine BBQ, Tollhouse BBQ, Scratch Kitchen and the Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers will be serving up an amazing selection of local food favorites. Father-daughter duo Country Heart will play live music throughout the evening.

Courtesy Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Allliance

Courtesy Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Allliance

Participating wineries include: Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards; Babcock; Bratcher; Brewer-Clifton; Cargasacchi; Carr Winery; Clos Pepe Estate; Crawford Family Wines; Dierberg and Star Lane Vineyards; Dragonette Cellars; Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard; Fiddlehead Cellars; Flying Goat Cellars; Foley Winery; FOXEN; Gainey; Hilliard Bruce; Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Wines; Huber Cellars; Jalama Wines; Ken Brown Wines; Kessler – Haak and Kita.

Additional participating wineries include: Lafond Winery; LaMontagne Winery; Liquid Farm; Longoria; Loring Wine Company; Lutum; Montemar; Pali Wine Co; Paul Lato Wines; Rozak; Sanford Winery & Vineyards; Seagrape Wine Company; Sea Smoke; Siduri Wines; Transcendence; Wan Fiore Project and Zotovich Cellars.

In addition to these ticketed events, many of the Sta. Rita Hills wineries will be hosting special open house events over the weekend. Visit http://www.staritahills.com/wine-fire for more details and to purchase tickets.

Hope to see you there. Cheers!

Click here for more cocktail corner columns.

Leslie Dinaberg

When she’s not busy working as the editor of Santa Barbara SEASONS, Cocktail Corner author Leslie Dinaberg writes magazine articles, newspaper columns and grocery lists. When it comes to cocktails, Leslie considers herself a “goal-oriented drinker.”

Originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons Magazine on August 7, 2015.