It All Begins Here.
Under the stars and grown in the “dust” these are the current s&d vineyards and the hardworking people behind them.
We are incredibly honored to work with smaller sized, undeniably passionate about what they do, family owned vineyard sites who farm earnestly and meticulously year in and year out to make this whole thing possible.
Click on the vineyard name below to learn more about the wines that come from them.
Bien Nacido Vineyards
Soils: a mixture of shale and limestone
Varietals planted: Chardonnay, Viogner, Pinot Noir, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre
Varietal we work with: Chardonnay – both young vine & old vine
One of the most sought after vineyards in California, with fancy accolades such as being one of the “The Five Vineyards You Need to Know” from The Wall Street Journal and also named one of “California’s Grand Cru Chardonnay Vineyards” by Wine Enthusiast, Bien Nacido was planted way back in the 1970’s making it one of the oldest vineyards in Santa Barbara County.
In a nutshell; it’s a local legend of a site.
I can only speak personally to one varietal from this amazing vineyard as it’s the only one I have worked with over the years – Chardonnay. These rare and beautiful old vines planted on their own roots back in 1974 never cease to amaze me.
All I can say is there is an unmistakable., sexy complexity to this fruit, that is for me, is simply unparalleled. With that, I most definitely feel like a kid in a candy store every single vintage, just lucky to be one of the few producers in the world who get to work with the much coveted, original, own rooted Old Vine Block I Chardonnay.
And because variety’s the spice of life and I’m not ageist (hehe) starting with the 2021 vintage we began working with some of their stellar younger vine Chardonnay – planted in 1999 and 23 years young. Also coming from Block I vines, this is the section of the OG Old vines that needed health wise to be replanted a few decades ago.
The resulting wine is treated in the cellar as I feel young vine Chards should be – in 100% neutral barrel – left to its own beautiful, youthful, know it all devices to be its sassy self without any “stodgy” outside influences such as new barrel.
Simply put Youthful People/Young Vines will tend to fight against the grain a bit as they figure out who they are while the older, much wiser vines become resilient, steady, consistent. They become less and less unnerved by outside stresses (for the vines things like heat spikes late in the season that send younger vines in a tizzy) while older vines tow the line and conversely DO take on a little new barrel with an effortless grace like a total boss. – click here for a full BLOG post on this very nerdy but fun topic.
Drum Canyon Vineyard
AVA: Sta. Rita Hills
Soils: low fertility sandy soils
Varietals planted: Pinot Noir & ?
Varietal we work with: Pinot Noir
Managed by skilled viticulturist Rudolfo Bravo, Drum Canyon vineyard is owned by the Dierberg family and located in the Northern part of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in western Santa Barbara County. Planted in 2003, Drum Canyon is situated alongside Highway 246, on a steep southwest facing hillside nestled between Lompoc and Buellton.
The region is in near proximity to the Pacific Ocean (especially as the crow flies) and has become infamous for its rare transverse mountain range (*one of onlyTWO in the entire United States) which allows the strong maritime winds and fog to more easily funnel in, cooling and overall greatly impacting the nature of the vines.
Fun Fact: The Sta. Rita Hills, specifically among California’s Traverse Ranges, has been described as “the most clearly delineated transverse range on the Pacific Coast”.
KÆRSKOV Vineyard
AVA: Sta. Rita Hills
Soils: clay loam and riverstone
Varietals planted: Mourvédre, Syrah, Grenache & Viognier
Varietal we work with: Mourvédre
Planted by the talented Ryan Carr in 2014, this 100% hand-farmed vineyard lies in the middle of the Santa Ynez Valley less than 8 minutes from my doorstep off the beautiful Alamo Pintado road in the Los Olivos District AVA and is perfectly suited to Rhone varietals.
The soils are a mix of clay loam and river stone allowing for great drainage and rich nutrients. This is the sole source for my Rosé of Mourvèdre and in 2021 the impromptu ‘Crowded Table’ Rosé blend.
Add to this the vineyard’s Danish heritage (“kaer” means “dear” (or precious) & “skov” meaning “wood” (in this case rootstock/vine) coupled with my own. My Grandfather having immigrated from Denmark to the US in the 60’s shakes out to me being 1/4 Danish and makes working with this vineyard even more special to me.
Hilltop (aka: Top of the Hill) Vineyard
Soils: gravel with *alluvial deposits
def.: riverbed deposits from the Santa Ynez River that runs through the property and consisting of silt, sand, clay, and gravel, as well as much organic matter)
Varietals planted: Chardonnay & Grenache
sidenote: their also almost 50 year old Syrah sadly had run its course and was uprooted after the 2020 harvest
Varietals we work with: Chardonnay & Grenache
Farmed by brothers, Nick & Nathan Osborne, this somehow flown under the radar gem of a site in the Southern section of the Sta. Rita Hills was a total and incredible surprise to me in August of 2020 when a fellow winemaker first took me out to the ranch. I mean, planted in the 70’s Chardonnay still in action?! As mentioned above it’s VERY hard to come by as we have such a relatively young region here in Santa Barbara County. I can only really only think of a few more vineyards that do, for example (and also in Sta. Rita Hills), Sanford & Benedict.
Add to that a super cool, uber random connection with my family who reside in Southern California. It was only while walking the vineyard with Nick this year that we officially put two and two together. Nick and Nathan’s father, Kurt (and their Uncle Paul), have been frequenting my family’s (they sold it a few years ago to a different family) hole in the wall, best ever Mexican restaurant – Ray’s Tepeyac in West Covina – since circa 1987! #randomandawesome
The Old Vine Chardonnay from Hilltop has such a sexy texture and that textbook elegance meets chalky minerality (even according to the venerable palate of Jeb Dunnuck!) that I love. And as of 2021, we began working with a bit of their ONE ACRE (seriously!) of beautiful cool climate Grenache. Praise be.
Why is it now called Top of the Hill vs. Hilltop?
There is an airtight ™ held by a much larger fellow winery North of our region who own the rights to the word “Hilltop” which prohibits the use of it in any prominent manner in the world of wine & spirits.
So, rather than declassifying it on the label and simply calling it “Sta. Rita Hills” we got a little creative and to respect the ™ as well came up with “Top of the Hill” as a way to still proudly list the vineyard name (or one very close to it!) on the label and most importantly continue to tell the story of and honor the folks that have farmed it for going on 50 years.
Tierra Alta Vineyard
Soils: clay with limestone
Varietals planted: Grenache, Syrah, Viognier, Grenache Blanc
Varietal we work with: Grenache
Planted by John Belfy in 2000 (the very year I graduated High School) and 100% hand-farmed by his talented son Ivan Belfy alongside his dedicated crew, this is one of the steepest and most sought after vineyards right now in the beautiful sub-AVA established in 2013 known as Ballard Canyon.
This sub-AVA is absolute, luxurious prime time real estate for Rhone varietals which the wines from longer established neighboring Ballard Canyon vineyards can attest to. Case in point; the caliber of wines consistently coming out of my longtime friends (from our time slanging wine together in our 20’s pre-production days); Jessica and Pete of Stolpman Vineyards.
The section of Grenache I work with is around 1,300 feet above sea level! The soils are clay with high amounts of limestone providing great minerality in the fruit. This Grenache has helped craft both of my Rosé’s to date and comprised the entirety of the inaugural vintage of our Red Table Wine. That wine is on a 2** Michelin Star list in SF as I type. A shameless mama bear plug I suppose but I do so to say, watch out for this vineyard. Period. Expect some great things.
