![]() (The method) is more of an elite style,” Kochis said, comparing the trend to that at some of Paso Robles’ more successful wineries. “It was our choice, and perhaps by-appointment tastings will be the future of Santa Barbara County. She and Kochis emphasized that the decision toward appointment-only tastings was made in-house and not dictated by county government. When the facility opens to the public in early September, tastings will be by appointment only, said Estate Director Lesley Ann Couture. It’s less than one acre and is planted to own-rooted cabernet sauvignon, clone 337. “We like to think of it as a demonstration vineyard,” said Solórzano, smiling. Just outside the soon-to-open, spacious tasting room is a new plot, one that Klapper and Solórzano planted as an experiment and without Hobbs’ knowledge. We tasted the 2017, which balanced peach with a soft, light acidity. ![]() The sauvignon blanc grows on the north side of the drive that winds up to the house. The grape packs a hearty spiciness that is vital to an estate blend, and is “all up front” on the palate, even when it’s just 1 to 2 percent of a blend, he explained.Īlso on the estate, in lower sections that surround the new winery, are Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Grenache. “Long tendrils are key to this variety,” Hobbs said. Throughout the growth year, a practice of judicious shoot thinning has resulted in ample afternoon shade and lessened any risk from grape heat stress, producing wines with creamier tannins, he added.Ī couple of rows west, gangly shoots on the petite verdot vines displayed tendrils that reached skyward. The cabernet sauvignon rows showed strong vigor “a lot of canopy growth is the goal here,” Hobbs said. Veteran winemaker and consultant Paul Hobbs of Sonoma and Napa counties has worked with Brave & Maiden as consulting winemaker for several years. The team outlined their plans for single varietal bottlings and red blends. ![]() While summer temperatures in the Santa Ynez Valley are plenty hot, this Refugio Road vineyard and the nearby Happy Canyon AVA differ overnight: “Here, it’s temperate at night, especially since we’re on a little mesa and near the river,” Solórzano explained.Įarly in June, we walked among the 2011 vine rows with Solórzano, Hobbs and Klapper, first observing the cabernet sauvignon and then petite verdot, two grape varietals blooming where they were planted. While Brave & Maiden is not Hobbs’ first foray into Santa Barbara County viticulture, it’s the first time “that I’ve consulted for such committed people” who are passionate about the craft, he noted. The first vines at Brave & Maiden were planted in 1998 additional acreage was added in 2011, Solórzano said. Starting with the 2012 vintage, Klapper and co-owner Alex Katz rebranded their label Timbre Winery and focused their efforts on pinot noirs, chardonnay and hard cider.īoth Klapper and John Kochis, marketing and sales director, have been at Brave & Maiden since 2014, and it was then that Kochis reached out to Hobbs for his input. Winemaker Josh Klapper, former award-winning sommelier who garnered a 2004 Wine Spectator Grand Award for the wine list at Sona in Los Angeles, worked with Santa Barbara County winemaking pioneers Jim Clendenen and Bob Lindquist before founding La Fenetre here in 2005. New stainless-steel fermentation tanks line the walls of the new winery facility in Santa Ynez.ĭjang oversees the operations with some of the most sought-after names in California’s wine industry, among them consulting winemaker Paul Hobbs of Sonoma and Napa counties, and Ruben Solórzano, longtime vineyard manager and co-owner of Buellton’s Coastal Vineyard Care Associates. The former White House videographer for the Obama administration met his wife when both lived in New York City. The Djangs alternate between Los Angeles, where he works as a content strategist and documentary filmmaker, and the Santa Ynez Valley. The 60-acre estate on Refugio Road south of Highway 246 is home to 46 vineyard acres and now, a winery and tasting facility. ![]() With a team composed of a veteran consultant Forbes Magazine calls “The Steve Jobs of Wine,” a regional viticulture expert known as “the grape whisperer” and a longtime Central Coast winemaker and former sommelier at the helm, Brave & Maiden Estate in Santa Ynez will open a by-appointment tasting facility early in September.
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