A gorgeous single-vineyard Chardonnay from one of the Santa Maria Valley's finest vineyards.
Located on the breathtaking cliffs of Fugler's Point in the Santa Maria Valley AVA, a renowned wine region of Santa Barbara County, this 30-acre vineyard was planted with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in 1989.
Since the 1990s, the winery has been supplying grapes to famous wineries such as Au Bon Climat, Foxen, Lane Tanner, and The Hitching Post. Owner Gary Burke was close friends with the late Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat, and was in charge of managing the vineyards at Au Bon Climat until 2002.
Deep gold, gorgeous aromas of early ripe pineapple and La France. Flavors of almond and caramel apple complement each other with lively, transparent acidity.
Alta Maria Vineyards was named after the 1800s pioneer James Ontiveros, whose ancestor came to this area on St. Mary's Day in 1855. The land (Rancho Ontiveros) currently owned by James, the ninth generation owner, is a part of this area. It is surrounded by famous vineyards such as Au Bon Climat and Bien Nacido, which supplies grapes to high-end wineries.
In 2004, he founded Alta Maria in collaboration with Paul Wilkins, who taught him wine at university. The winemaker Ontiveros and winemaker Wilkins are most concerned with how to reflect the wonderful terroir of the Santa Maria Valley in their wines. The label features a handmade nail from the pioneer era, which truly expresses their thoughts.
After working in the field management and grape purchasing department of a major winery, he became the sales and marketing director for the Miller Family, which includes the Bien Nacido vineyard. He inherited a small 8-acre vineyard called Rancho Ontiveros from a family that ran a dairy farm, and gradually planted Pinot Noir there. In 2004, he founded Alta Maria with his college friend, Wilkins.
While studying oenology at university, he gained experience working at several wineries. He met John Alban, a pioneer of Rhone varieties in the United States, and in 1998, he rose to the position of assistant winemaker at Alban Vineyards before graduating from university. After working on the production of wines at Alban Vineyards in glorious vintages that received Parker 100 points one after another, he became independent and launched his own brand. In 2004, he started Alta Maria together with Ontiveros, and produces Pinot Noir that carefully expresses the terroir of the Santa Maria Valley.