Compelling new-wave Californian wines
Much as with the revolution in SA, the ‘New California Wave’ focuses on ‘innovative producers who are rewriting the rules of contemporary winemaking and their quest to express the uniqueness of California terroir’ explains American writer Jon Bonné.
‘Just as in South Africa, a new generation’s wines are injecting fun and innovation into the California wine scene. Producers have been seeking out the coolest (in both senses) California wine regions.’ – Jancis Robinson MW
Two such classic, must-watch producers, focused on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, are Sandhi from California’s Central Coast and Kutch found north of San Francisco on the Sonoma Coast.
‘It’s safe to say that Sta. Rita Hills, California, stands as one of the greatest places in the New World to grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.’ – Wine Enthusiast
Founded in 2010, Sashi Moorman and Rajat Parr started Sandhi Wines to explore the defining vineyards of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in Santa Barbara County. In his recent review of their wines, Antonio Galloni says, ‘it is quite conceivable that within a few years the Sandhi Chardonnays and Pinots could become reference point, benchmark wines for Santa Barbara, and California, for that matter.’ My harvest with them in 2012 was one of my favourite and most formative. Not only are they winemakers, but also philosophers, historians and storytellers – generous with their knowledge, time and wine.
Further north one finds Jamie Kutch’s Wines, established in 2005. ‘Kutch wines are the essence of transparency and freshness,’ writes Jancis Robinson. Focused on expressing California’s terroir, ‘this is a stellar set of wines that shows just how compelling 2017 is for Sonoma’s Burgundian varieties,’ opines Antonio Galloni.
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