I’m a wine nerd. So when I taste great, new, local wines by small-production winemakers, I get nerdily happy. When they’re made by people I like, that happiness level gets turned up to 11.

It’s with great pleasure today that I’d like to introduce you 3 tiny but mighty California wineries.

It’s not surprising that after managing a wine bar for 10 years that I’ve gotten to know almost as many wine folks as there are Game of Throne fans who needed alone time after the series finale. It was my job. But I never expected to know as many friends or family members who switched to winemaking as a second career and actually be good at it. Or great at it. Because, well, as many of us have learned through shelter-in-place sourdough bread-making adventures, fermentation is hard. Winemaking is even harder.

Made in Paso Robles, Santa Cruz Mountains, and El Dorado County, these small-production gems are made by two different friends and an uncle of mine. They’re wines that I would have been happy to sell in shops I managed, or pour at my cheese tastings (some, I have). Though several have already graced restaurant lists, the wineries are still so under the radar that I wanted to share them with you. You know, just in case you felt like pouring yourself something different after you’ve homeschooled your children for the day (whew), or take advantage of currently great prices.

All are made in amounts under 700 cases. One wine, only 100 cases.

2 of the wineries are so new that they didn’t even have time to have a formal opening before coronavirus hit.

And all are great expressions of what grapes should taste like in the regions in which they were grown.

Here’s a little more of an intro to each winery. I hope you enjoy the wine!

3 California Wineries

Stereophonic- Stereophonic owner Jason and I managed Solano Cellars together for 10 years. Through this time I came to appreciate Jason’s discerning palate for wine, his penchant for unusual grapes, and his love for Wu-Tang. Jason knew he wanted make wine some day but it wasn’t until after he left the shop that he and winemaker Aaron Jackson found unusual enough grapes for California that they decided to make wine together. Think Gruner Vetliner, Aglianico and Albariño- grapes that you rarely seen done well in the Golden State. Jason does them not only well, but he also makes sure to honor the Paso Robles style of letting the fruit shine. Stereophonic wines are lively, fun, have been hits at my cheese pairing classes, and have been dependable, delicious friends in my wine glass during shelter-in-place times (because we all need friends that we know will be there for us).

Sandar & Hem- Robert and I met when he was a customer at the wine shop, but it wasn’t until he started pouring me tastes of old vintages from his wine collection when I was working the cheese table at the Ridge Montebello release parties that we really got to know each other (drinking old wine together = great way to became friends). Each year at the tastings I was amazed at his life updates. Not only was he traveling to learn about wine, he interned, then worked for Rhys and Mount Eden wineries. I was impressed, and even more so when I tried his wines. They’re wines that restaurant sommeliers would love. Mainly Burgundian varietals grown in the Santa Cruz mountains, Sandar & Hem wines are made for food pairing, and amazingly well-priced.

Lost Arrow Ranch- Though it probably wasn’t wise to be surprised when I tasted one of uncle Joe’s Syrahs and found it charmingly expressive of the region (grown on rocky and alluvial soils, El Dorado County is perfect for Rhone grapes), I was. He had been making wine for less than 2 years at this point! But since everything he’s done from his artwork to remodeling his own house by-hand when I was growing up has shown the touch of a thoughtful perfectionist, I later figured it made perfect sense. I was so happy for him when a couple years ago he and my aunt bought a vineyard and moved to be closer his grapes (awww), which are now in his front-yard- pictured above. His wines are soft, giving, and lovely. (Heads up- the winery is about to change names from Joseph Sogge wines to Lost Arrow Ranch, the farm’s former name, and to honor the Miwoks who were the original owners of the land). Though they could go with much fancier foods, I love them with bbq.

Cheers

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