The Drive Back

We held blending trials for the 2025 vintage over two days in late March at the winery in Santa Ynez.

There were sixteen base wines on the table. Seven were Pinot Noir and nine were Chardonnay, split between neutral oak and stainless steel barrels. Some showed citrus pith and sour cherry, while others had grown creamy and generous. A few were still tight and needed time to open.

In the room were my winemaking team, Amy and Alisa; my dear friend Kristina; and Kim and Patty from my Champagne Masters cohort. Kim is planting a vineyard in Washington. Patty is working with a Champagne house to develop her own cuvées. Amy and Alisa spend their days helping small brands bring their wines to life. Kristina has tasted wine with me across thirty-five years and three continents.

I went in expecting three cuvées, but I was open to anything between two and four. In 2024, the wines naturally separated into two single-varietal bottlings and one blend. This year, nothing wanted to stand alone.

We worked one blend at a time to avoid over-committing any single lot. The first wine, a Chardonnay-forward cuvée, took hours to finalize. We adjusted the components repeatedly, adding more oak, reducing malolactic influence, and increasing the proportion of stainless steel. Each iteration closed the gap. By the end of day one, we locked the first blend and stopped to give Amy the space to assess what remained and reset for the next day.

Day two brought a Pinot Noir-forward blend. As in 2024, the remaining lots then came together as seamlessly as the intentional blends. This year, that final wine became a rosé base.

By the time I drove back to Oakland with Kristina, my palate was tired. We had spent two full days blending, along with lunches and tastings with some of my favorite Central Coast producers. The blends were good, but they were different from 2024, and doubt started to creep in.

Two days later, I rented a car and drove five hours back to Santa Ynez.

I had committed to only putting wines I love in the bottle, and I was not willing to carry uncertainty through years of tirage. The team encouraged me to come back, but this time I tasted alone. There was no conversation and no outside influence, just the wines.

We made adjustments. Two were minor, and one was a significant shift.

The blends were always good.

After that drive, there was no doubt they belonged in the bottle.

I look forward to sharing them.

Ever curious,
Tammee