McKinney Family Vineyards

If you've ever had the opportunity to visit us for a private tasting at the estate, you've probably seen my collection of rocks. Quite a lot of those rocks come from Grassini Family Vineyard in the Happy Canyon AVA of Santa Barbara! In this video, I am standing next to block 2 of Grassini where we source the cabernet sauvignon that goes into the Tuscan Nights blend and the 100% cabernet sauvignon. ... Grassini has really stoney, serpentinite soil and chert (sedimentary) rock, which cabernet sauvignon absolutely thrives in! #wine #viticulture #happycanyon #cabernetsauvignon #redwine #farmtoglass #sustainablevineyard #sustainablewine #sustainablefarming #soil #vineyard #estatevineyard #californiawinecountry #santabarbarawinecountry #santaynezwinecountry

We have been planting covercrop in the estate vineyard so we can say thank you to our little bug friends. We like to plant barley, sweet peas, and other legumes, and vetch, along with flowers like white yarrow, poppy, gloriosa daisy, alyssum sweets, and daikon radishes! -The barley helps with erosion control... -The sweet peas, legumes, and vetch are great nitrogen fixers for building up healthy soils -The flowering plants are great for attracting beneficial pollinators -And the Daikon Radishes are amazing for "bio-tillage" which helps us reduce the need for disturbing the microorganisms in the vineyard soil. Happy new year to you and to biodiversity! See more

I think we can all agree that we are looking forward to a new year. Though, for wineries and vineyards, the new growing season isn't until March when bud break occurs. We will continue to nurture our vines so that we can start afresh in the new year. We just finished our winter pre-pruning, which will prepare us for the next round of pruning, which will establish our primary canes for producing fruit during the 2021 season ahead.... If you want a further explanation on pruning in the vineyard, make sure to tell us when you schedule your next tasting on the property! See more

Once harvest is over, the work is not done; we're still checking SO2 levels and topping barrels monthly. One of the main concerns this time of year is hydrogen sulfide in wine (lack of oxygen), so deciding when you're going to be racking is very important. Racking basically means cleaning the wine off of the lees (sediment), which will freshen up the flavors and aromas as they prepare for the next stage of the aging process in barrel.... Assistant winemaker, Justice, is in charge of this process; he takes a lot of pride in quality control throughout the year. See more

Consider pairing your Christmas dinner with our Sangiovese, Blood of Jove! I think you'll find that the spices of this wine pair perfectly with a holiday ham or a turkey spiced with star anise and rosemary. Just check out these awesome tasting notes from @mattkettmann of @wineenthusiast :... "Rustic aromas of dried cherries, dried plums, light leather, salt and pepper show on the nose of this bottling. There's an earthy streak to the palate, where oregano, thyme and marjoram meet with light cherry on the medium-bodied frame. " MATT KETTMANN | WINE ENTHUSIAST Merry Christmas, and don't forget to tag us with whatever McKinney Family Wine you decide to enjoy! See more

Did you know that many of the farming decisions we made this past winter & spring helped determine the health and yield of our vineyard this harvest? We aim for aim for 2-3 tons of grapes per acre to maximize the energy of each plant into the fewest amount of clusters to produce the highest quality. Mass production vineyards will aim for 8-10 tons/acre but for us, quality over quantity is the name of the game!... Visit us at our estate to learn more about our sustainable farming practices and taste amongst the vines! Email [email protected] to book your private tasting experience! See more

Jared was the head of sales at Grassini Family Vineyards for the last three years and before that was working a winery in new Zealand for two years Jared got his start in wine working at high-end wine bars in his home state of Rhode Island on the East Coast, eventually becoming a Certified Sommelier through @mastersommeliers_americas ; But he knew that if he wanted to really learn about wine, he had to go to where it is made.... We're really excited to have someone with so much previous knowledge in various aspects of the wine industry completing the starting five! See more

They say it takes a village to make wine; well, this is our village Megan (Far Left) is our general manager (and the one who keeps us all in line) Jared (Middle Left) & Cameron (Far Right) are our awesome cellar workers this vintage And, of course, Justice (Middle Right) is our very talented assistant winemaker. ... This team is responsible for bringing your favorite McKinney wine to you, show them some love in the comments below! See more

As the Assistant Winemaker, Justice has a major responsibility in making sure we uphold the highest quality levels of our wine. To be a great winemaker you have to have a great palate, so we are fortunate to be able to rely on Justice for quality control! For those who have been with us for a while, I'm sure you are as happy as we are that Justice's "Bo Barrett"- style long locks (from Bottle Shock) are back ... #winemaker #assistantwinemaker #winemaking #harvest2020 #winetasting #barreltasting #finewine #winery #santaynezwine #santabarbarawine #santabarbarawinecountry #sbcwine #mckinneyfamilyvineyards #californiawine #winewednesday See more

It is essential to be measuring the sugar content of wine grapes consistently over harvest to know when to pick them. We measure sugar content (Brix) by using a hydrometer, which measures the soluble solids (aka sugar) within a liquid. We also use the hydrometer once fermentation begins to measure that the yeast have eaten all of the sugar and converted it to alcohol.... If the yeast don't fully ferment and consume all of the sugar, you could be left with an ultra sweet wine. We always ferment completely "dry" (meaning no measurable sugar) unless we are making the Grandpa McKinney Port--but that's a story for another day! See more

Pinot Poetry in motion ... @just_masra feeling the power of our new Organic Pinot vineyard - - - Donnachadh Vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills ... #harvest2020 #mckinneyfamilyvineyards #finewine #pinotnoir #sbcwine #staritahills #santaynez #santabarbara

Cameron decided to take a break form the vineyards this fall and join our team for harvest 2020 For the last three years, he has been working the vines at the esteemed Duvarita Vineyard, where we have been sourcing our best selling biodynamic pinot noir. Cameron is no stranger to hard work making him an invaluable addition to the team!... #harvest2020 #biodynamicvineyard #meetourteam #winery #winemaker #winemaking #pinotnoir #mckinneyfamilyvineyards #sustainablewine #biodynamicwine #familyownedwinery #supportlocal #santaynez #santabarbarawinecountry See more

Star is excitedly anticipating your return to the vineyard! If you're dog friendly, make sure to remind us so we can unleash the beasts. Star and Baron are extremely sweet and wouldn't hurt a fly!... Schedule your private tasting by emailing [email protected]! We can't wait to see you! See more

The heat from last weekend helped push several of the varieties we source into ripeness much earlier than we were anticipating this year. With the cool and wet winter and spring we had, we thought this vintage would be a bit more leisurely. It looks like over half of all of our fruit will come in at the same time this year! ... It just goes to show that you can never tell what mother nature is going to throw at you; but that's farming! #mckinneyfamilyvineyards #finewine #sbcwine #santaynez #losolivos #winecountry #visitsyv #wine #vineyards #passion #laboroflove #dedication #winery #redwine See more

We are so incredibly fortunate to have Megan as our new wine club manager! She has been in the wine industry for the past 10 years working both in high-end retail wine sales and at another one of the top wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley. Megan not only manages the wine club, she oversees every aspect of the business, making sure we execute with every step the winery takes!... When you reach out to set up your next tasting appointment, Megan will be happy to hear from you: Give us a call at (805) 399-0595 to schedule your private tasting today! #santabarbarawinecountry #meetourteam #wineryteam #familywinery #santaynezwinery #santaynezvalley #buellton #boutiquewinery #womeninwine #tastingroom #winetasting See more

Harvest 2020 has begun! .... Excited to show or wine club more of why Santa Barbara County is the fine wine region of the future with this vintage! .... #mckinneyfamilyvineyards #finewine #livingthedream #harvest2020 #santabarbara #sbcwine #santaynez #wine #vino #happycanyon

Harvest cleaning prep is in full swing! We are soon to be bringing in over forty tons of fruit this year, which is enough to grow upon our 2,000 case production boutique winery. Nervous anticipation is flowing through our veins as we can't wait for the first grapes to come in!... #smallwinery #boutiquewinery #familyownedwinery #supportsmallbusinesses #supportlocal #localwinery #buellton #santaynezvalley #staritahills #santabarbarawine #sbcwine #winecountry #winemaking #winemaker #assistantwinemaker #harvest2020 See more

Baron can't wait until we harvest the Duvarita Pinot Noir in a few weeks! He was hogging it all to himself when he was a puppy Pick up a bottle of our 2018 Duvarita Pinot Noir before it's all gone--we are down to our last 20 cases already!... You can order from our website via the link in our bio until it's sold out #winedog #winedogsofcalifornia #pinotnoir #sustainablewine #sustainablefarming #familyownedwinery #familyfarmed #winelifestyle #winelove #winelife #santaynezwine #santabarbarawine #losolivos #winewednesday See more