tercero wines

Spanish G & T with Violette liqueur and rosemary. Very very good . . . #happybelatedvalentinesday

Holy batman! Trying another of the wines that was bottled yesterday - my first ever Clairette Blanche. This thing is singing - lemon, green grass, minerality, ie as fresh as can be! Watch for its impending release next month! #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #clairetteblanche #crispascanbe #wine #vino #winetalk #winetasting #santabarbaracounty #happycanyon #newrelease

Just bottled today - and already tasting wonderful! My new 2020 Nouveau Cinsault - a carbonic macerated wine using grapes from a very special old vine block at Zaca Mesa Vineyard. Rumor has it that I may have an open bottle to try over the next few days at the tasting room . . .... And this is a limited bottling - not that many cases produced at all. #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #zacamesa #cinsault #carbonicmaceration #carbonic #somethingnewfortercero #comeandgetit

And so it begins - bottling day! These are hand bottled Magnuns if my 2020 Mourvedre Rose on the left and 2020 Cinsault Rose on the right. I will hand apply labels over the next few days. These are LIMITED - hit me up if you're interested in snagging one please! #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #mourvedrerose #cinsaultrose #cinsault #mourvedre #bottlingday #newreleases

Thanks @christiannroellesimmons and @mark_simmons_32 for the wonderful @almanacbeer coffee stout!

Even if you can't make it to tonight's Jingle Balls virtual dinner, you can follow it on Facebook or YouTube by following the links posted on this page: https://www.bacchuskitchen.com/ And we PROMISE that there will be balls galore!!!

What started out as 'Meatballpalooza' 18 months ago is coming to fruition tonight - and it's been aptly.renamed Jingle Balls!!!! Six courses of ball shaped foods - from a Thai Shrimp Ball to a Scottish Egg and ending with the ever-so-popular Schweddy Ball, made famous on Saturday Night Live (you HAVE to watch it - tonight!l) If you go to the Bacchus Kitchen website, you can find a link to watch the festivities live!!!

Hey LA / Pasadena / Glendale folks . . . I am taking part in a virtual winemaker dinner this Saturday, December 12th with Claud Beltran and Brandon Firla at Bacchus Kitchen in Pasadena. We were supposed to do a hybrid in person / virtual dinner but now we will be all virtual. The theme of this dinner is JINGLE BALLS - 'balls' around the world. Follow the attached link for more information - you will be able to purchase take away glasses or full bottles of wines to pair with e...ach course - and I will be 'in attendance' at Bacchus to facility the process - and take part with the 'virtually interactive' aspect of the dinner starting at 7:15 pm. Please consider supporting Bacchus and tercero wines - we would both really appreciate it :-) https://www.bacchuskitchen.com/jingleballs

There can never be enough foot stomping, right???? #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #wineeducation #wine #vino #winetalk #winetasting #santabarbaracounty #santaynezvalley #winemaker #harvest2020 #footstomoing #wholecluster #ilikestems #harvest2020

A calming view to start your day . . . #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #wineeducation #wine #vino #winetalk #santabarbaracounty #santaynezvalley #cinsault #zacamesa #fermentation #carbonic #carbonicmaceration #harvest2020

We had a fantastic Live Zoom tonight featuring four Santa Barbara County Rhone Rangers members pouring their red blends with moderation by @thewinemilitia ! We will be posting the entire Zoom session over at the Rhone Rangers Facebook page shortly - you won't want to miss it!

And harvest continues . . . Zaca Mesa Vineyard Cinsault and Larner Vineyard Mourvedre today. Only one pick to go - more Zaca Mesa Cinsault as it continues to ripen and develop further. ... Foot stomping away . . . #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #wineeducation #wine #vino #winetalk #santabarbaracounty #santaynezvalley #cinsault #zacamesa #mourvedre #larnervineyard #wholecluster #ilikestems #footstomping #harvest2020

My view this morning - comparing syrah and grenache ferments . . . #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #wineeducation #wine #vino #winetalk #santabarbaracounty #grenache #syrah #fermentation #wholecluster #ilikestems #harvest2020

My view this morning - my Cinsault block out at the Zaca Mesa Vineyard. This will probably be my last pick of the year - these large clusters are just taking their time developing! You can see that these vines do not look as 'manicured' as others i have posted - they are not as clearly 'trained' into the catch wires above but instead are allowed to sprawl out. Interesting, eh? ... #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #wineeducation #wine #vino #winetalk #winetasting #santabarbaracounty #losolivos #santaynezvalley #winemaker #cinsault #zacamesa

One of my favorite varieties to work with these days is Cinsault, a wine that is well known both in the Rhone as well as South Africa, where it's called Hermitage. This is my 2016 vintage - 100% whole cluster, foot stomped by me, ferme Ted with the stems, pressed and then aged for 10 months in older French oak barrels. It is light and fresh and reminds me of a cross between a whole cluster pinot noir and a lighter grenache. It's only 10.8% alcohol and is a perfect food pairin...g wine for nearly any cuisine - and can be served slightly chilled as well. Stop on by - I don't have much of this vintage left! #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #wineeducation #wine #vino #winetalk #winetasting #santabarbaracounty #losolivos #santaynezvalley #cinsault

This about says it all for today and all weekend long! It's warm out there - perfect weather for a chilled red or two. And we have you covered with 2 different aberrations for the weekend ! Stop on in, say hi, and enjoy 'something different' . . .guaranteed ... #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #wineeducation #wine #vino #winetalk #winetasting #santabarbaracounty #losolivos #santaynezvalley #winemaker #comevisit

Happy Thursday, all! I'll be hanging out in my tasting room today, tomorrow, and all weekend long - after doing punch downs in the morning and then returning to do them in the evening! Stop on by - I'm pouring two different light chilled reds that will take the edge off of the heat - I promise! And yes, I do have a nice but limited selection of magnums available - just ask!... #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #wineeducation #wine #vino #winetalk #winetasting #santabarbaracounty #losolivos #santaynezvalley #winemaker #magnum #comevisit

My Spear Vineyard Grenache is nearly finished fermenting, and this is what the bins look like after punching down this evening. Both wines have mesmerizing aromatics - wild raspberries, black tea and spices . . .I am quite happy with the wine at this stage! #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #wineeducation #wine #vino #winetalk #winetasting #winemaker #grenache #spearvineyard #staritahills #wholecluster #ilikestems #harvest2020

So who is ready for another live zoom featuring Larry and some incredible wines? Our next Zoom will feature a vertical of 3 different Petite Sirahs, including some of the last bottles that we have of our fantastic 2008 vintage! Wednesday October 28th at 6PM PST Curious to see how red wines age under screw cap? Here's your chance to see for yourself! This Zoom will feature the following:... 2008 Petite Sirah from Rodney's Vineyard in Los Olivos 2011 Petite Sirah from Camp 4 in Santa Ynez (Rockpile clone) 2013 Petite Sirah from La Presa Vineyard in Santa Ynez The cost to take part is only $135 for non wine club members and $120 for wine club members. Get a hold of me but hurry since quantities are truly quite limited. #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #petitesirah #vertical #librarywine #livezoomtasting #zoom #wineeducation #wine #vino #winetalk #winetasting #winemaker #santabarbaracounty #santaynezvalley

A sense of perspective . . . I had a really interesting conversation with another local winemaker this morning, someone who's been at it longer than I have. After watching me foot stomp some Grenache this morning, he asked whether I was concerned that the stems were green. This led to a bunch of different conversations, but the on one that stood out to me is paraphrased as follows:... I explained that I dug what stems 'bring to the table', and 'stem management' is no different than any other aspect of winemaking to me - if the stems 'stand out' too much, that's not a good thing - just like too much oak, alcohol, acid, fruit, etc. I then expanded that each ferment was a 'unique experience' - the stems bring something different to the table each time Sometimes they bring a 'tea leaf' quality to the wine; sometimes sweet tobacco leaf; sometimes menthol; sometimes black or white pepper; sometimes herbaceousness. And this variability is unpredictable, depending upon the 'ripeness' of the stems, the alcohol level of the wine, the temperature achieved during fermentation, the relative size of the berries, etc. I mentioned that this 'uncertainty' excited me because I cannot entirely predict the outcome. He looked at me, surprised, and said that his longtime customers expect 'consistency' in his wines and that this 'variability' probably would not fly with them. I smiled and said that it's this variability that has me more excited about winemaking than ever before, and that my customers, for the most part, are along for the ride and enjoy the 'variability' for the most part. He looked at me and smiled - and walked away. Truly different strokes for different folks. Your opinion on the matter? Cheers!

A little extra grenache to add to the mix this year . . . #tercerowines #sbcwine #rhonerangers #wineeducation #wine #vino #winetalk #winetasting #santabarbaracounty #grenache #staritahills #harvest2020