Napa Valley, USA

A remarkable white wine, and one of the wines that first singled Matthiasson out as a winemaker of real talent. Gorgeously fruity whilst retaining freshness - pears, lychees, oozy figs off the vine and semi dried pineapple. There’s spice in the form of nutmeg and cardamon, with a wonderfully waxy and nutty palate, finishing with osyter shell salinity and a lick of wet stone. Inspired by some of the most interesting wines from Europe and the new world, Steve’s mission was to create something new, but with its roots firmly in the past. And what an extraordinary blend it is!

A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Ribolla Gialla, Semillon, and Tocai Friulano, the first brings clean acidity and tropical notes, with the Ribolla Gialla bringing seashell minerality, nuttiness, and structure whilst the Semillon contributes viscosity and waxiness that adds gravity and weight. The Tocai Friulano (don’t panic if you haven’t heard of that grape - for a long time it was mistaken for Sauvignon Blanc, but in fact is its own variety, made famous in many Friuli whites) adds spicy aromatic notes. All fruit is sourced from two vineyards in the Valley - Ryan’s vineyard, planted on a tiny patch on gravel on the valley floor, and the Friuli varieties from the Bengier Vineyard in Oak Knoll.

For Steve and Jill Matthiasson, winemaking is a natural extension of farming. Their efforts are concentrated in the vineyards they own and lease, rather than in the winery, and their values are very much in tune with ours; sustainability, minimal intervention, a pursuit of balance, food-friendliness, freshness and lower alcohol levels. The irony of the ‘New Californians’ is that this is exactly how many of California’s wines used to be!

Steve was obsessed with farming from an early age and co-wrote the California manual on sustainable vineyard practices in 1999 but the move to Napa in 2002 saw Steve’s viticultural career really take off. As well as the work on their own wines, Steve is now widely regarded as California’s foremost viticultural consultant, helping the likes of Stag’s Leap Wine cellars, Araujo, Spottswoode and Saintsbury to farm sustainably and get the most out of their vineyards. His work centres around organic farming, biodiversity, and maximising ripeness while keeping a reign on sugar levels. It’s a team effort though, and wife Jill certainly brings some serious expertise to the business. Jill studied botany at Penn, researched ancient farming techniques in Israel, and studied traditional methods for soil health in grad school at UC Davis. She pioneered “farmer to farmer” networking for sustainability in the early 90s while working for a family farming non-profit, and ran programs training farmers on direct sales, such as CSAs and farmers markets, before local food had the momentum that it has now. Still heavily involved on the farming side, Jill is responsible for the business side of the business. We’re looking forward to when their children also get involved!