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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $28.93
12 bottles: $28.35
The Santa Barbara County Grenache was inspired by Fonsalette from Chateau Rayas. The wine represents two very...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $41.87
12 bottles: $41.03
The 2021 Grenache Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard is one of the more ethereal and aromatic wines in this range....
12 FREE
VM
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $44.93
12 bottles: $44.03
Fermented with 38% whole clusters, the 2020 Grenache Thompson Vineyard is more meaty and almost nutty, with ripe,...
12 FREE
JD
91
VM
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $45.66
12 bottles: $44.75
Deceptive in its light-bodied structure, the 2021 Grenache Vie Caprice packs quite the punch. Darker tonalities of...
12 FREE
VM
93
White
750ml
Bottle: $26.89
12 bottles: $26.35
Abundant fruit with a slight tropical note backed by judicious oak. The fuller viscosity that is a signature of this...
White
750ml
Bottle: $35.90
12 bottles: $35.18
12 FREE
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $61.27 $68.08
12 bottles: $49.40
Belle Glos Chardonnay from Glasir Holt vineyard boasts a refreshing acidity and a rich mouthfeel with flavors of...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $24.00
12 bottles: $23.52
For our Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, we carefully select only the finest barrels of the vintage from our estate...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $39.67 $44.08
6 bottles: $33.60
This elegant white wine exhibits aromas of lemon, kiwi, orange blossom, and sweet basil. Jasmine, lime, ginger and...
White
750ml
Bottle: $22.20
12 bottles: $21.76
Light aromas of honeysuckle and other white flowers are cut by chalk on the nose of this bottling. The palate hits...
WE
89
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.94
The 2019 Grenache opens with effusive aromas of strawberry, sandalwood, floral spice and earthiness. A sleek, soft...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $20.10
12 bottles: $19.70
12 FREE
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $21.67 $24.08
12 bottles: $17.41
Broad aromas of white pear, poached apple and citrus peel draw the nose into this widely popular bottling. There's a...
WE
91
WS
90
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $44.69 $46.00
The wine is plush and enveloping, and yet like all of Jim Clendenen's wines, it also remains light on its feet. Hints...
12 FREE
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $39.24 $43.60
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $17.74
12 bottles: $17.39
This stunning wine leaps out of the glass, with concentrated flavors and aromas of white peach, quince and pineapple,...
WS
93
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $51.94
Enticing aromas of buttercream, cake batter and macadamia nut are clean and light on the nose of this bottling. The...
12 FREE
WE
94
VM
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $64.50
12 bottles: $63.21
The 2020 Chardonnay Estate is a big step up from the 2019. Lemon confit, apricot, ginger and light tropical notes...
12 FREE
VM
91
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $31.95
12 bottles: $31.31
12 FREE
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $32.90 $35.60
Named after Fess' daughter, Ashley, this chardonnay represents the best of the acclaimed Sta. Rita Hills growing...

Cabernet Sauvignon Chardonnay Grenache United States California Santa Barbara

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one which has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is the Chardonnay. This green skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape, and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.

The purple skinned grapes of the Grenache varietal have quickly become one of the most widely planted red wine grapes in the world, flourishing in several countries which have the correct conditions in which they can grow to ripeness. They thrive anywhere with a dry, hot climate, such as that found in central Spain and other such arid areas, and produce delightfully light bodied wines full of spicy flavors and notes of dark berries. Their robustness and relative vigor has led them being a favorite grape varietal for wineries all over the world, and whilst it isn't uncommon to see bottles made from this varietal alone, they are also regularly used as a blending grape due to their high sugar content and ability to produce wines containing a relatively high level of alcohol.

Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.

California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.

Santa Barbara is home to many of California's most sought after wines, with a powerful reputation for superbly crafted, old world style big, flavorful and complex red wines. The white wine industry in the region is growing, too, with many wineries within Santa Barbara successfully experimenting with several classic white wine grape varietals. As in much of California, Santa Barbara benefits from the blazing west coast sunshine, coupled with cooling Pacific Ocean breezes and fogs, which help to temper the grapes and slow the ripening process, thus ensuring more flavor and aroma in the resulting wines. Although Santa Barbara is a relatively young wine region, it is home to many wineries who are extremely dedicated when it comes to demonstrating just how good their terroir is, and how characterful their region's wines can be.