California Stars "Star Crossed" Sonoma County, California 2023

FROM SELECTION MASSALE:

THE WINE: A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The Cabernet is coming from our own farmed vineyard (Stone Barn Farm Vineyard) in the Sonoma Valley right on the border with Carneros. We farm these grapes organically without any irrigation. You typically see more Pinot and Chardonnay in this area, but we like the cool climate so that we can get good hang time and maturity while preserving good acid and keeping the alcohol low. The soils are deep, well drained alluvial soils, which are well suited to dry farming in this climate.

For vinification we simply destem the grapes and let them ferment in stainless tanks and they are pressed at dryness (in this case 15 days). We then raised the wine in a combination of neutral french 60 gal barrels and 300 gal HDPE flextanks. The Merlot is coming from Lolonis. The grapes were treated similarly to the Cabernet Sauvignon, destemmed and fermented til dryness (16 days maceration) and aged in stainless tanks to preserve freshness.

THE PRODUCER: Shaunt and Diego met at UC Davis but really became fast friends and partners while abroad in France staging separately in the Loire. They would meet up on weekends to have culinary adventures. Diego originally thought he would make beer but then shifted gears. Shaunt started off as a chemistry student but didn’t want to go into academia or research. Eventually he ended up making wine and his mentor pushed him to go to school, which suited his academic side. The rest is history. After setting up shop in California, the duo decided to lease vineyards but remain very hands on about farming. Currently they work with about 45 acres total and have collaborated with the same team for pruning and harvesting for the past five years or so. One tactic has been to source grapes from people they want to learn from– for instance, Larry Venturi. They’ve been able to convert quite a few conventionally farmed vineyards and begin working with them as well. Shaunt and Diego don’t buy grapes in Napa and Sonoma (too expensive), but they’re making serious wines that are akin to ones you find from that area, just sourced elsewhere.