What Sets Camins 2 Dreams Apart from other Wineries?

Ep 40

What happens when two friends who are passionate about traveling, chemistry, and wine fall in love with each other?

They get married and open a winery together!

Wife and wife team, Tara Gomez and Mireia Taribó, are the winemakers and founders of Camins 2 Dreams Winery in Santa Rita Hills, California. Camins 2 Dreams sources their grapes from vineyards in Santa Barbara County with a focus in Santa Rita Hills.

Tara and Mireia feel that wine is made in the vineyard and want to showcase the typicity of each site where the grapes are sourced from. But, what does that mean?

Camins 2 Dreams’ philosophy is to make handcrafted terroir driven wines that are fermented with natural yeast, minimum amounts of sulfur dioxide, use minimal intervention in the winery, and are unfiltered and unfined.

Listen in as Tara and Mireia share how they started their winery with two barrels of wine and watched their production grow from 90 cases of wine to an impressive 1500 cases!

Discover why they chose Santa Rita Hills, California as the location of their winery and how the diverse microclimate makes it an ideal location for their winemaking endeavors. They also share why they focus on experimenting with and showcasing underrepresented grape varieties and their commitment to bringing diversity to their winemaking process and so much more!

So, if you are ready to hear the remarkable stories of two female winemakers and their dedication to representing underrepresented vineyards, experimenting with diverse grape varieties, and creating exceptional wines–press play and listen in!

Episode Highlights:

• Story behind the two female winemakers of Camins 2 Dreams

• Why Camins 2 dreams uses organic methods when it comes to producing their wine

• Are Camins 2 Dreams wines organic

• Experimentation with underrepresented grape varieties

• How Camins 2 Dreams came to be and what their name stands for

• Camins 2 Dreams winemaking process

• Collaborations with other wine makers

Check out Go There Wines to try Camins 2 Dreams wines along with other wines from around the world! 

Connect with Mireia and Tara

Website: www.camins2dreams.com

Instagram: @camins2dreams

Transcript

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Hello? Hi. Hello. I love the background. It's definitely giving the right feels there with the the oak barrels. Great spot to do a wine interview. Yeah. We're in our tasting room. We write a little bit of everything. Cool. Well, thank you so much for joining me. I'm really looking forward to learning more about the winery and and more about you guys in general too. So do you wanna just talk a little bit about who you are and what you do. So I'm here. Yeah. 50% of commits to dreams. And who we are or how do we start it or I mean, because we're too, so it's like a different story. So I'm gonna start how I started in the wine industry and then go explain her part. But, how I started, I'm originally from Spain. I'm I'm from Catalonia. And over there, we have wines surrounding us All the time, at least in my family, they love they love wine. They love having wine for lunch, for breakfast, for dinner. And I've always been tasting wine since I was a kid. Not drinking it, but being at home, like, there was always wine on the table. So I was, like, always testing wine, and My parents used to go also a lot wine tasting, but I think what sparked more my idea of coming into the wine industry was, my great grandparents planted a vineyard a long time ago, and I remember when I was a kid going to harvest it and and food stomping it and Having a day of of fun just like with the grapes and kinda like a family affair, all the family together, and then we would make 1 barrel A year. So it was, like, super tiny vineyard, but it was just, like, more for on consumption and share with friends and family. So then when it was time to go to go to school, I really never thought about, like, oh, let's study winemaking. I didn't even know that was a thing, But I love chemistry, and I want to study chemistry. But I soon realized that I really wanna be in a lab all my life. Is that I always break everything, which is kinda true. Angry. But, also, like, I'm a really impatient person. And I don't like to be always sitting in a same place or, like, not moving or, you know, like, always, like, working on the same. So I I actually finished my degree in inology in chemistry, and then I started to study enology Because I wanted something that still had, like, the chemistry background and the science, but also that had, like, more nature and outdoor, and it was, like, more active. So then, yeah, I studied I studied technology. And when I was ready to graduate it, I wanted to do an internship abroad, and I landed in California in Sunny Paso Robles, and that's how I met Sarah. We met at Jaylor Winery in Paso Robles. I was an intern there and And became friends. And when my internship finished, I went back, home. I went back to to Spain and invited her over. And then we started traveling together and visiting wine regions, and I would come here. She would take me all over California to visit and taste different wineries. And, when she would come to visit me in Spain, I would take her all over to Spain or, like, All over Europe, basically, France, Germany. And that's how we fell in love. And a few years later, I Moved here, and a few years later, we started coming to dreams in 2017. And, yeah, that's where we are now, but I'm gonna pass To to Tara, she can explain how she how she does it. Oh, well, I'm Tara Gomez, the other half, cofounder, co winemaker of dreams. And for me, it was at a really early age that kind of Which led me into the wine industry. It was like I was, like, 4 years old when I got my 1st Fisher Price microscope set, And then it grew into chemistry set. So science was always something that kinda, like, stayed with me at a very young age. And so, like, by grade school. Like, I knew that I either wanted to be a chemist, a marine biologist, or a winemaker. And then with my parents, you know, just wine connoisseurs. Like, none of my family was ever in the wine industry. Like, I didn't learn I didn't know anything about it other than going with them on the wine tours when they used to go wine tasting up and down the Central Coast. And the connection To that was me going on one of the tours and seeing them in the lab and doing titrations, which is the chemistry side of it. And so that really intrigued me, and it really stuck in my mind. And so I already knew bike by high school that this was gonna be my calling, and I started researching schools. And back then in the nineties, it was either UC Davis or Fresno State. And so I'm very hands on as well. And, I chose Fresno State because I wanted that hands on experience because they already had a winery on campus. So I wanted that hands on training. So, yeah, I graduated out of Fresno State in enology. And then I worked here, in the Central Coast, got my 1st job at Fesparker Winery, Which is where I did my internship in, like, 97. And, yeah, been in the industry since and never changed or Decided to go a different direction. It like I said, it was something that I knew at such a early age that this is something that I I knew that I wanted to do, and and it's something that really makes me happy. Like, I I love making wine. It's like I'm I'm really passionate about it. And And I just love the fact that no vintage is ever the same because of of you can't control, you know, the weather. You can't control mother nature. And so you would just kinda gotta go with it as to what the different types of weather brings. I always say, like, we're, like, Forecasters during harvest time because we're constantly looking at the weather. But that's what, like, intrigues me. Yeah. Oh, that's so cool. I love that both of you came at this from, like, that science background, but then also that it it's not common. I find so many more people fall into wine right at a later time. You know? They usually, like, will do some job, and then they'll be like, but then this happened, and then I fell into wine. It's very cool. You're like, yeah. At 4, I knew it was science, and I knew it was like I had, you know, the the marine biology, I had this, or winemaker. Very clearly, I love that that was an option even at that point that it was recognized guys that, you know, the science could lead to winemaking, which is super fun. And great to have that family background too, but it makes a lot of sense that, like, You guys would love winemaking as in, like, the need to, like yeah. We could be a scientist and sit in a lab, but I need the science plus the the movement, and the action. And, I mean, at a winery, there's always action going on. Right? So I'm sure you're never you're never bored at this point, working working in a winery. So we talked a little bit about what sparked your interest in wine. I'd love to get into the details of how you got from, you know, that interest in wine and and starting as interns and working at wineries to then how did you create Cayman's 2 Dreams and and, you know, get to, Yeah. Just starting your own winery. What did that look like? Well, I think for both of us, it has always been a dream of ours to one day Have our own winery to own our own winery. And so I think what kinda started that was that, we had an opportunity that came up of being able to to make wine 1 year. And we were fortunate that another winery allowed us Come in and and make that wine. And so along with that, we made it that year with them, and and I was telling Midea, like, okay. The timing is, like, now, like, we're gonna start doing this. And we only brought in what was it? Like, 1 ton of year. Yeah. 2017 was a ton and a half, we didn't take the cases of wine. It was a Syrah. Yeah. Syrah. A cool climate Syrah from Santerite Hills. And so that's what kinda started coming to dreams. And then that winery moved to a bigger winery, And so that space became available. And we only had, like, 2 barrels of of wine and the opportunity to have this building. And I was just like, I guess I'm the dreamer in the relationship, and she's the one that Yeah. You wanna make sure, for example, put in the floor. That's gonna happen. And so Yeah. But I was like, I was like determined that we were opening a winery. This is gonna happen. And it's like now or never. There's, like, this opportunity perfect opportunity came up for us, and so so we did. Yeah. We we jumped in Well, it's a jam more than just like, jumped head first and, like, there is, like, I'll dip my toes in a little bit. I don't know. We've always wanted to to have Faron, definitely. Because, like, when you're a winemaker, you wanna, I don't know, experiment and do things different. And when you work for someone else, you can do a little bit, but not everything. And it's all I mean, it's always a dream, I think, of most of wine small winemakers that or winemakers that are in small wineries to have, like, a label in the side or things like this. So, yeah, we started in in 2017 with these 2 barrels, and the thing is that when the opportunity came, it was just like she was like, we're not gonna find another building that it's, like, key Right. Right. Like, there was already, like, a winery there. So, yeah, we had to do, like, some work there, but it wasn't nothing nothing Crazy. There was trains. There was a call room. So most of the important most of the important work was already done. So it was more a matter of, like, how are we gonna finance this? Because, like, definitely, with 90 barrels, you cannot maintain you can even pay the rent of a building for a year. So, I mean, with 90 cases. And then it takes, like, also, like, so long, right, to To create a brand and and then release it to the market and start making, like, any income even though you're not making money, but you're still getting years. So A Few years just to get started, anyway. So we started really small and and grow small. We're, like, slowly growing. We need, like, Yeah. 90 cases and then 200 and then 500, I think. And then we did again 300 because COVID hit, then we're like, oh, what's gonna Okay. And then Mhmm. And then we've done a couple of years of 1500 cases right now. So, like, we're not right now, it's the moment where we're trying to grow a little bit More open a little bit more of distribution. It's so cool. I have to say just looking and seeing, like, all the barrels behind you, as you say, like, we started with Two barrels and, like, how cool it is to just, like, see that. Right? Like, how exciting. It's like yeah. It does start with a dream. And, obviously, you need the logistics to work out too, but, You know? This all did start with a dream. And so I'm wondering, maybe that's my next question was gonna be where did the the name Cummings to dream hopefully, I'm saying it right. I I keep saying Cummings slightly differently. It's Kamins Kamins to dreams. Where did the name come from? So, yeah, like, that was, like, the hardest part of, like, trying to come up with a name that represented both of us and Had so much meaning to both of us. So Kamins translates to path in Merez Catalan language, so the path to our dreams. And the well, we don't even have Oh, I have a I have a bottle here. I've got the the one here. Yeah. So the logo is like A vine, and it really shows the roots because we're both deeply rooted within within our own cultures. And also too, you know, just representing the aspects of of the vineyard and the vines being deeply rooted as well. And it's it's kind of like a round Logo, meaning that we come from 2 different parts of the world, and there's, like, a little yin and yang on on one of the, Yeah. If you see the turquoise leaf, it's like you can see, like, how it's like the yang yang there. So that representing balance. Us. Yeah. So we're we're kind of opposites of each other, but, yeah, we balance each other. Yeah. The name why the pastor dreams, as I said, like, we start traveling together. Once we met, she would come along with me in in Europe traveling, visiting different wine regions, and I would do the same here. So It's through all the path and routes that we took that led us to our dream winery where we are now in her hometown. Oh, so sweet. I'm curious too that now that you talk about it, like, in in all the places that you visited. Right? And and you traveled in many places, and you're obviously being from Spain, but being from California. What was there something that made you choose California in Santa Rita Hills as, like, the place where you were gonna have the winery, or was it kind of just circumstance. It worked out that you ended up there. I think, like, at that time, we were, like, trying to decide, okay, who Who would be a better fit to move to to kinda, like, readjust? And at that point in time of our lives. It was it was Midea moving here because she already spoke the language. And me, like, you know, they speak Catalan where where Midea comes from, and I still don't know Catalan. And so that was Part of the reason, but also too, we we're such huge fans of Northern Rome that we felt that Santa Rita Hills It's something similar to that, and we're only 10 minutes from the ocean. In terms of cold climates around. Yeah. Nice. Okay. Fun. I like it. Well and speaking of, like, Santa Barbara, I'm curious. So I took a trip there, and I think it was last year. And then just, like, with what wines I've been drinking, and I noticed there are a lot of like, it seems like there's a larger concentration of female winemakers in Santa Barbara and in that area. And I'm just curious. Like, 1, do you think that's a fair observation? I might just be starting to direct towards those people and, like, drinking their wine, so Maybe not, but do you notice that as well? And do you think there's anything special that about Santa Barbara and about that region that you're in that kind of encourages this diversity? Yeah. I mean, definitely, it's a fair observation. We are one of the largest, if not the largest region wine region with women, Canadian winemakers are women in led positions in the wine industry, so definitely a lot of us. And a lot of us have, like, super small labels, so they still work for someone else, but that number is growing every year. And why? I think it's Experimentation. I think it's it's a newer newer wine region that's coming up. It's already up there. It's already been recognized, but it's still, like, really open to Anybody that comes from other areas and to experiment with any kind of variety. Yeah. I mean, like, we have over 75 different varieties here in Santa Barbara County. And within, like, a 30 mile radius, you could be enjoying your Bordeauxs, or you could be enjoying your burgundies or your Rhones or Italian varieties. Like, You don't have to go far to enjoy all the different microclimates that Santa Barbara County offers. Well, speaking of the different wines, so looking at the website and some of the wines that I've tried, you guys have a quite a variety of of options that you offer, and and it's so interesting. So I have in front of me, I I found this bottle that I bought, I think, a year or 2 ago. This is the Carignan. I never say that right. Car the Carignan 2021 Tanina's Vineyard, Happy Canyon. But I've also had your alberino, the Gruner Veltliner. I know you do. I saw Graciano on the website, and you've been talking Syrah. So I'm just curious. How do you do you wanna talk a little bit about how you choose the wines to make? And then, selfishly, I'm gonna ask you to talk a little bit carrying on, if you remember about it. But maybe just start with the, like yeah. How do you choose which wines that you're going to make? So when I'm gonna start, when we started, we started just with Gruner and Syrah. Syrah because we have Northern Rhone, as we say it, then called Climate Syrah, and specifically, that's Great here in Santa in Santa Rita Hills. And then for Brunner, it was mostly like everybody here is doing Pinot Chardonnay. We We didn't wanna make peanut sugar donut because everybody else is doing it, and we kinda, like, wanted to show other varieties, teach people that there's other things to drink, and Focus on that underrepresented grapes. Right? So there was, like, a starting to be, like, some vineyards planting here, and, we tasted a few of the wines. The characteristics were Literally what we look for, like, which is high acid minerality, really food friendly, wines. So that's how we started, and we make, like, different Syrahs and different every year. Designated. Vineyard designated. We do even, like, a stale and a sparkling, so we do up and that. And then slowly, we've been adding Other varieties that we like, that we feel like they're cool, like they're different, people is not too familiar with, and we wanna showcase. So that's where Game or Carinan or Albarino or, Yeah. You say graciano that we do for our wine club. Every year, we do some cool variety for our wine club too. Colmencia. That's cool. Okay. I love that from Spain. How do we choose the varieties of the vineyards? That's mostly, we look for vineyards that are organic, regenerative, biodynamic, They have the same philosophy that we have with the wine, so they have it with the vineyards. So that's really important that the vineyard, it's gonna be our future. So Yeah. I mean, basically, yeah, as Maria said, we just really like focusing on the underrepresented varieties, and we love to teach other people new varieties Away from the norm of what they're used to tasting. And so we're constantly looking for those type of varieties Here in Santa Barbara County, and and now we just started venturing out into San Benito County. And so that's where the Mincea came from. Very fun. Okay. So speaking of, like, teaching people about it, can you talk a little bit about the Carignan? I know you probably don't remember all the the details. So it's a 2021. Yeah. That's our 2021 Carignan. That's our 1st vintage of Carignan. Yeah. I always wanted to do A 100% of Carignan. We we visited, you know, southern France and Toured through there, and I think that's when I first started falling in love with Carignan, the Languedoc area. And And so I wanted to do, like, a 100% Karen. Yeah. Like, that was my baby. And so, you know, we found this vineyard, here in Happy Canyon AVA and fairly new vineyards, setting as vineyard. And, yeah, we started making it in 2021. And so it's 50% carbonic maceration to 50% destemmed. And so as Mireya said, we we always make a wine every year for our wine club members. That's exclusively for wine club. And so we we decided to do a 100% carignon carbonic maceration carignon for them. And so we we put aside, like, 2 barrels, and then the rest of that went into the the normal blend wine that we we make. So, yeah, that's, Yeah. That's how we make it. And then how we made it in 10 months in the barrel of aging in neutral French oak barrels. And then The idea is that our wines are food friendly. They're light. They're vivid, fresh. And this Caribbean specifically comes from a really hot area. And Karimyan does great in hot areas, but, it's also why it's used more for blending. It's like it has, like, high alcohol, like, High tanning, lot of color. So we wanted to make something a little bit lighter, a little bit more of our style. So we picked a little earlier, retained a lot of acidity, and then do this 50% carbonic, which kinda, like, lift up all the aromatics. And Yeah. Absolutely. I can I can taste that in this? It's interesting. We actually said that you don't see it too often, but it's a 100% right. I I do. I get that exact thing. Like you said, when I first tasted it, it was definitely, like, It's on that lighter side for red in a really lovely way that, like, light to medium body where, like, you're just like it's like that thing to me where, like, can pair it with almost any food. Like, this kinda has Same feel to it where I'm just like, any dinner that I'm just enjoying, I could throw this carnean with, and I know it would just, like, work really well. The fruit is really nice. It's funny. I I'm curious on, like, the you did 5050 carbonic maceration, but I'm just gonna take advantage of this moment here because I still don't Fully understand carbonic restoration. So can you just talk a little bit about that? I've noticed with some wines, a 100% carbonic is not always my favorite, But I really enjoy this wine, so I'm curious on that 5050. But first, I guess, what is the carbonic maceration? Like, what does that how is that different in the winemaking? So carbonic maceration is pretty much fermentation within the grape berry itself. So we we bring the fruit in from the vineyard. We do a sort of of removing material other than grape. It's still whole cluster, and it goes into this tank whole cluster into this tank. And And then we put a little bit of c o two at the top of it for the 1st couple of days, but seal it off completely so no oxidation. And then the fermentation starts to happen within the grape berry itself. And so what that brings is a lot of freshness To the wine, it it helps. I mean, with the whole clusters, you're getting that spiciness a little bit of that spiciness as well. And so we Generally, close it, keep it the fermentation lasts for, like, 30 days, but we basically don't really do much to it. But they said just, like, monitor it, once it begins fermentation and making sure that nothing else happens to it, VA or any sort of microbial issues in the wine. And so that's all we're doing is just tasting it for that and monitoring the fermentation For that 30 days. Yeah. So what happened is at the beginning of of the fermentation, as she say, like, all the fermentation, it's inside the berry. But as the berries Keep fermenting. They get a little soft. The skins get softer, so they start breaking, and the bottom of the tank starts producing some juice. So then when we open the tank after a month, If you open it from the top, it's all berries. You don't see any juice, but there's still a little bit of juice in the bottom, which is, like, what's keeping the fermentation alive. And then we just, like, basically jump Into the tank. We foot stomp it because we like to foot stomp everything. Mhmm. So we foot stomp, break the grapes, and then we open the door and and put it into the press and and press it. Very fun. I love that you add, like, you've put stuff everything just because you're like, you have to do the fun stuff too when you're making the light. Yeah. It's fun at first. You know? Like, first harvest, but having to do that every day and on everything, yeah. That is fair. Kinda gets old a little bit. Yeah. But I must admit, it's a good workout for sure. Keeping me no jim pass without it. So I'm gonna ask Cool question. But I think for people that are listening, if they want to try your wines, right, and they're looking to maybe get 3 bottles, Which 3 would you recommend that you think are, like, the 3 together are good kind of representation of Comings to Dreams? I mean, I would say definitely Gruner and Syrah. And we have a lot of Gruners, a lot of different Syrahs, but definitely 1 Gruner, 1 Syrah, because that's been our flagship, like, since we started. Fiddlesticks Vineyard. Yeah. Fiddlesticks Vineyard. We just released a new Syrah, which is Donaca vineyard that it's tasting really good now. It's still super young. 2022. It's a 2022, but it's it's tasting really good. And then I would say, like yeah. I wouldn't pick a third one, like, as a flagship, but, like, coringyan is great. If you want something more spicy, gummy, If you want something like more tonic, a little bit more full body, the Grenache. Grenache. I like it. So it's like, actually, there's 2 that you you definitely gotta try the Grunerweltliner and a Syrah, and then kind of go wild on 3rd. Pick what you sounds good to you. Well, that Syrah sounds wonderful. The smile that came on your face, Tara, when She mentioned the Syrah definitely made me be like, I gotta try that Syrah. Yeah. I think the smile came because we just, like, a few days ago, just went through and started figuring out our 2023 vintage. We just tasted through all our 2023's. And the 2023 Danica Syrah just, like, really stood out. Yeah. It tastes It tastes like like, it's one of those that I know. I'm confident that that's That's good to hear. To taste wines in this stage. Like, we tasted every single barrel last week, and sometimes it's difficult because wine is going to, like, a lot of changes, and now it's still, like, really young. It just finished fermentation, and and it's it's like normally, it's like, yeah. The wine is good. We'll see how it changes because It can change a lot. But this one was like, okay. Yeah. It is really good. Yeah. Yeah. It's already really good, then it's really young, so we're hoping. But the 22 that's already in the market, yeah, it's it's everybody's been loving it. So I always say too when we're tasting, it's like, you know, When it's going through that through those stages of of aging, I I call it, like, a love and hate relationship because there could be some days that you You taste it, and you're just like, wow. Like, this is, like, this is awesome. You know? I'm loving this. And then there could be other days that you go back and you taste it, and you're like, The hell? Like like, what happened here? Yeah. Yeah. I've, there's another winemaker here in Washington, Damsel Cellars. She mentioned she's like she calls it the teenage phase for the wine because it's like there are moments when, like, it's great and it's wonderful. And then just like you said, exact thing where it's like you come back the next day and you're like, The hell is this the same? Why? So I think that's, like, part of the reason why we wait to to make our blends. Like, As we keep everything, all the lots separate, which is kinda, like, hard to do, but but we do it. We we keep all the lots separate, and we wait till it goes through all the, Ups and downs. Ups and downs of aging process before we start blending things Yeah. Together and figuring out, like, Exactly. The final blends of them all. But it's always just cool to, like, get a little peek at at it, like, you know, right after secondary fermentation. And and quite surprisingly, like, mostly all of our lots just finished secondary fermentation, The lactic fermentation. So so yeah. Wow. Very exciting. Okay. Before I do wanna talk about one other thing. So you guys Talk about finding organic vineyards, and then you also mentioned, you know, on the website in the intro, you know, minimal amounts of s o two at bottling and making them unfined, unfiltered. Just curious to learn a little bit more about why did you choose to do this. You know, what difference does this make in the wine, and do you guys consider your wine natural wine? Yeah. I I consider it more than slight. Malay doesn't like using the word natural because That's fair. That's why I asked too. No. But it it it would be, like, in between the standards of natural wine, definitely. Our wine, it could be considered natural, and a lot of people, they will feel like it. I just don't like the word. But we even use it ourselves because that's something that people understands. But, yeah, definitely, it's white yeast, no additives, and fine and filter, so it's like everything that would an organic vineyard, so that's what it's natural wine. The only thing that we added is a little tiny bit of s o two right before bottling to protect it. But, yeah, that's about it. Have you noticed, like yeah. I was just like, what's the inspiration behind doing that, and, you know, did you notice a difference in wines that choose to may be made that way? So for me, like, I've tasted like, I've been through so many of the styles of of winemaking in in my years Here in California, you know, when I first got into the industry, it was like, the big and bold, the better, and High alcohol was like the end game, and going and visiting Midea a lot and and tasting, you know, more, of the European wines, I started to really fall in love with that and just understanding it more. And and now I I see it becoming More and more accepted here. You see more winemakers kinda going that route. And and for us, like, yeah, we we Do native yeast fermentations, separating all the vineyard lots. Like, when we do our sampling, we separate each vineyard lot and Create the starter, the. So when the fruit comes in, you know, you already got that starter going for that particular vineyard. So you so you pitched that. Oh, interesting. So would that be like is that similar to, like like, people have, like I think of, like, with sourdough starter. When you say starter, is that, like, a similar kind of idea? Similar. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. And so so yeah. I mean, yeah, we we we believe that we do need to add a little bit of s o two because we on it to, 1, to help it get to bottle because it kinda gets beat up along the way, and you don't wanna oxidize it. So we do add it right at bottle, but just, like, a minimal amount just to help get it to bottle and to help preserve it For a little bit because we do want it to to last a long time, and we're really lucky that where we live, the soil profiles and everything, that It allows us to have lower pHs, higher acids. So it's perfect for our natural winemaking. Yeah. And then I think if so, we wanted to make wines that really represent where they're coming from. Right? Like, that focus on the vineyards and And, Yeah. On the terroir. On the variety itself, showcase the variety. So not adding anything to the wine, it allow us to really showcase a variety and from where it comes from. With the Syrah, we have, I would say, like, different vineyards and the is the same. And the vineyards that we source fruit from, they're, like, literally a a mile from each other. And the wines come totally different. And that has something to do with, obviously, the farming that they do, a little bit of the orientation, a bit little with the Soil, but the soils are really similar. So it's just more like what's in the grapes itself, the yeast that's already on those grapes. Or, like, why, I know. Like, Syrah from wine vineyard, it's a little bit different than another one. Right? So, that's why we really wanna showcase. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like that's the mystery of it. I had a a Couple on here, they are making wine in Virginia. Yes. And they're you know, they talked about the same thing. They're like, we have 2 vineyards that are, like, a mile part of that. And it's amazing that, like, they're making the wine the exact same way. They only had one way to make it at one point. There was, like, there was a Sauvignon Blanc, and they just they did the same thing to both of the wines, but It didn't matter. They both turned out totally different because of just, like, that starting, you know, where they started in the the terroir. Then I feel like that's, like the magic of like, some people, like I I definitely, like, get the idea of, like, some, like, roll their eyes at the idea of terroir, but it's, like, it's proof. It's you taste the 2 different, and you're like, you can't say that it's not happening. Right. Mhmm. Yeah. And we like to showcase that here in the tasting room of have our maps out, showing them where each vineyard site is. You know, we also have the soils here in the tasting room too so they could see, like, the different soil profiles, which Sometimes could be similar, but sometimes they're they're not similar. And so and just really, like, teaching them just about Santa Barbara County in general. Yeah. And so so, yeah, that's that's something I like to geek out on, so I must I I wanna share that with with other people that come through. No. And I'm sure that's I'm sure it's a very special experience. Those are my favorite favorite tasting rooms and wineries to visit when you get to kinda dive deeper down into it a little bit. It's like, I could taste fine. I can do that at home. Like, Give me something a little special when I get to go to the winery. So alright. So before we get to the final little speed round that I do with everyone, is there anything new and exciting that you're working on that you wanna share or anything that we haven't touched on that you'd like to share about. Well, we do we do a couple of collaborations Yeah. Also. We have one with with Maker Wine, which is the canning company, that we make the Albanian for. But we also, are making wine for Go There Wines, which is some friends of ours that decided that they wanted to Showcase winemakers as well, more of the underrepresented winemakers, and they come from from all over the world, From Syria, from Lebanon. Lebanon. South Africa. Mhmm. So yeah. And then Us from here. Us from United States. But but, yeah, we've been working for them, like, a few years. We make different varieties. We make for them. We're making Frank now. We may change the variety for next year. But but it's also more like a social project, I would say. For them, they'd really wanna help, these winemakers, you know, like, sell their wines and be known. And so they explain a lot of their stories. All the bottles have, like, a kinda like a really catchy phrase, a QR with their video and the story behind the label, but also like a A phrase, like, that really identifies Each winemaker. Winemaker. Yeah. So so it's a great project, and and their idea is, like, once they start like, they just started a of years ago. So, their idea is once they start, like, selling more of the wine and having a little bit more of, like, the revenue and stuff, like, to give back to the winemakers or give back portions of the sales to the winemakers again. So, it's a really cool project and and really good wines that you normally don't taste. Not only ours, but, you know, like, there's wine from, yeah, from Lebanon, from Yeah. The wines. Winemaker from Syria that's in exile in Lebanon. There's, like, winemaker from Georgia, and they're really good. They're sold here online in in United States. So so yeah. Cool. Yeah. I'll have to I'll add the I'll add the, website for that in the show notes. So go their wines, and then you also make the I've totally forgot about the maker wines, but I've definitely seen you guys there before. The the canned wine as well. That's like it's like you can have really great quality wine in a can. That that I think that's so fun. And And that's another great project that their focus is to explain the stories of the winemaker. So each winemaker makes a different a different wine for them, and they and they can it. And it's and it's really Cool. Because it's easy to take, and it's easy to buy. They're like the slim cans, so they're like smaller cans. So it's really easy to, you know, like, have glass of this, have a glass of that, and and just share it with friends and take it on the go. Yeah. Super fun. Okay. Yeah. I'll put I'll put links in For all that, in the show notes, also for you guys for buying online as well, and so people can come find you if they're ever in Santa Barbara. I do this little speed round. I call it a speed round simply because, like, Don't think too hard on the questions. Otherwise, it would be, like, too challenging. This is meant to be, like, kinda what's top of mind and and what you're thinking about. So, the first one is, what is your favorite wine at the moment? At the moment? From ours or from It can be anything. It can be from you, or it can be from someone else. Whatever kinda comes to mind. So not too long ago, it was for my birthday. We opened up a wine from Apira Sacra, Alguerra, Which is Cortezada. So it's a white wine, with Alberino, Tricia Dura, Cordeo. It was it was a really fun fun wine that I really enjoyed, and, yeah, that's mine. That sounds wonderful. And and for me, I don't think I can choose a favorite because I can never choose any favorites in my life. So I'm like that. I'm really, like, one here The other day is theirs. But, I've been a lot into into Jura wines lately. So, like, I've been, like, Wanting to taste a lot of zero wines, which are, like, sometimes difficult to find. But but, yeah, like, I would say that, like, I've been Just like finding those varieties around here. So Yeah. No. I'm with I I love that you bring up Jira. Jira is such a fun region, and I'm trying to, like, get more people try it. Though, at the same time, I'm also like, I want more people to try it so I can find it more easily, but, also, it's like the prices will start going up as well once more people know about It's an international wine that is still, like, It's not crazy, on price still here. So, like, at least the wines that we get in in in California are not crazy. So, Sounds good. It's like finding the right balance between They're fresh. They're lighter style, which I love. So Yeah. Yeah. It's really, really good. Okay. So now I'm gonna ask your favorite wine region that you've ever visited. So I'll I'll start because it was it was recent, and that's why that wine came to mind. It was Ribera Agra. When I had a moment out there in the Vineyard that was just, like, unbelievable. Like, if you were to go there and see the The percent of slope that they have to work with, it's, like, insane. And it was even difficult to go out to the Vineyard and Just try and walk it in general because it's such a it's such a steep incline. And in order to have it with Ribena sakura label on it. It had to be, like, a certain percentage of slope. You remember that? That was 30%. 30% or 40% slope. And, so so everything is completely done by hand. You see so many abandoned vineyards there because The older generation, like, to have to do everything by hand, it's, like, insane. And and to have to walk and pick, like, The way that they do that is is unbelievable. And then you have to put it on a boat and then take it to wherever your your winery is along that river there. So I just had, like, a super big appreciation for the newer generation that's that's coming online and and wanting to take over the family vineyards, you know, that their parents, you know, had back in the time and taking over some of the abandoned vineyards too Because it's it's super intense, like, the amount of work that they do out there. And and then you go and you see the price points and they're so low, it's just like I I feel so bad for them because of all the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into those wines from from Ribera Sacra. Yeah. And remind me again geography wise, Ribeira, Saccaro. That's Spain. Right? Spain. Galicia. So Galicia, but England. So, people is Probably pretty familiar with Ria Spice, which is Salbarino, which is in the coast. So a little bit more inland, you have ruegera sacra. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Very cool. Yeah. I know. It is amazing, isn't it? When you look at, like, a lot of the European airlayers that are making wine and, like, when you do and then you look at the price too, and especially, I'm sure Spain kinda hits this happens a lot in Spain. I'm just like, wow. You did all that work, and, like, I get to enjoy this for, like, 20, $30. Right? Like, it doesn't Feel like it doesn't feel right almost. Okay. Mireya, how about you? Paper is one reason. You know, I don't like to pick things. Right? So I know. You're gonna have a hard time with Any speed round questions? It's more like bring up something that you like. I'm gonna pick 1 now, but, I mean, from all the travels that we've done, there's I've always said that, the mussel and and burgundy was, like, my 2 favorite troubles, like, for, like, tasting wines, but I'm gonna I'm gonna go with burgundy now Because I I loved it when we went there. It was winter. The vineyards were, like, top at the moment, but everybody was pruning. It was just, like, So amazing to see, like, everybody with working the land, like, with the horses and then pruning and doing, like, this fire in the vineyard, like, burning all the The ships of the of the vines and everything done by hand and then making, like, so many different kinds of wine with mostly 1 variety, which is Pinot Noir. Right? So, yeah, I left it there when we went, so I'm gonna I'm gonna go there. I love it. And I love that you picked 1 too that you visited in winter, but it still, like, stuck with you of, like, that the feeling of being there and all the cool things that were going on even when it wasn't in, like, the biggest like, the best time people would think to visit a wine region. Oh, no. It's just, like, amazing. There's less people, the winemakers and the everybody, like, have more time for you. It's just great. That's the benefit, isn't it? Right. I don't know. Slow time too. We cannot Right. Go, like, easy. But that is true. It's like, yeah, of course, that's when you would visit. Okay. So now on the flip side, what is a wine region that you would like to visit? Wine Loire. Never been to Loire yet. I haven't. No. I haven't been in Loire yet. I would probably love to go to New Zealand. I don't know if because I wanna go for the wines, but I really wanna go to New Zealand. So that would be the one that I would choose. I'm not a fan of, like, super intense Sauvignon Blanc, but I really like Sauvignon Blanc just like any that area thing. Just like New Zealand. New Zealand, in general, I think it would be just like a pretty good like, well, we Hoping to just try some wines too, but, also, I just kinda wanna get off. I can go out over there. And, yes, Loire Valley. I'm hoping to visit, Loire in in the fall here. I have a friend that's in France and is in, Nantes, I think. So Nantes, I I don't speak French, so I have no idea how to pronounce things. But Excited to kinda check out that region. I think that'll be very fun. We drink a lot of wines from there, but we just haven't had the opportunity to go there yet. Yeah. Well, there's so many to pick from. You can never right? You'll never hit them all. But okay. So now how about, like, a wine and food pairing that that you enjoy or, like, a go to. And it can be fancy or super casual. What's, like yeah. What's a good go to wine and food pairing? Go ahead. You start. Wine and food coloring. I mean, we can just go with the classic fried chicken and sparkling wine. Right? Yes. Absolutely. Nothing wrong with that. I enjoy let's say let's say let's say. I like robotic grilling. I'm into that right now. So robotic grilling and and maybe I mean, we are a gruner. Yeah. It just goes great with a little bit of Fries and Yeah. Asian style and yeah. Yeah. Okay. Nice. I like it. No. But we're both taking that. Yeah. Well and you already said fried chicken and sparkling wine. I think that's a great That's an easy one. That was Okay. And then the last question is for those kinda looking they wanna start getting into wine, but they're they're on a budget. Are there any regions or Styles of wine that is, like, your go to to stay under, like, 15, $20. I say go to Europe. I mean, literally. No. I mean, not not necessarily Europe. I would say, like, it's really difficult to find those prices for small producers In United States. I mean, if you look for bigger companies, definitely, you're gonna find those prices. But for small producers, because of the price of the grapes and price of living and price Everything. It's really difficult. But if you go to find wines from South America, from Europe, from Australia, it's a little bit easier even though they're imported. But Beaujolais. Yeah. Example. Yeah. Louis Jordeaux Beaujolais. Yeah. Beaujolais, you know, like, there's a lot of wines at that Price. I would say, like, in Spain, like, you can find, like, nice tempranillas that that age even here that are, like, at Super low price. Albarinos, definitely. And Albarino here at 15 to that range, 15, $20, it's just gonna be mind blowing. So yeah. Yeah. No. Great answer, and I love it. I always like to I ask that question because I think it's a good place for people to start, you know, and then kinda get an idea for things. And then as you start to, like, appreciate wine and and learn what you enjoy, you get to start exploring. And and at least that's what happened to me. You know, I started with that. Like, There's a picture of me with, like, barefoot and Moscato, you know, as, like, a teenager, and then, you know, you move on up. But I think I moved on to, like, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Know, Blanc, it was, like,$10, and now it's, like, the whole, like, exploring wineries, and I don't really bat an eye at spending, you know, $40 on a bottle. So I'm like, I know everything that went into this, and I know this is, you know, worth it. But you gotta, like it's a little bit of a process to to get there. But thank you so much for joining me on the podcast. It was so fun to to chat with you ladies and and learn about your winery and and everything there. And I'm looking forward to next trip to Santa Barbara, we'll definitely have to to visit. And, definitely, I'm going to put that, Syrah that y'all were talking about on the I'll be on a lookout for that 2023 when it comes out. But thanks again for for joining me. Yeah. Thank you for having us. Yes. Absolutely. To you. Alright. Well, have a good rest of your day. Cheers. You too.