Tatomer, Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir 2022

Graham Tatomer started working in Santa Barbara Winery as a teenager looking for a paycheck. But this soon turned into a lifelong passion, and he was especially drawn to the coolest vineyard sites producing wines of lighter weight, nuanced flavors, and bracing acidity - all qualities that he found embodied in Riesling. In his own words, "No other grape conveys its region's character and varietal flavor with the power, focus, and beauty the way Riesling does."

In 2003, he decided to go for full immersion and moved to Austria to deepen his understanding of growing and producing Riesling. There, he found work with none other than one of Austria's most celebrated producers, Weingut Knoll, and the team became like a second family to him. Naturally, during his time there, he was also introduced to the Grüner Veltliner grape. What was originally planned as a ten-week trip ultimately turned into a year, including two additional harvests.

In 2008, Graham founded Tatomer with fruit from two Riesling vineyards. His goal was to apply what he had learned to produce bone-dry Riesling in California, in contrast to many of the off-dry examples commonly found in the market. Since then, he has expanded to include additional Riesling vineyards as well as two Grüner Veltliner sites, and very recently also Pinot Noirs - all embodying his trademark style of freshness, vibrancy, energy and terroir transparency.