Turiya Wine

I always get excited when I hear about a new winery, and taste their wines. This time was no exception. 

The best resource for finding new wineries and winemakers is from those that you already trust. I had been hearing some “buzz” about a winemaker that was doing small production, red wines, in Lompoc, California. Doing some basic research I was able to contact Angela Soleno, the winemaker and owner of Turiya Wines. We set up an appointment and met on a Monday afternoon.

Turiya is located in a warehousing area of Lompoc, not too far from the “Wine Ghetto”. When we arrived, Angela was in the process of punching down her recently harvested Sangiovese from the Stolpman vineyards. She had two large bins of red grapes fermenting: the Sangiovese, and a Cabernet Sauvignon that had recently been picked at Estelle Vineyards, right at the border of Santa Ynez, and Happy Canyon AVAs.

As we tasted some of the freshly fermenting juice, I learned a little more about Angela. She used to work as a Project Manager for Consilience Wines in Los Olivos, where she gained experience. As a single mom, raising two children, she found time to attend the Viticulture and Enology program at Allan Hancock College.  She was inspired by Stephan Asseo from L’Aventure and Eric Jensen of Booker Wines. With her contacts within the farming community, Angela secured her first fruit bill and harvest in 2008.

Turiya only produces red wines, and Angela only makes three wines a year. Two of the wines are single varieties, and the third wine is made from a blend of the two. Angela makes a very small amount of wine with each vintage, only producing as much wine as she can give her personal attention to. She said that she is constantly touching, tasting, and smelling each fermenter and barrel, making sure that the wines meet her personal style preference.

As we moved to her “tasting room” (really a cut out section within her warehouse), Angela poured the three wines from the 2008 vintage (total production of 96 cases): Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Perpetual Bliss (a blend of 60% Cab and 40% Syrah). Both varieties were sourced from the Camp 4 vineyard. She likes to be creative with her blends, combining grapes that are not traditionally blended together. Her 2009 vintage (total production of 182 cases), which was just released includes: Malbec, Petite Verdot, and Hither (a blend of 65% Petite Verdot and 35% Malbec).

All of Turiya’s wines are barrel aged for 36 months in once-used oak barrels. Versus new oak, this allows for a nice soft oak tannin flavor. She said she checks the wines after the two-year mark, but doesn’t rush the process. Once bottled, the wines age another year before release. The less manipulation, the better for Turiya. Her single variety wines are typically produced from free run juice. She allows the natural yeast to ferment, and doesn’t inoculate for malolactic fermentation (she lets the wine take its’ natural course).

The one thing you will notice right off the bat, with the wines that Angela produces, is that these are food friendly wines. The alcohol levels are lower than what we normally see in California, and the acid levels are higher. Remember our discussion about wine pairing from a past blog? Acid “excites” food and brightens flavors. These wines are intended to compliment your food pairings, and create an elegant wine and food experience.

The next thing you notice are the bottles. These are heavy bottles, with long natural cork closures. Each bottle is hand dipped in wax to seal the cork. The single variety wines have vertical labels and the blends have horizontal labels. The logo on the bottle is not your traditional paper label. Each bottle has a screen printed label made from 24k gold. Angela explained where she got the name “Turiya”…. “it is a state of consciousness, where reality and truth are the same”.

Angela wants to keep her production small, just enough for her allocation list, which is growing. The initial tasting of her fermenting 2014 Sangiovese  and Cabernet Sauvignon have me looking forward to their release in about five years. Asked what grape varieties she wants to add to her mix, Angela said she is trying to source some Anglianico.

The only way to acquire Turiya wines is by getting on the allocation list, or by visiting Turiya. Angela holds barrel tastings by appointment at her location at 316 North F Street in Lompoc. You can contact her either by email, info@turiyawines.com or phone 805.478.7016. To learn more, check out her website at www.turiyawines.com.

Turiya Wines capture the essence of a garagiste winery: small production, hands on at every step, and fine-tuned to express the winemakers style. These wines are unique, and offer the wine lover something that is different from the rest of the pack. Watch out for Angela Soleno, she could just be producing the next California “cult wine”.

Sangiovese

As many of you know, I am in the process of writing segments of a new textbook for an international wine education program. Our first course is going through a test run in Madrid, Spain, as I write this blog. We hope to expand to the United States in the next few months. Right now, we are developing the level 1, or introductory course, which emphasizes grape growing, winemaking and explores the noble grape varieties. So, this week, I thought I'd share a very abbreviated version of my discussion on the Sangiovese grape (which runs about six pages in the textbook).


Sangiovese is like a Dickens novel that begins with, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. Sangiovese is the source of some of the finest red wines in the world, but it is also the cheap red wine packaged in a straw-casked bottle (fiasco), which is more popular as a candle holder. 

The origin of the Sangiovese name is pretty well debated, but general theory is that it derives from Sangue di Giove, or Sangius Jovus  (“blood of Jove” or “blood of Jupiter”), and was given that name by monks in Emilia-Romagna. 

Once believed to be a native and noble grape of central Italy, recent DNA evidence confirms that Sangiovese is the offspring of the north and south. The northern grape is Ciliegiolo (“little cherry”). The southern grape is Calabrese Di Montenuovo. It probably originated in the Calabria region before moving its way up to Campania, and eventually Tuscany.

Today, Sangiovese has different names in different regions. The best known are Prugnolo Gentile in Montepulciano, Brunello in Montalcino, and Morellino in Grosseto. All of these are said to be sub-varieties of Sangiovese, all of which fall into two basic categories: Sangiovese Grosso and Sangiovese Piccolo (or Sangioveto). 

The primary growing region of Sangiovese is within central Italy, mainly the Tuscany region where the most famous wines are made. Some of the best known regions are found along the foothills of the Appennines mountain range.  The Chianti region is probably the best known. Wines may be labeled Chianti or as one of the 8 sub-zones of Chianti.  Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino produce some of the best known, and loved wines in the region. 

While Sangiovese is the grape that typifies Tuscany, it is Brunello di Montalcino that stands alone as the region which makes 100% Sangiovese.  Here the moderating influences of the Mediterranean help create the most intense expression.

Sangiovese is not well travelled in the old world. There are small pockets of growth in Greece and Israel. The largest growing area outside of Italy is in France. 

In the new world, Sangiovese has had mixed results.  I remember one of the first Sangiovese wines out of California. It was produced by Atlas Peaks (at that time the Tuscan firm of Antinori had a stake in the company). While their initial experimentation may have failed, it did open the door for other producers. Small production remains in California, with growing success, in the Central Coast, Sierra Foothills, and North Coast. There has also been some experimentation in Washington. Chile and, especially Argentina, are showing promise.

Since the Sangiovese grape is thin skinned, it is naturally low in anthocyanins (the natural phenolics that are found in the skin), that give the wine its color.  This is why it has historically been blended with lesser-known grapes that can add color, such as Canaiolo and Colorino. The grape also tends to be high in tannin, acidity and aroma. For this reason, Sangiovese has historically been blended with both white and red grapes, to make up for what was missing."Super Tuscan" wines are blended with Cabernet or Merlot.

Sangiovese is the "workhorse" grape of central Italy It can produce everything from everyday drinking to premium wines in a variety of styles. Mostly known as a red still wine, Sangiovese also is used to make rosato (rose), sweet passito, semi-sparkling frizzante and the luscious dessert wine, Vin Santo.

The thinner skins mean that typically, the color is not particularly deep.  Traditional expressions tend to be a pale ruby or garnet color, with a brownish-red rim. Acidity is high, and tannins are moderate to high, both of which contribute to the wines aging potential. Alcohol levels are typically moderate, but as riper fruit is utilized, the alcohol levels can increase up to around the 14% range. Aromatics are typically moderate in intensity with a distinct black cherry aroma. This primary fruit aroma is supported by a range of savory vegetal, almost foresty, aromas of dried leaves or underbrush, tea, tobacco, straw—and occasional violet and smoke elements. More modern styles will have notes of vanilla and spice from the new oak. The finish on younger vintages can be somewhat bitter.

In Italy, wine is part of the meal. Sangiovese's high acidity and moderate alcohol makes it a very food-friendly wine when it comes to food and wine pairings. The high acid, makes it an ideal match to all types of food. Almost anything with tomato sauce works well. Tomato-based pasta dishes,  pizza sauce, Porcini mushrooms and Pecorino Cheese are perfect with Sangiovese. One of the classic pairings is bistecca alla fiorentina (a huge grilled T-bone steak).