Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
The answers to these questions are now certain. They have been accepted and they continue to make better wines each year. Starting out, they needed to understand our vineyard sites, farm them like never before and make sacrifice. The attitude of Ambullneo Vineyards is "whatever it takes". No cluster is safe from being dropped to the ground, both in the vineyard and on the sorting table. No barrel is safe from being rejected and never making it to the final product. Only the tightest grain barrels are chosen for the project and cost is not a consideration. At first, while learning their sites, we were making cuvees (the blending of several vineyards). Now that the vineyards have more age and we are approaching our 9th vintage, they have started making site specific wines.
It comes down to this: whatever it took to produce the finest in wine is the course they have selected. Ambullneo's decisions have not been easy to make, but they believe that in effort you will find reward. Mass producing wine is not something that interests them. It's handcrafted wines from the vineyard that ignite their passions.
Pinot Noir is the second-most planted grape in Santa Barbara County, just behind Chardonnay. It thrives in cooler areas of the region, namely in the of the Sta. Rita Hills, which is part of Santa Barbara’s larger Santa Ynez Valley sub-appellation. Thought for decades to be too cool for viticulture, Sta. Rita Hills began to gain notoriety in the 1970’s, thanks to the pioneering work of Richard Sandford and Michael Benedict, among others.
Santa Barbara Pinot Noir dances across the palate with vivid red fruit and spice. Precision, bright acidity, elegance and fruit-driven silkiness make Santa Barbara Pinot delightfully enjoyable, whether on their own or with a variety of dishes.