Winemaker Notes
Named for proprietor Barbara Banke's eldest daughter, Cambria Katherine's Vineyard Chardonnay is a vineyard designated, estate grown wine. The vineyard is located along the famed Santa Maria Bench in Northern Santa Barbara County. To yield the best wines—intensely flavored wines that showcase both varietal and terroir equally— the vineyard is pampered throughout the growing season. Our farming crew begins leaf thinning in early summer to allow more sunlight to reach the clusters, which facilitates even ripening and better flavor development. We limit irrigation to restrict vine vigor and focus the vine's energy on fruit production. Green harvesting is employed to remove secondary clusters and to foster growth of the primary clusters. When the grapes reach full maturity, individual blocks are handpicked one at a time by our seasoned vineyard crew.
Professional Ratings
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A lesser-known but elite AVA within the larger Santa Barbara district, the Santa Maria Valley AVA runs precisely west to east starting near the coast. The valley funnels cool, Pacific Ocean air to the vineyards more inland, allowing grapes a longer hang time to ripen evenly and achieve their full potential by harvest time. Combined with minimal rainfall, consistent warm sunshine, and well-drained soils, it is an ideal environment for grape growing.
Many of the wineries here are small and highly respected, having established a reputation in the 1970s and 80s for producing excellent Central Coast wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. More recently, Syrah has also proven quite successful in the region. Many vineyards are owned by growers who sell their grapes to other wineries, so it is common to see the same vineyard name on bottlings from different wineries. Bien Nacido Vineyard is perhaps the best-known and most prestigious.