The Miller Family Wine Co., a division of The Thornhill Companies, has launched a new brand focused on vineyard-designated wines from Bien Nacido Vineyard and crafted by longtime Santa Barbara County winemaker Joey Tensely. The label is called optik.
Bien Nacido Vineyard, planted in 1973 by brothers Bob and Steve Miller, is one of California’s most iconic vineyard sites, long praised for producing exceptional wines that epitomize the distinct characteristics of the Santa Maria Valley AVA. Looking to honor this heritage, the Miller family teamed with Tensley to create optik, designed to showcase a fresh take on Bien Nacido Vineyard.
Tensley has established a reputation for preserving the best characteristics of various vineyards by minimizing winemaker manipulation and oak treatment — a style that has earned him more than 200 90-plus ratings from the wine industry’s most esteemed publications.
“I’ve always felt the most important part of my role as the winemaker is to let the vineyard and the unique qualities of the fruit shine through in the wine,” Tensley said in a news release. “In order to emphasize the special characteristics of Bien Nacido, a special place that produces exceptional fruit, I make sure to use a gentler approach in the cellar, trying to let the terroir be the star. And working with individual blocks across the vineyard allows me to showcase diversity of site, which translates into wines with a true sense of identity.”
The optik lineup includes wines sourced from single blocks on the estate, featuring six small-lot wines across three varietals — pinot noir, chardonnay and syrah. Representing the power of new perspectives, optik’s packaging symbolizes the empowerment of the winemaker’s hand to convey what his eye sees.
State Agricultural Report Notes Net Loss of 15,000 Acres of Vines in 2020
The California Agricultural Statistics Service noted in a recent report that about 30,000 acres of vines were removed in 2020 — more acreage than any other year since the early 2000s.
The report, released in late April, pegs the 2020 grape acreage at 620,000 acres, with 40,000 acres non-bearing, according to WineBusiness.com.
While about 30,000 acres were pulled, about 15,000 acres were planted, which translates to a net decline of 15,000 acres compared with similar reports for 2019.
Since the annual agriculture survey relies on voluntary submissions by California’s approximately 8,900 grape growers, the report is not likely to be 100% complete. In addition, it is difficult to monitor growers who are planting grapevines for the first time.
Fresno-based Allied Grape Growers has developed an annual nursery survey for a harvest-to-harvest report, which is a more accurate representation of acreage for a specific vintage. Allied uses CASS’ annual Grape Acreage Report as a launch point to estimate acres by analyzing yields, using the crush report up against the acreage report to determine the location of missing acres.
That step was more challenging during 2019 and 2020; grapes were left unharvested because of oversupply in 2019 and wildfires in 2020.
Santa Barbara Vintners Postpones Annual Festival to May 2022
The Santa Barbara Vintners decided to delay for one more year the return of its popular Vintners Festival, traditionally held each year in May.
“Although reopening in Santa Barbara County is going well, we are postponing our signature event again this year,” the organization noted. “We will welcome you all back … with a glass of wine, on May 7, 2022.”
Tickets purchased for the 2020 event will roll over a second time to the 2022 event. Guests may either donate the value of tickets to the SBV or request a refund by email to Nightout at
support@nightout.com.
“Vines & Vision: The Winemakers of Santa Barbara County” Now an E-book
A book published in November 2020 by journalist Matthew Kettmann and photographer Macduff Everton is now available on all three major e-book formats — Kindle, Google Play and iTunes — for $27.99.
“Vines & Vision: The Winemakers of Santa Barbara County” is a deep dive into the people and places that make this county such a special place for winemaking.
The 600-plus page hardcover book showcases the region’s geography, history and viticultural practices as well as important trends, from the rise of women winemakers to the impact of the movie “Sideways.”
It also contains a yearbook-like chapter called “El Buen Equipo,” which showcases the efforts required to take a vintage to market and the often-overlooked farm workers who are the foundation of a vineyard and routinely provide the labor required to keep it healthy.
“Though it was a long haul to finish this book during the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve been immensely pleased with the almost universal reaction we get from both wine industry leaders and everyday readers alike,” said Kettmann, who has covered the region for about 20 years as an editor at the Santa Barbara Independent and Wine Enthusiast.
The book’s hard copies have nearly sold out, although some bookstores and wineries may have a few more left on their shelves, he said.
“These e-books allow more readers to see the work we did, especially as the printed edition is quite limited now, and these versions were crafted in a way that respects both Matt’s words and my photography,” said Everton, who’s worked for National Geographic, Conde Nast and many others in his half-century photography career.
Everton and Kettmann worked with Terri Wright of Terri Wright Designs in Santa Barbara to bring the e-books to life.
“Terri was impressed by what we had done, and worked hard to bring that same energy to the digital versions of the book,” Kettmann said.
— Laurie Jervis tweets at @lauriejervis and can be reached via winecountrywriter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are her own.