For more than 30 years Richard Sanford had been the prophet of the Santa Ynez Valley, holding forth at his iconic Sanford Winery before its sale to Tony Terlato a few years ago.
Sanford had settled in a part of the valley -- west of Highway 101 on a road that is a veritable wind tunnel from the Pacific Ocean -- that was hospitable to Pinot Noir, his passion long before the movie "Sideways."
He's still there, in a relatively new appellation that is now called the Sta. Rita Hills. His equally new winery (founded in 2005) is Alma Rosa, and these are some of the most interesting wines in the region. This is the subject of my Creators Syndicate column this week. Click here for access.
What makes the Alma Rosa wines interesting and unusual is their structure. Unlike many California wineries that strive for ripeness to the point that they end up with fruit jam, Alma Rosa wines have a European sensibility that is unique in this part of the world.
The wines, especially the whites, are as much about minerals and bracing acidity as they are about fruit aromas and flavors. That said, they strike a nice balance between the two. The six new releases I tasted recently lack neither ripeness nor flavor.
They will be high acid for some wine enthusiasts, but hardly thin or green. If you are one of those who prizes wine that is alive with fresh acidity, you will find the Alma Rosa wines magnificent.
And you will be most pleased that Richard Sanford didn't simply retire to a life of leisure following the sale of the winery that bears his name.
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