Dennis Schaefer (DS): Why Albariño? And why now?

Louisa Sawyer Lindquist (LSL): First, the brief answer. Albariño is a great grape that can produce a wine with gorgeous aromatics, mineral/citrus flavors and lively acidity. It's a wonderful food wine and it shines with seafood, especially shellfish. To me, it's always tasted of the sea, with hints of brine, orange, lime blossoms, minerals and a hint of bitter almond.

And it struck me that a lot of California looked similar to many areas of Spain: it had a strong Spanish influenced history, architecture and geographical names, yet no Spanish varietal wines. I really was surprised that no one had thought of it. It seemed like a "natural" to me.

Actually, the project is eleven years old this year (first vines planted in 1996) and I've loved Albariño since I first tasted it in 1990. Now the vineyard has some maturity and is producing great fruit. My experience working with the grape for seven vintages has helped make better wines.

DS: You obviously think the wine drinking public is ready for Albariño. Isn't Albariño at the same stage of public awareness that Viognier was about ten years ago?

LSL: Some of the wine drinking public is always ready for new flavor profiles. Albariño is like a breath of fresh air...or should I say a burst of racy acidity and balance that has been embraced by many as a refreshing alternative to the very ripe, unctuous style that has become the trademark of California wines.

Albariño has about the same level of familiarity that Viognier had ten years ago. However, Albariño has a completely different flavor profile than Viognier. They share lovely aromatics but Albariño is more subtle and restrained than Viognier; because it's not as big and unctuous as Viognier, it will not become as popular.

DS: How has your Albariño been received? Have you found it's an educational process for many people in becoming familiar with the varietal?

LSL: It has been an educational process. In the last couple years, Albariño and other Spanish wines as well as food, especially tapas, have exploded. It seems everything Spanish has become popular and now more domestic wineries are working with Albariño and Tempranillo, which is all beneficial to me. I think I'm a bit ahead of the curve because I've had a few years to figure out what works for me, though every vintage presents new challenges. I think Albariño will always be a "niche" wine with a devoted following and that's fine with me.

Verdad Albariño has been very well received by the trade and especially restaurant wine buyers because it compliments food so well. Its firm acidity and balance marry well with food, seafood in particular, and it doesn't overwhelm dishes like a lot of the big "fruit bombs" that smother subtle flavors.

DS: Did you feel you had an advantage over other California producers, who came later to the Spanish varietal game?

LSL: Yes and no - because Verdad started out so small, and is still small - just a few hundred cases of Albariño and not much more Tempranillo, plus Rosé - there hasn't been a tremendous impact on the market. I've been under the radar, intentionally really; because although the wines are really quite good, I dream of making world class wines and that doesn't happen overnight. The advantage of starting small and gradually increasing production is that it gives me a greater opportunity to know the grapes and improve vineyard practices and winemaking to create wines that will be the best they can be. So I have had an earlier, ongoing education, compared to people new to the Albariño/Tempranillo scene.

DS: Verdad (and Havens) was the first to produce an Albariño in California; did that help or hurt you? Did you feel you had developed a sustainable, first mover niche?

LSL: It certainly didn't hurt. Luckily the first wines turned out to be quite tasty. It was fun to sell it as the first Albariño and to turn on buyers and consumers to something with a different flavor profile: lighter, lower in alcohol and more food friendly than the stereotypical white wine, and made in California. Restaurants, especially in San Francisco and New York were quite enthusiastic and that was gratifying, especially since they're such competitive markets. As far as a first mover niche goes, I don't think that title is sustainable. The first mover niche will move to the next 'new varietal' grown in California. I'm sticking to what I'm beginning to know best.

DS: What made you think you could successfully plant Albariño and Tempranillo, and fashion varietally true wines in Santa Barbara County?

LSL: I had no idea about Albariño, really. That was a case of serendipity! Brian Babcock had planted some Albariño from vines he got in Rias Baixas and sold us some bud wood around the time Bob Lindquist (Qupé Wine Cellars) and I had declared our love for Albariño (and each other) in 1996/7.

I am very lucky because the vineyard site where Albariño and Tempranillo are grown in Santa Ynez Valley, the Ibarra-Young Vineyard in Los Olivos, is a relatively cool region II bordering on region III, which has a strong marine influence that keeps the evenings, nights and mornings quite cool. It keeps the acidity on the higher side to produce balanced and varietally correct wines.

The winemaking choice to keep Albariño true to its roots is to pick relatively early, so the sugar is moderate and balanced with a firm acidity. By picking early, which normally is the first week or so in September, the grapes have lower alcohol potential, good acidity and balance. My recent vintages were picked at 22 degrees Brix, between 3.17 and 3.20 pH and between 8.4 and 8.55 total acidity.

In Rias Baixas, they don't always achieve even 22 degrees Brix: that would be considered an exceptional vintage there, so I am lucky to get such good balance from vines that almost regulate themselves to about 3 tons per acre.

Both these vineyard sites (Ibarra-Young in Los Olivos & Sawyer Lindquist in Edna Valley) have many geographic characteristics in common with the Rioja Alta region in Rioja, specifically the marine influence and topography. The soil in Rioja has a different composition, of course. That being said, the jury is still out on Tempranillo. Every vintage has been different at Ibarra-Young Vineyard and the vines are evolving as they mature. Our Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard in Edna Valley has yet to bear fruit, so we shall see.

DS: Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon says that "giving Albariño grapes a tad more shade (in his Monterey County vineyard) produces grapes with thicker skins, and thus lowers phenolics, preserving delicate aromatics and finesse." What is your experience?

LSL: The Albariño planted at Ibarra-Young vineyard in Los Olivos has always had somewhat thick skins. I noticed in the first couple of vintages that the grapes produced a slightly bitter tannic quality from the skins. As the vines matured, that quality has subsided. I think what Randall says about shade makes sense, as this provides cooler growing conditions. I've had good results with a long, cold fermentation in tank to preserve the delicate aromatics.

DS: I understand Tempranillo is a prodigious producer; it could produce ten tons per acre, if left untended. What techniques do you use in the vineyard to limit and concentrate the yields?

LSL: The vines are planted in gravely loam at Ibarra-Young Vineyard on 3309 root stock, with a cordon trellis system. In the Edna Valley at Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard, the vines are planted in a clay loam with mudstone and some limestone on 101-14 root stock. I'm still experimenting with what works best for Tempranillo. I limit the amount of water to keep the berries smaller, shoot thin, cluster thin, and I drop quite a bit of fruit mostly after verasion because the vines are so vigorous. In every vintage, except 2006, the clusters have been very large, often weighing in close to a pound per bunch. And then there was 2006: a very strange year for red varieties in Santa Ynez Valley, when the clusters were much smaller and closer to a third of a pound. I had trouble getting the fruit to optimum ripeness.

DS: You drop 50-75 percent of the fruit from the Tempranillo vines?

LSL: I have dropped between 50-75 percent of fruit every year since 2001, except for 2006 where I dropped more like 35-40 percent because the clusters were so small.

DS: I understand Ibarra-Young Vineyard is organically farmed. What are the benefits and can you quantify that as to how it affects what's in the bottle?

LSL: This is very difficult to quantify. There are so many variables in farming. Generally, I think organically farmed fruit tastes better. Organically grown fruit comes from a less compromised environment. If you've ever been in a really commercial vineyard operation, it often has an unpleasant chemical odor. I think the organic fruit is cleaner, with more pure flavors, which result in a more vibrant wine.

DS: Is the new Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard also organically farmed? Have you given any thought to biodynamic farming?

LSL: Actually, we've been farming our new vineyard biodynamically since we planted it in 2005. We will get a tiny crop this year. The vineyard is thriving. Farming biodynamically has been very rewarding. Our biodynamic farming has been focused on creating healthy soils and a thriving vineyard within a diverse ecosystem that has beneficial plants and animals that exist in balance. It's been a very exciting learning process. I believe these farming techniques have already greatly improved our soils, and the overall health of the land.

DS: Regarding the new vineyard, how did you approach planting it? What are the appropriate clones, rootstocks, vine spacing, orientation, etc. for the site?

LSL: We used the Albariño clone (originally a cutting from Bodegas Morgadio) and the Ribera del Duero clone that we had at Ibarra-Young Vineyard. The vines are planted on 101-14 root stock which is somewhat de-vigorating and works well in clay soils. We have clay loam soils which are striated with mudstone, gravel and a bit of limestone in some areas. The vine spacing is 5 x 9 and the vines, for the most part, are planted in north-south running rows, depending on how the hills are situated. The Tempranillo is planted in a warmer area than the Albariño.

DS: Do you have an interest in any other Spanish varietals like Viura, Malvasia or Verdejo.

LSL: I am very interested in the Verdejo grape. I have been greatly impressed by some Spanish wines made from this grape variety. Perhaps in a couple of years I'll be able to plant some or obtain some from a good source.

DS: What about blending varietals in the future? Any number of Spanish producers in Ribera del Duero have blends that include Cabernet Sauvignon.

LSL: I don't have an interest in doing a Cabernet based blend. Good Cabernet Sauvignon is hard to come by here, especially in Santa Barbara County. Also, because Cabernet is a tannic varietal, it doesn't appeal to me, since the Tempranillo I've been working with has loads of tannin.

DS: What about Grenache and Mourvedre (you're already blending Syrah and Grenache into your Tempranillo now)?

LSL: Although I love wines made from Mourvedre, there isn't a lot planted in the area, and our vineyards are, for the most part, too cool, although we've had some success at Ibarra- Young. I did some blending experiments with Mourvedre I got from Rancho Arroyo Grande in the 2004 vintage, but it wasn't nearly as good as the Syrah and Grenache blending results.

DS: Can a straight Tempranillo stand on its own in California?

LSL: One of the main reasons I've been blending the Tempranillo from Ibarra-Young Vineyard is because it's a high pH, low acid grape and it really needs the acid boost from blending (high acid) grapes to make a balanced wine. It will be interesting to see how the Edna Valley fruit turns out because the soils are low pH. These grapes quite possibly will be fine on their own, but only time will tell. I've been very happy with the qualities the Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah and Purisima Mountain Vineyard Grenache bring to the wine. The Syrah, aside from great acidity, adds a lush middle, and the Grenache really lifts the aromatics.

DS: Did your visits to Spain and the time spent at the wineries more or less confirm what you wanted to do with Spanish varietals in California?

LSL: I learned a lot about the nature of Albariño grapes and the Spanish style for making Albariño from visiting Galicia/Rias Baixas in 1999. It inspired me to get a temperature controlled tank to make Albariño in.

When I spent time visiting several Tempranillo producers in 2000, probably the most eye-opening experience was to see how versatile Tempranillo is, because it's grown in so many completely different growing regions, with every fermentation style imaginable. Virtually all the producers I visited were working with older vines which produce differently than young vines. I was very excited by the wines at RODA and Ramirez de Ganuza wineries in Rioja and Bodegas Mauro in Tudela del Duero.

Although I was exposed to a lot of information, I was really skimming the surface and doing more general fact finding than getting any hard lessons on wine making styles. It has been a big learning curve for me working with Tempranillo. One thing I've incorporated is doing more pumpovers for softer tannin extraction, which I found done a lot in Spain.

I'm ready to go back to Spain again, now that I have a deeper understanding and more hands on experience actually working with the grapes we grow. I am anxious to learn more about different Tempranillo clones, especially those found in Rioja.