2017 Stolo Chardonnay

About Stolo Chardonnay 2017:

Tasting Notes:

Seared nectarine, sea salt and white melon make for a broad, clean and welcoming aromatic entry to this bottling. The sip is very cohesive, showing toast with white-peach jam, lemon rinds and more sea salt, which makes sense given the vineyard’s proximity to the coastline.

Growing Notes:

Sourced from Cambria.

Winemaking Notes:

Proximity to the coastline give it slight sea salt notes.

About The Winery:

Sitting at the base of a sun-kissed nine-acre vineyard, the farmhouse and old dairy barn at Stolo Family Vineyards dates back to the late 1800s. Less than three miles from the Pacific Ocean, the vineyards thrive in Cambria’s unique microclimate, producing unmatched coastal style Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, and Syrah.

Their winemaker is Nicole Bertotti Pope: a Cal Poly Grad and most recently worked at Talley Vineyards as Assistant Winemaker. She started to learn about wine while waitressing in San Francisco. She was so intrigued, that she started working at a tasting room in Napa and then moved to managing a wine bar/shop in San Francisco. From there, she worked as a broker for small boutique wineries in Napa/Sonoma, representing their wines to restaurants and wine shops in SF. Her background lies in sales and marketing. Her parents, Don and Charlene Stolo, purchased the Cambria property in 2002. The original 9 acre vineyard was already planted on the property. As Italian-Americans, Don and Charlene had grown up with wine and food as an integral part of family and celebration.  Having lived in the eastern United States during their childhoods, each have sentimental memories of their grandparents making wine in the basements of their homes from grapes shipped from California.  With these fond memories of family tradition, they decided to follow in their ancestor’s footsteps and start their own boutique label. They put together a business plan and decided to make a go of it.

Stolo Family Vineyards grow and make Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, and Syrah.

Their wines are all estate, sourcing from their own 17 acres of planted vines in Cambria. They chose to continue with this spot because of its uniqueness. Less than 3 miles from the coast makes them one of the closest vineyards to the coast in CA. Coastal wines are known for the bright acidity and fresh fruit.

The winemaker traditionally uses French Oak, usually around 30% on the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah – the percentage depends on the wine and the year. Most recently, Nicole has been experimenting with Hungarian.

Named after their family, the label has a line drawing on it with three hands holding wine glasses up in a toast. Charlene Stolo drew the label design and it symbolizes her three children who are all involved in the business.