2020 J.Brix "Wild Wild Sea" Chenin Blanc, Jurassic Park Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley, California

ABOUT THIS WINE

Whole-cluster-pressed directly to some of our oldest neutral French oak barrels, this wine spent 8 months in barrel before bottling. A go-to for every season. The wine is unfined and unfiltered without cold stabilization. Fossils abound in this sandy vineyard, planted on what was, long ago, the ocean floor. To walk the rows is to imagine our beloved, wild Pacific Ocean once there, an unstoppable force that has shaped our lives in ways we never could have expected.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

"From the site to the soil to the growing season, our wines, if we're doing our work correctly, will speak in their own voices. We adore the variety California has to offer, which means we find ourselves compelled to make tiny quantities of as many different wines as we can... and, we try to add a new grape or style each harvest. Our fruit comes from a number of vastly different, soul-stirring vineyards all over the state. We use neutral vessels, native-yeast fermentation, and absolutely nothing else, with the exception of sulfur dioxide as necessary. In keeping with this minimalist approach, we choose not to fine, filter or cold-stabilize our wines. Our motto, in winemaking and life: 'Only Love'."

After tasting a bottle of Pinot Noir grown and made in the Santa Maria Valley, San Diegans Jody and wife Emily got their winemaking start as volunteer harvest interns there, and found they simply couldn't get enough of the dirty work. One dream led to another; J. Brix Wines is the unexpectedly felicitous result. Jody's college and career background in horticulture translates to time and study in the vineyards; there's nowhere he'd rather be. A keen understanding of plant physiology provides insight into the way each individual growing season affects the vines, the fruit, and the wine. A keen intuition built on many years working with plants helps guide winemaking decisions, which vary from harvest to harvest based on the sum of the season. He drives a lot. Emily is fascinated by stories. Along the way, she's found herself caught up in one of her own. Every winemaking year provides a new and unscripted tale to tell, and as a writer and designer, she finds great joy in the translation: written, graphic and vinous.