Rio Vista Vineyard Calera Clone Pinot Noir
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 3–10 years from the vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, wild mushroom risotto, seared salmon
✨ Technical Specifications
Sourced from the eastern gateway of the cool-climate Sta. Rita Hills AVA, the Rio Vista Vineyard Pinot Noir showcases the legendary Calera clone. This clone carries a rich history in California winemaking, famously rumored to have been selection-cut and smuggled from Burgundy's most prestigious grand cru estates. At Rio Vista, the combination of marine-derived soils, morning fog, and steady afternoon winds allows this low-yielding clone to develop thick skins and exceptional concentration. Dominion Tantara crafts this wine using traditional Burgundian methods, including gentle open-top fermentation and aging in select French oak barrels, resulting in a beautiful marriage of vibrant dark fruit and the savory, forest-floor complexity characteristic of the Calera clone.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1997 by Virginia natives Bill Cates and Jeff Fink, Dominion Tantara (originally founded as Tantara Winery) was born from a mutual passion for cool-climate Burgundian varieties. Operating out of the historic Rancho Tepusquet within Santa Maria Valley's celebrated Bien Nacido Vineyard, the winery sources fruit from elite Central Coast terroirs, including Dierberg, Talley Rincon, Zotovich, and old-vine blocks of Bien Nacido. Benefiting from east-west transverse maritime corridors that funnel morning fog and cool Pacific winds across benchland sandy-loam soils, the estate emphasizes long hang-times with natural acidity preservation. Viticultural practices focus on sustainable management with meticulous canopy care. Cellar vinification embraces low-intervention Burgundian traditions: selective whole-cluster fermentations, native yeasts, and aging in fine-grained French oak barriques. Benchmark bottlings include single-vineyard expressions such as Bien Nacido Vineyard O Block Chardonnay, Zotovich Vineyard Chardonnay, and Dierberg Vineyard Pinot Noir, prized for their tension, crystalline minerality, and savory aromatic depth.
🍇 Grapes
Pinot Noir