Rio Vista Vineyard Calera Clone Pinot Noir
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 3–10 years from the vintage release.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Roasted duck, wild mushroom risotto, seared salmon
✨ wine.spec_sheet
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.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Founded in 1997 by Bill Cates, Dominion Tantara is a distinguished boutique winery located in the Santa Maria Valley of Santa Barbara County, California. The winery is dedicated to producing exceptional, site-specific wines, sourcing fruit from some of the Central Coast's most prestigious vineyards, including Bentrock, Dierberg, and La Encantada. Emphasizing traditional French winemaking methods and minimal intervention, Dominion Tantara specializes in elegant, terroir-driven Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. Their acclaimed single-vineyard and reserve bottlings, such as the Cuvee Jeannette and Evelyn Pinot Noirs, are highly regarded for their sophistication, balance, and aging potential.