Brewer Clifton Wine Tasting with Special Guest Greg Brewer

"Drinking wine is just a part of life, like eating food." - Francis Ford Coppola
And we have to drink wine everyday just like we eat food everyday!! 

Over 20 years ago two young aspiring winemakers met, each bringing a vision and a drive to produce world-class wine. Focusing on the Burgundian roots of pinot noir and chardonnay, they paid homage to France. They were keen on making their own footprint and forging a style that was uniquely Californian. The wines embrace the power, pedigree and richness of the Sta. Rita Hills, that has become the trademark of Brewer–Clifton.

Join us as we welcome Greg Brewer to South Florida for a tasting of current releases of Brewer Clifton, Diatom and the new Ex Post Facto Syrah.  Toni Lampasone will be making a special meal to accompany the tasting wines.  The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $95 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. 

Brewer Clifton Wine Tasting with Special Guest Greg Brewer
Thursday, May 9, 2019
7:30 PM

Brewer Clifton Chardonnay Santa Rita Hills 2016
Price: $30.00       Sale $26.40

This bottling is comprised of 100% estate chardonnay from three vineyards within the AVA. 3D, Machado and Acin all contribute to the wine.  This blend is comprised of 3D, Acin and Machado vineyards:

3D The primary emphasis of the predominantly sandy 10 acre vineyard is chardonnay, with five clones planted in equal amounts.
MACHADO 15 acre parcel on the Machado family land is located adjacent to Clos Pepe and immediately behind the Kessler-Haak vineyard. The site is marked by a gorgeous rolling terrain with sandy clay loam soils.
ACIN The budwood is a Wente selection originally taken from the original Nielsen Vineyard planted in Santa Maria in 1964.

Only neutral Sirugue barrels are used for 12-18mos. Whole Cluster pressed chardonnay. We do not promote or prohibit malolatic fermentation, allowing wine to be in balance, bright and elegant.

Brewer Clifton Chardonnay 3 D 2013 
Price: $63.00       Sale $55.44

The primary emphasis of the predominantly sandy 10 acre vineyard is Chardonnay, with equal amounts of five clones planted (4, 76, Hyde, Mount Eden and Sea Smoke Wente).
Only neutral barrels are employed. Whole cluster pressed chardonnay. We don’t promote or prohibit malolactic fermentation, allowing wine to be in balance, bright and elegant.

Diatom Chardonnay 2018 Bar-M
Price: $27.00       Sale $23.76

“Diatom is motivated by the pursuit of subtraction and refinement. It is the polishing of a grain of rice until one has reached its ultimate inner core. Our Sta. Rita Hills marine landscape is stark and so are the wines of its provenance. We strive for a recognition of place with as little disturbance, distraction or interference as possible. The resulting wines have a sense of transparency and a purity of intent and purpose.”  Greg Brewer, Founder & Winemaker

Brewer Clifton Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills 2016
Price: $37.50       Sale $33

This blend is comprised of 3D, Machado, Acin and Hapgood vineyards:  3D The primary emphasis of the predominantly sandy 10 acre vineyard is chardonnay, with five clones planted in addition to chardonnay, there is a smaller field of pinot noir planted to Swan, Pommard and 667 clones.
Only neutral barrels are employed. We strive for whole cluster fermentation. We farm with a focus of ripening the stems alongside the fruit, allowing the cluster to be in harmony. Working with the stems allows for wines that are structured, earthy and balanced with our beautiful SRH fruit.

Brewer Clifton Machado Pinot Noir 2016
Price: $81.00       Sale $71.28

MACHADO Looking to secure a mirror-image sister ranch to our 3D Vineyard, we began working with the Machado family in the winter of 2008. Our 15 acre parcel on their land is located adjacent to Clos Pepe and immediately behind the Kessler-Haak Vineyard. The site is marked by a gorgeous rolling terrain with sandy loam soils.

At Machado, the majority of the planting is dedicated to pinot noir with equal amounts of such selections as Pommard, Merry Edwards, Mount Eden, and 459. In addition to pinot noir, we also planted a small, two-acre plot in the sandiest portion of the field to the Sweeney Canyon selection of chardonnay.

Ex Post Facto Syrah Santa Barbara 2016
Price: $37.50       Sale $33.00

The 2016 Syrah is a very pretty wine from Greg Brewer's Ex Post Facto project. Racy and perfumed in the glass, with striking aromatic presence, the 2016 makes a strong opening statement. The red and purplish berry fruit is nicely lifted by floral and savory overtones from the whole clusters. It will be interesting to see where this wine goes in the future. Certainly the debut vintage is promising. Brewer gave the fruit, from Spear, 4-5 days of cold soak followed by a lengthy fermentation/maceration of 45 days or so. The 2016 spent 16 months in neutral French oak. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, September 2018)

Menu
Selection of Cheese
Seared Diver Scallops with a Vanilla Scented Beurre Blanc with Toasted Coconut Basmati Rice
Sous-Vide Duck Breast with Amarena Cherry Glaze served over White Bean Puree

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $95 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com

In 1995, Greg Brewer and Steve Clifton met while working on a committee meeting for the Santa Barbara Vintners’ Association. At the time both held production jobs at Sunstone and Beckmen, respectively, and forged an immediate friendship that would ultimately germinate in the creation of Brewer-Clifton just one year later.

Saving modest disposable income over a period of twelve months, $12,000 was set aside and fruit contracts secured to produce an inaugural 240 cases of wine within Santa Barbara Winery where Greg held the role of assistant winemaker in 1996. Always having their sights locked on an area that they would personally later map and define as the Sta. Rita Hills, they utilized relationships in the neighboring Santa Maria Valley for the majority of their fruit as vineyards were being developed closer to home. One exception to that adjacent provenance was Sweeney Canyon which Brewer-Clifton produced without interruption from 1996 through 2011.

When considering a logo and label, a priority was something that would not run the risk of being dated and that could remain timeless. The Wine Cask restaurant in Santa Barbara was an incubator for food and wine professionals during that time, and the hand stenciled gold ceiling of the dining room proved to be an ideal and subtle reference to carry through that message of tradition and region. A few exposures with a disposable camera then developed, photocopied and colored in with a black Sharpie pen and the brand took flight..

After brief periods being housed within other wineries of employ, Brewer-Clifton created their first stand alone facility in what would become Lompoc’s “Wine Ghetto” in 2000. Nestled immediately between the local legend Rick Longoria and the upstart Sea Smoke, Y2K was a pivotal impasse both for B-C and Sta. Rita Hills which was identified and approved as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) that same year.

Fueled by unbridled confidence and unprecedented media attention, Brewer-Clifton swiftly sought to better secure vineyard provenance which gave birth to their farming company shepherded by Francisco Ramirez in 2005. Greg and Francisco developed, planted and built Melville vineyard and winery in the mid 1990s and the decade working together there fostered the elite vineyard team that would eventually create Brewer-Clifton’s estate vineyards, which now includes sixty acres across four separate parcels within the AVA.

2012 marked the first vintage where all the fruit produced hailed from estate vineyards within appellation. That year The Wine Spectator deemed the 2012 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir as the #8 Wine of the Year, picked from all the wines submitted to the publication from the entire world.

In 2017, Brewer-Clifton joined Jackson Family Wines, a company equally committed to singular, site-specific, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Greg Brewer notes, “The Jackson family maintains a commitment to world-class wines, a respect for nature and vision for uncompromising quality that’s very much aligned with our philosophy, I’m confident our collective strengths will further propel the Sta. Rita Hills on the global stage of fine wines.”

A bit about Greg Brewer:

Greg Brewer’s primary focus in the winery is the pursuit of refinement. He is engaged in every aspect of his work, from vineyard to market, and every level of the process is given equal priority. To him, a mindful approach where strategic and efficient actions are taken to incorporate the needs of the entire ecosystem creates a confident and calming environment, a space where everyone and everything is appreciated. The goal is the beauty and synchronicity of the system. The result is wine that is honest and driven, expressive of the place and the team who collectively steward them.

Greg has always followed a distinct and deliberate arc in his work, where the priority is service, subtracting extraneous elements and minimizing the insertion of self. He reveres the repetitive and monastic nature of the winemaking craft, and after 25 years in the business is firmly committed to the immediate task at hand. This focus shifts the motivation behind the wine from ego towards humility. For Greg, it is only along this path that the resultant product conveys the sincerity and vulnerability that is his goal, both personally and professionally.

Greg started his career as a French instructor at UC Santa Barbara before being trained in wine production at Santa Barbara Winery starting in 1991. He created his eponymous label, Brewer-Clifton with original partner Steve Clifton in 1996 and later designed Melville where he worked as winemaker from its inception in 1997 through the end of 2015. Greg additionally created diatom focusing on starkly raised Chardonnay, as well as Ch.igai Takaha, which is marketed predominantly in Japan. The entirety of his career has been committed to the Sta. Rita Hills appellation, which he helped to map, define and establish in 1997.