2021 Tatomer “Ros of Pinot” Edna Valley, Central Coast, California, USA

ABOUT THIS WINE

The Tatomer 2021 Ros of Pinot Noir hails from Edna Valley, just outside the idyllic central coast town of San Luis Obispo. All fruit comes from the Greengate Vineyard and is direct press, that is to say that this is all harvested with ros in mind as opposed to being an after thought by Graham.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Graham Tatomer began working in the wine business at the age of 16 for Santa Barbara Winery. Initially, it was a simple paycheck, but it soon grew into a passion and now, nearly two decades later, it has become my life’s pursuit. Through his journey he has made Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Syrah, as well as numerous other varieties from some of the best vineyards throughout California’s Central Coast. The sites that excite him have been the coldest ones, lending to wines of lighter weight, nuanced flavors, and bracing acidity. Riesling is the ultimate grape to pursue these characteristics. No other grape conveys its region’s character and varietal flavor with the power, focus, and beauty the way Riesling does. He has been fortunate enough to work with one of the oldest cold-climate Riesling sites still left in California, Lafond Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills. This site showed him that California’s coastal regions are cool enough for this grape variety. He was hooked.

In 2003, he packed my bags and moved to Austria to try to get a better grip on the growing and making of Riesling. He was able to find work with Weingut Knoll who, more importantly, have become a second family to him. They also turned him on to the Grner Veltliner grape. What initially was planned to be a ten-week trip; turned into a year and two additional harvests. He is appreciative of them, and the other winemakers in the Wachau, who offered good advice and answered his endless questions. From hand sorting Trockenbeerenauslese at midnight; to building stone terraces in the snow using the methods of ancient Rome, he left with much more knowledge and experience than he came with and is eternally grateful.

In 2008 Graham founded Tatomer with two Riesling vineyards. His intention was to use his knowledge to make bone-dry Riesling in California unlike many of the off-dry examples in the marketplace today. He made a mere 400 cases in a small corner of a good friend’s boutique winery. Since then, he has added more Riesling vineyards, as well as two Grner Veltliner vineyards for a total production of 4,100 cases. He plans to explore the depth of his current sites; and pursue new Central Coast terroirs in the years to come.