WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:06.160 Welcome to Wine Soundtrack USA. Listen to the passion with which producers narrate their 2 00:00:06.200 --> 00:00:11.480 winery and their world. Team thirty answers discover their stories, personalities, and 3 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:15.679 passions. Hello, friends and listeners of the Wine sound Track Podcast. This 4 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:19.239 is Kim Cashmore and today you are about to get a behind the scenes look 5 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:24.960 of high altitude winemaking with Molly Lonborg from Alta Kalina. Alta Qualina is located 6 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:28.960 in Passa Roblaze and Molly here is the winemaker. I'm so excited to bring 7 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:32.840 this conversation to you today because Mollie is the most friendly, bubbly person and 8 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:37.039 I think you're really going to enjoy this, So welcome Mollie. Hello Kim, 9 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:40.759 thanks for having me. So to start this off, can you tell 10 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:46.079 me a little bit about the winery where you're located and the grapes that you're 11 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:51.240 growing. Of course, so we're Alta Kalina Winery. We're located in Paths 12 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:55.039 of Roebletz, California. As you mentioned, it's about halfway between San Francisco 13 00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:59.479 and la We're on the west side of Passa Roeblets in what's called the Adelaida 14 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:04.159 District. So there's actually fourteen avas in Pasaoblis. It's a very large expanse 15 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:10.560 of land and we are owned by a father daughter duo Bob and Maggie Tillman, 16 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:17.000 and we grow estate Roan wines, so all Rowan for idols. We 17 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:22.400 have Grenoche Sama Vedra and Petite Sera for our reds, and grenaches Blanc Marsan, 18 00:01:22.519 --> 00:01:27.000 Roussan Vigner and soon become Pickpool blanc for our whites. We farm everything 19 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:34.599 organically here and being an a state vineyard means that the grapes never leave the 20 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:40.640 property, so from berry to bottle, it's all here. Oh wow, 21 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:45.680 I'm very excited about Pickpool's. That's like a light, refreshing white. Right, 22 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:48.439 it's kind of like the thing you'd low alcohol. Just making sure I 23 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:53.719 remembering correctly. Yeah, like your typical picked Pool d'panee has lower alcohol. 24 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:59.799 Pickpool literally or like loosely translates to lipstinger in French, and so it's known 25 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:02.760 for it's high acid. Although it's really interesting because a lot of times we 26 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:07.840 think these high acid grapes and we just think really lean and clean, where 27 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:10.919 Pickole blanc actually has a lot of body behind it and weight and so it 28 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:15.680 can create just like this beautiful textural wine. Oh, I can't wait to 29 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:21.199 try that one day. If you guys haven't, if you haven't caught on 30 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:23.879 yet, I am definitely a fan of all to clinap personally delicious. I 31 00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:28.240 love a good rown wine, and I think that in pass So they make 32 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:32.240 some amazing ones and the quality is truly truly unmatched. So but before we 33 00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:36.080 get into more about the wines that you make, I think everyone here is 34 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:38.719 really curious to know how you got into wine making. You know, was 35 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:42.280 this something you always wanted to do, or did this come about later in 36 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:46.639 life? Tell us, Yeah, so it's not something that I always thought 37 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:49.400 I was going to do by any means. I'm from a little town in 38 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:54.560 northern California called Mendocino. We had substantial crops there, but it was not 39 00:02:54.800 --> 00:03:00.439 wine. So, you know, we grew up driving through the Anderson Valley 40 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:05.039 to get to anywhere pretty much from the coast, and so we always drove 41 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:07.639 through grape vines, but didn't come from a wine family anything like that. 42 00:03:08.199 --> 00:03:13.639 I left Mendocino, traveled for a while and decided to come to San lis 43 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:17.520 Obispo to go to kel Poly and study earth and soil science. So I 44 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:22.199 did that. I spent a year in New Zealand, not doing wine. 45 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:28.400 Actually spent a year studying geology in southern New Zealand. And when I came 46 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:31.639 back, I noticed that cal POLYI had created this wine and viticulture department. 47 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:37.599 So I was like, well, this sounds pretty fun, and I decided 48 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:39.759 to pick up the miner or do a concentration in wine in it. And 49 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:43.919 at the time, I was thinking that I would go into the vineyard. 50 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:47.039 Do you know, I have all of this soil experience, climate experience, 51 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.520 and so that was kind of where I was planning on heading. When I 52 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.240 graduated in two thousand and nine, I knew if I went right into the 53 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:00.159 vineyard that I would just never leave. And I felt like my education was 54 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:05.240 good, but I didn't quite have the knowledge of wine making that I knew 55 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:10.680 I needed if I wanted to be able to grow good grapes. So I 56 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:15.879 decided to work my first harvest in a lab and then I traveled a bit 57 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:19.240 and that was down at in a valley, and then I decided to work 58 00:04:19.240 --> 00:04:23.480 my second harvest in a cellar up here and pass the roeblist. So I 59 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:27.240 thought lab cellar and then go to the vineyard. But I just got hired 60 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:30.720 full time, and then that wine maker left and went somewhere else and brought 61 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:34.079 me with him, and so I just ended up becoming like staying on the 62 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:40.519 wine making track. I've been really lucky because every winery I've worked for has 63 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:44.800 had an estate vineyard. So even though I'm never fully in the vineyard, 64 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:47.040 I've always been able to kind of walk out the door and be in the 65 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.519 vines. And so I feel like, even though I didn't end up on 66 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:56.040 that track, I still have a really close relationship with the vines. And 67 00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:00.480 my husband is vineyard manager over at Talless Creek, so of vineyard conversations around 68 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:06.800 the dinner table. Absolutely well. I mean this is a compared to some 69 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:11.759 of the other wineries in this area, this is considered more of a boutique, 70 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:15.680 smaller winery. So even as you said, even if you're not fully 71 00:05:15.720 --> 00:05:18.240 doing, you know, all of the vineyard things, you're still really involved 72 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:21.560 in the vineyard. Yes, yes, And here at Altaclina, I oversee 73 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:26.959 the entire vineyard as well. So Daniel Martinez, our vineyard manager, and 74 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:32.519 I we work really closely on everything. From you know soil health. Bob 75 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:38.519 is still involved in irrigation and soil health decisions. So the kind of the 76 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:42.120 three of us really work closely on all those decisions. And Daniel and I 77 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:46.560 are walking every block every week during the growing season and kind of watching vine 78 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:50.759 balance and discussing, you know what it is. I'm trying to get out 79 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:55.279 of the grapes to craft in the winery, and so how we can achieve 80 00:05:55.439 --> 00:06:02.920 that through you know, proper crop and canopy management in the vineyard. So 81 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:08.560 tell us a little bit more about Alta Qualina. This is a high elevation 82 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:12.759 place. It's actually really interesting when you come here. The winery is at 83 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:16.040 the base of a hill and then you take this long, winding steep road 84 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:21.079 up to the top, and at the top is this beautiful rolling hills at 85 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:27.680 high elevation of vineyards. So how many acreages do you have here? So 86 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:31.279 the property itself is about one hundred and thirty acres, thirty one of which 87 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:36.720 are planted. And so you had you were lucky enough to come up to 88 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:41.839 the vineyard yesterday and as you noticed, it's this deep road to get up 89 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:46.439 there, and pretty much Bob purchased the property in two thousand and three, 90 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:51.000 started planting in two thousand and four, and that was a four wheel drive 91 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:58.160 road to get to the top, so there was nothing here. It would 92 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:01.480 have cost about four million dollars and lot of moving of the land to be 93 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:05.800 able to build a road that was in compliance to have a winery and a 94 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:09.800 tasting room up at the top of the hill. That's why this is at 95 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:15.399 the bottom of the hill. And funny thing but Alta calina literally means high 96 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:19.120 hill in Spanish, so all this reference to our high elevation high hills, 97 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:24.839 hence our name Alta Calina. So we do we have kind of these two 98 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:27.319 hills that face each other. And I'm not sure how much we can see 99 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:30.720 in the video here, but we have a beautiful map behind us that pretty 100 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:35.920 much shows for two hillsides that face each other. And it's really unique because 101 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:40.759 we have a huge south facing hill. We have a pond in the middle 102 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:45.839 with five vintage trailers around them we call the Trailer Pond that you can rent 103 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:48.519 out. And then we have another hill that adds a full north face kind 104 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:53.240 of a top, and then a south face to it. So that kind 105 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:58.560 of comprises our thirty one acres of vineyard land, And as I mentioned yesterday, 106 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:01.439 the start of the project, you know, started really small. We're 107 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:05.959 still pretty small in comparison to many wineries, but we really started as what 108 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:09.360 I like to say, a farmer's market for local wine makers. So the 109 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:13.079 majority of the fruit was sold, and then we made a little bit of 110 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:16.800 wine for ourselves, and over time that started to shift, so now we're 111 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:24.319 keeping about eighty percent of the vineyard for our own program. So can you 112 00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:26.879 tell us a little bit more about the different grapes that you grow and the 113 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:31.160 wines that you make? Yeah, of course, so I mentioned are eight 114 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:35.840 to now almost nine varietals. So our whites, our whites have become so 115 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:39.480 popular they are amazing. The vigner just stop now. I think it's already 116 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:43.240 sold out right, the last vintage. So we're waiting for spring for the 117 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:46.320 new bottling. We are, but lucky you I did grab you a barrel 118 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:48.799 sample. So sorry for all you listeners and watchers, because I know that 119 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:52.159 that is not as exciting to hear other people enjoy wine, but we will 120 00:08:52.200 --> 00:08:58.159 at some point, but it'll might entice you to try it. So yeah, 121 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:01.360 exactly, Yeah, So our whites have been selling out so fast. 122 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:05.919 We do single varietal grenache blanc, Vigna, Marson and Roussan. We also 123 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:11.120 do I do a metro chumpin' wase so a traditional sparkling wine out of grenache 124 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:16.039 blanc. We'll be releasing our our twenty nineteen. I'm going to disgorge this 125 00:09:16.279 --> 00:09:22.480 spring and we'll release it in the summertime. So that's had about four years 126 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:26.120 entourage, which is really exciting. And then for our red program, we 127 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:30.600 do a GSM so a classic grenache sama Vedra blend, just a very classic 128 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:35.440 roan blend. We do a wine called Sun Worshipper, which is our Mavedra 129 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:39.360 focused blend. Always it's usually about seventy five percent of bed and then a 130 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:43.759 little bit of Sarah in there just to kind of be a little backbone. 131 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:50.320 We have two main sarahs Toasted Slope, which is all from our south facing 132 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:52.840 slope, two different clones, and I love that wine. It's I like 133 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:58.240 to colle it's like our voluptuous woman. And then from the north facing side 134 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:01.000 of the hill we make a Sah called Old nine hundred, which is another 135 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:05.600 clone, but a single clone, and that is this real beautiful but like 136 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:13.039 a masculine, earthy Surrah, and so it's so interesting to have, you 137 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:16.720 know, just three clones literally one hillside apart, and different aspects, but 138 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:22.919 just completely different expressions of that varietal. In certain years, we do one 139 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:28.559 Sarah called Keystone that's actually one puncheon, which is the equivalent of two barrels. 140 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.360 It's like a really big barrel, and we do one from each of 141 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:33.399 the three blocks, and we put it in American oak, so it's kind 142 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:37.960 of a different program. And then we do a single varietal Petite Sarra, 143 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:41.480 so that's kind of our main lineup. And then we have some fun wines 144 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:46.440 like we do a grenache rose pet Nat I make grenache rose and also do 145 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:50.559 a carbonic grenache, and we do canned rose. So we have kind of 146 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:54.919 something for everyone, which is really fun. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. 147 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:58.559 Can you explain for everyone, for everyone what carbonic is because I think this 148 00:10:58.600 --> 00:11:03.759 is a term that someone lest I was saying it's like hipster wine drinking. 149 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:07.919 It's kind of like a new style of wine making, and so could you 150 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.759 give us little more detail what that entails. Yes, of course. And 151 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:15.000 it's so funny because you know, I have my own brand called Little Soul 152 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:18.320 wines that I only do rose and carbonic, and my carbonic is called the 153 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:22.799 old school carbonic. It's funny because you can because I knew school, but 154 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:28.039 really, carbonic maceration is such an old school style of making wine. My 155 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:31.879 label is literally a hand with a boom box on it, because to me, 156 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:35.559 that's my old school roots and so and then it's like a nod to 157 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:41.799 Boujelat. So carbonic maceration is a style of making wine that's so different from 158 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:46.879 typical red wine making and it's been done for centuries. Specifically, it's most 159 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:50.639 famous for the Beaujelat region, so it's usually done with the gammet grape. 160 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:54.080 If anyone's had Baugelat Neveau, you know, you get that right around Thanksgiving 161 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:58.720 every year, and that's usually one hundred percent carbonic maceration. So what it 162 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:01.200 is, I'm just a backup little bit. So if you think of a 163 00:12:01.240 --> 00:12:05.080 typical red wine fermentation, we're usually destemming the fruit. Sometimes there's some whole 164 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:09.240 cluster in there, but for the most part, we're pumping over, punching 165 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:11.759 down, so we're kind of separating the juice from the skins a little bit, 166 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:16.519 and we're we're moving them, so we're trying to extract a lot of 167 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:22.240 phenolic compounds from the skins, be that color, tannins, flavor molecules, 168 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:26.559 and so that's how we get this kind of dark colored wine. When we 169 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:31.039 do carbonic maceration, we take whole clusters and gently layer them into a vessel 170 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:35.120 filled with dry ice. So we put some grape, some clusters in, 171 00:12:35.320 --> 00:12:39.440 put some dry ice in, clusters dry ice, and what we're and then 172 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:43.440 we seal up the whole vessel. And what we're trying to do is rid 173 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:48.639 the environment of any oxygen. So whereas some people think carbonic maceration, they 174 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:50.639 think the wine is going to be carbonated, and that's not the case. 175 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:56.759 It just means that it was fermented and an environment that was filled with carbon 176 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:00.879 dioxide. And so what happens is inside the berry. I'm gonna get a 177 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.840 little nerdy here just for a minute, please do okay. Sometimes I can 178 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:09.679 lose people on my nerdiness. But pretty much what happens it starts out as 179 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:15.320 an intracellular reaction, and so there's an enzymatic reaction that occurs inside the berry 180 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:18.480 and it starts to break down some of the sugars and then the berries will 181 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:24.279 just kind of slightly pop open, and we have native yeast that are all 182 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:26.519 over the fruit, you know, we have yeasts that are coming in from 183 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:31.120 the vineyard. Some people choose to inoculate on top of that, some people 184 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:35.759 use their native yeast to do their fermentations. So those native yeasts will start 185 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:41.039 to kind of ferment, which means they're starting to convert that sugar to alcohol 186 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:45.639 and CO two. So once that yeast gets going, that dry ices has 187 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:50.360 already dissipated, but they're just producing more CO two and thus filling the environment 188 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:56.960 with more carbon dioxide. And so what happens, though, is the fermentation 189 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:03.240 literally occurs inside the bar and without movement, and so you get this really 190 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:11.600 light bodied red wine that has completely different flavor and aroma characteristics. And generally 191 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:15.320 speaking, we're not looking for the same color, you know that we want 192 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:20.159 for a typical red wine. So we're harvesting early and therefore we've got higher 193 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:24.360 acid usually have lower alcohol. And these wines are really fun because you can 194 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:28.759 even serve them slightly chilled, and so it's just like this amazing wine. 195 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:33.000 Like we're in Passerobas it is hot here and so to be able to come 196 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:35.240 home. Sometimes you want something a little more than a wider rose, but 197 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:39.279 you're not quite ready for a big red and carbonyic just like fits that. 198 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:45.919 Yeah, yes, absolutely it is. From my personal experience, I really 199 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:48.600 do enjoy it. And if you're a listener that hasn't tried it yet, 200 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:52.200 you really should go out and try this new style. I mean, it's 201 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:56.279 not really new, but it's a style that is becoming more popular and it's 202 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:58.639 worth it's worth experiencing on your wine journey. Okay, So you studied earth 203 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:05.080 sign as you said, in university, and I'm assuming that sustainability and caring 204 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:07.960 for the environment is very important. I think most winemakers feel that way. 205 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:11.679 So what do you do with Altakalina to you know, get back to the 206 00:15:11.720 --> 00:15:15.759 earth, make sure that you're taking care of your vineyards so they can keep 207 00:15:15.799 --> 00:15:18.200 producing. What are some of the things that you're doing. Yeah, I 208 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:24.159 mean that's a huge, huge part of our thought process for me personally in 209 00:15:24.200 --> 00:15:28.639 my life and for us here. You know, we're in agriculture, and 210 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:35.840 we're in we're in an ag We farm in an area that is hot, 211 00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:39.879 and we have a lot of plants to sustain, so we do have to 212 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:45.399 irrigate, and so anytime we're using water to irrigate, you know, that's 213 00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:50.279 just we're using a resource. And so for us to be the best stewards 214 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:54.039 of the land, we need to be thinking about everything and making sure we're 215 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:58.600 using that properly. So water management is huge for us. We use like 216 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:07.840 special SAP flow monitoring devices on our vines that help to tell us exactly what 217 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:15.720 kind of use the vines are requiring based on the current weather, and that 218 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:18.080 is huge. So we've been able to cut down our water usage a lot 219 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:26.720 by that. We also use another company to calculate our exact appotransporation on the 220 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:32.200 property rather than referencing a square of grass that's grown somewhere else, and so 221 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:37.080 that also helps us really dial in our irrigation needs. We're also so the 222 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:42.320 other facet of this is all soil health right, and so having healthy soil 223 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:48.639 is what's going to propel our vineyard for generations to come. And so we're 224 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:53.919 a hotel vineyard site in between the vine rows. So the vineyard has not 225 00:16:53.960 --> 00:17:00.720 been tilled for eighteen years, which is pretty impressive. We do have a 226 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:04.519 little bit of tillage that goes like under the vine row, just for weed 227 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:08.759 control, but nothing in between the vine rows. We've been doing. We 228 00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:11.960 made a couple of capital investments this year which are really excited about. We 229 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:15.599 got a seed drill, so we've used just pretty much our native cover crop. 230 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:19.519 Generally speaking, if you want to seed cover crop, you need to 231 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:22.920 till the ground first, but we bought a seed drill that's going to allow 232 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:26.400 it. That's allowing us to actually put seeds in the ground without having to 233 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:30.160 till. And we also just bought a crimper, which is really fun. 234 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:34.119 So instead of having to mow down the cover crop, we're going to let 235 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:37.440 it grow and then we're going to run this implement over and it's gonna kind 236 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:42.359 of crimp it down and create a habitat for all of these micro organisms and 237 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:51.400 fungi and also just hopefully helps build our soil. Yeah. So yeah, 238 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:53.519 and I feel like you can really taste that in the wines too. Speaking 239 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:57.039 of I know, we saw each other yesterday and you were mentioning about the 240 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:03.240 quality and how important that is here at Alta Qualina, and even to the 241 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:07.440 point where you might not make as much wine as you could because of like 242 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:12.240 quality standards, So what is your mentality around that, because I think that's 243 00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:15.720 what really can create an amazing wine, but it comes a little bit of 244 00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:19.000 a risk, so i'd be curious to hear, Yeah, it's you know, 245 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:23.799 it's a little bit of a different way of thinking about it. The 246 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:30.400 wine wineries in general were backwards businesses. You know, we farm to grow 247 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:36.119 less fruit, we you know, and then here we make these lines and 248 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:41.200 we're so careful about what actually makes it into our final product. So, 249 00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:44.400 you know, I just was looking in the twenty three vintage. I have 250 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:48.440 twenty six red blots of wine, So those were different picks that I did. 251 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:53.400 Out of those, they could be anywhere from one barrel to six eight 252 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:59.519 barrels. And I don't taste, says a lot. I taste every single 253 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:04.079 individual will barrel multiple times, and so I kind of grade everything and then 254 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:11.039 I use that for blending trials to always help determine what's going to be the 255 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:15.960 best wine. And when it comes down to it, I've had many times 256 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.480 where it's like the wine club could really use another twenty five cases. But 257 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:26.279 everything here is quality driven, so we're never pushed. It's always whatever makes 258 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:29.480 the best wine, that's what we're going to go with. And so we've 259 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:33.319 had to make that hard decision multiple times of you know what, this blend 260 00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:37.039 is better than that blend, and we taste everything blind, so we're not 261 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:41.400 you know, we're just picked straight up picking whatever is best, and sometimes 262 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:44.480 we end up having less wine than we want. But if we don't have 263 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:47.720 those standards, then we're not going to have a good product. And the 264 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:51.680 consumers you know, our clients, our family, and you know, they 265 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:55.799 trust us to be giving them the best product, and so that's that's our 266 00:19:55.880 --> 00:20:00.640 job. Yeah, I love that as a mentality for sure. Or is 267 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:03.720 this something that you kind of picked up over time in your wine making or 268 00:20:03.799 --> 00:20:07.640 is this something that you believed in from the beginning about like the importance of 269 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:12.119 quality and what you need to do to attain them. I think it's been 270 00:20:14.200 --> 00:20:18.799 an evolution. You know, it always depends where you work and what that 271 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:23.240 company's ethos is. You know, there's and I understand when you work at 272 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:29.319 a large winery that has distribution, you know, you have certain targets that 273 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:33.319 you have to meet, and so you know there are times when compromise comes 274 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:37.079 into play. Well, I kind of like this blend a little better, 275 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:41.279 but this one's still good and it gives me another thousand cases, so you 276 00:20:41.319 --> 00:20:45.440 know, there's nothing wrong with it. I just prefer this one. And 277 00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:48.759 the fact matter is most people probably they're not going to have no idea there 278 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:52.400 was a better blend. So you have to make those decisions as long as 279 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:56.160 you always believe in the product you're still putting out. You know, just 280 00:20:56.200 --> 00:20:59.279 because one blend's better than the other, it doesn't mean another blend isn't good 281 00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:06.200 at times, but having that having the full company behind you and everyone kind 282 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:10.920 of saying no here, you have the freedom to just make the best wine. 283 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:15.079 It's so refreshing. Yeah, so learned over time, I would say, 284 00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:18.599 gotcha, And have you you've worked at bigger wineries in the past, 285 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:21.720 correct, yes, Yeah, this is the smallest winery i've worked at. 286 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:26.039 Where have you worked before? What what's been your journey in winemaking? I 287 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:27.559 know you said you were, you know, sellar managing and working in the 288 00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:32.279 lab, but where were you doing more wine making up? Yeah? So 289 00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:37.759 I started as just a lab tech intern for Baileyana down in Enna Valley, 290 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:42.200 and then I went and worked as just sellar intern up at justin winery in 291 00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:48.680 twenty ten, just before they sold, and then I was there. I 292 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:52.960 got hired full time there and I stayed on for about seven months, I 293 00:21:53.039 --> 00:21:56.440 believe, maybe a little more. I think I was there for maybe nine 294 00:21:56.440 --> 00:22:00.599 months total. And then I left there and went over to Halter Ranch and 295 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:06.720 started as lab manager and then enologist assistant winemaker, and then I was there 296 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:11.920 for nine years and left as the associate winemaker over there and then came here 297 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:18.359 to Alta Qualina. It started March second of twenty twenty, kind of precarious 298 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:22.440 beginning of a new career or a new job. And yeah, Bob Tilman, 299 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:26.359 our founder, had been the winemaker since the inception, but he had 300 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:30.359 been kind of looking for somebody to take over the reins as he was looking 301 00:22:30.359 --> 00:22:36.160 at maybe a ten year plan of phasing out of the winery or out of 302 00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:38.599 the business for him. And so yeah, it just kind of worked really 303 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:44.000 well. We're both very nerdy people. We both liked to experiment and we 304 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:48.200 like facts, but we've also had a strong passion for wine and it's beauty 305 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:53.160 and the craft, and so we've worked really well together. And he's kind 306 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:57.359 of just he pretty quickly just passed over all the rains. Oh well, 307 00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:00.359 that's awesome and congratulations. I mean, just on your journey. I think 308 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:06.000 it's exciting for any winemaker to get to a place where they're really running with 309 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:08.400 it, you know. And and I know that you were always trying to 310 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:11.279 make the best wines and kind of go with the philosophy that was put in 311 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:17.359 place by you know, out at Alta Kalina, So I you know, 312 00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:18.960 but I know it's really exciting as winemaker to get to run the show. 313 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:23.079 It is it is. I mean, when you have complete control from berry 314 00:23:23.119 --> 00:23:27.240 to bottle, it's such a different thing, you know. I mean I 315 00:23:27.319 --> 00:23:30.759 was really lucky at Halter Ranch because when I came on, they were a 316 00:23:30.880 --> 00:23:36.359 small winery and we were growing and creating a wholesale presence. And as an 317 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:40.920 assistant winemaker was the winemaker general manager and I that were sitting down and creating, 318 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:42.720 Okay, what wines do we want to make, what grades do we 319 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:45.799 want to grow, and how do we want to get there? So and 320 00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:48.559 I did have a lot of creative control there as well, so that was 321 00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:52.759 really special. But it's different, you know, when you go from making 322 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:56.640 thirty thousand cases to three thousand cases, you know everything. It is a 323 00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:03.400 different level. So it's been so fun here and I've been very thankful because 324 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:11.279 Bob has let me kind of do some new creative outlets, things like the 325 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:15.160 Carbonic and the can Rose and you know what. Things. He's always open 326 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:18.160 to these fun ideas and that makes it really special too. So it's he 327 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:22.079 always always said, hey, if you ever think of like a wine club, 328 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:25.359 special wine club wine, like go just roll with it. I'm like, 329 00:24:25.400 --> 00:24:27.000 okay, great. So like my first time, I think my first 330 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:32.400 year here, I bottled a single varietal grenache because I tasted four grenache barrels 331 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:33.359 that I loved, and I said, what do you think can we do 332 00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:37.319 grenache? And he said, well, gosh, we haven't bottled a single 333 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:40.599 varietal granach since twenty twelve and there was a bit of issues with that one. 334 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:42.319 So I don't know, we're all a little nervous, but if you 335 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:45.480 think so, that's fine. And so we did it and everybody loved it 336 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:49.039 and it was great. Okay, So I want to quickly just highlight Little 337 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:53.000 Soul, which is your own personal brand that you make wines for, and 338 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:57.440 what is the ethos the idea behind it? You know, what kind of 339 00:24:57.480 --> 00:25:02.400 wines are you making? Yeah, it's funny. So I've at this point 340 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:07.160 now, I've been in the wine making side for fifteen years, and I 341 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:12.559 never never, I never like knew I was going to have my own brand. 342 00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:18.720 Coming to Alta Kalina was kind of just serendipitous. My husband and I 343 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:21.759 we live on a property that we farm, and we had some extra pino 344 00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:26.039 noir grapes, which is very random for Passa Robliss, and I asked, 345 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:27.839 Bob, hey, do you mind if I make some wines? Sure, 346 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:33.759 no problem, And that's you know, decided to start Little Soul. You 347 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:38.480 know, I craft these these big, luscious wines, is what I do 348 00:25:38.759 --> 00:25:45.400 for Alta Calina. You know, we grow high elevation fruit, like we've 349 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:48.759 said multiple times here, which means we have smaller berries, which means we 350 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:51.920 have a lot of color and a lot of tannin. If I tried to 351 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:55.119 make a really light week wine out of that, I just wouldn't be doing 352 00:25:55.160 --> 00:26:00.240 the fruit justice. And so I'm here to just tell the story of the 353 00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:04.759 grapes right and to not mess it up, to highlight them. And so 354 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:08.119 I love these big wines that were making. But when it comes to the 355 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:11.119 end of the day, like when I go home, I usually drink these 356 00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:15.599 like lighter, fresher, low alcohol wines. And I always knew if I 357 00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:18.480 was ever going to start a wine brand, first of all, it had 358 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:22.680 to be something that I wanted to drink, because if it flops, like 359 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:27.039 I better be able to consume my product. I also, I used to 360 00:26:27.079 --> 00:26:30.319 do a lot of sales wine. I spent five weeks a year on the 361 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:37.519 road doing sales, and I it's really fun. You get to go meet 362 00:26:37.559 --> 00:26:41.640 new people, go to new places, eat great food, and have great 363 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:44.640 time. At the end of the day. Like I love making wine, 364 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:49.000 I just don't love selling wine. And so I just didn't want to create 365 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:52.200 a brand where I was gonna, you know, have to have a tasting 366 00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:56.440 room and be there on the weekends. And you know, I have a 367 00:26:56.440 --> 00:27:00.400 family. I have two kids under five, and you know, it's really 368 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:03.559 important to me to be able to show up and be there as a mom 369 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:08.480 outside of harvest, not the best mom during harvest. And so with Little 370 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:12.559 Soul, I knew if I could kind of create a small brand mostly rose 371 00:27:12.920 --> 00:27:17.640 or just rose and carbonic. I do Pino noir, which is first of 372 00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:21.359 all very different for our area, and second of all, in no competition 373 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:26.480 with my day job, so that's pretty nice. My daughter's name is Alma, 374 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:30.200 which means soul in Spanish, and so when she was five and a 375 00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:34.599 half months old, we spent a month in Wahaka with her because we both 376 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:38.160 had to go back to work before we like finished all of our maternity paternity 377 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:41.599 leave. So we're like, well, let's just baby bond on the beach 378 00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:45.799 in Mexico. So we took her there and immediately the locals started calling her 379 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:49.279 Almita, which means little soul. And so after that trip was when we 380 00:27:49.319 --> 00:27:52.759 decided to start our own brand, and it just kind of felt fitting to 381 00:27:52.839 --> 00:27:57.519 call it Little Soul. Yeah, so it's pretty fun. It's honestly, 382 00:27:57.880 --> 00:28:03.960 I'm so lucky. I have such an amazing group of friends and family and 383 00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:08.079 network of people from this industry. It's a really special area here in past 384 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:12.119 the roeb List especially, so my whole brand has been like with the help 385 00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:15.880 of friends and family. Like I was telling you, my friend helped build 386 00:28:15.880 --> 00:28:19.799 my website. My carbonic label is one of my best friends, would Carving. 387 00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:23.680 I have my other friends with all my label design like these are childhood 388 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:27.839 friends I've grown up with, and so it's just I feel like it's just 389 00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:33.440 this fun kind of fabric that we're able to all like wrap ourselves in in 390 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:38.839 this special way. And yes, it's fun. That's amazing. It makes 391 00:28:38.839 --> 00:28:45.359 me just like want to buy all your wine selling the story. All right, 392 00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:48.240 so we're clos out, just want to do some rapid fire questions. 393 00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:51.759 This is gonna be hard. I know that wine makers and wine people in 394 00:28:51.799 --> 00:28:56.880 general hate this question. But favorite grape oh granash? Oh that's mine too. 395 00:28:56.359 --> 00:29:07.839 Yeah, okay, favorite food and wine pairing potato chips and champagne. 396 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:11.160 Oh wow, we're the same. Oh my gosh, No, I love 397 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:18.440 champagne. It's Champion and chicken nuggets for me. Okay, favorite winery in 398 00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:22.599 Passo That is not any of the ones that you work at Hubbo Wines. 399 00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:30.839 Favorite restaurant in Passo in bloom Oh all right, trying to think of you. 400 00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:34.000 Another good one for the editor. Just cut out our like pauses in 401 00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:41.119 between this and just take the go for the Yeah, the actual questions. 402 00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:48.160 Uh, still or sparkling wines? Still rose white or red? All of 403 00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:53.559 the above? Oh love it awesome? Well, thank you for playing the 404 00:29:53.559 --> 00:29:57.000 game with me, and thank you for being here. This has been such 405 00:29:57.000 --> 00:30:02.400 a wonderful conversation. You were so easy to talk to, and I'm sure 406 00:30:02.440 --> 00:30:06.839 that everyone listening here can agree that this was a really insightful conversation but also 407 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:10.839 so enlightening, Like I feel so happy talking to you. So thank you, 408 00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:14.640 thank you. This is a pleasure. And before we go, where 409 00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:18.960 can we stay in touch with you? Where can everyone listening follow along on 410 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:22.519 your journey? Where can we get some of the wines? Tell us all 411 00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:26.119 the things? Okay, yeah, so you can we You know, we've 412 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:33.440 got the usual social media so Alta Kalinas on Instagram, Facebook, Little Soul 413 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:38.799 is Little Soul Wines on Instagram, and we both have just the typical you 414 00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:44.279 know, web web presence that you can come and buy wine online. Little 415 00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:48.200 Soul is currently sold out, but I'm pre releasing my next vintage. We'll 416 00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:52.680 release on January eighteenth, twenty twenty four. Great, so if you're listening 417 00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:56.640 to this after that date, that means hurry to the website before it sells 418 00:30:56.680 --> 00:30:59.880 out. All right, Mollie, Well, thank you so much, and 419 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:03.799 thank you to everyone here that has been listening. Have a wonderful week. 420 00:31:03.880 --> 00:31:07.079 And we will see you next time. Bye. Thanks for listening to a 421 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:11.039 new episode of Wine Soundtrack USA. For details and updates, visit our website 422 00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:15.880 windsoundtrack dot com.