The golden ripe fruit is whole cluster pressed and the introduction of “native” or “indigenous” yeast is the key element to winemaking for the Buena Tierra Chardonnay. Stirring weekly adds the clean, yeasty notes evident in the wine. The fermentation is long and deliberate with malo-lactic fermentation sometimes completing six months after harvest. Patience is virtuous as good things do not happen overnight for this wine from these old, nutrient deficient vines, but the reward is worth the effort to make this highest expression of Chardonnay.\n \n Rich, ripe and unctuous with apple pie a la mode, toasted oak, with a long, creamy finish it is mouth filling, delicious and has a pot de crème character that lends itself to Dungeness Crab, Brie and Sourdough.\n \n Producer Information\n Owner-Winemaker Chris Dearden found his first introduction to wine as many of us do: around the dinner table amongst family and friends. Raised in an agricultural town in the Central Valley of California, Dearden was always able to draw a correlation between the treatment of land and the quality of the product. He has carried this value and strong connection to farming throughout his career. Chris attended UC Davis for his bachelors in science, writing his own major as Viticulture, Enology and Winery Operations; he would continue on to UC Berkeley HAAS School of Business to earn his Masters in Business Administration. Over the years, Dearden has worn many hats, working his way from winemaker to winemaker/general manager, consulting winemaker to now achieving his lifelong goal of owning his own vineyard and winery. His aim is to work with vineyards and growers with a shared vision: nurture the lands we occupy to maximize quality and site specific terroir while nurturing the long term relationships between grower and winemaker. Dearden cites his time working with cooperage Seguin Moreau as most influential on his winemaking style and abilities; working in tandem with first growths and grand crus allowed for an unobstructed view of the highest level of winemaking possible. Yearning to produce wine again, he began a fourteen-year journey developing a Napa Valley winery from the ground up. He established the vineyard, brand, wine style and identity. During this period, he also developed the North American branch of the highly respected Gamba Cooperage, Costa Del Sol Consulting Company, luxury wine brands Chanticleer and Sleeping Giant, and a premium Pinot noir vineyard estate in the Carneros district of Napa Valley, which is a cornerstone of Chris’s great wines today.
