Cool climate Riesling, Grüner Veltliner and Pinot Noir from California’s Central Coast
Graham Tatomer began working in the wine business at the age of 16 for Santa Barbara Winery. After two decades he realized that the sites that excited him were 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. In 2003, he packed his 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 Grüner Veltliner grape. What initially was planned to be a ten-week trip; turned into a year and two additional harvests. Today, Graham Tatomer makes over 4,000 cases, the bulk of which is Riesling and Gruner Veltliner, making him one of the only white wine driven producers in CA and the Central Coast.
