On a recent rip to Santa Maria, Nadia walked the vineyard of Ranchos de Ontiveros with James Ontiveros and winemaker Justin Willett and as she fell head over heels in love with their Chardonnay, she knew she needed to share these incredible wines with you. When Jeff heard the news he was thrilled, calling the Chardonnay the “Mersault of Central Coast”. Three Santa Maria Valley gems are here for you this month, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. If you visit their tasting room in Los Alamos, tell them Nadia and Uncorked sent you. About Rancho de Ontiveros: In 1781, Josef Ontiveros rode from Mexico to Alta California to stay. Josef would become the first in a line of nine generations of California ranchers and farmers, with James Ontiveros as the ninth. Today, James is still in the same valley that generations of his family have called home. The wines of Native9 and Rancho Viñedo, together forming Ranchos de Ontiveros, tell a real story about the durability of truth, the people, and the earth itself. Through the struggle of the vines to reach for water and nutrients in the depleted earth, combined with the cool Mediterranean climate of the Santa Maria Valley, topped off with a little luck, Ranchos de Ontiveros makes wine as complex as the the story of how they came to be.