An Exploration of the Happy Canyon AVA
Are small winemakers the best winemakers? That may be a matter of opinion, but they are certainly the most interesting, and our upcoming seminar in LA (Sat, July 23) is proof of that.
What makes Garagistes so unique is their passion to create wines that push the boundaries, utilize unusual grapes or rare vineyard locations. In this Seminar we will be focusing on Santa Barbara County and the little-known AVA of Happy Canyon.
Located in the easternmost end of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA, north and west of Lake Cachuma, the Happy Canyon sub-AVA is the warmest micro-climate in this region and thus able to branch out from the usual Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which dominate the Santa Barbara wine scene.
In this seminar we will taste and learn how other varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and even Grenache found their home in Happy Canyon and what makes the wines from this under-the-radar, up-and-coming AVA so special.
Panelists include Dusty Nabor (Dusty Nabor Wines), Anna Lancucki (Final Girl Wines) and Jessica Gasca (Story of Soil).
ABOUT THE VIP SEMINAR TICKETS
Limited seats are still available. VIP tickets must be purchased in advance and include the seminar / tasting, a box lunch and Rare & Reserve Hour Access to the Grand Tasting with over 40 additional Garagiste winemakers. Ticket Price: $135 per person
Learn More About our LA Panelists
ABOUT DUSTY NABOR / DUSTY NABOR WINES
Dusty began winemaking in 2015 with 2 barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles. Since then, the winery has grown to 3 brands — Dusty Nabor / NSO Wines and Bolt To Wines — with a production of around 2500 cases. However, to date, Dusty is the sole employee with help from his life partner Karin Langer. The winery is located in Camarillo, California with a focus on Santa Barbara County AVA's to source their grapes including Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara.
Dusty Nabor Wines is a project born out of passion for producing site specific, terroir driven California wines. Their singular focus is crafting wines of distinction that express their place and vintage. Due the small production quantities, their wines are released a few times a year to their mailing list, with any left over reaching the public through their online store. They do not have a tasting room at this time. www.dustynaborwines.com
ABOUT ANNA LANCUCKI / FINAL GIRL WINES
Anna has been making wine for over 20 years. Inspired by the Meg Ryan rom-com “French Kiss” which she saw at the age of 13 Anna decided to be a winemaker and has pursued that dream ever since. Educated at UC Davis, the top Enology & Viticulture School in the USA, Anna went on to work in Napa, Sonoma and a number of harvests in New Zealand, in some of the most renowned wineries in the world before starting her own brand with husband Peter Lancucki in 2015.
“At Final Girl Wines, we work with vineyards from some of the best and most renowned AVA’s in America. We select vineyards that employ sustainable, biodynamic or organic farming practices and we craft small batch wines with minimal intervention. We offer a diverse range of high quality and approachable wines. If you are a wine lover of any kind, there will be something here for you.”
ABOUT JESSICA GASCA / STORY OF SOIL WINES
Winemaker, Jessica Gasca, one of the only few Latina Woman winemakers and winery owners, has a true grass-roots success story. Funding her own winery by saving her pennies to purchase fruit in 2012, she credits the people who have helped mentor her from day one as well as the mindset that ‘failure was not an option’.
Jessica began her wine journey in 2009 as a harvest intern in Santa Maria, at her Uncle Gary Burk’s winery, Costa De Oro. After that initial harvest, Jessica's winemaking career continued at Grassini Family Vineyards in Happy Canyon and at Sanguis Winery in Santa Barbara. For three and a half years Jessica was the apprentice winemaker to Matthias Pippig, owner of Sanguis, where she learned everything wine and wine-business related. By the time of her departure at Sanguis, Jessica was doing all national sales, running the private tasting program and helping make the wine.
In late 2013 she left Sanguis and took the position as harvest oenologist at Fess Parker winery. In 2014 she moved on to work as Director of Sales for Dragonette Cellars, where she worked for 5 years, helping grow their brand dramatically, while also continuously working diligently on her own project.
Story of Soil is a boutique winery and one of Santa Barbara’s smallest production premium producers. At 3,000 cases annually they focus on sourcing fruit from top vineyards that are farmed with the highest level of care. In addition to highlighting sustainable, organic and biodynamic vineyards, the program bottles only single vineyard, single varietal wines- crafted through minimal intervention with intention to highlight the ‘place’.