Palmina, Pinot Grigio, Santa Barbara County 2018

“The 2018 Pinot Grigio is crisply fruited: green apple and Bosc pear with faint notions of white peach and apricot plus nuances of stone, white blossom and baker’s yeast. Light-bodied, it’s clean and fresh with pure fruit flavors, zesty acidity and a nice, long finish. This is just what great Pinot Grigio should be.”-90WA

In 1995, Steve Clifton began the planting, farming, and vinification of Northern Italian varietals in Santa Barbara County.  He then launched ‘Palmina’, the label which brought together his love for Italy, wine, food, and family.  Palmina’s wines have flourished on the Central Coast ever since!

His partnership with Greg Brewer, Brewer Clifton, invigorated the area between Solvang and Lompoc that would later earn AVA status as Sta. Rita Hills with vineyard-specific bottlings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In addition to these two projects, Steve’s winemaking talent has been employed by dozens of successful wineries throughout the region.

Palmina, his original passion, is all about relationships.  Relationships that bring people back to the table to nourish themselves with great wine and food, conversation and a small respite from the hustle and bustle of today’s world.  Palmina crafts wines that are a key part of that equation; wines that can be enjoyed every day, and that complement and enhance a wide range of food styles.

Palmina produces wines from Italian varietals grown in Santa Barbara County, California.  Steve found that the climate and soil types in Santa Barbara are similar to those in their favorite regions of Northern Italy– Piemonte, Friuli and Santa Barbara County.  All feature cold air pushing warm air to create growing conditions that provide enough sunlight to help fully develop fruit flavors.  Also, all three regions enjoy cool night temperatures that maintain the grape’s natural acidity levels, and which allow winemakers to create “food wines” with a balance of fruit, tannin and acid.

Palmina, though, is not attempting to emulate what the Italians have done for years with these grapes.  But, rather to express the region of Santa Barbara through these varieties with a strong focus on making food companion wines.  Just like translating a piece of literature from one language to another, the meaning must be the focus, not just the words.