Riding Santa Barbara’s Urban Wave

Lumen Crush is On! The first fruit of the season came roiling into the winery on August 19, when we picked Chardonnay Wente Clone 15 from Sierra Madre Vineyard in Santa Maria.  Following it this week were both Dijon clones of Pinot Noir, 667 and 777, also from Sierra Madre – marking one of our…

Are Winemakers Magicians? Years ago I wrote an article for The Surfer’s Path Magazine about my good friend, Oded Shakked, who was then winemaker at J Vineyards.  During the interview he commented about how people make such a big deal about winemaking.  “Winemakers don’t really deserve all that attention,” he said.  “After all, we are…

The first glass of wine that I liked was a White Zinfandel.  As hard as that is to admit, many people come to love this beverage (and yes, it is just a beverage) by starting at the bottom.  That glass of White Zinfandel appealed to me at a young age because it was sweet and…

[vc_row show_full_width=”1″ padding_setting=”1″ desktop_padding=”no-padding”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Lumen’s 2013 Pinots receive sweet accolades! Click here to read the article in The Pinot File.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Thoughts on the Wettest of Vintages The vineyards are flooding.  Southern California is currently experiencing what the forecasters are calling “the largest weather event in the last six years.” (Let’s just forget about “Stormageddon” two years ago – too bad they used that one up already). Some of the vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley…

Popelouchum, 2021
Randall arrived on a cool August day and I toured him around our young plantings, then took him down the hill to see the wild vines. We walked the rows together while he looked curiously at the small bunches and plucked berries off the vine and popped them into his mouth, spitting seeds at pace with his steps. “Remarkable,” he said, more than once. After many long minutes, I explained my conundrum. He smiled.