February 26, 2019
It might sound a little bit like New Age mumbo jumbo when someone tells you that they’re “…trying to do less,” but when Bruce Schneider says it – after spending more than an hour relating his unrepentant entrepreneurial history –... UNFILTERED Archives: USA
An Interview with Justin Willett of Tyler
January 8, 2019
Justin Willett, owner and winemaker of Tyler Winery, just completed his 13th harvest in the Sta. Rita Hills. A recent visit by the Skurnik Wines team to Lompoc, home of the winery, reaffirmed what we thought when we first began working... Zinfandel: American Heritage in a Glass
November 8, 2018
Crisp weather has arrived, Fall foliage is underway, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner, shifting our focus in the direction of the all-American grape variety: Zinfandel. Since its earliest mentions in literature from the 1820s, Zinfandel has been claimed... A Return to Classic: The Stylistic Evolution of California Wine
November 1, 2018
Wine styles are constantly shifting. Ripeness, acidity, body, alcohol all take turns on center stage as the wine pendulum swings. Recently, California has been in the spotlight, leading the way toward a return to a lower alcohol, higher acid, more... The Golden Apples of the Sun: a Quick Tour of Skurnik’s Burgeoning Cider Portfolio
October 11, 2018
Late summer. Greenmarket bins are overflowing with heaps of ratatouille-friendly tomatoes, squash, and eggplant, but try as global warming might to make Eternal Summer a reality, change is in the air. The first new crops of Mutsu, Macoun, and the... American Riesling: Defining a Noble Grape on American Soil
September 27, 2018
“More than any other great grape, Riesling has suffered from prostitution of its name. The word Riesling has been filched for incorporation into the names of all sorts of vine, many of them mediocre.” Jancis Robinson, Vines, Grapes and Wines,... American Winemaker Video Series: David and Jasmine Hirsch
August 16, 2018
David Hirsch and his daughter Jasmine, are very close friends to the Skurnik family. We’ve worked with them ever since they started bottling a small quantity of wine from their exquisite vineyard on the “true” Sonoma Coast in the mid-90s.... “Going to the Woods is Going Home”: Peay Vineyards and the Contemporary American Wine Estate
June 7, 2018
The stories of wine are concerns of proximity. “This glass here,” we might start: “its story begins in a land far away.” And then we step closer. We tightrope borders – those lent to us by millenniums of tectonic undulations,... Where the Hills Meet the Sea: Tyler Winery’s Exploration of Santa Barbara County
May 4, 2018
Few of California’s young winemakers possess the regional mastery that is illustrated by the work of Justin Willett, of Tyler winery. A son of Santa Barbara, Justin began Tyler in 2005 with eight barrels tucked away in the corner of... Introducing Mayacamas: 128 Years, Singular & Resilient
December 7, 2017
“Mayacamas Vineyards is one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon producers in the history of California. For those who long for great red wines that cellar with conviction and evolve in the course of time into brilliantly complex and compelling wines,...