Steve
Clifton, winemaker and owner, produced the first Palmina wines in
the basement of his home in 1995. His career in the wine industry
had begun in 1992 when he left his previous incarnations as a musician
and nightclub entrepreneur behind and decided to beg his way into
a tasting room position at Rancho Sisquoc winery. Little
by little he forced his way into the cellar and in time Steve worked
his way up to Assistant Winemaker under Stephan Bedford (now of
the Bedford–Thompson winery).
Over the next few years Steve’s on the job
schooling would include production and winemaking positions at Beckmen,
Brander and Domaine Santa Barbara wineries. To
round out his knowledge in the marketing and sales area of the industry,
from 1995 to 1998, Steve managed The Wine Cask retail store in Santa
Barbara.
Steve
met Greg Brewer in 1995 and formed the partnership that has become
Brewer-Clifton, a winery solely devoted to vineyard-designated
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Santa Rita Hills appellation
in western Santa Barbara County. Brewer-Clifton’s first release
began with the wines produced from the 1996 vintage. To find out
more about the Brewer-Clifton winery, please visit their website.
While Steve shares a phenomenal passion for Burgundian
varietals with his partner Greg, he came to his love for wine from
Italian grape varietals in a somewhat unusual way. His appreciation
began while working in restaurants, supporting himself through college
in the late ‘80s. A trip to Italy to visit family inspired
him to find work in an Italian restaurant in Laguna Beach where
under the mentorship of his good friend Michael Whipple he learned
all that he could about Italian wines. At an industry tasting Steve
was amazed when he realized the immense similarities between his
favorite Barolos and Barbarescos and the red Burgundies. Instant
bi-polar disorder followed - while Brewer-Clifton pursues the purest
possible expression of Burgundian varietals, Palmina is a passion
project devoted to producing exclusively Italian varietal wines.
In
2000, Chrystal joined the Palmina family and has become involved
in all aspects of the growing business. Working side by side with
Steve through harvest, handling the bulk of the administrative duties
and providing immeasurable inspiration, Chrystal completes the Palmina
picture. Educated at the University of Bologna and fluent in Italian,
Chrystal is invaluable in forging the relationships with wine producers
in Italy which have supplied phenomenal insight in forming Palmina's
philosophy and style. Steve and Chrystal were married in Friuli,
Italy (where else) in the Spring of 2004.
The Alisos vineyard in Los Alamos that supplies
the Sangiovese and Merlot grapes for the Palmina Alisos wine also
grows superb Syrah and Grenache grapes. In 2001, Steve joined with
two partners to create the alder
label (alder is the English translation of Alisos) which produces
small quantities of superbly hand-crafted, Rhône-style wines
from this excellent vineyard. To find out more about alder,
please visit their website.
Steve’s early experiences in winemaking
focused on Bordeaux varietals. Steve and Chrystal are both involved
with Ash Hollow in Walla Walla, Washington. Ash Hollow
is committed to producing only the highest quality wines from the
Ash Hollow vineyards and other selected vineyards in the Walla Walla
and Columbia valleys. To find out more about Ash Hollow, please
visit their website.
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