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Wine Spectator Magazine interviewed Sommelier Chris Miller in the December 15th issue, “Sprucing up the Spago Cellar”. When asked what he was drinking now, one of Chris’ replies was: “Palmina [in Santa Barbara County] makes incredible wines, probably the best in the world with Italian varieties outside Italy. So many sommeliers are (rightly) skeptical when it comes to New World producers trying their hand at Italy, but this is the exception. I've sat in on many blind tastings of Palmina versus Italy, with consumers and sommeliers, and I have yet to see one person regularly pick out which one is Palmina and which is Italy. And that's with the crowd knowing that both are involved in the flight, and Palmina going up against both modern and traditional producers. Steve Clifton is a genius.” Read the entire interview here.
As the vineyards Steve Clifton sources for his fruit mature, he believes he'll soon be able "to really see what the potential is to make wines with an Italian sensibility with California fruit." It's a curiosity that with the varied climates available in the Golden State, not to mention its long, deep history of Italian immigrants, so few outstanding wines have been made from Italian varieties here. As has been noted in these pages over the years, Palmina is likely doing the best job of anyone in the state right now. Clifton told me that his winemaking has settled into a groove but that he still tinkers and adjusts, "especially with the whites right now." That's especially evident with his two tocai bottlings, which show the potential for that grape to make wines that are either racy or dense. The recent set of red wines here was impressive up and down the line and I was especially taken by the "little wines" from '09, which offer exuberant fruit and noteworthy complexity. 2009 Palmina Lumina Sparkling Nebbiolo Sisquoc
Vineyard Santa Maria Valley 2010
Palmina Pinot Grigio Santa Barbara County 2010 Palmina
Arneis Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2010 Palmina Malvasia Bianca Larner Vineyard
Santa Ynez Valley 2010
Palmina Tocai Friulano Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2009
Palmina Tocai Friulano Subida Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2010 Palmina Dolcetto
Santa Barbara County 2009 Palmina Barbera Santa Barbara County 2009 Palmina
Lagrein Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2009 Palmina Alisos Vineyard Red Blend Santa
Barbara County 2008 Palmina Sangiovese Undici
Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2008 Palmina Savoia Santa Barbara County 2007 Palmina Nebbiolo Santa Barbara County 2006 Palmina Nebbiolo Stolpman Vineyard Santa
Ynez Valley 2006 Palmina Nebbiolo Sisquoc Vineyard
Santa Maria Valley 2006 Palmina Nebbiolo Honea Vineyard
Santa Ynez Valley ©2011 WineAccess. All Rights Reserved.
Antonio Galloni has covered Italian wines for the Wine Advocate for years. In 2010, he came to California's Central Coast to review the wines produced here. We are very happy that he seemed to like Palmina wines. I can’t think of anyone who has done more to promote Italian varieties in California than Steve Clifton with his Palmina label. I admit I was intrigued with these offerings, and came away deeply impressed with most of what I tasted. The 2010 Pinot Grigio emphasizes textural richness and body over strict varietal character. I especially like the wine’s inner perfume and expressive bouquet. The 2010 Tocai Friulano Honea Vineyard, on the other hand, shows plenty of varietal character. It is a pretty, graceful wine laced with white peaches, flowers and mint. A long finish rounds things out nicely. In an amusing, ironic twist, producers in Italy can no longer use the name Tocai Friulano, while the successor denomination Friulano isn’t recognized yet by the TTB! The 2010 Malvasia Bianca Larner Vineyard is arguably the most varietally true of the whites. Exotic passion fruit, mint and peaches are some of the aromas and flavors that flow from this gorgeous wine. The 2010 Arneis Honea Vineyard was fermented in equal parts of steel and oak. It emerges from the glass with flowers, orange peel and juicy white peaches. The oak adds a nice dimension of volume through to the finish. The 2009 Subida Natural Friulano Honea Vineyard is named after one of Friuli’s very finest restaurants (where Clifton was married) and is inspired by the ‘orange’ wines that are so dear to the heart of proprietor Josko Sirk. The Subida is Tocai that spent 46 days on its skins in a wood vat and was pressed directly into barrel with no SO2. It possesses gorgeous layers of perfumed fruit and striking textural richness. This is a jewel of a wine. The 2007 Nebbiolo is a blend of fruit sourced from Sisquoc Vineyard planted with the Michet clone (60%) and from Stolpman Vineyard planted with the Lampia clone (40%). It possesses striking dark fruit and plenty of varietal character, but with an extra degree of textural density from these Central Coast sites. It is one of the finest Italian-varietal wines I have tasted in California. The 2006 Nebbiolo Honea Vineyard is grown on similar limestone and sandy loam vein as Stolpman but planted with Michet instead of Lampia. Black fruit, menthol, tar, earth and licorice are some of the notes that take shape in this decidedly powerful, virile wine. The 2006 Nebbiolo Sisquoc Vineyard, from 100% Michet vines, is flat-out stunning. Sweet red cherries, flowers and spices are some of the notes that flow from this vibrant, beautifully delineated wine. This shows fabulous Nebbiolo typicity and tons of style. It is frankly an eye-opening wine that shows what Nebbiolo is capable of in California. This is a dazzling effort from Steve Clifton. The 2006 Nebbiolo Stolpman Vineyard emerges from the glass with dark cherries, tobacco, licorice, smoke, leather, and cocoa. It spent 4 years in cask, which may have been a little on the long side considering how forward some of the aromas and flavors are. Today the Stolpman Vineyard comes across as a wine that needs to be enjoyed sooner rather than later. The 2008 Savoia is 50% Nebbiolo, 25% Barbera and 25% Syrah. It’s impossible not to love this wine. Gorgeous, pure aromatics meld into a core of expressive, radiant red fruit, all supported by soft, elegant tannins. This is another striking effort. “The Power of Palmina” Steve Clifton is an Italophile in a Francophile world. The creator of Palmina Wines, Clifton discusses his career with a humble ease that makes it seem as if he never shed a bead of sweat along the way from producing 100 cases in the now-extinct Wine Cask warehouse on Haley Street to today making 18,000 cases of the most successful Italian-style wines on this side of the world. He’s also remarkably casual about his decision to focus on Italian varietals, which other winemakers would call crazy… Click here to read the entire article. Palmina Pinot Grigio Alisos Vineyard on the Today Show!
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“The first stop is the Lompoc Wine Ghetto (tasting rooms are open Thursday through Sunday and by appointment). Nearly one dozen excellent wineries make wine in this industrial complex. You may hesitate, but don’t. Wonderful wine awaits behind these doors and the owners are often there, eager to greet you. I suggest you start at Palmina, where the tasting room is an Enoteca, serving cheese, salami, and other tidbits paired with the magnificent Italian wines.” Read the entire article here, and then come visit like Wendy did! "Authentic both in varietal character and terroir"
2009 Tocai Friulano Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley Bright yellow. Fresh, mineral-accented aromas of orange, dried pear and white flowers. Fleshy but dry and focused, with dusty orchard fruit flavors and slow-building sweetness. A late note of lemon rind lends a refreshingly bitter edge to the sappy, persistent finish. Steve Clifton says that this is the ideal wine to serve with that notorious wine-killer, asparagus, especially the white version. 89 2009 Arneis Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley Pale gold. Discreet but intriguingly nuanced nose melds musky citrus zest and floral notes, herbs, dusty minerals and a wild saffron quality. Concentrated and harmonious, with lovely lift and focus to its orange, lime and herb flavors. Finishes with impressive energy and a touch of iodine-y minerality. 90 2009 Malvasia Bianca Larner Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley Vivid yellow. Exotic aromas of mango and fresh pineapple, with complicating notes of dried flowers and herbs. Juicy and expansive but well-focused, with good grip to spicy tropical fruits and a late note of honey. Plump and a touch warm on the finish, which repeats the mango note. 88 2009 Dolcetto Santa Barbara County Bright ruby. Mineral-accented aromas of red berries and cherry, with complicating herb and floral qualities. Sappy and focused, offering bitter red fruit flavors and a hint of anise. The mineral note returns strongly on the finish, which is taut, lively and very persistent. This reminded me a lot of a serious cru Beaujolais for its tanginess and minerality. 90 2009 Barbera Santa Barbara County Bright ruby. Musky redcurrant and cherry on the nose, with complicating notes of herbs and cocoa powder. Slightly bitter cherry pit and licorice flavors are nicely concentrated but come off somewhat strict. Picks up a smoky note that carries through a chewy finish. This would be good with a piece of grilled lamb. 88 2007 Sangiovese Undici Santa Ynez Valley Vivid ruby. An expansive, highly perfumed bouquet displays cherry compote, sassafras, spicecake and dried flowers. Spicy and impressively energetic, offering sweet red fruit and candied rose flavors and a subtle herbal undertone. The finish is sappy, focused and alluringly sweet, with excellent finishing lift and persistence. This wine spent 30 months in neutral oak. 91 2008 Alisos Alisos Vineyard Red Blend Santa Barbara County (80% sangiovese and 20% merlot) Bright ruby. Sexy, spice-accented aromas of red berries, dried flowers and underbrush. Then fresh, plush and silky, with impressive volume to its spicy red and dark fruit flavors. This seamless, high-pitched wine has good stuffing and finishes sweet and long, with soft tannins and no hard edges. 90 2007 Savoia Santa Barbara County (50% nebbiolo and 25% each of barbera and syrah) Ruby-red. Aromas of cherry-cola, bitter chocolate, licorice, black pepper and herbs; showing the syrah right now. A firm, sappy midweight, with gently sweet dark berry flavors enlivened by a tangy quality that runs through the wine. Pinot-like in its vivacity, with good finishing clarity and impressive persistence. 90 2006 Nebbiolo Santa Barbara County Medium red, with an amber rim. Redcurrant, dried cherry and herbs on the nose, with sexy floral notes coming out with aeration. Smells and tastes like a high-altitude Piemonte wine, such as Carema, with impressive clarity, satiny texture and suave spiciness. The floral quality carries through a long, sweet, tangy finish. I really like this wine's lightness of touch and precision. 91 2005 Nebbiolo Stolpman Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley Light, bright red. Musky, complex aromas of redcurrant, rose and earthy underbrush, with a lively mineral element adding vivacity. Sweet and fine-grained but tightly wound today; very fresh but in need of some patience. There's good density and a lot of tangy, mineral-laced red fruit here, but this will be better when it unwinds some. 90(+?) 2005 Nebbiolo Sisquoc Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Vivid red. Scents of red fruit, dried flowers, mint and blood orange on the nose, plus a strong mineral quality. Taut, gently sweet and chewy, with impressive concentration and energy and no excess fat. Pure red fruit flavors stain the palate and pick up a rose pastille quality with air. Very pretty and precise, with excellent finishing cut and spicy length. This is made entirely from the Michet clone of nebbiolo. 92 2005 Nebbiolo Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley Bright red. Fresh strawberry and cherry on the nose, with complicating notes of potpourri and smoked meat. A lively spine of minerality adds lift and precision to red fruit and floral flavors, which pick up a hint of baking spices with air. The smoky quality carries through a very long, juicy and tightly focused finish. Still young and worthy of patience. This is all Lampia clone, according to Steve Clifton. 91
Saveur Magazine recently took a fresh look on what
is happening with California wines, stating They recommended “69 California Wines to Drink Now”, which included both our Arneis and Nebbiolo Santa Barbara County . We agree with their suggestion that “It's time to take another sip of the Golden State's wines and savor its culture of creativity.”
As I have written in the past, no one in California (and probably in the New World) is doing what Steve Clifton has managed to do working with Italian varietals in selected micro-climates in the Santa Barbara area. From the get-go, his dry, crisp, light to medium-bodied whites were a revelation for California, and he continues to dial up the quality of the Italian varietal reds, even managing to come close to conquering the hardest varietal of all for anyone outside Northern Italy – Nebbiolo. The 2009 Arneis has a nice, fresh nose of flowers, grapefruit, and lemon blossom. This slightly spicy, elegant, medium-bodied white is remarkably dry and fresh. The 2009 Tocai Friulano from the Honea Vineyard can easily pass for something from Northeast Italy. Wonderfully crisp apple skin, pear, and citrus notes jump from the glass of this steely, crisp, light-bodied wine, which would be the perfect dry white to have at any sushi bar/restaurant in the country. Drink it over the next year. The stunning 2009 Malvasia Bianca Larner Vineyard is just extraordinary. Notes of honeyed melons, along with hints of white peach, spring flowers, and even a touch of mango represent an authoritative perfume of wonderful intensity. In the mouth, the same flavors are present in a medium-bodied, refreshing, and stunningly delicious dry white. Lagrein is a wine from Europe that I rarely like, but in the hands of Steve Clifton, this inky/purple-colored 2008 Lagrein Honea Vineyard has turned out to be impressive. Steve Clifton had 20 acres of Italian varietals planted for him at the Honea Vineyard, and obviously included this rarity. The wines displays graphite, licorice, blue and black fruits, and some minerality. The fruit levels are impressive, and the wine dense and heady, but it may be controversial because it is such an unusual varietal. The 2005 Nebbiolo Santa Barbara is a reasonably priced introduction to this complex and difficult-to-harness varietal. Loads of acidity balance out a wine with notes of tobacco leaf, licorice, rose petal, and sweet cherry. It is dark ruby and tastes Italian. The 2005 Nebbiolo Stolpman has an orange hue to its medium ruby color and loads of spice box, licorice, and berry fruit. The 2005 Nebbiolo Sisquoc Vineyard has the classic tobacco leaf, licorice, truffle, red cherry, and kirsch notes. It is medium to full-bodied, more powerful than its two predecessors (14.5% alcohol) with good freshness, and a long, heady finish. While impressive, it is equaled by the 2005 Nebbiolo Honea Vineyard, which is also 14.5% alcohol. This wine (made from the Lampia clone of Nebbiolo, whereas the Sisquoc is made from the Michet clone) is outstanding, and probably the best Nebbiolo made in California. Dark ruby, with a stunning nose of asphalt, incense, tobacco leaf, licorice, kirsch, and blacker fruits, the wine has terrific minerality, medium to full body, and sweet strawberry and cherry flavors intermixed with herbs, spice, and earth. It should drink well for 5-6 years. Wall Street Journal Gives Pinot Grigio Another Go
“ flavor abounded in the '09 Palmina, winemaker Steve Clifton's Cali-Itali project. Or is that Itali-Cali? Whichever—he grows Italian varietals in Santa Barbara and his Pinot Grigio is really impressive, especially at $20 a bottle. "I tasted some great Pinot Grigios in Friuli," Mr. Clifton says, "and I wanted to make one that wasn't just a water substitute. It has to be grown on a good site that expresses minerality, but at its best it's a bridge between Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Pinot Grigio hits the middle for seafood dishes that are too delicate for Chardonnay.” Read this very witty and entertaining article by clicking here. And thanks, Jay!
Our friend and colleague, restaurateur and winemaker Joe Bastianich prepares three variations on a simple, classic tomato sauce on the Today show and offers wine pairing tips. Palmina Barbera is paired with pizzas that Joe made with pita bread, mozzarella and pomodoro sauce. Click here to see the clip.
The passionate and exuberant Gary Vaynerchuk (aka Gary Vee) included our Arneis in a tasting of "Interesting Italian Whites" on Episode #835 of WineLibrary TV. "Fresh and creamy, fresh and creamy." Check out what he has to say on this entertaining and educational video blog.
2008 Arneis Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2007 Alisos,
Santa Barbara County 2007 Barbera Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2008 Palmina Botasea
Rosato di Palmina Santa Barbara County 2007 Dolcetto Cane Pruned Honea
Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2008 Dolcetto Santa Barbara County 2007 Lagrein Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2008 Malvasia Bianca Larner Vineyard
Santa Ynez Valley 2005 Nebbiolo Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2005 Nebbiolo
Santa Barbara County 2004 Nebbiolo Sisquoc Vineyard Santa Maria
Valley 2006 Sangiovese Undici Santa Ynez Valley 2008 Tocai Friulano Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez
Valley 2008
Tocai Friulano Subida Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 2008 Traminer Alisos Vineyard Santa Barbara County Palmina goes from the “Wine Ghetto” to the White House
"It's like the Dalai Lama" Santa Barbara News Press correspondent Tyler Blue recently spent a few hours with the Palmina crew, noting: The Cliftons are champions of the Italian mentality whereby food and wine are intertwined. "We never intended to just be a winery and tasting room," Chrystal explains. "The process we enjoy is educating and inspiring people to see how the connection between food and wine happens between season and region." Amongst all the varietals, Nebbiolo is Palmina's ultimate muse. "It's like the Dalai Lama in the form of liquid," Chrystal gushes. Steve figures, "We have 17 other wines that support our Nebbiolo habit." This challenging yet rewarding varietal takes four years to make. The investment has been paying off as Palmina has been the only American producer invited to present at the Nebbiolo Symposium in Italy. Read the entire article here. Palmina and Nebbiolo
"...an audience made up primarily of Italian consumers is of course used to the ruby-garnet colors, floral and fruity aromas, and dry, warm, velvety palate of the Valtellina and Piedmont wines. The beautiful clarity of the ruby color, aromatic complexity presenting not only the classic Nebbiolo combination of tangy red fruit and floral bouquet but also earthy, spicy accents, and consisent notes of red fruit and spices in the California Nebbiolos were a new experience for many." Read the full article here.
2006 Palmina Honea Vineyard Santa Ynez
Valley Barbera
Steve Clifton’s “Italian Stallion” operation in southern California is the best of its kind in the United States, and these wines seem to go from strength to strength. His excellent whites are all stainless steel fermented and really do capture much of the character that comes from the region most commonly associated with these wines, northeastern Italy. The 2007 Pinot Grigio Alisos exhibits notes of buttered apples intermixed with hints of tropical fruit and a slice of minerality in its light to medium-bodied flavors. This wine should be drunk over the next 12-16 months. Even better is the 2007 Pinot Grigio Honea Vineyard, which displays exuberant fruit, with notes of orange blossom and lemon oil as well as hints of honeysuckle and Granny Smith apple skins. This wine should be drunk over the next 12-16 months. The 2006 Arneis is fresh, flowery, medium-bodied, and just delicious. This wine should be drunk over the next 12-16 months. The 2007 Tocai Friulano Honea Vineyard offers notes of apple skin, lemon zest, spring flowers, and hints of herbs and spice. The wine is dry and deliciously fresh and vibrant. This wine should be drunk over the next 12-16 months. The 2007 Traminer displays “Christmas” spice, lychee, and honeyed notes, dry, crisp, medium-bodied flavors, and surprising length. Among the reds, the stars I found included their 2006 Dolcetto, which displays plenty of dark cherries, bitter chocolate and espresso roast, dense ruby purple color, but loads of fruit. Best drunk in the first 3-4 years of life. The 2006 Barbera Zotovich Vineyard has briery black cherry and berry fruit with hints of chocolate, underbrush, and spice. Best drunk in the first 3-4 years of life. The other top red was the blend of 50% Nebbiolo and the rest equal parts Barbera and Sangiovese, the 2005 Savoia. This wine exhibits complex new saddle leather notes intermixed with strawberry, black cherry, roasted herbs, and licorice. It is deep, dark, medium to full-bodied, and just gorgeous. Best drunk in the first 3-4 years of life.
"The methods here are moving as close as possible to those of traditional Italian producers, Steve Clifton told me. "But we are absolutely not trying to make imitations," he said. "We have our own unique terroir and fruit expression, but I'm drawn to wines that are unadorned and pure, which is what I find in the best old-school Italian wines." To that end Clifton is using larger casks (botte, in Italian) to minimize oxidation during barrel aging, and extending the time his nebbiolos spend in barrel, "hopefully, to get finer tannins and more aromatic complexity." This is certainly the most impressive set of nebbiolos I've ever encountered outside of Italy, and finer than many from inside it." Read the complete review here.
“Mr. Clifton emphasizes that he's not trying to mimic the Italian version of those grapes; rather, he's trying to take those Italian grapes and reinterpret them, given the growing conditions and vineyard sites of Santa Barbara County, which remind him of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia grape-growing region of Italy. While he truly respects Italian tradition, he doesn't go strictly by the book. Instead, he makes the wines with a nod to how wine is viewed in Italian culture, meaning every wine is made with food in mind. Or as Mr. Clifton likes to put it, "Wine is an extension of the plate." Read his review of the wines he tasted here.
"After explaining the history of the grape, Steve and Chrystal explained the striking similarities between the geography and climate of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy and the Honea Vineyard in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA in the Santa Barbara wine country. The Santa Barbara County coastline juts in an east-west direction, unlike the coastal mountains from Alaska to Chile. The unique positioning of the local mountains and the valley flames the love-hate relationship between the cool ocean breezes from the west and the warm desert winds from the east, much as the cold northern weather from the Italian Alps and Dolomites battles with the warm air from the Adriatic Sea to the south of Friuli. This intermediate Santa Ynez microclimate offers a combination of cool nights for acidic balance, warm days for grape growth and a long growing season, ideal for Italian varietals." Click here to read the full article.
"In my fit but aimless 20's I hiked in Europe's mountains, my backpack stocked with nutrition bars. At every turn I encountered hale and jolly locals picnicking on salami and triple-cream cheese. I decided then and there that pleasure must be nutritious. Here are my favorite foods for springtime meanderings, all now made in the USA." She asked sommelier Heather Branch to recommend wines for her perfect picnic. Their choice for a white? Palmina Tocai Friulano, "a crisp, charming white."
Steve Clifton, half of the team at Pinot powerhouse Brewer-Clifton, keeps this Lompoc-based label devoted to Italian varietals as a side project. This take on a native Friulian grape effort, which comes from Clifton's equivalent of an all-Italian varietal estate vineyard, outpaces many of its Italian counterparts. Intense aromas of bitter almonds, white flowers and dense peach, with a gripping finish. The lush texture will really blossom with a bit of time - or decanting.
Earlier this year, we had none-too-kind words for American Pinot Grigio. Would that we had tasted this specimen from winemaker Steve Clifton, also of Brewer-Clifton. From a spot in the Los Alamos Hills, he was getting an astounding 2 tons of fruit per acre, low even by Napa Cab standards. That was "too intense," so it's now closer to four. But still intense: With compelling peach pit and citrus notes, and a vibrant mineral backbone, this all stainless-steel aged wine has forceful, dense flavors that stand in bold defiance against the monotony of its Grigionic counterparts. He cooks! He surfs! He makes wine! "Nine winemakers from Santa Barbara to Paso Robles, who also happen to be dedicated surfers, converged at the beach to talk wines and waves with Wine Enthusiast. “Both surfing and winemaking have given me a relationship with nature, to understand its cycles, seasonal changes, how the earth moves and breathes,” said Steve Clifton of Palmina." Click here to read the complete article.
Wall Street Journal wine writers Dorothy
Gaiter and John Brecher recently wrote about the “hidden treasures”
that can be found on restaurants wine lists, calling their experience
“The Refosco Lesson”. Having enjoyed Refosco in their
younger years, they saw Palmina Mattia (55% Refosco, 30%
Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot) on a wine menu in a restaurant recently.
“We ordered it, of course, and it was outstanding, with lusty
earthiness and real vibrancy. We had never seen this wine before,
and there’s a good reason for that: The winery made only 280
cases and most went to restaurants. Only a small percentage found
its way to retailers.”
Jessica Forsyth met with Chrystal recently and put the history of Palmina in the context of Italian-American history: "...their winery in Santa Barbara County is as Italian as an American winery can get." "Palmina winery has come to be respected not only for the quality of its wines, but also for the ambassadorial approach to promoting Italian culture through wine." Click here to read the full article.
Corie Brown met with Steve at the winery: Palmina "makes an Arneis, from the grape variety native to Piedmont; Malvasia Bianca in the Friuli style; three vineyard-designated Pinot Grigios; a Tocai Friulano; a Traminer; a blend of Refosco, Cabernet Franc and Merlot he calls Mattia; two Nebbiolos; two Barberas; a Sangiovese; a Dolcetto; a Savoia, which is a blend of Nebbiolo, Syrah, and Barbera; a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot he named Alisos, after the vineyard where he sources the grapes; and a dessert wine called Santita made from Malvasia Bianca raisins. Why so many wines? Clifton smiles, chuckles, then shrugs, saying that, obviously, he hasn't been following a business plan. "We're excitable," he says, referring to the partnership between himself and his wife, Chrystal, who came to work for him in 2000. Business turned personal and they were married three years ago. "We find something we like and then we've got to add it to the list," Clifton says. "We were married in Friuli, so we've got to make Tocai Friulano. Weeding wines out, making fewer varietals, um, we're not very successful at that." Please click here to read the full article.
"Palmina is the remarkable operation of Steve Clifton, who produces 10,000 cases of Italian-inspired wines. Having done enough understudy/homework in Italy, he has met the challenge of finding single vineyards in California's Central Coast planted with Italian varietals. He is fashioning the finest dry Italian-styled whites in the new world!" |
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"one
of the finest Italian-varietal wines I have tasted in California"
Touring and Tasting magazine’s
Editor Wendy VanDiver came to visit Santa Barbara County this past
autumn. Her first day was spent here in the Lompoc/Sta.
Rita Hills area, and she notes
The
San Francisco Examiner recently took a quick look at the trend
toward domestically produced Italian wines, including Palmina. 
Saveur:
Jay
McInerney of the Wall Street Journal’s wine section recently
wrote on his rediscovery of Pinot Grigio. Titled “Giving
Pinot Grigio Another Go”, McInerney noted 
What
might be the ultimate honor for a winery that is solely dedicated
to crafting wines from Italian varietal grapes grown in Santa Barbara
County? Having their wines included as a gift from President Obama
to Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano at our President’s
first G8 summit might just top the list. And that is just what happened
last week for Chrystal and Steve Clifton’s Palmina winery.
The
entire Palmina gang went to Sondrio, Italy for the Nebbiolo
Grapes Convegne Internazionale in March. Steve and Chrystal
presented several Palmina Nebbiolo wines:
The
January issue of Gourmet Magazine was a “Special
Italian-American Issue”, with all sorts of fantastic recipes.
It also featured an article called “Rosso di California”,
with conversations with Chrystal about Palmina’s vision. Writer
James Rodewald finished the article with another of Chrystal’s
mantras “As I tasted….Chrystal Clifton’s words
rang in my ears: “Italian wines do not go with wine. They
go with food.” She’s right, these are not wines for
tasting. They’re wines for drinking with a meal.” Read
the entire excerpt 
Wine
critic Dennis Schaefer recently tasted through a few of our wines
and noted: 
Steve
and Chrystal hosted a Seminar & Tasting on Tocai Friulano
at the winery, comparing Italian wines from Friuli with several
different styles of the wine that we made from the 2007 harvest.
Wine Imbiber was there to take notes:
The
April 2008 edition of "O" had a nice and appropriate mention
of Palmina. In the Food section, writer Celia Barbour outlines her
perfect picnic: 
On
the Menu: 
A
Recipe for Success
It'll
take more than amore to shine