Tantara, celebrating 18 years of excellence

Since 1997, Tantara has been dedicated to producing the very finest Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. Located in the beautiful Santa Maria Valley (Santa Barbara County), their wines are sourced from top Central Coast growers and single vineyards such as, Dierberg, Rio Vista, Bentrock,  Talley Rincon, La Colline (Laetitia), Lindsay’s,  Tondre,  Zotovich and Brosseau. Tantara’s dedication to quality and detail has kept production levels low and to the utmost standards.

California’s Central Coast, from Santa Barbara to Monterey is blessed with ideal growing conditions for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A long growing season with abundant sunshine for sugar production but enough cool nights and foggy mornings for color extraction and complex flavors, gives us the opportunity to work with some of the best fruit in the world. It is our goal that this bounty of nature be transformed into great wine.For Pinot Noir, the fruit is de-stemmed and fermented in open top vats. We use both native yeasts and prepared yeast culture to add complexity. Punch down is by traditional methods. After the primary fermentation, the wine is pressed and put into French Oak barrels where it undergoes a secondary or malolactic fermentation. The wine is racked after ML is complete and left undisturbed until it is assembled and bottled, unfined and unfiltered. We believe this style of winemaking lets the fruit achieve its full potential, giving wine that is seductive in the short term, while allowing the development of aromatic and flavor complexities with bottle age.For Chardonnay, the fruit is whole cluster pressed, the juice settled then put into French Oak barrels. Both primary and malolactic fermentation occur in barrel. The lees are stirred occasionally until ML is finished, then the wine rests sur lie (on its lees) for 10 – 12 months until it is bottled. The style of winemaking we employ for Chardonnay creates enough forward fruit to make it accessible upon release, but with a structure that allows it to improve and gain complexity in the bottle.

ORIGIN OF A NAME

Tantara was the name of a horse owned by Bill Cates some years ago. After Tantara was retired to pasture, she defied predictions of an imminent demise and lived to a ripe old age. Horses symbolize elegance, grace and power and in Tantara’s case, long life, all of which are qualities we embrace for our wine.