Brewer-Clifton

Steve Clifton & Greg Brewer

Country of Origin: USA
Location: Santa Rita Hills
People: Greg Brewer & Steve Clifton, Owners & Winemakers

History: Born of an obsession with Santa Barbara County terroir, Greg Brewer and Steve Clifton formed Brewer-Clifton in the early 1990's. They both had significant sales and production experience with a multitude of Santa Barbara County wineries, and always felt compelled to push the limits of the fruit from the area further than our previous employers had set forth to do.

Vineyards: They focus efforts solely on the production of vineyard designated Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from several carefully selected, extreme vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills appellation. The area's long growing seasons and diversity of marine-based soils combine to produce dynamic and explosive wines with great purity and precision. Each vineyard site is nurtured identically, allowing the pedigree of place to play the most significant role. The vineyards selected for Brewer - Clifton wines represent the full range of the Sta. Rita Hills - from the furthest eastern point to the coastal vineyards to the west. Cargasacchi - two acres of a a sixteen acre clone 115 Pinot Noir vineyard planted in 1998 at Peter Cargasacchi family's ranch at the far western end of the appellation. Clos Pepe - one-acre Pinot Noir section planted in 1998 on a knoll to Pommard clone on this 30-acre site owned and farmed by Wes Hagen and the Pepe family. Rancho Santa Rosa - ambitious project (240 acres) owned by Bill Foley of Foley Estates Winery. We have gained access to two very steep one-acre parcels of Chardonnay, each limestone ridden and planted to clones 76 and 96. We also work with a steep one-acre section of Pinot Noir planted to clone 667, also in soils replete with limestone. Mount Carmel - This steep, south-facing and celestial vineyard was planted by Ron Piazza and Paul Abrecht in 1991 in accordance with a cloistered order of Carmelite nuns. There are currently 15 acres of Pinot Noir. Seasmoke - Limited chardonnay from this prestigious vineyard planted predominantly to pinot noir in the late 1990s. Three-acre parcel of dijonnaise clones 76, 95 and 96. The block is in Metz loamy sand and is situated on a small mesa immediately above the Santa Ynez river. Sweeney-Canyon - This eighteen-acre, Chardonnay vineyard was planted in 1981 by the Marks family who still own and farm it. The property is located along the Santa Ynez River

Winemaking: "It is our primary goal and priority to deliver the essence of that vineyard as clearly and honestly as possible." Brewer-Clifton wines are only available in small quantities. Total production averages between 4,000 and 6,500 cases annually. Pinot Noir is fermented 100% as whole clusters of grapes, and typically remains in fermenter for a total of 30 to 35 days - 7 days cold soak, 2 weeks of fermentation, then 10 or more days of extended maceration. From the press, the resulting wine is bucketed directly to barrel. Barrels from the Sirugue cooperage in Nuits St. Georges are exclusively used. Racking is carried out by gravity, at the beginning of the waning moon following Summer Solstice.

Brewer -Clifton is vegetarian. No egg or fish products are used.

"A benchmark estate in the Santa Rita Hills, these first rate efforts are made by Steve Clifton and Greg Brewer. The wines are all handled identically in the cellar, so what you get is exactly what the vineyard delivers. In addition, this estate is moving to only estate-farmed vineyards, with Gnesa, Machado, 3-D and Hapgood being the only single-vineyard releases going forward. These 2011s are fantastic and should not be missed!" - The Wine Advocate 8/2013

"Steve Clifton describes the 2010 harvest as 2-3 weeks later than normal. The Pinots were brought in during the second and third weeks of September, in between the heat spikes, while the Chardonnays were harvested later, once temperatures cooled off . The 2010s are beautiful, transparent wines that capture the essence of the vintage and their respective sites. The single-vineyard wines can be hard to track down, but to tell the truth, I am increasingly drawn to the straight appellation Chardonnay and Pinot, as they are less expensive, relatively easy to find and full of personality." - Wine Advocate 2012

Social Media
Twitter: @BrewerClifton
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Brewer-Clifton YouTube

Current Items from Brewer-Clifton

Cat #		Pack-Size	Net	Reviews
6972	Brewer-Clifton 2011 Chardonnay, 3-D Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills	6-750	$300	IWC 92 WA 91
6971	Brewer-Clifton 2011 Chardonnay, Gnesa, Sta. Rita Hills	6-750	$270	IWC 92 WA 91+
6975	Brewer-Clifton 2011 Chardonnay, Mount Carmel, Sta. Rita Hills	6-750	$288	IWC 93 WA 94
6314	Brewer-Clifton 2011 Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills	12-750	$384	WA 90 IWC 91
6974	Brewer-Clifton 2011 Chardonnay, Sweeney Canyon, Sta. Rita Hills	6-750	$252	IWC 92 WA 94
6970	Brewer-Clifton 2011 Pinot Noir, 3-D Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills	6-750	$366	IWC 94 WA 93
6968	Brewer-Clifton 2011 Pinot Noir, Ampelos, Sta. Rita Hills	6-750	$258	IWC 92 WA 92+
6976	Brewer-Clifton 2011 Pinot Noir, Machado Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills	6-750	$342	IWC 94 WA 94
6969	Brewer-Clifton 2011 Pinot Noir, Melville Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills	6-750	$288	IWC 93
6977	Brewer-Clifton 2011 Pinot Noir, Mount Carmel, Sta. Rita Hills	6-750	$312	IWC 94 WA 95
6228	Brewer-Clifton 2011 Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills	12-750	$360	WA 92 IWC 92