PRODUCER: Tatomer Wines
REGION: Santa Barbara, Central Coast, California, USA
WINEMAKERS: Graham Tatomer
WINERY HISTORY
The story of Tatomer is of one man’s lifelong love and passion for the wines of Santa Barbara. Getting his start in the industry as a 16-year-old working holidays in a local winery, Graham Tatomer has grown to define Riesling and Grüner Veltliner on California’s Central Coast. Drawn to the brightness and acidity of these Germanic varieties, Graham began sourcing from some old Riesling vineyards that survived the shifting tastes of the American wine industry. It was with these grapes that he embarked upon his first adventures in solo winemaking, achieving success in a burgeoning local market but without the true nous or capital to grow his brand.
Having realised he needed to learn from the Old-World masters to make the best wine possible, he elected to move to Austria as a young man to master his craft. After numerous years spent darting between life as a California sommelier and an assistant winemaker at Emmerich Knoll in the Wachau, 2008 marked a turning point for Graham. Despite impressing the Knoll team to such an extent he was offered a hectare of vines to commit his future, he elected to return to California. With years of experience learning from true masters, Graham set off for to Santa Barbara ready to craft some of California’s best iterations of these varieties
VITICULTURE & WINEMAKING
To this day, Tatomer remains an individual and rigorous endeavour. Sourcing his grapes from cool-climate vineyards across the Central Coast, Graham makes wines of bracing acidity and intriguing complexity. There is a distinct Austrian flair to Graham’s wines. The alluring presentation of power, precise attention to detail, and superb precision of his wines reveal his training. However, they are also distinctly Californian, his Rieslings and Grüners dazzling with resounding texture, fruit, and formality. Santa Barbara salinity pervades his wines, while limited skin contact adds an exciting phenolic bitterness to his bottlings. It is thanks to Graham, in many ways, that Riesling and Grüner have had a renaissance in the States, helping growers identify optimal sites for planting.
Having recently added Pinot Noir to his quiver of wines, the sky seems the limit for Tatomer. Entirely unique in his niche, Graham’s wines delight the senses.
IN THE PRESS
"Graham Tatomer has staked his claim on a unique slice of the wine world, producing a meticulously crafted roster of Riesling and Grüner Veltliner that successfully exudes the precision of his Old World influences. The addition of a beautiful and overperforming array of Pinot Noirs to the lineup has brought diversity and expanded his reach considerably. As gifted as Tatomer is with dry iterations of aromatic white wines, his off-dry and sweet bottlings—produced in Spätlese, Auslese and Beerenauslese styles but labeled in code to avoid legal issues—are indeed on another level and accentuate his prowess in harnessing luscious, decadent textures with elegance and crystalline clarity." - Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
"Started in 2008 by Graham Tatomer (assistant winemaker at Brewer-Clifton and boasting an impressive resume working at top estates in California and Austria) with the goal to focus on bone dry Rieslings, this estate is a treasure trove of beautifully made, refreshing whites." - Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate
"Graham Tatomer crafts wines of real character and personality. The core of the range is composed of a number of Grüner Veltliners and Rieslings from top sites in Edna Valley and Santa Barbara. More recently, Tatomer has expanded his range to include Pinot Noirs, the best of which are compelling. The wines are done in a style that emphasizes freshness, detail and energy." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
