Big Sur Vineyards Celebrates 10 Years

May 26, 2023 – Lenora Carey remembers the first time she poured her wines for me. It was at a 2015 Wines of Danger event that winemaker Sabrine Rodems and her mom organized in San Francisco on the waterfront. 

The beautiful labels lured me in and I noted how different the wines were from others being poured. Carey had a Pinot Noir from Chalone that was absolutely remarkable. At the time, I described it like this: “The Big Sur Vineyards 2013 Reserve Pinot from Monterey County is an intensely floral, scrub-brush-laden example of what dessication does to Pinot Noir in the Chalone AVA. It comes off with way more panache than you’d expect. The candied orange peel and red pie cherries are memorable in this complex fine-tannined hussy.”

Fast forward 10 years, through several devastating fires, including the loss of her home, olive grove and estate vines in Big Sur during the 2016 Soberanes fire. 

At that time, she had just opened her tasting room in Carmel Valley, after Dan Karlsen has closed Chock Rock. The world seemed chaotic, but if there’s one thing the documentary filmmaker had learned by then, it’s that resilience rules and despair is ruin.  

How did this California native, who swam with sharks, get into wine? She fell in love with Rhones while in Southern France doing a film about wine barrel making, and decided to move from San Francisco to Big Sur to do the “live off the land” thing that so many creative had done before her. 

Only she wisely planted fruit and olive trees, along with vines. Sadly they were torched, but by then she had already launched into her second career as a winery owner. 

Working at Sonoma-Cutrer further solidified her love of wine, and it was there she met a young intern from Reno, NV, named Ryan Kobza. He was studying vineyard management and she was interested in making wines from Monterey County. Problem solved.

Ten years hence, Ryan Kobza is still her winemaker and the labels are still quite striking. Kobza has worked for Ian Brand for over a decade and also makes wine under his own label, Kobza Wines. 

On a recent visit, as Cowboy Pete circled around the parking lot in his old tractor driven wagon, ferrying visitors around the Village as he’s done for years, we tried her current lineup, which included a 2019 Grenache Blanc, 2021 Tondre Pinot Noir, 2021 Big Sur Red, and a 2021 Petite Sirah from the same vineyard. It was the Friday before Mother’s Day weekend, and Carey had just received a shipment of the sparkling rosé she had made especially for the weekend and the summer rush. 

“I’d pour some for you, but it’s not cold and has no label!” she explained. So you’ll have to taste that one for yourself when you visit. There’s plenty of outdoor seating, and you can order food from the Trailside café next door and enjoy it while you sip your flight.

The 2019 Arroyo Seco Grenache Blanc from Cedar Lane Vineyard shows alluring Bosc pear, melon, mandarin and a hint of ripe tropical fruit. Really nicely textured with good acid that persists from stem to stern.

Made by Carey’s friend and fellow winery owner, Mark Bunter (Bunter Springs), the 2021 Tondre Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands, is absolutely classy and classic. Smooth, silky and supple, this is an excellent example of what this vineyard can deliver, packed with layer after layer of sweet fruit, including raspberry, cherry and plum. Here, Pommard and 667 build a ruby red beauty that teases with wonderful baking spice. 

2021 Big Sur Red is a blend of Petite Sirah and Syrah from the Argyle Vineyard in San Lucas. It’s one of Carey’s favorites, replete with rich plum, red currant, cherry brandy and mocha.

Rounding out the lineup is the robust and deeply purple 2021 Petite Sirah, also from the Argyle Vineyard in San Lucas. Get ready for the riot of ripe, gorgeous raspberry, blueberry, pepper and fennel, that unfolds constantly like an energetic elbows-out archeological dig. A most harmonious and enjoyable wine that PS lovers will utterly adore. 

Seabold/BOLD

We happened into the Seabold tasting room where the engaging Cynthia was pouring for several large parties at the picnic tables outside in the appealingly shaded courtyard. The brilliantly bubbly Pet Nat of Barbera and Columbard is exactly what you would expect from winemaker Chris Miller, wildly flagrant with crazy raspberry and guava on the finish. 

Hailing from Chalone, the 2021 Rodnick Pinot Blanc opens one of those pink pastry boxes tied with string to reveal a really rich wine, filled with almond paste, vanilla waffle wafers and a finish of macaroons with really chewy coconut.  A superbly sophisticated white for those of intellectual curiosity. 

In the mainstream of drink it up deliciousness is the 2021 BOLD Redwood Valley Carignane, a cherry sarsaparilla soda with a zip and zazzle that makes the beverages of your youth look tame. Packed with spice, warmth amazing grip and plentiful acid, this wine will turn very single head, wake up every jaded palate and write its name on every dance card that has an opening. Let her sweep you onto the dance floor because you will be smitten by the transparent charm that keeps no secrets yet shares none either.

 We finished with the 2019 Seabold Brosseau Pinot Noir, another gem from Chalone. This one, a closeup selfie of the wild rugged barren intensity that makes this region stand apart. From its wild aromas of chervil, capers, basil and dark bramble bushes, to its explosion of brined Kalamata olives, tarragon, plum and clove, the dichotomous contrasts lead to a harmonious complexity that resolves itself with each provocative sip. 

Exploring the wine scene in Carmel Valley Village has become more and more of an adventure every year: you need a scorecard to keep up with the constant changes.  If you’re planning a visit to the Village, be sure to check out Blue Fox, Pelio, Corral and Austin Harlow, among the recent newcomers. Congrats to Lenora Carey for sticking it out for 10 years!