For Jill and Steve Matthiasson, winemaking is a natural extension of farming. The couple have both worked for many years in the sustainable agriculture and local food movement, Steve dreamt of farming his entire life. He became an obsessed gardener and cook while studying philosophy in college. In 1994, while back in grad school for horticulture, he found a job in vineyards and orchards working for a small sustainable agriculture consulting firm. In 1999 he co-authored the California manual on sustainable vineyard practices. In 2002 he started consulting on vineyard practices in Napa, a passion he still explores today. Jill always felt that the intersection of nature and culture was the most important thing. She studied botany at Penn, researched ancient farming techniques in Israel, and studied traditional methods for soil health in grad school at UC Davis. She pioneered “farmer to farmer” networking for sustainability in the early 90s while working for a family farming non-profit, and ran programs training farmers on direct sales, such as CSAs and farmers markets, before local food had the momentum that it has now. As the family grew, that passion translated into more local action, like teaching cooking from the garden classes in the local grade school, and serving on the Napa Farmer’s Market board. In 2003, the couple started Matthiasson Wines based on these shared values. Their wines are classical expressions of different grape varieties, some well-known like Chardonnay and Cabernet sauvignon, and some rare like Ribolla gialla and Refosco. The wines are refreshing, complement food, and are always moderate in alcohol.
The 2019 blend is comprised of 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Ribolla Gialla, 20% Semillon, and 5% Tocai Friulano. The Sauvignon Blanc brings a clean fresh citrusy acidity and some tropical character, the Ribolla Gialla brings seashell minerality, nuttiness, and structure to the blend, the Semillon contributes viscosity and waxiness that adds gravity and weight, and the Tocai friulano adds spicy aromatic notes. The acidity and fruit expression is balanced by a rich lees character and a faint backdrop of creamy oak. The interplay in the wine between lightness and richness, and focus and complexity is undeniable delicious! Only 727 cases produced.