Tercero Wines
“The fact is that the vast majority of wines being produced in CA truly are wines of and from the heart - wines made with passion by passionate people who embrace what they do.”
Get the Dirt from Owner/Winemaker Larry Schaffer
Tercero Wines is boutique producer located in Los Olivos, CA that produces high quality, reasonably priced red and white wines using grapes from leading Santa Barbara County vineyards. They make single varietal wines from Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Grenache Blanc and Gewurztraminer as well as a Rose and various blends.
1. What was your first vintage year? My first vintage for Tercero was 2006 - but I actually consider that 'mother nature's vintage', not mine! It was a short, hot, challenging vintage and I was somewhat like a deer in the headlights... I therefore consider 2007 to be my first 'real' vintage. (-:
2. Do you have a Tasting Room? My tasting room is located in downtown Los Olivos, one block off the main drag at 2445 Alamo Pintado Ave., Suite 104. (The entrance is actually on San Marcos, across the street from the Corner House Coffee). We are open Thurs-Mon, from 12 until 5ish. I am available other days / times by appointment only. 805.245.9584
3. If not you, who is your winemaker? My winemaker is the trio of me, myself and I. (-:
4. How did you get your start in the winemaking business? Started working in cellars in Temecula while taking pre-requisite classes to get my Viticulture and Enology degree from UC Davis.
5. What wine made you want to become a winemaker/start your own winery? Rhone varieties in general, and the Rhone wines coming out of the southern Central Coast in particular, along with a sprinkling of 'old world' Chateauneuf Du Papes ta boot.
6. What varietals do you work with? Which varietal/wine is your favorite to make? Why? I work almost exclusively with rhone varieties, though I do a dryish Gewurztraminer that I call The Outlier as well. My favorite variety to work with is probably grenache - I find the aromas intoxicating and the textures and flavors sexy. I dig how the variety wears its sense of place and clone on its sleeve, and I enjoy working with both warmer and cooler climate sites. I do at least two single-vineyard, 100% grenaches each year, with varying amounts of stem inclusion, as well as blends that include grenache.
7. What vineyards do you source from? I source from a number of different vineyards, all within Santa Barbara County. For 2011 and 2012, I worked with the White Hawk Vineyard, Watch Hill Vineyard, Thompson Vineyard, and Alisos Vineyard, all in the Los Alamos area; from the Larner Vineyard in Ballard Canyon; from Camp 4 Vineyard in eastern Santa Ynez, and from Rodney's Vineyard in Los Olivos.
8. What type of oak treatment do you use? For my reds, I use only 'older' barrels, all French, with the youngest barrel being 2-3 years old. With the varieties I work with, I prefer to allow the fruit to take center stage, and want this and the interplay between the fruit and the slow oxidation of aging in barrels for a few years to be what is noticed and remembered about the wines, not the presence of new oak. For my whites, I use a combination of 5-10 year old oak barrels and stainless steel, with the percentage of each unique to the different varieties I work with.
9. What do you love about your winemaking region? What makes it different special? What region would be your second choice? I am a true 'homer' for the Santa Barbara County wine region for a number of reasons. First off, I love and am amazed at the variety of micro-climates and soils that the area possesses, and because of this, allows us to grow dozens and dozens of different varieties, and all very well. Second, we are still a rather 'young' region, with the earliest vines planted only about 50 years ago but the majority planted in the past two decades. Therefore, the true potential of area is far from being reached. Third, I love the general 'vibe' in our area - it's more about the product and less about the 'pomp and circumstance' that I find in other areas. That's an interesting question about my second choice - haven't really thought about it . . . but since you're asking, and assuming we're talking within the US, I would say either the Sierra Foothills or perhaps Mendocino County - both 'up and coming' areas that are showing a lot of promise!
10. What's the story behind your name/label? The 'name' tercero has a few meanings to me. First, it is the dormitory complex that I lived in while attending UC Davis. Second, and probably more importantly, it means 'third' in Spanish and I am a third child and have three children . . .
11. What's the biggest misconception about making wine in California? I believe that one of the big misconceptions about winemaking in CA is that it is too 'clean and stripped of character' - one of the big 'smacks' against UC Davis. Are there winemakers and wineries that produce 'soul-less' wines? Sure there are - but I find that there are companies doing this in all parts of the US and around the world, not just in the US. The fact is that the vast majority of wines being produced in CA truly are wines of and from the heart - wines made with passion by passionate people who embrace what they do.
12. What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about the wine business before you started your own winery?That I would have to drink as much beer as I do at times (-: No seriously - I would say that you cannot take anything for granted - vintages, varieties, customers. It's a constantly changing landscape out there and one needs to remain on one's toes all of the time.
13. What piece of winemaking equipment is the most fun to use? The hardest? Most necessary? The most fun piece of winemaking equipment that I use are my feet . . . . I dig doing whole cluster fermentations because it forces me to foot stomp the grapes, and I love doing that!!!!! I would not say that any piece of equipment is 'hard' to use - some just take longer to get the hang of than others. Most necessary? Probably a water hose - because without cleaning on a regular basis, our wines would be totally different than they are.
14. If working in the wine industry wasn't an option, what's your other dream job? Do you still have a day job? I love the music industry and dreamed in the past of being a marketing or A&R person. I still think that would be a blast. And my day job is my winery.
15. We're curious…do you ever get tired of drinking your own wine? I don't - but then again I don't drink it, or many other wines, that often. I like to truly enjoy bottles and therefore will take my time with them, often not finishing them for 2-3 days so that I can experience the wine as it 'opens' more completely.
For more information about Tercero and their wines, visit their website. To follow Larry's wine adventures you can find him on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM.