The 2023 Nebbiolo D’Alta is a tiny-production, artisan Nebbiolo sourced from Regan Vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains, with only about 300 bottles produced. What makes this wine especially compelling is the way it threads the needle between traditional Nebbiolo structure and California coastal fruit expression—a balance very few New World examples are able to achieve successfully. Nebbiolo is famously site-sensitive and notoriously difficult outside of Piedmont, but the cool elevations and marine influence of the Santa Cruz Mountains provide one of the rare California terroirs capable of preserving the grape’s hallmark acidity, aromatic lift, and tannic precision.

The fruit comes from Regan Vineyard, a site planted in 1995 in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, where coastal fog, elevation, and long growing seasons allow Nebbiolo to ripen slowly and evenly. The wine was fermented with a minimal-intervention approach using spontaneous fermentation in open-top vessels with daily hand punch-downs, then aged for eight months in neutral French oak cask to preserve purity and site expression rather than emphasize oak influence. The restrained alcohol and classic élevage further reinforce the wine’s old-world sensibility.

On the nose, the wine opens with lifted aromatics of wild strawberry, dried rose petal, orange peel, and tamarind, layered with hints of leather, alpine herbs, and subtle spice. The palate is vibrant and structured, showing Nebbiolo’s characteristic high-toned acidity and fine, dusty tannins, balanced by the sunlit red fruit profile that California’s coast can uniquely provide. Notes of plum, sour cherry, tea leaf, and savory earth carry through a long, energetic finish marked by tension, freshness, and understated power.