Piedrasassi

11/08/2023

2023 marks the fourth bottling of our Vin Santo, a non-vintage dessert wine made from Sangiovese and inspired by Avignonesi’s Occhio di Pernice, Italy’s greatest example of the style. ⁠
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Through a solera system – in which Sangiovese from 2006 through 2016 was blended into foudre and fed with new wine every year since – we have been aging Vin Santo for 17 of our 20 years. From this process, the blend grows more complex with each vintage.⁠
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To access Vin Santo IV, please click here: https://piedrasassi.com/collections/fall-2023-library-release/products/copy-of-nv-piedrasassi-vin-santo-iii

11/07/2023

This fall is particularly meaningful for our families. It marks Piedrasassi’s 20th anniversary – hard for us to believe! To celebrate the occasion, we are now offering a comprehensive collection of our top Syrahs from over the years. ⁠
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Among the many wines offered, this library release includes a 3-pack of Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah from three special vintages, and a 6-vintage vertical of Rim Rock Vineyard Syrah, the most expansive look we’ve taken at the most expressive site we’ve found.⁠
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These wines are near and dear to our table – and it would be our pleasure to bring them to yours. To access, click here: https://piedrasassi.com/collections/fall-2023-library-release

12/17/2022

The ugliest photo of our yummy wine lineup. It’s a Christmas miracle that Melissa is at the Saturday market today with vinegar and wine including the vin santo and fancy Syrahs. Give wine for the holidays! Will be here until 1 pm, commuter lot on the corner of Santa Barbara and Cota.

11/17/2022

We believe in the beauty of enjoying Vin Santo year-round, although sharing it during this season is strongly encouraged.

Hand bottled from cask, hand labeled, and carefully dipped in wax, the 375ml bottle of Vin Santo represents 10 years, many harvests, and many hands to bring this magical wine to fruition.

A special wine to share during a special time. Shop Vin Santo at our link in bio.

04/02/2022

Stop by and pick up some homemade pizza dough at the market this weekend. And be sure to tag us so we can see what you create.

02/14/2022

Vin Santo paired with the delectable Cinnamon Maple Brown Butter Blackberry Peach Crisp by

02/10/2022

This Saturday Melissa will bring a couple cases of our very special Piedrasassi Vin Santo to the market. Our Vin Santo is truly a labor of love and we're ready to share it with you. We've been steadily making wine with this method since 2006. Sangiovese grape bunches are harvested then carefully laid in trays to dry (the first grapes drying in Melissa and Sashi’s garage). We use a solera system where previous cellared wine is blended with the new vintage. It’s then stored in half barrels until ready to join the big wooden solera tank. We've made very little of this sweet wine, allowing it to quietly ferment and aging slowly until it is ready for bottling. The bottlings are indicated by the presence of the Roman numeral at the bottom of the front label. The heart label matches the personality of this rare sweet wine and was also a creation of love from an artist friend of the family.

This dessert wine is perfectly suited for quiet after-dinner conversations on Valentine's Day and can remain open for awhile - so you can enjoy it over several evenings. We invite you to place an order online today to pick up at the market this Saturday!

02/04/2022

Tomorrow Melissa will be at Santa Barbara Saturday farmers’ market with bread, wine, vinegar, and (a small amount of) mustard. (Still in suspense about the pizza dough—she is working hard to get it done.) One special wine that will be at the stand tomorrow is a white from the Piedrasassi market-exclusive bottlings—bottled in small lots, priced under $25, and made to drink now.

Our 2020 Grenache Blanc is made from grapes grown at Coteaux de Clair, our assistant winemaker’s vineyard. These vines were farmed in 2020 for us by Chris King (the vineyard manager for Domaine de la Côte) at Claire Wilson’s property in Solvang. This “orange wine” style white was fermented on its skins in a puncheon, then pressed off after 3 months. The result is a surprising, complex white wine with a tropical nose and a weight and firmness on the palate. Color is deep, deep gold with a tinge of pink! A great bottle for the non-traditionalist lovers of natural wines, at $16, it’s a steal. Only for sale at the Saturday SB market, in the commuter parking lot at the intersection of Cota and Santa Barbara Streets.

01/30/2022

One of Melissa’s longtime bread customers came back from the Bahamas and was so excited to share this picture. Yes, we import to the Bahamas! (Take us with you next time, please) 🇧🇸

01/09/2022

12/12/2021

Vin Santo is shipping now!
We believe in the beauty of enjoying Vin Santo year round, though there is something undeniably special about sharing a bottle with loved ones during the holidays. For those who enjoy food and wine pairing, savoring  a pour alongside a slice of traditional Panforte is a delight. On the contrary, those keen on drinking their dessert will find this to be a  lovely substitute.

12/10/2021

Piedrasassi’s Vin Santo is the brainchild of our good friend and business partner, Peter Pastan. Peter has always had a strong affinity for  Italian wine, and after seeing the potential for exceptional fruit ripeness in Ballard Canyon (particularly in Sangiovese), he suggested  that we make sweet wine, as some of the grapes seemed more suited for dessert style bottles. Peter researched extensively on how to craft traditional style Vin Santo, and although hanging grapes is the classic  method in Tuscany, he ultimately decided to dry the grapes using perforated plastic baskets, similar to how producers craft sweet red wines in the Veneto.
Order a bottle for sipping and one for gifting.