Santa Maria has soul. That’s one of the reasons the Murphy family, one of Arkansas’s most prominent families, chose the Santa Maria Valley to build its spectacular winemaking enterprise, Presqu’ile.
Another important reason is the French term the wine industry uses: terroir, meaning climate, soil, slope, elevation, wind, and so on, covering characteristics that give grapes—and ultimately wine—“a sense of place.”
Presqu’ile Winery President Matt Murphy came to California during college to do summer “vineyard grunt work.” The pre-med student at the University of Colorado moved to Santa Maria after graduation in 2006 for a job at a small winery.
“I was scrubbing tanks, scrubbing the floor, scrubbing anything that needed to be scrubbed,” Murphy recalled.
His supervisor at the time was Dieter Cronje, now Murphy’s employee as Presqu’ile’s winemaker.
“Dieter was sort of my boss then, so it’s kind of funny how the roles have switched now,” Murphy said with a smile.
By 2007, Murphy and his family were searching for the perfect place to plant their own vineyard. They examined the West Coast’s prominent wine regions.
“We decided to stick with Santa Maria because, first of all, it was something that we knew. We had a good connection to the local wine industry already, and we just believed we could make the styles of wine that we liked to make here more than anywhere else,” Murphy explained.
They discovered 200 acres near Orcutt on East Clark Avenue. Glad-a-Way Gardens was leasing the land, growing gladiolus. Murphy looked out at rows of “glads” and could see beyond the flowers.
“It just blew us away when we drove back here,” Murphy said during a tour of the gorgeous estate. “The different aspects, the rolling hills, the whole deal.
“We had been working with fruit from Solomon Hills, also owned by the Millers, the Bien Nacido folks, and it’s just a half mile that way,” he said, pointing west. “We have identical conditions to what they have at Solomon Hills. We were just like, ‘This is too good to be true.’”
Winemaker Cronje added: “I think it was a no-brainer, really.”
Added Murphy: “The good thing about this place is it’s soulful. It’s real authentic wine country. Not to steal from the Santa Maria Valley Vintner’s Association, but it’s true.”
He believes that by keeping true to the roots of the region, he’ll succeed in building his brand and help to promote the appellation on the national wine scene.
From 2008 to 2009, the Murphy family planted 72 acres of certified, sustainably farmed Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and Nebbiolo.
Presqu’ile produced wine in a temporary winery beginning in 2008 with fruit from Solomon Hills and Bien Nacido. The 2011 harvest was the first year their estate-grown grapes were ready.
“Oh man, I was psyched about it,” Murphy exclaimed.
So was his younger brother, assistant winemaker Jonathan. Sister Anna works in Presqu’ile’s Los Olivos tasting room, which opened in February.
The Murphy family has a long history of working together: Over the last century, the Murphys have partnered in highly successful businesses, including oil and gas, forestry, and farming in Arkansas and the surrounding states.
Work crews in Santa Maria are currently building the family’s extraordinary winery and tasting room, connected by a wine cave, with stunning views of the valley’s rolling hills and the Pacific Ocean in the distance. The project should be complete and open to the public in early 2013.
“The winery is going to be all gravity flow, contemporary architecture,” Murphy said. “It’s gonna be something special.”
“It’s definitely designed to give us the ability to produce phenomenal wines,” Cronje said. “The whole experience, of course coming here … and just experiencing how we process the wine, and how you can tour through the winery. I think it’s really going to be an unforgettable experience to come visit here.”
Presqu’ile produces 2,200 cases of wine a year, making Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and Rosé in a minimalist style: low alcohol, balanced and elegant. The wine production will likely grow to about 10,000 cases.
There’s no doubt that Presqu’ile Winery’s impressive wine and estate will draw connoisseurs and winery-hopping tourists from busy Santa Ynez up to Santa Maria. But to keep them there, Murphy believes, the tourism infrastructure should improve.
“World-class wine growing regions should have some sort of hospitality aspect to it, and for a bunch of different reasons, this part of the county doesn’t have that developed as much as I’d like to see it developed,” Murphy said.
“That’s not to say I want to build hotels on every stretch of agricultural land in Santa Barbara County, but I think a couple of nice bed and breakfasts or hotels and some really nice restaurants up this way, out of Los Olivos, out of Santa Ynez, would go a long way, because the fact is, people need to stay somewhere, and they need to be fed, and it needs to be accessible from wine country,” he explained.
Murphy is excited to be part of something bigger in Santa Maria: “This is a world-class wine-growing area. It might be a little under the radar on the national scene, but I feel like this place is generating a buzz. And you know, I’m psyched to be a part of that, and I think a rising tide lifts all boats. Hopefully we’re part of that surge!”
Presqu’ile Winery’s sleek, new tasting room is open in downtown Los Olivos at 2369 Alamo Pintado Ave. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Monday. Cost is $10 to $20 per wine flight. For more information, go to presquilewine.com.
Sun wine and food writer Wendy Thies Sell can feel the momentum building in Santa Maria wine country. Contact her at wthies@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 29 – Apr 5, 2012.