You would be hard pressed to find a better cheerleader for the Santa Maria Valley than James Ontiveros.
The cowboy-turned-respected-viticulturist and vintner feels right at home here, and with good reason.
On St. Mary’s Day, 1855, it was his great, great, great, great grandfather, Don Juan Pacifico Ontiveros, who set foot on Rancho Tepusquet, an 8,900-acre Mexican land grant along the Sisquoc River. The cattleman settled there and named the area, the Santa Maria Valley, in honor of Mary, Mother of Jesus.
In 1856, he and his wife, Martina, built their home, the Ontiveros Adobe, a historic building that still stands in the middle of Bien Nacido Vineyards.
Another adventurous forefather, Josef Ontiveros, arrived in California way back in 1781, helping to build the mission in Santa Barbara.
“I always joke, I had nothing to do with that, but it gives you a different sense of commitment about what I think about this area, and how I try to respect the traditions of California, in what we do with our farming; what we try to do to be thoughtful in the promotion of the Santa Maria Valley,” said Ontiveros, who is quick to defend his hometown.
“People talk down about Santa Maria being this big, kinda ugly, ag/oil industrial big city, and I LOVE this area! The diversity, the real people, the no bullshit. I love it!”
The original homestead had been divided and sold off generations ago, but James and his parents, Mark and Louise Ontiveros, sought to regain that family provenance.
In 1986, they were able to purchase a few hundred acres on Dominion Road in the Santa Maria Valley, overlooking the original Rancho Tepusquet, and named it Rancho Ontiveros.
In 1997, Ontiveros planted a pinot noir vineyard on the land, for his own wine label, Native9, a reference to nine generations of family history in California.
While studying Fruit Science at Cal Poly, Ontiveros became friends with Paul Wilkins. In 2005, they formed the winery Alta Maria Vineyards.
Ontiveros farms the vineyards; Wilkins oversees the winemaking.
“We were just two guys who really enjoy wine and we really wanted to make great wine. We wanted to showcase the Santa Maria Valley and stand on its shoulders and try to elevate the general consumer’s awareness of the Santa Maria Valley,” Wilkins said. “For so many years this region was underappreciated … now there is definitely a consensus among wine aficionados and sommeliers that the Santa Maria Valley is a darling when it comes to pinot noir and chardonnay production.”
Ontiveros and Wilkins marked their winery’s 10th anniversary last month with a party for friends and supporters, held fittingly, at the Ontiveros Adobe.
They presented a broad scope of Alta Maria wines, every variety from every year.
“I thought the wines showed amazingly well,” said Ontiveros.
I agree! I was fortunate to be on the guest list, mingling with many of the area’s top winemakers and dining on authentic Mexican food from two Santa Maria restaurants, Lo Mejor De Jalisco and El Pueblito.
But the night was about the beautiful handcrafted wine.
I started with Alta Maria’s bright and cheery pinot noir rosé, followed by a variety of charming chardonnays, immediately falling in love with Alta Maria’s gorgeously rich 2013 Bien Nacido “old vine” chardonnay.
As the sun set behind the adobe, I sampled Alta Maria’s impressive pinot noirs. The standout for me was the earthy 2008, proving that these wines stand the test of time.
Alta Maria’s wines are elegant and classic, not overripe or over-oaked, and because their fruit is sourced from a variety of vineyards, their portfolio offers diverse flavor profiles.
Ontiveros looked back over the last decade: “In some respects, it’s been exhausting and at the same time, invigorating. People who believe that this is just a romantic business and it’s a lot of dinners and fun, haven’t taken into account the amount of effort it takes to build the reputation of a tiny little brand that no one knows, and then go spread that word across the world.”
Today, Alta Maria wines are represented nationwide and in five different export markets.
Ontiveros is proud to make a high quality product that critics and consumers enjoy and at the same time, “We did it at price points that we feel are very affordable, versus what a lot of people do, which is just charge as much as they can. That was never our goal.”
Alta Maria’s current releases are an excellent value at $18 for sauvignon blanc and rosé, $28 for chardonnay, and $28 for pinot noir. To purchase wine, go to altamaria.com or visit their tasting room in Los Olivos.
“This next project, for me, is a platform to tell a whole other story,” Ontiveros said, revealing that he and Wilkins will debut a new label, Rancho Viñedo, in the spring.
The chardonnay is grown in the Rancho Viñedo vineyard, now farmed by Ontiveros. The 40-year-old vines are located on part of the historic Rancho Tepusquet land grant, across the road from Bien Nacido.
The new wine will be called “Doña Martina,” after Juan Pacifico’s strong and magnetic wife.
“At the end of the day, there are so many great wines out there, but wine is about a place and it’s about a story,” Ontiveros said. “I’m proud of this project! It’s gonna pay homage to the women of our family.”
Ontiveros and Wilkins will always embrace the past as they look forward, continuing to capture the Santa Maria Valley in a bottle.
“The future is very exciting,” Wilkins added. “I think we have a bright one ahead of us.”
Sun wine and food columnist Wendy Thies Sell can be contacted at wthies@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 12-19, 2015.