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Absolution Cellars

845 Embarcadero, Suite H, Morro Bay, CA 93442
www.absolutioncellars.com

Region: Paso Robles

Owner/ Winemaker: Dirk Neumann

About: We are a small family-owned winery specializing in limited-production, handcrafted, single-vineyard wines from select vineyards all throughout the beautiful Central Coast. With over 20 different varieties and wines made each year, you’ll find something to please every palate. Each wine that we make is the best version of itself – a unique portrait of place and time, an honest expression of where and when the grapes were grown. Made for you to savor, enjoy, and share with your family and friends, as well as strangers, who may become one or both.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Cabernet Franc

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? Nebbiolo at a Palmina Tasting in the Wine Ghetto of Lompoc in 2011.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? Pouring them for people and seeing their eyes light up when they are tasting something they are not used to having.

Acquiesce Winery

22353 N Tretheway Rd, Acampo, CA 95220
www.whitewinewinery.com

Region: Mokelumne River AVA, Lodi

Owner: Susan Tipton

Winemaker: Christina Lopez

About: Acquiesce Winery offers estate-grown, award-winning premium white and rosé wines lovingly created in small batches. Try our unique wines: Grenache Blanc, Picpoul Blanc, Roussanne, Viognier, Clairette Blanche, Bourboulenc, and white blends Belle Blanc and Ingénue plus a Grenache Rosé.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Bourboulenc

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? Grenache Blanc – fell in love with this amazing wine!

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? Love the uniqueness of these grapes that you can’t find in the store!

AmByth Estate

510 Sequoia Lane Templeton, CA 93465
www.ambythestate.com

Region: Paso Robles, CA

Owner: Phillip Hart

Winemaker: Gelert Hart

About: We are a small family owned and operated vineyard, winery and farm in Paso Robles, CA. We believe in making authentic, terroir driven wines. Embracing biodynamic principles since 2003, our 42-acre estate, including 20 acres of vineyards, benefits from a unique microclimate and promotes a balanced ecosystem.

In winemaking, minimal intervention is key. Native yeasts, Terra Cotta clay Amphoras, and zero additives define our process. Hand harvesting, foot stomping, and adherence to Demeter and CCOF certifications showcase our dedication to transparency and purity.

AmByth Estate produces wines that tell a story—a story of sustainable farming, a love for the land, and a belief in the harmonious relationship between nature and craftsmanship.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Counoise

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? In 2010 the love affair with single varietal Counoise started with our dry farmed estate fruit. In earlier years, we blended with Grenache or in our Estate GSM which we still do and love but there is something special about a single varietal Counoise.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? The surprise and excitement of a new discovery. Usually these grapes are made to more authentic expressions which open a whole new realm of wine and wine drinking.

It’s always a joy to share wines made with lesser know varietals with our guests and friends and to be able to widen the consumers pallet and introduce them to a side of wine where they don’t know what to expect. A wine that initiates a good conversation and brings people together is what excites us the most.

August Briggs Winery

1307 B Lincoln Ave, Calistoga, CA
www.augustbriggswinery.com

Region: Napa Valley

Owner: Matthew Gacso

Winemaker: Matthew Gacso

About: August Briggs Winery is a collaboration between Matthew Gacso & Colette Milliman whose philosophy is simple: create delicious wines that express the true nature of the vineyards they come from. We focus on finding unique vineyard sites with ideal climates and soils for growing exquisite grapes and finding hidden ‘heritage varietals’ that were long forgotten by most other wineries. Gentle handling, minimal intervention, and strict monitoring of the wine allow their grapes to speak for themselves.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Carignane

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? Having one of our growers bug us about buying Charbono as we already purchased their Zinfandel. We had no idea at the time how to make it or what it was. We decided to give it a shot on his insistence, and it has been an incredible learning experience over the last 20 or so years.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? When someone tastes something new and different for the first time and then falls head over heels and becomes a fan forever.

Slamdance Kooperatieve Wines

480 Marquita Ave Suite A, Paso Robles, CA

Region: Paso Robles

Owner: Daniel Callan

Winemaker: Daniel Callan

About: A native of Virginia, Daniel Callan started his winemaking career in the Commonwealth. After working his first harvest under the guidance of Nate Walsh in 2012, Callan began traveling abroad to seek out winemaking apprenticeships around the New World, working in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Paso Robles, and Chile. Working a furious schedule of 2 or 3 harvests a year, he would rack up 20 vintages in half as many years, learning from Chris Alheit, Pedro Parra, and Raj Parr. The Covid years brought his travels to an abrupt end and Callan, settling in Paso Robles, California, would turn his attention to his own project. Inspired by the “California Burgundy” wines of Pre-Prohibition (a tradition continued up through the 1970s by legendary producers like BV), Callan sought to resurrect a forgotten style that hearkens back to California’s earliest winemaking traditions. The wine is built around the old workhorse grapes of premodern California, often misidentified and sometimes now existing only in California: Napa Gamay (aka Valdiguie), Cabernet Pfeffer (Mourtaou), Pinot St George (Negrette), Black Malvoisie (Cinsault), Crabb’s Black Burgundy (Mondeuse Noir), Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and others. All the genetic material has been in California since before Prohibition began, in 1920. The winemaking is similarly old-fashioned: whole bunches are thrown into wooden vats, trodden underfoot to release juice, fermented with wild yeast, and no additions to the must. Punchdowns are done by hand and the only machinery used is a basket press. The wine is racked by gravity and respectfully sulfured before bottling.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? The Mission Vine (aka Listan Prieto)

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? While working harvest in South Africa, where I got to see and work with old bushvine Steen (Chenin Blanc), Groendruif (Semillon), and Hermityk (Cinsault).

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? The historical and cultural baggage that comes with them.

Parr Collective (Phelan Farm, Brij Wines, & Scythian Wine Co.)

3776 Santa Rosa Creek Road, Cambria, CA 93428
parrcollective.com

Region: SLO Coast AVA

Owner: Rajat Parr

Winemaker: Rajat Parr

About: We farm and make wines from Phelan Farm, Stolo Vineyards in Cambria CA. We also enjoy a project in the Cucamonga Valley and Temecula (Scythian Wine Co.) where we rehabilitate long forgotten vineyards of Mission/Pais grapes.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Gringet

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? A difficult question to answer, by nature I’m drawn to the road less traveled, or in this case wine grapes obscured from popular enjoyment over time. In my earliest days exploring wine grapes I had a keen interest in lesser-known varieties. Gringet really piqued my interest then, and I’m still fascinated by it today. So much so that I’ve planted it in my vineyards along the California Central Coast in Cambria and San Simeon. When I taste Gringet it takes me back to my visits to the Savoie, where for literally centuries Gringet was misunderstood to be a Traminer variant. It wasn’t until the advent of DNA testing that we were able to confirm our suspicions that Gringet is a distinct variety, with very unique properties.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? In North America, maybe not my first experience, but definitely the most interesting. Forgotten grapes aren’t one single variety, it’s really more about a region and the varieties grown there. Specifically, the historic vineyards of Los Angeles, the Cucamonga Valley, and the Native American lands of the Pachanga. Most of which were largely ignored and abandoned in the late 1800’s and early 20th century. My good friend Abe Schoener and I have slowly discovered small patches of these vineyards still surviving wildly for over a hundred years. We’re on a journey to discover more varieties there including Palomino, Alicante Bouschet, Mission/Pais, and a couple of others still hiding somewhere out there.

Nunno House Winery

3502 Dry Creek Rd, Paso Robles, CA 93060
www.nunnohousewinery.com

Region: Paso Robles

Owner: James Nunno

Winemaker: James Nunno

About: Nunno House Winery draws its name and inspiration from James’ father’s cattle brand, reflecting the deep connection between family, tradition, and craftsmanship. The brand serves as a symbol of family heritage, honoring the past while creating wines meant to be enjoyed in the present—whether around a campfire, at family gatherings, or while creating new traditions.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Tannat

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? While wine tasting with my father who had always been a Zin guy, but when we tried a new varietal it completely surprised us. Flavors were bold and smooth and we both instantly agreed it was our new favorite. It wasn’t just about the wine but also the moment and creating a lasting memory.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? Being able to showcase unknown grapes.

Billy D Wines

PO Box 846 St. Helena, CA 94574
www.billydwines.com

Region: Northern California

Owner/Winemaker: Billy Davies

About: Bucking the norm with delicious, down-to-earth natural wines you can really drink. Rooted in the adventure days of 60s and 70s Napa Valley, Billy D remembers the best of times and looks to the future. Old school new. Returning to grapes like Chenin Blanc, Carignan, Napa Gamay (Valdiguie), French Colombard, and Barbera for the pure enjoyment of it. Vibrant wines we just want to drink ourselves!

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Napa Gamay (aka Valdiguie)

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? Drinking an Inglenook Charbono from the 1970s at Bern’s Steak House. (And drinking Petite Sirah from the 1960s before then!)

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? Personality, intrigue, and well matched to the original sites!

Boutz Cellars

7055 Adelaida Road, Paso Robles
Boutzcellars.com

Region: Adelaida District, Paso Robles

Owner: James & Manoli Boutzoukas

Winemaker: James Boutzoukas

About: Our story is about father and son embarking on a journey to build a legacy, both of whom have a passion for the outdoors, farming and of course – fine wine!

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Vidiano

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? Visiting wineries in Crete that focused on forgotten indigenous grape cultivars of Crete.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? Unique and unlike any other white grape produces wines that are rich in texture with aromatics of stone fruits and floral aromas.