Chanin Wines

Gavin Chanin was born and raised in Los Angeles. After finishing high school, he worked as a harvest intern in Santa Barbara County for Au Bon Climat and Qupe. Quickly falling in love with winemaking, wine drinking, and wine growing, Gavin has now worked six vintages in Santa Barbara County under the tutelage of the famed Au Bon Climat and Qupe team: Jim Clendenen, Bob Lindquist, Jim Adelman and Enrique Rodriguez. In 2007 Gavin completed three vintages in one year--starting at South Africa's Hamilton Russell Vineyards, then moving to New Zealand's Bell Hill Vineyard and Carrick Winery, and finally after traveling in Burgundy, Champagne and Italy, he returned for the 2007 California vintage and to start Chanin Wine Co. About the label: In 2009 Gavin Chanin graduated UCLA Phi Beta Kappa where he was an award winning art student in between apprenticing at Au Bon Climat and Qupe. Each wine has a piece of his art on the label.

We asked Gavin a few questions about his winemaking philosophy:

How did you decide to become a winemaker?

The summer after high school I had some time before college and I managed to get myself a harvest worker job at Au Bon Climat and Qupe in exchange for room and board. I fell in love with the work and each year I came back to the winery for harvest. I convinced UCLA to let me forgo fall quarter in exchange for summer school so that I could work from August until January at the winery. During this time I slowly took on more and more responsibilities.

I was also able to take a year off of school to work harvest at Hamilton Russell Winery in South Africa as well as at Bell Hill Vineyards and Carrick Winery in New Zealand. After that trip I met up with Jim in France to explore Burgundy and Italy. By that time I was absolutely convinced I wanted to make wine. By then I had worked four harvests at Au Bon Climat and two more overseas. So I came home in 2007 and made 150 cases of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

What would you like people to know about your wines?

The most important thing that I want people to know about my wines it that they are made in very specific style. They are low alcohol and atypical compared to most California wines. With low alcohol there is also higher acidity, which makes the wines more food friendly and age worthy. My philosophy on wine is that it belongs next to food and should grow better with age.

They are also made in a very natural way. There is no filtration or chemical adjustments to the acidity or sugar levels. My wines are just juice fermenting into wine and aging in barrel.

Tell us about your New Release.

My new (and first) release is a 2007 Chardonnay from Los Alamos Vineyard in Santa Barbara County. I made 68 cases of this wine. This is a special vineyard for me because I lived in a little bunkhouse overlooking this vineyard during my first harvest at the winery. It is also the same vineyard where Jim started Au Bon Climat. You can still see the old dairy barn where he started out from his ranch.

The wine is very mineral but also has a strong stone fruit aspect to it. It is nicely balanced and evolves (for the better!) as it breathes air in the glass. I am excited to be releasing it because I think it really personifies my style as a winemaker. This wine was barrel fermented (one new barrel and two neutral barrels) and aged on its lees for 13 months before being racked by gravity. It was bottled unfiltered three months later. It is crisp and mineral with a undertone of peach-fruit, stone slate, and a hint of vanilla. The balance between acidy, minerality and secondary fruit makes this wine an ideal compliment to food.

What is your favorite part of the winemaking process?

Being dirty all day, working hard, going home, taking a shower, putting on clean clothes and going out to a formal wine tasting or dinner. Its like living two lives.

What does it mean to learn from the iconic Jim Clendenen?

It has really been amazing. When I first started at the winery I was 18 years old and I didn’t know the difference between Bordeaux and Burgundy. Jim has brought me a long way. Because I never went to school for winemaking, I think it would have been impossible for me to get into the business without a true mentor. Since I started working with Au Bon Climat and Qupe I’ve been able to make wine all over the world. Jim was instrumental in setting me up in great wineries in South Africa and New Zealand.

Are there any winemaking trends that you follow?

I want to buck the trend of winemakers making high alcohol fruit bombs to satisfy critics. But who knows, as consumers become more educated and stop listening to monopolizing critics I think this style might become a trend of its own in the California wine world.

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