A Tribute To Grace

As a passionate winemaker from New Zealand, what led you to California and how did A Tribute to Grace come to life?

I initially came to California for a harvest internship in Sonoma County. While I had never worked in a winery before, I had worked in wine stores Point Wines and Caro’s all the way through university, and loved the storytelling aspect of wine. Two months in, I was met with Grenache, and it was love at first taste. I then decided it was wine I wanted to make (versus film, which I had just finished my degree in), and it was this particular grape I wanted to focus on. As New Zealand doesn’t have the climate to ripen this sun-loving beauty, I had to find another land to pin my dreams. And California won! That was 22 years ago…

Your label is named Grace after your Grandmother - can you tell us the story behind this special tribute?

My dear Nana Grace was a pivotal part of my upbringing. I am an only child, and it was just Mum and I growing up, so Nana was my Thursday night sleepover, my milky bar bestie, and she informed so many things I love and honour to this day. When it came time to start my label in 2007, I realised I wanted it to be A Tribute to Grace: both to my dear Nana, and to my favourite attribute (which she embodied in all ways). Plus, Grenache to me is the grape that embodies this attribute, so it’s a bit of a triple meaning. Nana used to say she was trying to get on Talkback 1ZB to share her story, “It’s not just anyone that has a wine named after them, you know”. But she was incredibly humble, like most amazing Kiwis. She passed away in 2013, and since then we have adorned each and every grace cork with a Hummingbird - which represents Grandmother in Chumash tradition, our local Native American tribe.

Grenache has been a dream varietal for you - what sparked your love for this grape?

It is truly the perfect balance of yin and yang, though erring ever so slightly on the yin. I don’t know of any other varietal that masters balance in this way.

Grace grows across twelve different vineyards in California, how do these diverse areas contribute to the character or complexity of the wine?

The total span of California is about 1500 kms so we do a lot of road tripping. Our boys are older now so the epic drives have become more of an adventure for them, and the vastly different landscapes translate to a very unique study of the one grape. Grenache is a master at transparency which is a quality I greatly admire, so my winemaking style is very hands-off. And very heart-in.

On a personal note, what do you enjoy most about living in California, and what do you find yourself missing most from home?

My Dad was American so I have long loved the aspects of this culture that still sit the highest on my gratitude list: incredible positivity in the people, a genuine desire to help one another, big open skies that invite big open dreams, and a culture that truly supports those big dreams being realised. I still miss home each and every day though, but it has become an ache I am used to, as I do believe the heart can live in two places. What I miss most is my Mum, and my friends - the heart friends I grew up with. And ginger crunch. And the light. And amazing service for the sake of just that. Also, fish & chips at Piha. The smell of the Pacific. Walking on Takapuna beach…

As a Kiwi living abroad, have you gravitated towards other expats or New Zealanders over there? Do you find there is a sense of community shared with those living away from home?

I wish I knew more New Zealanders here! In our area, I know one - another winemaker named Ariki Hill. We have a good Kiwi friend in San Diego, another in North Carolina, another in upstate New York. But our kinfolk are sadly few and far between in this land. It’s always been so hard to emigrate here, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon - and that goes for all expats sadly. My husband is Cornish but spent 17 years in New Zealand, and we flew home to have all our boys, so between us we increased the Kiwi / Cornish-Kiwi population in our town by 500%! As far as the sense of community though, most of our closest friends here are also imports of a sort - just from other parts of the USA. There’s a commonality in all of us choosing the Santa Ynez Valley for the same reasons: living slow on purpose.

14 years into your journey with Grace, you opened a tasting room in Los Alamos. What can visitors expect from the experience there?

Oh, I smile at this question. It was a massive step to open a tasting room, and I am so very grateful we did! We were 99% wholesale before 2019, and with my young family it just became too much with all of the market visits to sell grace - so my husband Jason offered to build us a space of our own. It’s very much that! It is cozy, the energy is always warm, lots of reclaimed wood (Jason is an amazing carpenter), a big slab of redwood forms the outside space to perch at, and inside we have a copper-fronted bar adorned with flower medicine and personal touches from home, plus a gorgeous selection of Ashley & Co. From the bar we face banquettes that seat the barrel-heads turned tables. The vibe is always the same - welcoming, fun, big smiles, great tunes, and the best grace storytellers we could ever wish for. We favour work-life balance above all so our regular tasting room hours are limited to Friday through Sunday. That said, we offer private curated tastings midweek so if a reservation comes in, I live just three blocks away - it’s an easy commute.

The tasting room is also scented by Ashley & Co - how did you come to be one of our USA stockists?

The beautiful circle of connections! Jeremy Scott (insert his role) is one of my bestie’s besties, so I have him since high school and we stayed in touch over the years. As a lifelong lover of scent I always stocked up on Ashley & Co. whenever I went home, and when it came time to open a tasting room, I reached out and asked if we could ship it over here to share with our grace tribe.

There is this strong-held belief here that as a winemaker, one should never wear perfume. And certainly never a scented candle to detract from the delicate subtleties of wine in a dining room… I wear a wee bit of perfume every day, and believe there is absolutely room for natural scent to frame a space. So, my favorite Ashley & Co. products proudly share space with grace on our tasting room bar, and I truly believe one does not detract from the other. We have quite the loyal Ashley & Co. fan-base at this point! The re-orders across the land are phenomenal.

Can you tell us about the best wine you've ever had—what it was and where you were when you enjoyed it?

Chateau Rayas, from Chateauneuf du Pape in southeastern France. In truth it was just a tiny taste that a client brought down to me during a Saturday shift. I was stocking shelves in a wine shop I worked at in San Diego - it was 2007 and I was working two jobs: wine shop by day, wine bar by night - and saving all my tips to start grace. This kind gentleman knew I loved Grenache, and was casually having a bottle with lunch at the restaurant above the shop, and he offered me a taste. Those three sips literally changed my life. I realised I’d found my north star.

Lastly, what’s your favourite way to enjoy Grace wines? Any particular pairings that make it even more special?

We are lucky enough to have an incredibly special restaurant within walking distance from both our tasting room, and our home, called Bells. And whilst I have been lucky enough to experience some amazing pairings with grace over the years, and I’ve enjoyed her at some truly stunning settings all over the globe, my very favourite setting for grace is the back patio of our local gem. The owners Daisy and Greg Ryan personify all I love in this industry - they are born hosts, they source responsibly and the food is seasonal and beautiful, and the service is impeccable whilst managing to feel deeply personal. The dinners are long and slow here - prix fixe only - which means a bottle of grace gets to open and evolve equally slowly over each course. My favourite pairing was a Mimolette and sweet corn risotto that Chef Daisy created a few years ago: paired with our 2016 Shake Ridge Ranch grace. I still have the menu on my wall from that night…

What’s your favourite space in your home?

Our living room.

Your most-loved Ashley & Co. scent?

Mortar & Pestle. It’s grounding and expansive with just the right amount of spice, and always puts me right on my feet.

Name a scent that invokes a special memory for you.

I’ve been on an oud study of late, and my favourite is a beautiful perfume from Ensar Oud called Sultan White Rose. As a young girl I vividly remember sitting at Nana’s dressing table after morning tea, enthusiastically applying her face powder with the giant powder puff that felt bigger than my entire face, while she enjoyed a cigarette with her cup of tea and the Herald crossword in her living room… the face powder was distinctly rose in scent, and that is where I find myself every time I wear this perfume: Rose + tobacco + newsprint + black tea leaves + Northcote morning sunlight.