CALIFORNIA DREAMING
GOOD WINE STARTS WITH GOOD DIRT AND IN 2012 ANNA AND DAVID DELASKI FINALLY GOT THEIR SHOT AT FARMING AND PRODUCING CALIFORNIA WINE. IN THE PROCESS, THEY HAVE ALSO DISCOVERED WHAT MAKES THEM HAPPY. THIS IS THEIR STORY...
Anna & David
deLaski
The first seed was planted meeting in 2009 and falling in love with Santa Barbara wine country and each other. We married soon after and while visiting Anna's family in Austria, a desire to settle down and create a life together in a more agricultural setting started to take root. We were pregnant with our first child and back in California (in LA the walls were closing in) when a chance meeting with a winemaking mentor and a property for sale with vines in the front yard grew into something we could no longer ignore. We went "all in" and decided to buy a fixer farmhouse and vineyard in Los Olivos and call the fruits of our labor of love "Solminer". Our son Linus was born the same year.
Making it
Personal
Our personal desire is to reflect the vineyard in the wine and experiment with Austrian varietals. Since the beginning, we thought Grüner Veltliner would do well here and soon after we discovered that the Austrian red grape, Blaufränkisch, is perfect for our climate as well. We've rounded things out with a bit of Muscat to create an Austrian inspired dry "Muskateller" and some Syrah for Rose, Sparkling Syrah, a blend and a single vineyard Syrah. We also have new plantings of Riesling to add to our sources from neighboring vineyards that we have selected for their climate, soils and sustainable growing practices. 1900 cases were produced in the 2018 vintage
What is Solminer?
Sol-miner as in mining the "Sun" which in turn nourishes the soul. The name inspires us to discover and unearth the treasures in the soils of the California Central Coast. Our decisions have always been personal (not commercial) and involve what we call "conscious farming". As we learn about our little piece of earth and our place in it, the picture begins to widen. We have a feeling of connectedness as each trip around the sun gives us the chance to experience the magical process of exchange from the dirt, plants, fruit, wine, humans, sky, moon, sun and stars.
In 2018 we were happy to open our tasting room in Los Olivos. Located in the heart of downtown, we are proud to be one of very few Los Olivos wineries to pour natural wine. Come and join us for not only wine tasting, but also a glass or bottle of wine on one of our two outdoor patios.
deLanda Vineyard - Certified Biodynamic® & Organic
We found our vineyard and farmhouse in 2012 and named it “deLanda” a combination of our first and last names. It reflects our personal desire to produce natural wines using varietals related to our Austrian heritage. Certified organic in 2014 and Biodynamic® in 2018 deLanda is evolving as we evolve as farmers. Ultimately it shines with individuality and biodiversity as we incorporate chickens, donkeys, sheep, bees, fruit trees, native plants, biodynamic compost, preparations and herb teas all to support the microorganisms in the dirt and health of the vineyard.