This post is going to be full of surprises! The first surprise is that the wine is not from Provence. It’s not from France. In fact, it’s not even from Europe. It is a wine made in the Santa Ynez Valley in California by Tara Gomez, the winemaker at Kitá winery. Tara is a member of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indian tribe, which sponsored her with scholarships to attend California State University Fresno to study Enology. The word Kitá in Samala — the language of the Santa Ynez Chumash — means “our valley oak,” and a beautiful oak leaf is proudly displayed on each bottle of her wine.

The second surprise is that I do not like Sauvignon Blanc. Friend after friend has tried to convince me that... [...]

By the time Tara Gomez graduated from high school in 1991, she knew she wanted to be a winemaker.  In many ways, she had been preparing for that role her whole life.  But, she probably never imagined she would be making wine for her tribe, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians in the American Viticultural Area (AVA) of Santa Barbara, California, or that she would also co-own a nearby winery, Camins 2 Dreams, with her wife Mireia Taribó, a winemaker, that specializes in natural wines. Dreams do come true.

A Little History

Gomez traces her love of winemaking back to childhood visits to wineries with her parents.  “We did the winemaking tours while my parents did the tasting. Sometimes, when I step into this cellar, the aromatics take me back to my childhood days, big stainless-steel tanks, and lab technicians in white coats doing titrations.”

Gomez’s early interest in science probably also played an important role in reinforcing her interest in... [...]