Lady of the Sunshine Chardonnay 2023

Where: SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, California
Grapes: Chardonnay
Body: Medium 
Category: White Wine

From the winemaker, Gina Giugui : 

The one acre of Wente Clone Chardonnay yielded 4 tons to the acre this vintage and was harvested in mid September.  The grapes were foot crushed and soaked on the skins overnight before being whole bunch pressed the next morning.  The juice was collected and barreled down to ferment with native yeast in neutral oak barrels.  The fermentation was encouraged to keep warm in barrel by soaking in the sun throughout the duration of the fermentation, before going dry.  The wine aged on its lees for 10 months, going through malolactic fermentation, before being racked for the first time to bottle, unfined and unfiltered, with minimal sulfur used.  264 cases were produced.

Think olive oil cake, lemon zest, & sea salt 

Fun fact: All of the pieces of artwork for the labels are hand stitched embroideries and her mother's handwriting is even on the corks. 

Gina Giugni is a second generation biodynamic farmer and winemaker. Gina started Lady of the Sunshine in 2017, with a focus on regenerative, organic, and biodynamic farming in pursuit of making natural wines that reflect the purity of the place they come from. Gina also farms, full time, the 6.5 acre Chene Vineyard, located in the Edna Valley appellation. Since her takeover in 2018, the vineyard is now a Demeter certified biodynamic vineyard. Gina and her husband, Mikey, run Scar of the Sea and Lady of the Sunshine together out of their winery in San Luis Obispo, CA.  

biodynamic //  native yeasts // hand harvested // unfined + unfiltered // vegan // low sulfites // woman winemaker

2023  //  750ml // ABV 12%