The shelves are linedwith single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, Cabernets and Chardonnays from California. But have you ever heard of single-vineyard California Riesling? That’s where winemaker Eric Laumann comes in. He believes that Riesling is a transparent grape that reflects the nuances of where it’s grown. “In my opinion,” Laumann says, single-vineyard Riesling is “the only way Riesling should be made.”

So Monterey County - much of which is relatively cool and which used to have a good reputation for Riesling - was the logical place for him to make his notion a reality. Besides, he says, “Riesling’s not that hard to get.”

Laumann worked at Bonny Doon Vineyard from 2000 to 2002, which is how he got interested in Riesling. He was making the winery’s Pacific Rim Riesling before that project was moved to Washington. “Randall (Grahm) is a good educator,” Laumann says, adding that Grahm would bring in various German Rieslings for the staff to taste. Among better German Rieslings, of course, vineyard designation is the norm. “The more you study it … the more complexities you see,” Laumann says.

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