Jeff has been in the wine business for the past 20+ years, working for some of the top Champagne and Burgundy houses. With the name Liquid Farm on Jeff’s mind for many years, it was the catalyst for starting the project in 2009 with the helping guidance of Brandon Sparks-Gillis of Dragonette Cellars.
The name Liquid Farm was thought of long before there was wine in barrel as we wanted to remain dedicated to telling the Above Ground/Below Ground story. The vintage, placed above the line, pays homage to the particular year's influence on the wine, while the AVA of Sta. Rita Hills lies below, honoring the soil's unmistakable impact, which also ends up inside the glass. Before Liquid Farm, our glasses were often filled with old world wine. We preferred the lower alcohol, cooler climate, and more earth-driven characteristics of European wines compared to their more ripe, fruit-focused, more alcoholic Californian counterparts. We allow the wines to develop on their own with little intervention, minimal or no new oak and use no additives or machines to manipulate the wines inherent personality.
We decided to start out making what we most love to drink: Chardonnay that is earth and mineral driven from cool climates with little or no new oak, Bandol-inspired Rosé of Mourvedre and four different Pinot Noirs . To achieve these qualities we were drawn to one of the coolest of all California AVA's, Sta. Rita Hills. Located in Santa Barbara County, it is home to some of the most Chardonnay-suited, unique, ancient soils in North America.