Spring 2025
Just like that, we're turning the page on Spring & warmly welcoming Summer to the Santa Ynez Valley! We hope wherever you're reading, you too are enjoying the changing of the seasons & we're excited to make a toast to the new season with the Spring 2025 club shipment.
This season we're excited to offer club members a limited release showing of our wines—and have selected 3 to accompany the warmer weather & the lighter meals. Our 2022 Pinot Grigio, 2022 Sangiovese & 2022 Vermentino are sure to please & we're happy to release them first to our club members.
Spring brings an electric energy to the vineyard that is hard to believe if you haven’t seen it with your own eyes. From bare vines, to waist-deep cover-crops, bud break & flowering clusters; all accompanied with the soundtrack kindly provided by the flocks of Goldfinches which pick up temporary residence.
In one of the few areas of America, Spring marks a special time when we can simultaneously have snow in eyesight on the nearby mountain ranges, enjoy 90ºF weather at our altitude & all the while think to ourselves; “it seems like a good day to go ride motorcycles to the beach.”
Few other places come to mind where one can do the same, maybe Mt. Etna in Sicily. While we don’t have agate, Sicilian Marble or other volcanic rocks—we do grow some Sicilian grapes & desert plants that thrive in that part of the Mediterranean.
A day in any season around here leaves us thinking “pinch me.” You don’t need a calendar to tell you it’s Spring if you’re at the vineyard. Our rows are filled with tall cover crops & thousands of Goldfinches take up residence in the pepper & olive trees lining the perimeter of our quaint family vineyard.
A quick stroll through the vineyard is paired to the soundtrack of happy Goldfinches feasting on the life between the rows, with the occasional fluttering of wings as hundreds flee one spot for the next. From the top of the vineyard, a picturesque bevy of bright green mountains boasting the young native flora that will decorate the region in beautiful hues the remainder of the year.
In Central Californian style we had about 1 week of clouds, late rains & snow on Figueroa Mountain. We began pruning the vines back in early March, and left pruning the Nero d’Avola vines until last as they began budding last of the varietals.
The growing season is looking promising & we can’t wait for this vintage for a few reasons. Chief among them, we’re changing some wine-making processes & barrels to better showcase our labor of love & we can’t wait to share more with you!
Breaking trend in exclusively keeping you up to date on the comings & goings of the dry garden, we’re broadening our scope to include a wider spectrum of plants we’re cultivating. Don’t fret, the dry garden will continue to provide enjoyment & surprises almost endlessly—but some of our time is being spent cultivating our vegetable garden & similarly fruit-bearing trees around the estate.
The winter aloes that lasted until spring bring with them the electric buzz of bees rubbing elbows with each other over the sweet aloe nectar of aging blooms. One of the most special parts of our estate is the diverse range of plants being cultivated; and the bees clearly agree with us...
Spring marks a state of change across all of the plants, which makes it tough to narrow in on just one. We hemmed & hawed to deliberate on which plants to discuss, but in the end decided to incorporate some of the other news fit to print.
While the dry garden provides the perfect ‘feng shui’ for a stroll to take the mind off things or an eclectic backdrop for our club events, we thought to provide a bit more update around the property. While we can only convey so much through the written word, we do plan to serve the fruits of our labor at future club events.
What you might not know is that we don’t only grow the 10 acres of grapes, but also cultivate a vegetable garden among other fruit bearing trees. Once such example we were hesitant to grow because of the colder winter temperatures that are no stranger to where we live—were avocado trees. After a neighbor brought over a bag of avocados, we were cautiously optimistic we might be able to grow our own. After a few months, we’re happy to report that our burgeoning avocado grove is taking off & now delivering fresh California avocados!
Most of you who have visited us in the Los Olivos tasting room have likely been served some home made focaccia, or left bearing a carton of duck eggs or bag of lemons or kumquats. For those of you who are local, we will be supplying excess crops we can’t possibly get through at the tasting room for your own stores & to try your own hand at some of these recipes.
We’re spoiled being able make grocery store trips a little less frequently by growing our own crops and raising our own chickens & ducks. Aside from featuring our dishes & offering offshoots at future club events, we will be featuring recipes & wine-pairing recommendations to give you an idea of what we’re cooking up. Stay tuned for this in future editions of the St. Avalo Quarterly, something well overdue...
But don’t despair, for those of you as enamored as we are with the wild & wooly botany from the far stretches of the world, we have another surprise cooking up on the estate... we are harvesting & planting pups, as well as packaging seeds from some of our more impressive specimens for you to take home for your own tranquility.
You’ve likely heard of a very large island nation 250 miles off the eastern coast of Africa called Madagascar. Over 80% of the flora & fauna on this island are found nowhere else in the world. The climate on Madagascar is not too unlike ours here in Santa Barbara County; warm weather, a wet season & rare frost.
It is a biologically diverse island, home to the Ring-tailed Lemur, the iconic Giant Baobob tree, and the Pachypodium Lameri tree—also known as the Madagascar Palm; which is not a palm at all, but a very spiny caudiciform tree. This means that it has a swollen trunk where water is stored so that it can survive times of drought. In fact, it is in the same broader family as the Hawaiian Plumeria Shrub, and a distant relative of the Oleander. It serves as a great example of how over the millennia, it has learned to adapt and change with its geographical ever-evolving arid climate challenges. Its trunk is covered with long ferocious but decorative spines similar to some of the very large cactus. These spines not only help the plant to conserve water but also prevent any wildlife from nibbling on the tree. Only the tops are bedecked with lush green foliage and if you are lucky, some beautiful flowers during the summer.
It grows at a moderate rate but with any luck, will achieve an eventual height of 30’ or so. It rarely branches but we forgive this minor flaw, since the overall look of the tree is so spectacularly odd. For the discerning botanist with access to an outdoor sunny location which stays frost-free during the winter, why not try a Madagascar Palm? They are more likely to bloom during the summer if you can locate it outside.
There are several varieties occurring in nature but only a couple of them available in the nursery trade. Pachypodium Lamerei and Geayi, which is more silvery in appearance but equally spectacular. We are lucky enough to grow both varieties so we can study them and compare the two varieties. Bear in mind that during the winter they tend to drop all their leaves and store the energy to regrow all new ones in the spring.
In ancient times, people would try to find purposes for the tree. Some varieties could be used to make ropes and sweet honeys. Those same varieties were harvested to create medicines to treat ailments, flu and other stomach issues. But the Lamerei variety was not, as all parts of it were found to be poisonous. But for us it serves as a great air purifier & a symbol of resilience.
In full leaf form, it is beautifully palm-like, despite the plethora of thorns. An exotic beauty to add a memorable touch to any space.
While not many Americans venture far afield to participate in motorsport events, the Ramleth boys found themselves in the right time of life to take to the jetway in May to co-pilot the 1950 Jaguar XK120 across the countryside of Italy.
For those of you unaware of what joy this sort of event provides, please allow us to regale you...
The 2025 Terre di Canossa kicked off with load in & registration on May 7th, with a few decades worth of vintage production cars carefully decorating the alleys of the Punta Ala hotel that so graciously hosted us. Having been the duo’s first vintage rally, we didn’t know much of what to expect, but we knew we were in for something that neither of us would forget...
The overcast & slightly drizzly start quickly turned to the familiar beaming sun as they unloaded the Jaguar in Punta Ala the heart of Castiglione della
Pescaia—a small & quiet coastal town about 1.5 hours Southwest of Siena. While Punta Ala boasts a rich history of Robin Hood- like folklore & other noteworthy history, in modern times it is known for the launch of Luna Rossa race team; or for being a short sail to Isola di Montecristo & Isola d’Elba for the literature or history buffs among you reading.
While the event is intended to blend the passion for motoring with the art of fine food & wine through Italy; the father-son duo took this chance to drive the Jaguar through the winding Tuscan roads, punctuating the visit with the stunning sights of UNESCO heritage sights, breathtaking landscapes & hill top villages where the Jaguar looks right at home.
You may be thinking, “What’s this? A mere car rally for the two fast Ramleth boys?!” but hold thy tongue... There is method to the boys’ madness, as they plan to partake in the Mille Miglia later this year out of Brescia, Italy. The Terre di Canossa serves as a good training ground for not just familiarizing themselves with a car that is more than twice Oliver’s age, but a forum for the duo to learn the rally ways of the auto sport world.
Day 1 of the 3-day rally started at Punta Ala Yacht Club & under police escort, the 65 cars had time cards punched & set off for the first checkpoint. Navigating the rally in unfamiliar territory & becoming acquainted with the 1950 Jaguar took time & was a unique challenge for the boys who usually turn laps around closed circuits they’ve grown accustomed to, in cars they’ve put down many laps in, with one goal: finish first.
Day 2, the crew navigated through the countryside where the movie “Gladiator” was filmed. As the 1950 Jaguar made its way past Cypress-lined roads, it could be misconstrued that this race was intended to showcase the beauty of the Italian countryside rather than hitting ideal times at certain checkpoints—or perhaps act as ample distraction... A quick stint out to Porto San Stefano yielded a gelato break by the seaside; providing a slew of Italians fodder to ogle.
For those still reading, here’s the thread keeping this wine related... Day 3 of the 2025 Terre di Canossa came to a conclusion at Cantina Petra. Wine was tasted, delicious dishes consumed & goodbyes made between the friends made over the course of the 3-day rally...
For two years shy of a century, the Mille Miglia has entertained Italian farmers, city dwellers & motorsports enthusiasts alike. While it was canceled for leading to too many spectator deaths, the modern revival is a little more tame. With expectations of performing well are quite low, the duo expects such an event to yield memories that will last a lifetime.
While sitting out most of their usual race season, events such as these serve as a solid reminder of balance in all things. The blistering fast pace the duo inflict upon tires, unfortunate race weekend gearbox tear downs,
and micro-chassis adjustments that save hundredths of seconds around the circuits will have to wait for another season.
The trackside valve checks & carburetor tests will resume shortly, but in the meantime—the classic XK120 Jaguar will be paraded through the pre-automobile designed streets of Italy. The duo will foray the trials & tribulations of pushing a postbellum car around a country that sometimes feels like it is stuck in WWII.
Alongside 5% of the Italian population that line the streets in admiration of these classic cars, Geir & Oliver will return to the Italian streets shortly to compete & maybe find more than the path itself along the way.