Certified Biodynamic. The one acre of Wente Clone Chardonnay yielded 4 tons to the acre and was picked 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 by soaking in the sun throughout the duration of the fermentation before going dry. he 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.

Certified Biodynamic. This vintage is a composite blend of the steepest hillside blocks that sit on Monterey formation rock bed. This site is naturally devigored and makes for concentrated, small clusters that achieve stem lignification early on. The grapes were fermented with 100% whole cluster with light extraction during fermentation. The wine was pressed in our wooden basket press at dryness and aged for 10 months in neutral French oak barrels before being racked for the first time to bottle, unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur used.

Practicing organic / certified biodynamic. 85% Pinot Noir, 15% Sauvignon Blanc. The Pinot Noir is clone 2A from Gina Giugni’s home vineyard in San Luis Obispo, the Demeter-certified Bassi vineyard. These spur-pruned vines were planted in 2001. The Sauvignon Blanc comes from the organically farmed Rancho Arroyo Grande Vineyard on the south side of the SLO Coast AVA, bordering the Los Padres National Forest. Both grape varieties were foot tread and soaked on the skins overnight before being pressed whole-bunch the next morning. The Pinot Noir juice settled overnight in tank and then was barreled down to old French oak barrels to ferment with native yeasts. The Sauvignon Blanc juice was collected from the press pan and transferred to old French oak barrels for native ferment as well. The wines aged on lees for eight months. The wine was racked for the first time to blend + bottle, without fining or filtration.

Practicing organic / certified biodynamic. 65% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Chardonnay. ‘Chevey’ is winemaker Gina Giugni’s blend that is always an homage to the traditional white blend of Cheverny in the Loire. In 2024, she was lucky to work with the “wildly beautiful” organic vineyard in the southern part of the SLO Coast AVA, called Rancho Arroyo Grande. This vineyard site has sandy rolling hills that nestle against the Los Padre sNational Forest. This vintage for ‘Chevey,’ the secret ingredient is a few barrels of Bassi Chardonnay (certified biodynamic), and the rest of the blend comes from Rancho Arroyo Grande. The grapes were harvested in over four different picks and fermented separately, then foot-tread, soaked on skins overnight, then whole-bunch pressed the next morning. The juice was collected from the press pan and transferred to old French oak barrels and fermented with native yeast. The wine aged on lees for eight months and then it was racked for the first time to blend + bottle, without fining or filtration.

Certified biodynamic. 100% Sauvignon Blanc. The Stolpman vineyard, in the Ballard Canyon AVA in Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, is planted to own-rooted ‘Clone 1’ Sauvignon Blanc vines. With a low trellis design and planted at high density, these vines are rooted into a limestone outcropping that help the grapes retain naturally high acidity levels during ripening. The Stolpman Vineyard earned their Demeter certification for biodynamic farming in 2024. Gina Giugni of Lady of the Sunshine had this fruit harvested in two separate picks, one before the Labor Day heatwave of 2024 and a second pass two days after. Grapes were foot-trod at the winery, soaked on skins overnight, then whole-bunch pressed the next morning. Juice then went into neutral French oak barrels for native ferment. The wine aged on lees eight months, then was racked for the first time to bottle, unfined, unfiltered. Only 14 barrels produced.

Practicing organic / certified biodynamic. 75% Nero d’Avola, 25% Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir comes from winemaker Gina Giugni’s home vineyard on the SLO Coast, the Bassi Vineyard; the Nero d'Avola comes from a young, head-trained vineyard farmed by dear friends of the winemaker in the Sierra Foothills, a site called Peeps Vineyard. The Nero d’Avola is always the first to harvest for Lady of the Sunshine, around the middle of August, with Pinot Noir following close behind. This wine pays homage to the best parts of California, the foggy Central Coast & the continental Sierra Nevadas. Gina says it’s a riff on her “favorite Sicilian blends, which are influenced also by the sea and mountains.” The grapes fermented separately with native yeast in one-ton boxes. The Nero d’Avola was left 50% whole-cluster and the Pinot Noir was left 30% whole-cluster. The wines were pressed once fermented to dry in Gina and partner Mikey’s wooden basket press, then aged in old French oak barrels. The wine was racked for the first time to blend + bottle, without fining or filtration.

Organic. This wine is inspired by the broader landscape of the central coast. Wild shrubs among the wildflowers, fields of local citrus in bloom, and the salty ocean mist of the pacific coastline. These are the nostalgic aromatics that remind Gina of home. The base wine is a compilation of white wine, strung together from 2018 through 2021 of each vintage and vineyard she has connected with. This solera style base makes up 50% of the blend with the other 50% being 2022 vintage wine which offers freshness and acidity to the layered and richer base wine. The 2 components were blended together, then steeped with dried botanicals and foraged delights from the Chene Vineyard and Stepladder Ranch. This wine is full of texture and freshness, best served around cellar temperature. Think lemon balm, spiced sun tea and salted citrus rinds.

Certified Biodynamic. Narrow Gate Vineyards sits at 2,500 feet elevation in a pocket called Pleasant Valley, in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California. This is Gina’s family's vineyard where she grew up. It’s positioned in the mountains above the snow line where the foothill oak trees transition into sugar pines and cedars. On the 90 acre Demeter certified biodynamic ranch, 15 acres of grapes were planted by her father, Frank, in 2001 and the newest addition of Gamay was grafted over in 2019. Gina has only made this wine once before in 2020 as Mother Nature had different plans over the past 2 years with fire and frost. They were grateful to make 4 barrels of wine, which was harvested in 2 separate picks. The wine was fermented in open top standing barrels with 100% whole cluster and native yeast. The grapes were pressed in the wooden basket press and then aged on lees in old french oak barrels for 7 months before being racked for the first time to bottle, with minimal sulfur and without fining or filtration. 96 cases were produced.

Organic. 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Gewurztraminer, 25% Chardonnay. This blend is a combination of 3 white varieties, farmed by our good friend Rajat Parr at the organically farmed Stolo Vineyard in the northern part of the SLO Coast AVA, in Cambria. The Gewurztraminer was destemmed and then fermented with 5 days of skin contact, while the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay were foot tread and soaked on skins overnight before being pressed the next day. All the juice was fermented with native yeast in neutral french oak barrels. The wine went through malolactic fermentation and aged on lees for 10 months. The wine was blended at racking for bottling, with minimal sulfur used, unfined and unfiltered.

Practicing biodynamic. 100% Pinot Noir. A brand-new wine from Lady of the Sunshine, 2023 is its first release. Winemaker Gina Giugni and spouse Mikey assumed a 10-year lease of the Mountain Meadow vineyard in 2023, located in the northwest mountains of the SLO Coast AVA. Gina describes it as “a whimsical meadow plot in the mountains above Cayucos, sitting above 1500 feet elevation, yet only four miles from the coast.” The vineyard is planted to clone 667 Pinot Noir, positioned at 12 x 6 foot spacing, dry-farmed and head-trained. The fruit was fermented 75% whole-cluster; the grapes fermented with native yeast; they were pressed once dryn in a wooden basket press. Then the wine was transferred to old French oak barrels. The wine aged for 17 months in barrel with no sulfur, “to soften its mountain edges.” Ultimately the wine was racked for the first time to bottle, without fining or filtration. Gina says the wine is “coastal and fragrant, but hearty.”

Practicing biodynamic. 100% Pinot Noir. A brand-new wine from Lady of the Sunshine, 2023 is its first release. Winemaker Gina Giugni and spouse Mikey assumed a 10-year lease of the Mountain Meadow vineyard in 2023, located in the northwest mountains of the SLO Coast AVA. Gina describes it as “a whimsical meadow plot in the mountains above Cayucos, sitting above 1500 feet elevation, yet only four miles from the coast.” The vineyard is planted to clone 667 Pinot Noir, positioned at 12 x 6 foot spacing, dry-farmed and head-trained. Harvest was late October; the grapes were foot tread, then pressed same day. Ferment in old French oak barrels with native yeast, and aged without sulfur for over 12 months. This first issue of a Lady of the Sunshine solera sparkling wine is 75% 2023 wine and 25% 2024 fermenting wine, as the 2023 is the solera base Gina will continue to blend with each new vintage, as time allows. The 2024 addition was used as the native yeast and natural sugar dosage to referment the base wine to capture bubbles naturally in the bottle. Gina states: “This is a serious wine from our small vineyard meadow in the mountains.”