Description
The duo behind Black Sheep Finds are Peter Hunken and Amy Christine. Peter got his start in winemaking in 2001 at Stolpman Vineyards and was the Assistant Winemaker there until 2006. He is also one of the founding members of Piedrasassi and Holus Bolus wines. During this time he gained experience working with Syrah, Grenache, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Roussanne. After meeting Amy spitting wine over the winery drains in Lompoc in 2004, they founded Black Sheep Finds with the arrival of the 2005 vintage. Amy’s foray into the wine world began with a childhood dream to win an Oscar. While she waited for her golden statue, she worked as a sommelier at one of LA’s finest restaurants. This translated into a weekend jaunt to Santa Barbara where she met her future husband and fellow Black Sheep, Peter Hunken. A whirlwind romance involving a terrible, but cheap, apartment in Koreatown, countless hours of Ryan Adams and Damien Rice songs and bottles upon bottles of Muller Catoir Riesling turned serious. On a long hike in Santa Barbara in 2005, the idea of Black Sheep Finds was bantered about and just a few months later the first Syrah grapes for Hocus Pocus were being made into wine. Unlike the Oscar it all happened so fast.
Hocus Pocus Pinot Noir 2013
Black Sheep Finds Tasting Note
The wine that started it all! The Black Sheep Finds wine project started in 2005 with the very first vintage of Hocus Pocus Syrah. 2013 is the ninth vintage of Hocus Pocus Syrah. I know I said this last year, but this is my favorite vintage yet! It is again a blend of a cooler vineyard (Watch Hill Vineyard in Los Alamos) and warmer climate vineyard (sustainably farmed Harrison-Clarke Vineyard). “a rock-solid bottle of Syrah, beautifully textured” 88 points, Robert Parker,The Wine Advocate, August 2014
Winemaker’s Tasting Note
Hocus Pocus Pinot Noir is grown at Radian Vineyard in the far western edge of the Sta. Rita Hills appellation in Santa Barbara County. This site is less than 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean in a valley directly open to the coast. While it is frequently sunny there it is also quite windy and prone to morning and evening fog. Pinot Noir grown in this cool climate can make wines of great character with excellent acidity and aromas.
