…Whole Lotta Love… Three Saints Wines…
Three Saints Wines. The label shows a trio dressed in very colorful garb, halos over their heads. Cabernet, Merlot and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are offered as selections. Why am I halo over heels for Three Saints? I’ll be glad to tell you about them!
The Three Saints represent the area where vineyards are that Dierbergs own in Santa Maria, Santa Rita , Santa Ynez in Santa Barbara County, California. Jim and Mary Dierberg have been busy in Santa Maria Valley with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay since 1996. In 2004 they bought land in Santa Rita Hills for Pinot Noir. Both vineyards are called Dierberg. Star Lane Vineyard was purchased in 1996. The warm Santa Ynez Valley is a great place to grow the Rhone and Bordeaux varietals to round out the portfolio.
Nick de Luca is the winemaker for Dierberg and Three Saints. He drove a forklift at Cline Cellars since he had no formal wine training and he was fresh out of college. When the press broke down Nick was the only one who could read the manual printed in Italian. His studies in Spain and Italy paid off in spades. He became cellar master. He went on to work for some of the big vines in the world of wine including William Selyem, Highfield(New Zealand) and Byington until he took his job with the Dierbergs in 2004. David Ramey is on record as being the consulting winemaker. Paul Hobbs has consulted as well.
The Three Saints Wines present extremly well. I happen to be partial to the Cabernet and the Pinot Noir. You will know you are “drinking Dierberg”. They are the baby label of the Dierberg Family Wines. Three Saints Wines are crafted with attention to detail, careful fruit selection and a whole lotta love. Not bad for a second label.
Cheers, Sharon