Winemaking freedom – Sin Fronteras by Macario Montoya

This is a post about how Angels empowered Macario Montoya to break some rules, make a wine he’s proud of, and become one of our biggest success stories.

Macario had a vision – to make a wine that matched California’s mixed heritage.

Growing up in California, Macario was surrounded by Spanish influences. Working in the fields and cellars of California, he knows countless individuals with the same Hispanic and Latin American heritage.

But bizarrely, most of northern California’s wine regions are obsessed with French grapes. It’s all Merlot and Cabernet and Pinot and Chard. Where’s the Garnacha? Tempranillo? Mazuelo? Monastrell?

So Macario really wanted to make a wine that used those Spanish grapes and tried to tell the story of the Spanish influence out in the fields, blending the best flavors California has to offer.

And that blend is awesome.

Tempranillo and Grenache bring silky softness and roundness to the rich, powerful Cabernets and other grapes that Calfiornia’s so famous for.  Macario ends up creating epic wines that are big and juicy pleasure bombs.

He thinks that this blend allows California to rival wines from Rioja and some of the other world famous regions producing Tempranillo.

But everybody in the business thought this was a crazy idea.

Even though Macario’s instincts were sound, and he had the experience to make them a reality, the wine industry thought he was off his rocker.

The middlemen who run the American wine trade like single varietal wines like Cabernet. Cabernet sells itself because people recognize it. Nobody knows Tempranillo or the brand “Sin Fronteras” or the name “Macario Montoya”. So you’d have to be crazy to take high quality, expensive Cabernet and blend it with Tempranillo. Even if it ends up tasting like the nectar of the gods (and believe me, it does!) it would be totally unmarketable according to the mainstream wine industry.

Angels trusted Macario’s passion and talent and helped him make an amazing wine.

Our Angels gave him the money, the time, and most importantly the freedom to make a wine he was passionate about.

With Angel funding, Macario was able to get amazingly rich Cabernet Sauvignon from the Dry Creek region in Sonoma, and warm,lush Tempranillo from Lodi’s sandy soils. And he got to make the blend he dreamed of.

The rest is history. When you let a talented winemaker work on a passion project, you get good results. This wine has been a rip roaring success with 90% of Angels giving it rave reviews.

Want to be an Angel and help winemakers like Macario make their dream wines? You can put your name on the Angel waiting list today and we’ll line up a talented independent winemaker on the winemaker waiting list who will receive funding thanks to YOU.

Later this week, Macario is having a release party for his personal wine project “Campesino” – the wines are awesome and you should check them out if you can.

Campesino wines at the release party:

• 2014 Alina, Sonoma Valley, 50% Marsanne, 50% Roussanne
• 2013 Baybos, Sonoma Valley, 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 30 % Mourvedre
• 2013 “Steel Plow Vineyard” Sonoma Valley, Grenache
• 2013 “Sangiacomo Old Lakeville Road Vineyard” Sonoma Coast, Syrah