tercero wines — Attraction in California

My girlfriend and I were on a wine tour through the Santa Ynez Valley and wanted to squeeze in one last tasting. It was a bit after hours but the owner, Larry, took us in without a second thought. His tasting style is very personal. With just a few simple questions he was able to read our minds (or our tongue's if you will haha). To avoid biases, the wine descriptions did not include tasting notes to look for. Instead Larry engaged us in a discussion about what we were actually tasting and where those tastes might have come from for each wine. In addition to making his wines and running the Los Olivos tasting room, Larry is a professor at a local University where he teaches winemaking. His passion for the subject really shows; we could have listened to him talk about wine for the rest of the day! Thanks...

They were closed, but the door was open. There were 5 people already tasting and it stayed that many visitors until I left an hour later. Owner and wine maker Larry Schaffer was there talking about his wine and educating the visitors. He has an amazing wealth of knowledge about the wine industry and he answers all the questions you can think of. I have known him for many years, and still learn something every visit. If the door is open, come in! Even if they are supposed to be closed....

We visited Tercero in October and had a lovely time at the tasting room, then ordered three bottles to enjoy at home. Minor confusion about the order delayed it, but as soon as I noticed it hadn't arrived I called to ask, and within a few days our wines arrived. They were snugly packed so that each bottle sat in a double layer of protective formed cardboard (recyclable!). We're looking forward to visiting again, and to sipping a little California sunshine...