Friday 1 June, 12-2pm, free of charge at our Bishopsgate shop
Jim Varner is living the dream. Farming a small stretch of vines in the northern Santa Cruz mountains, Burgundophile Jim and his brother Bob (the geneticist turned winemaker) make exhilarating Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in this somewhat unsung part of the world.
The Varners make the wines they want to drink whilst adhering to a strict set of guidelines in the vineyards, which are dry-farmed, non-fertilized, hand-hoed, with a native cover crop and no insecticides. This meticulousness pays off hugely in the form of mineral, terroir driven wines. Wines of tension and nervosité that show that California is capable of so much more than blousy whites and boozy fruit bombs. The critics have been downright flirtatious. The Varner's Foxglove negociant project is flourishing, sourcing stellar fruit from the Central Coast and Paso Robles and crafting some of the best values in the new world.
Come and taste with Jim from noon to 2pm this afternoon to hear straight from the source how he's managing to get everything right. /CC
