The WineI have selected several Tudor Pinot Noirs for our wine club members over the years. The first one was back in 2005 when I had just started "the Sideways Wine Club" as a licensee for Fox Searchlight Pictures!
Dan Tudor’s wines now mark their second generation in California grape growing, as his family is a major provider of table grapes. Collectors still value the old Tudor Family grape boxes from the mid 1900s.
When Dan decided to go into fine wine instead of table grapes, he identified great growers and hooked his car to their success. In the ~two decades since their brand launched, it's enjoyed steady growth, prestige and success.
Look for a core of ripe fruit balanced by pencil lead graphite and cedar. The Santa Maria Valley's extended growing season allows for long hang time/full phenolic ripeness without high sugars – total alcohol is 14% - making this wine a welcome dinner companion with a wide range of foods. Aromatic and beguiling, with its 20 months in oak barrels complimenting rather than dominating the aromatic profile, like a dish from a talented chef who knows how to use just the right amount of seasoning!
1,445 cases produced. Drink now through 2027+
The Winery
Tudor wines was started by two cousins, Dan and Christian Tudor, whose families grew grapes and lavendar on the Croatian island of Hvar for centuries before their arrival in CA in the 1920's when their grandfathers came here to grow table grapes. Dan and Christian worked at these companies when they were kids, first as manual laborers and later in more advanced positions. Dan's other cousin is Louis Lucas, a famous winemaker in Santa Barbara County, and under his guidance, Dan started making wine in the 1982. He merely dabbled at it for 15 years after his first vintage.
But 1997 the two cousins established relationships with growers in Santa Lucia Highlands and started the Tudor label, which continues to this day despite the challenges of running a small brand, even one as highly-rewarded as theirs is. I hope they continue for a long time to come.
