My Wife Julie and I were referred to Matt McKinney and McKinney Family Vineyards (https://mckinneyfamilyvineyards.com/) by our good friends over at Grassini Family Vineyards (https://www.grassinifamilyvineyards.com/). We met Matt at the family estate, and he told us about how he got interested in wine, winemaking, his vision for both his wines and what he wanted to accomplish in the future in this business. We were instantly impressed by Matt and his vision and then by his absolutely delicious wines. We joined his wine club on the spot. Since then, we have seen the growth, both in Matt and his wines, and have enjoyed more and more of his wines, and the new winery facility in Buellton. It is all very impressive, especially considering how new Matt is to the business. We are excited to see where this journey will take us. For right now, his 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon from Grimm's Bluff Vineyard is absolutely amazing. No wonder it is sold out already! And his 2017 Grandpa McKinney's Forte, Matt's homage to his great-grandfather, who was a moonshiner in Kentucky, is the best version of a port wine that we have ever had.

McKinney Family Vineyards is a boutique high-end producer of Burgundy, Rhone, Super Tuscan & Bordeaux Varietals. While having a beautiful estate vineyard, they predominantly source their grapes from the top organic and biodynamic producers in Santa Barbara County. Tastings both on the estate (Santa Ynez) and the winemaking facility (Buellton) are by appointment only and well worth setting a date in advance to experience the wide array of elegant and powerful wines they produce.

We just paid another visit to McKinney Family Vineyards this past Sunday with some good friends. We were lucky enough to taste with Matt McKinney again. He could not have been more gracious. We were also lucky enough to taste twelve of his amazing wines. They were all amazing, but the new "Baroness" was particularly delicious. It is a Rose blended with Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre. Wow! We can't wait to go back again soon!