2022 Sandlands Vineyards Cinsault

Sandlands Vineyards was founded in 2012 by Tegan Passalacqua with a clear and somewhat contrarian mission: to preserve and showcase California’s historic vineyards and the often-overlooked grape varieties that once defined them. Best known for his work as the longtime winemaker at Turley Wine Cellars, Passalacqua has built a reputation not only as a talented winemaker, but as one of the leading advocates for old-vine viticulture in the United States. With Sandlands, he shifts the focus away from modern winemaking trends—high extraction, heavy oak, and blockbuster styles—and instead returns

to a more restrained, site-driven expression of California wine.

At its core, Sandlands is a vineyard-first project. The wines are sourced from some of the oldest surviving vineyards in California, many planted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These sites are often own-rooted, dry-farmed, and composed of heritage varieties such as Cinsault, Carignane, Mataro (Mourvèdre), and Zinfandel. Rather than attempting to reshape these wines in the cellar, Passalacqua’s approach is intentionally minimal. Fermentations are handled with a light touch, oak is used sparingly, and the goal is always clarity over power. The resulting wines tend to be medium-bodied, fresh, and quietly complex—more aligned stylistically with Old World sensibilities than with the bolder expressions commonly associated with California. In many ways, Sandlands offers a glimpse into what California wine tasted like before stylistic trends began to dominate.