The SOMM Journal

June / July 2018

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{ SOMMjournal.com } 7 all of its wines, which age as separate lots. "You can imagine," Tomei dead- pans, "there's no competition there at all." It's also easy to imagine that quality is no small goal throughout the ranks. In addition to the Monterey vine - yards the company owns—in the north for vivid acids; in the south for riper fruit flavors—Cupcake is adding to its holdings as far south as Santa Barbara County and east as San Benito. Tomei interprets the investment in land as a commitment to quality control while creating even more diversity in the portfolio. Of course, when you're talking about such a large overall production, there will be quality skeptics—and with a name like Cupcake, people can't be blamed for thinking all the wines are sweet. (To clarify, they aren't; dryness- wise, they're right in line with category competitors.) "I was a skeptic too," says Tomei. She and her husband had made higher-end wines not only in California, but also in Chile. When the opportunity came up to take this role, she herself couldn't believe it was possible to deliver such high quality for these prices. "I got a hold of a bottle of Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc," she says of the brand's largest production, "and I was truly impressed. The main thing is just to get people to try the wine." "A sizable proportion of Chardonnay drinkers still love a butter bomb and aren't afraid to admit it. We want to grow with our fans." —Cupcake Winemaker Jessica Tomei

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