Winemaker Q & A: Alice Anderson of Amevive Wines

Lovely, naturally nurtured wines from Santa Barbara, California

Alice Anderson of Amevive Wines, Photo by Summer Staeb

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I will just go ahead and say it: I was a fan girl of Alice Anderson, founder and creator of Santa Barbara’s Amevive Wines long before meeting her. I believe her wines first came on my radar around the spring of 2022 when I was still managing the bottle shop/wine bar Edmund’s Oast Exchange. It was truly wine love at first sight because her labels are truly captivating (watercolors of native fauna and flora by her mother!). And then the wines themselves are so interesting…grape varieties that are a bit more off the beaten path for California. See Alice is strongly inspired by the Rhone region of France (where she did make wine for a period) so there’s all the Rhone favorites including white varieties that I love! Think Grenache but also Grenache Blanc! And then there’s Syrah, Gamay, Marsanne, and Roussanne to name a few. Then there's Alice’s love affair with the natural world, her dedication to a more holistic way of farming, and her light touch in the cellar – all yielding, bright, fresh wines that truly speak of their place and are also immensely satisfying at the table with food.

Today Alice runs her winery/farm with the help of her partner Topher de Felice and a newly hired assistant winemaker. The bulk of their focus is on the historic Ibarra-Young Vineyard in Los Olivos District A.V.A. that was planted by Charlotte Young in 1971 and is still owned by her three daughters. The vineyard has amazingly been organic since the 1990s, and just happened to be planted with many of the varieties Alice fell for in France.

I was lucky enough to meet Alice in person this past fall, and she surpassed even my fan girl expectations: sweet, smart, funny, salt of the earth! I quickly added one of her wines to our list at Edmund’s Oast, and I plan on featuring another at our Girl Power Wine Night there on Monday, March 31. (More on that later but save the date.) Of course, I had to ask Alice if she was up for a Q & A, and she said yes! We caught up the day after they had completed their olive harvest and begun milling them for olive oil. (Yes, it’s truly a farm, complete with sheep, chicken, and ducks!)

So, here you go – a fun and informative interview with Alice. If you live here in Charleston you can find her wines at the following shops: Wine & Company, Graft, and Monarch. You can also purchase (and check out those great label’s) on Alice’s site!

First off, was wine part of your life growing up?

I would not say entirely. I don’t have the classic: yes, we drank wine at the table everyday. But my mom is a designer, and for my whole life she designed wine packaging. She worked at all the big ones. She worked at Gallo from before I was born until I was 10 or so, and then she worked at Mondavi through my middle school and high school (years). So she was actively going to wineries every day, and she drinks casual wine but no real wine culture at our house.

How about food? Did your family spend a lot of time cooking? Or eating out?

My mom cooks, and I have always been really into cooking since I was a wee little gal. My brother is a picky easter so my mom found herself cooking two meals every meal. We were definitely a home cooked family and didn't go out too much.

You said your brother was a pretty picky eater but were you pretty adventurous?

I was an adventurous eater I’d say. I ate everything and still do.

Now, give us the short version on how you ended up working in wine and owning a winery…and give us your elevator pitch explaining Amevive.

I was into agriculture growing up. It’s not something my parents were into, but they were supportive. So I grew up raising animals and riding horses. I ended up going to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo as a general agriculture major. But that wasn't quite the right fit. So I did a job shadow and took some oenology classes and ended up switching my major to oenology and viticulture. And that was kind of the first step – an 18-year-old with a winemaking degree. But ultimately what the winemaking industry is so great for is being able to travel the world while working and meeting people along the way. That’s the beauty of this business, and that’s why every wine is so unique and every winemaker is so unique. It’s really special. I got to do that and after traveling a bit I ended up back in the central Coast of California – still working for other people. Fast forward, a few people sent me this Facebook post about a 10 acre historic vineyard for lease (Ibarra-Young Vineyard in Los Olivos District of the Santa Barbara region), and I ended up meeting with the owners and sorting it all out and the rest is history. That was in 2019. I was a winemaker first, but I love the farming part. (She also now works for a vineyard management company.)

I know you did study some of the viticulture aspects in school but have you also just taught yourself?

Yes, just learning on the job. You figure it out and when something doesn’t work out you call people. The way that we farm you can’t be systematic about anything and for me that would be boring. (She describes her farming as more holistic and reactive rather than overuse of organic sprays.) I’m not spraying something to just spray something. It’s much more sustainable for the planet and for my quality of life because I don’t want to be driving the tractor every seven days (for spraying).

So you farm organically but you are going beyond that where you are trying to be more minimal even with organic sprays?

Totally. More holistic. More regenerative. The regenerative aspect is rebuilding our soil health, rotating animals, and having a cover crop year round. The holistic part is me incorporating more gentle sprays and going back to actually walking our vineyard rows instead of just assuming something.

Do you use biodynamic practices as well?

We do a biodynamic compost. And we do pick with the moon. Really we employ all of the practices but not dogmatically.

I know you have worked at a variety of places but would you say your time in the Northern Rhone (region of France) was the most informing and most inspirational time?

Yes, exactly. The wine brand started with a Northern Rhone focus. So Syrah, Marsanne, and Gamay were the first wines I made. And I was lucky enough to find Ibarra-Young vineyard which has old Marsanne, Syrah, and Mourvedre as well. So that was pretty serendipitous. And then it’s kind of grown to include other Mediterranean varieties. I would like to stay with warmer climate grapes but just expressed in energetic ways. And that all goes back to what I believe in as far as farming grows. I like the sustainability factor of these warmer climate varieties. They require so many less sprays. Planting spacing is huge as well. And it’s also quality of life. I want nature to live alongside my vines, and with tight rows you can’t really fit much else living amongst your vines because it all creates too much mildew pressure that forces you to spray all the time. I could go on and on.

How did the Northern Rhone internship come about?

I lived with a French girl in New Zealand and she was like you should go to France. And I set my feelers out and ended up with a job at Domaine Pierre Gaillard. It was kind of the right place at the right time. They needed someone to step up into a winemaker role. And little ol eager me was ready.

Also related to France, can you explain your winery’s name?

Ame means soul. Vive is like lively/living, so lively soul. It’s just a made up French word that felt right. (Laughs!)

Finally, what are your thoughts on the state of the wine industry at present and any focused hopes for the future? It definitely feels like we are at a crossroads.

It’s interesting. I don’t know if I have any great, inspirational ideas. (For wine drinkers) I would say figure out what’s important to you personally, and then just try to get to know the people behind the wine brand. Then get to know the sommeliers that sell wines and ask questions. It’s an awkward time. We feel it. The wine is not flying out the door, but I am optimistic. I believe that everything I personally do is still incredibly authentic. Lucky for me I love every single second of what I do, which makes it easy even if I am losing money! (Laughs!)

Also any advice to other young folks looking to break into the production side of wine?

Give it a go. I feel like a lot of people think they want to do it and then they are like, “This is hard.” It’s not a joke. It’s a very, very physical job. Production in the winery… it’s 2% of the time that we are tasting wine, but most of the time it’s cleaning and lifting heavy stuff and staying organized. And production in the vineyard is very labor intensive. You are out there all day. I love it, but it takes a certain person to be out in the fields all day. You wake up early, and you work in the sun all day, and the wind, and the rain. And you get home and you are tired. But you get home and you still have to call your parents or whatever, all the other stuff! So I would say to someone young and interested: give it a go; email somebody that you are inspired by and stay persistent. Sometimes it’s hard to find a good role, but put yourself out there and try it.

Let’s wrap up our chat with a bit of daydreaming and discuss what would be your dream wine dinner/dinner party.

A pizza party! Something small. I am a small groups kind of gal.

What would the location be?

Ooh…garden party! Somewhere outside with twinkle lights.

Who would you invite? Can be anyone – even those no longer with us!

Probably just a bunch of my girlfriends. There’s nobody famous I would want to eat with. (Laughs.) I guess my boyfriend can come too.

All Amevive wines or some from friends? And any general rules you follow as far as pairing wine with food?

Oh yes, friends’ wines for sure! I don’t get excited about drinking my own wine. I love my wines, but since I created them it’s hard to be inspired by them. So friends wines from around the world. Keep it diverse. I love old wine. So like well aged old wine. That is pretty delicious! I also really love Champagne.

Pairing is not one of my strengths. I am not super well versed. The wines that I like and the wines that I make tend to go with the foods that I like. More like sandwiches and salads!

And of course the food…give us all the details…and would you cook yourself or bring in a guest chef (can be anyone)!

I do like cooking, especially when I have nothing to do. Thanksgiving is such an amazing day. No one calls you. You have nothing to do except cook all day, and you can just chop onions slowly. But I also really like to be cooked for! But I don’t know what guest chef I would bring. Anyone that’s a good time and wants to hang out and is not pretentious. As far as food: some fresh veggies, veggie centric. Not too heavy. Like some hamachi, why not! Some light salads, roasted veggies and burrata. Mediterranean vibes.

And then pizza? But what style?

I really have a place for every style of pizza. The simple Margherita thin crust is delicious. But I will go fully loaded too. It’s just a great food group for me!

Light reds with the fresh tomato sauce pizzas. But Champagne to start because why not! Lots of little tiny sips of a lot of wines. I don’t need more than two sips of any wine. I love variety. I love to taste everything.

Any specific wines?

Let’s have some Perseval Champagne for sure. Some Chateau du Tours. Some nice flinty Chardonnay – something real reductive Also like a good crunchy Syrah like Gonon. Maybe some old Burgundy. Why not!

And any thoughts on a playlist?

I like groovy beats and mellow beats. I am pretty into Rye and FKJ. So FKJ radio, why not!

Oh and one last question: tell us a little bit about your labels. They are so beautiful and so appropriate for you and the wines.

So obviously, I wanted my mom to be a part of the project since I knew I was starting a wine brand. She first came up with something pretty conventional. And I was like no, no, no, we are going whimsical here. We ended up with watercolor, and I do all the handwriting. So it’s just very me, very us. And it’s very fun to work with her every time we make a new label.

P.S. Don’t forget to give us the details on the easiest ways to purchase your wine!

Order online. We have a wine club too. We are on fall wines right now but will have a new release at the beginning of April.