From the atlas
Ojai Vineyard
The Ojai Vineyard makes Central Coast wines from a network of vineyard sources, with Adam Tolmach as winemaker and sole proprietor.
At A Glance
| Field | Detail |
| Producer | The Ojai Vineyard |
| Place | Oak View, with vineyards across California's Central Coast |
| Named wines | Clima Frío Chardonnay, Clima Frío Syrah and Ojai Santa Barbara Pinot Noir |
| Main grapes | Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah |
| Cellar approach | Tiny sulfite additions, no fining or filtration |
The Producer
Adam Tolmach is the winemaker and sole proprietor of The Ojai Vineyard. A regional wine industry profile reports about 6,000 cases each year across 15 bottlings, most of them vineyard designated. The winery works with vineyards across California's Central Coast, keeping named places central to the range.
Tolmach's cellar uses tiny quantities of sulfites and avoids fining and filtration. Fining removes suspended material, while filtration clarifies wine by removing particles. Ojai leaves both operations out of its stated approach.
Place
Cool climate Santa Barbara County vineyards form the main sourcing area. Tolmach buys fruit by the acre, with Roll Ranch Vineyard in Ojai, Ventura County, as the sole exception to the Santa Barbara County search.
Fe Ciega Vineyard lies in the Sta. Rita Hills, where Tolmach made wine from the site from 2003 before purchasing it in 2020. The Home Ranch vineyard covers 1.2 acres with four varieties, two white and two red. New UC Davis bred varieties allow the vines to be farmed organically and resist Pierce's Disease.
At the family ranch in Oak View, Tolmach planted five acres of Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc in 1981. The two grapes place a red and a white variety in the ranch's vineyard history.
Story
After graduating in 1976, Adam Tolmach returned to the family property and grew sweet corn and melons, selling them at a roadside stand where Encino Drive meets Highway 33 in Ojai. He later studied at UC Davis and worked at Zaca Mesa Winery in Santa Barbara County.
Tolmach and Jim Clendenen started Au Bon Climat Winery in 1982. The Ojai Vineyard began in 1983, with traditional practices learned in Burgundy and the Rhône informing its founding vision. Jim Clendenen bought the Au Bon Climat business in 1991, after which Tolmach concentrated on The Ojai Vineyard.
Wines
The 2023 Clima Frío Chardonnay is a white wine from Rancho Ontiveros in Santa Maria Valley and Yellow Foxtrot near Lompoc. The fruit comes in a 56% and 44% division, and the wine is barrel fermented and aged nine months in French oak, with 5% of that oak new. Clima Frío is the new name for Ojai's former Santa Barbara County bottling.
The 2023 Ojai Santa Barbara Pinot Noir is the named Pinot Noir bottle. It brings ripe strawberry, wild raspberry and pomegranate, followed by cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom seed, with persistent energy through the finish.
The 2023 Clima Frío portfolio also includes Syrah. Syrah adds a second red grape beside Pinot Noir, while Chardonnay supplies the white wine in the named range. Sauvignon Blanc remains part of the ranch planting history through the earlier Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc vineyard.
Final Word
The Ojai Vineyard works from Central Coast vineyard sources. Its cellar uses tiny sulfite additions and avoids fining and filtration, leaving the named vineyards and grape varieties to shape the bottles.
Sources
1. https://ojaivineyard.com/adams-story/ 2. https://ojaivineyard.com/vineyards/ 3. https://discovercaliforniawines.com/wineries/the-ojai-vineyards/ 4. https://www.undergroundwineletter.com/2011/10/the-ojai-vineyard/ 5. https://divine.se/produkter/ojai-clima-frio-chardonnay-9013901/ 6. https://nysommcellars.com/products/2023-ojai-chardonnay-clima-frio-santa-maria-valley 7. https://dinvinguide.se/dryckestips/ojai-santa-barbara-pinot-noir-2023 8. https://ojaivineyard.com/tasting-notes/