Winemaker Notes
Layer Cake works directly with the farmers that grow their grapes to exacting standards in some of the most diversely-layered vineyards around the world. They are handpicked, separated and fermented with care, then aged in French Oak. The character of each Layer Cake wine is influenced by the vineyard soil, which is layered like a cake…every layer tells a story.
It all started in South Australia, when they met a few growers, swapped stories over a few pints, then went to walk around some vineyards. The goal became to make great wine from these vineyards, and with diligence, sell the wines at a price that would over-deliver compared to the offerings on the retail shelves, so we were off to the races.
During a visit to Puglia to investigate the flavors behind Carole Meredith’s recent studies showing that Primitivo is indeed identical to Zinfandel, we discovered the largest cache of old-vine Zinfandel grapes in the world, which borthed the Layer Cake Primitivo. Argentina is now known as the best place on the planet to grow Malbec, hands down. Upon meeting numerous fantastic family growers to work with, the Layer Cake Malbec was born.
The newest stamp on the Layer Cake passport is the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Sourced from vineyards in one of the greatest regions of the world for growing Sauv Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand, has soil that brings a beautiful flinty brightness to this complex wine.
Layer Cake came back to their homeland, Napa, next and decided it was time to seek out some special vineyards here as well. Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were naturals to make here, as we have many friends with excellent vineyards to nurture and turn into Layer Cake Wines.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.