Santa Barbara County has produced some of California's most progressive natural wine thinking over the past decade, and Occteau sits squarely within that tradition. Working with organic and biodynamic growers across the county, the project brings a low-intervention philosophy to a wide range of grape varieties, making wines that reflect place with minimum manipulation.
Backstory
Occteau operates as a negociant project based in Santa Barbara County, sourcing from trusted organic and biodynamic growers in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. The label describes its approach simply: made by hand, by gravity, by intuition. The winery has built distribution across California, the Pacific Northwest, the northeastern United States, Quebec, and South Korea, reflecting genuine demand for its additive-free, unfiltered approach.
The Region
Santa Barbara County occupies a unique geographic position on the California coast. The Santa Ynez Mountains run east to west, rather than north to south as in most of California, which allows cool Pacific marine air and fog to push inland through transverse valleys. This creates some of California's longest, coolest growing seasons, with warm afternoons balanced by sharp temperature drops at night. The diversity of terroirs across the county - from the cool Sta. Rita Hills in the west to the warmer Santa Ynez Valley - supports an unusually broad range of grape varieties.
Vineyards and Farming
Occteau does not own vineyards but works exclusively with organically and biodynamically farmed sites in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. The grape roster is deliberately varied, spanning Rhone varieties such as Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, and Counoise; Italian varieties such as Vermentino; and others suited to the cool coastal climate. Selection of growers and farming practices is central to the project's identity.
Winemaking
Wines are made entirely by hand and moved by gravity, without pumps. Macerations vary by variety and vintage, with some wines seeing extended skin contact. No fining agents and no filtration are applied. The Celeste rose, for example, uses destemmed fruit with one week of maceration in neutral barrel after fermentation. The approach across all wines emphasizes texture and drinkability over extraction or technical correction.
The Wines
The range includes 'Esme', a skin-contact orange wine from Vermentino, Grenache Blanc, and Muscat; 'Auguste', a Roussanne; 'Celeste', a rosé from Counoise and Muscat; and 'Metisse', a red blend. Vintages are small in production. All wines are released without fining, filtration, or sulfur additions beyond what occurs naturally during fermentation.
