Giornata Winery was recommended to us by Randy at Chateau Margene in Morro Bay when we told him we are fond of Italian varietal wines like Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Montepulciano, and Vermentino to name a few. We arrived before noon on a Thursday morning and were warmly greeted by our wine pouring host Gina. It was cool but sunny out, so we decided to sit on the back patio. They are dog friendly for the record. It was cool enough that we left our pouch in the car for the short time we were there. Gina began by telling us a little about the many Italian varietal wines they make and the low volume handcrafted minimalist approach they take in making their wines. One of the techniques they use for their white wines like Vermentino is to let the juice sit on the skins for an extended period of time. This imparts a yellowish and orangish color to the wine. They do very little to affect the natural fermentation and aging of the wines, using neutral storage and letting the wines do their own thing. The result is some pretty spectacular wines that reminded us of many of the wines we tried in Italy when we were there last year. The red red wines we tried, including a Nebbiolo and a red blend called gemellaia (Sangiovese, Merlot, Petite Verdot) were outstanding. We were lucky to taste without a reservation; however, appointments are recommended. read more