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Complex, Well Crafted, Memorable Wines... Unlike Any Others.

Gift Cards

Monochrome Gift Card

If you are looking for a great gift for your wine-loving friends or family, we now offer gift cards! They are available in $50, $100 and $200 denominations and may be used online or in the Monochrome tasting room toward the purchase of any available Monochrome wines or merchandise. We offer virtual gift cards (purchased online) and physical gift cards (available in the tasting room). Note: Gift cards may only be used for wine or merchandise purchases made on the Monochrome website or in the Monochrome tasting room. They are not applicable to tasting fees or other gift cards. We can only ship wine to the following states: AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, IL, MN, MO, NV, NY, OH, OR, TX, WA, WI. Club discounts do not apply

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2021 Vintage

2020 Barrel Distortion

Barrel Distortion

2021

98% Albariño, 2% Gewürztraminer

Barrel Distortion is always Albariño-based, but always with a twist. Or two twists. Or three twists. Most Albariños are made to be light, crisp, and aromatic, and are produced in large stainless steel tanks. We aimed for something a bit different, so we barrel-fermented nearly all the wine in neutral French oak and stainless steel barrels and then aged it on its lees for approximately eleven months to develop additional complexity and richness. For 2021, we also added four percent Albariño that had been skin-fermented (for additional layers of flavor and a touch of tannin, and two percent Gewürztraminer.

96 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (their highest score ever for an American Albariño)

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2020 North By Southwest

North By Southwest

2021

93% Gewürztraminer, 7% Albariño

This wine would never happen in Europe. Gewürztraminer is from the North. Albariño is from the Southwest. And never the twain shall meet. However, the Central Coast of California is one of those rare places with the climatic diversity to produce both these varieties within about a 100-mile radius. So we took advantage of that. The Albariño adds a bit of roundness and fruit flavors while the skin-fermented Gewürztraminer allowed us to fine-tune the aromatics, flavors and texture while adding a touch of tannin.

95 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (their highest score ever for an American dry Gewürztraminer)

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2020 Center Tone

Sense Of Out Of Place

2021

86% Chardonnay, 14% Sauvignon Blanc

In ancient times (say, pre-2010), many people thought white wine consisted of either Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Chardonnay was rich and full-bodied; Sauvignon Blanc was aromatic and rather acidic. In France, they passed laws saying you could only make Chardonnay in these places and Sauvignon Blanc in those places. Wine snobs everywhere decreed that all wine must exhibit a “sense of place” and be “varietally correct”. Well, it’s 2021, and things are changing. Nowadays, at least in California, winemakers have more freedom to create innovative, complex white wines that do not conform to the traditional norms. We took full advantage of that to create this wine, which pretty much breaks all the rules.

94 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

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2020 Vintage

2020 Barrel Distortion

Barrel Distortion

2020

94% Albariño, 6% Gewürztraminer

Barrel Distortion is always Albariño-based, but always with a twist. Or two twists. Or three twists. Most Albariños are made to be light, crisp, and aromatic, and are produced in large stainless steel tanks. We aimed for something a bit different, so we barrel-fermented nearly all the wine in neutral French oak and stainless steel barrels and then aged it on its lees for approximately nine months to develop additional complexity and richness. For 2020, we also added four percent Albariño that had been skin-fermented (much as a red wine would be produced) and six percent Gewürztraminer. The result is a wine that maintains the vibrant and aromatic character for which Albariño is known, but adds in a bit more structure and mouthfeel, plus some savory and aromatic notes from the skin-fermented component and the Gewürztraminer.

93 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (their second-highest score ever for an American Albarino)

93 Points – Wine Enthusiast

2020 Center Tone

Center Tone

2020

57% Grenache Gris, 43% Picpoul

Some grapes are red, some are white, and some are somewhere in between. Grenache Gris is one of the latter and resides at the mid-point between regular (red) Grenache and (white) Grenache Blanc. We crushed 25% of the fruit and then let it soak overnight to extract color and flavors before pressing the entire lot. The juice had a bright orange tint to it, and even though some of that dropped out during fermentation, the resulting wine (when blended with some Picpoul) exhibits a unique color derived from the Grenache Gris component.

94 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (their highest score ever for a Grenache Gris or blend)

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2020 North By Southwest

North By Southwest

2020

89% Gewürztraminer, 11% Albariño

This wine would never happen in Europe. Gewürztraminer is from the North. Albariño is from the Southwest. And never the twain shall meet. However, the Central Coast of California is one of those rare places with the climatic diversity to produce both these varieties within about a 100-mile radius. So we took advantage of that. The Albariño adds a bit of roundness and fruit flavors while the skin-fermented Gewürztraminer allowed us to fine-tune the aromatics, flavors and texture.

92 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

92 Points – Wine Enthusiast

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2020 Smile

Smile

2020

67% Viognier, 33% Chenin Blanc

Sometimes a wine should spark a philosophical discussion; other times a wine should just make you smile. During our blending sessions, this blend did just that. The Viognier and Chenin Blanc bring complimentary fruit and floral flavors and aromas, while the barrel-fermentation and aging on the lees bring texture and mouthfeel.

93 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

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2020 Smile

Earthen Fare

2020

64% Marsanne, 36% Grenache Gris

In our high-tech, newer-is-always-better world, sometimes it is good to go back to our roots. Like way, way back. This wine (well, the Marsanne component, which is 64% of it) was fermented and aged in an earthenware amphora, which is basically a large handmade clay pot. An amphora is what people used to make wine back when people first started making wine, about six or eight thousand years ago. It doesn’t impart the oaky flavor that a new barrel would, but instead provides a bit of minerality due to the clay contact. We blended in some Grenache Gris for a bit of color, texture and unique flavors.

92 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

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2019 Neither Here Nor There

Neither Here Nor There

2020

56% Chenin Blanc, 44% Sauvignon Blanc

This wine started out as an idea to create a Sancerre-inspired Sauvignon Blanc blend, but it quickly veered off in a new direction… first with a nod to the Chenin Blanc of the lower Loire River Valley, and then with a hint of New Zealand. It ended up being something unique: 56% barrel-fermented Chenin Blanc, 38% barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc and 6% skin-fermented Sauvignon Blanc. It’s not like anything ever made in Paso but is also not a textbook version of something from Sancerre, the lower Loire, or New Zealand. Hence the name….

92 Points – Vinous

92 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

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2020 Smile

Playing Against Type

2020

83% Sauvignon Blanc, 17% Grenache Gris

Sauvignon Blanc is often typecast as being some combination of tart, grassy and a bit light. This wine is none of those things. Through the combination of barrel fermentation, lees aging and a bit of new oak, this wine exhibits richness, body and complexity rarely found in Sauvignon Blanc. The Grenache Gris (a rather obscure variety half-way between (red) Grenache and (white) Grenache Blanc) was barrel-fermented in half-barrels (114L) and was included to add color, texture and unique flavors.

95+ Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

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2019 Wall of Sound

Wall of Sound

2020

70% Roussanne, 30% Viognier

Viognier is known for being aromatic and flavorful. Roussanne does not have as much of those characteristics but provides richness and body. This wine is a combination of the two, with each being made in multiple different ways to bring out different flavors and textures. Our goal for was to make a wine that exhibits more complexity than we could have achieved using simpler methods. It took us four blending sessions to sort through all the possibilities.

93 Points – Vinous

93 Points – Wine Enthusiast

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2019 Vintage

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Barrel Distortion wine bottle

Barrel Distortion

2019

100% Albariño from Plum Orchard Lane Vineyard

Many Albariños are made to be light, crisp, and aromatic, and are produced in stainless steel tanks. We aimed for something a bit different, so we barrel-fermented nearly all the wine in neutral French oak and stainless steel barrels, and aged it on its lees for approximately nine months to develop additional complexity and richness. We also added six percent that had been skin-fermented (much as a red wine would be produced) and two percent that had fermented via carbonic maceration (another red wine technique). The result is a wine that maintains the vibrant and aromatic character for which Albariño is known, but adds in a bit more structure and mouthfeel, plus some savory notes from the skin-fermented and carbonic macerated components.

92 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

2019 Neither Here Nor There

Neither Here Nor There

2019

56% Chenin Blanc from Jurassic Park Vineyard
44% Sauvigon Blanc from McGinley Vineyard

This wine started out as an idea to create a Sancerre-inspired Sauvignon Blanc blend, but it quickly veered off in a new direction… first with a nod to the Chenin Blanc of the lower Loire River Valley, and then with a hint of New Zealand. It ended up being something unique: 56% barrel-fermented Chenin Blanc, 38% barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc and 6% skin-fermented Sauvignon Blanc. It’s not like anything ever made in Paso but is also not a textbook version of something from Sancerre, the lower Loire, or New Zealand. Hence the name….

93 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Variations on a Theme wine bottle

Variations On A Theme

2019

63% Sauvigon Blanc from McGinley Vineyard
37% Marsanne from Camp 4 Vineyard

Part of the story behind the name is that this wine is a variation on the traditional White Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. However, given that good Semillon is hard to find around the Central Coast, we used Marsanne instead, which adds a bit of body and touch of honey notes. We are not aware of anyone else ever blending these two varieties, but it certainly seemed to work, with the richness and mouthfeel of Marsanne complementing the acidity and aromatics of Sauvignon Blanc.

91 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

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Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA wine bottle

Analog In A Digital Age

2019

59% Marsanne, 27% Grenache Blanc, 14% Viognier

Our Analog In A Digital Age blend is always built around Marsanne that was fermented and aged using an 8,000-year-old technology (an unglazed amphora handmade from clay). The amphora adds a touch of minerality and, because the clay is slightly porous, allows a bit of oxygen exposure during fermentation and aging, which results in a more rounded, smooth mouthfeel. For the 2019 vintage, we complemented the Marsanne with some Grenache Blanc and Viognier. This wine is handmade, merges varietal characteristics, and will probably taste entirely different the next time we make it.

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2019 Wall of Sound

Wall Of Sound

2019

43% Viognier, 38% Roussanne, 19% Grenache Blanc

This wine is a good example of our Wall of Sound approach to winemaking. The Roussanne, Viognier and Grenache Blanc were pressed separately, and we divided the juice into six components, each of which was intentionally produced differently. Some were fermented and aged in neutral French oak barrels, some in stainless steel barrels, and some in a new French oak barrel. Our goal was to make a wine that exhibits more complexity and layers of flavor than we could have achieved using simpler methods. It took us four blending sessions to sort through all the possibilities.

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Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA X-2 wine bottle

X-3

2019

49% Roussanne, 37% Viognier, 14% Grenache Blanc

From time to time, we create one of our “X-wines”, which reflect some of our experiments in winemaking. Typically these are low-production wines that explore a new or novel approach to fermentation or wine production. The techniques involved may (or may not) find their way into other blends in subsequent vintages. For the 2019 vintage, we produced the X-3, which is an exploration of texture and some characteristics of red wines in a white wine. It includes 12% skin-fermented Viognier, 24% Roussanne done in a minimalist “death and resurrection” style, 14% Grenache Blanc and the balance being Viognier and Roussanne made using more conventional barrel fermentation techniques.

92+ Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

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2018 Vintage

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA wine bottle

Analog In a Digital Age

2018

74% Marsanne, from Camp 4 Vineyard
17% Chenin Blanc, from G2 Vineyard
9% Viognier, from Shokrian Vineyard

Technology has brought us a lot of great things, but sometimes a bit of magic is lost along the way. Our Analog in a Digital World stands against this pattern. Most of the blend was made using 8,000-year-old technology (an earthenware amphora).

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Barrel Distortion wine bottle

Barrel Distortion

2018

100% Albariño, for Plum Orchard Land Vineyard

Many Albariños are made to be light, crisp, and aromatic, and are produced in stainless steel tanks. We aimed for something a bit different.

90 Points – Jeb Dunnuck

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Neither Here Nor There wine bottle

Blasphemy

2018

66% Chardonnay, from Donnachadh Vineyard
34% Marsanne, from Camp 4 Vineyard

Going back to the time of the Cistercian monks, the religion for making Chardonnay has been to just put it in an oak barrel and let God do the rest. Well… we deviated from that orthodoxy just a bit.

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Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Altered Images wine bottle

Mix And Match

2018

46% Grenache Blanc, from G2 Vineyard
45% Chenin Blanc, from Jurassic Park Vineyard
9% Roussanne, from Zaca Mesa Vineyard

This is a new blend for us, as 2018 was the first vintage we worked with Grenache Blanc. The blend name reflects our unconventional approach to blending, which in this case involved combining two Rhone varieties with one Loire Valley variety.

92+ Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Named one of the Top 25 Wines of 2021 by RH Drexel (jebdunnuck.com)

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Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Barrel Distortion wine bottle

Sense Of Out Of Place

2018

53% Sauvignon Blanc, from McGinley Vineyard
47% Chardonnay, from Donnachadh Vineyard

Nowadays, at least in California, winemakers have more freedom to create innovative, complex white wines that do not conform to the traditional norms. We took full advantage of that to create this wine, which pretty much breaks all the rules.

93 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

93 Points – Jeb Dunnuck

“Top Ten Wines For Your Holiday Table” – Forbes

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Wall of Sound wine bottle

Wall Of Sound

2018

68% Roussanne, from Zaca Mesa Vineyard
32% Viognier, from Shokrian Vineyard

This wine is a good example of our Wall of Sound approach to winemaking. Our goal for this wine was to make a wine that exhibits more complexity and layers of flavor than we could have achieved using simpler methods.

93 Points – Wine Enthusiast

93 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

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Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA X-2 wine bottle

X-2A

2018

100% Albariño, for Plum Orchard Land Vineyard

From time to time, we create one of our “X-wines”, which reflect some of our experiments in winemaking. Typically these are very low-production wines that explore a new or novel approach to fermentation or wine production. In the 2017 vintage, we produced the X-2, which explored carbonic maceration of Albariño (we are not aware of anyone else having ever done it before with Albariño). It was such a hit that we decided to produce a variant of it in the 2018 vintage. This will only be available to Wine Club members.

2017 Vintage

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Altered Images wine bottle

Altered Images

2017

52% Chardonnay

48% Chenin Blanc

The images of both Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc have been changing in California.  Chardonnay has gone from “all butter, all oak, all the time” to the opposite end of the spectrum (unoaked, stainless-only versions) and is now occupying all points in-between.  Chenin Blanc, meanwhile, has gone from a respected variety to “jug wine fodder” and is now working its way back to respectability.  This wine encompasses and expands upon those trends:  it combines Chardonnay that was fermented and aged in an earthenware amphora (to provide minerality and vibrancy) and Chenin Blanc that was fermented and aged in neutral French oak barrels (to provide smoothness and acidity).

93 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report 

91 Points – Jeb Dunnuck

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Barrel Distortion wine bottle

Barrel Distortion

2017

100% Albariño

Many Albariños are made to be light, crisp, and aromatic, and are produced in stainless steel tanks.  We aimed for something a bit different, so we barrel-fermented nearly all the wine in neutral French oak and stainless steel barrels, and aged it on its lees for eight months to develop additional complexity and richness. We also added four percent that had been skin-fermented (much as a red wine would be produced).   The result is a wine that maintains the vibrant and aromatic character for which Albariño is known, but adds in a bit more structure and mouthfeel, plus some savory notes from the skin-fermented component.

90 Points – Wine Enthusiast

90 Points – Wine Spectator (their highest score ever for an American Albariño)

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Neither Here Nor There wine bottle

Neither Here Nor There

2017

53% Sauvignon Blanc

47% Chenin Blanc

This wine started out as an idea to create a Sancerre-inspired Sauvignon Blanc blend, but it quickly veered off in a new direction… first with a nod to the Chenin Blanc of the lower Loire River Valley, and then with a hint of New Zealand.   It ended up being something unique:  47% barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc, 6% skin-fermented Sauvignon Blanc, and 47% barrel-fermented Chenin Blanc. It’s not like anything ever made in Paso, but is also not a textbook version of something from Sancerre, the lower Loire, or New Zealand.  Hence the name….

92 Points (Editor’s Choice) – Wine Enthusiast

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Blasphemy wine bottle

Blasphemy

2017

80% Chardonnay, from Donnachadh Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills.

20% Chenin Blanc, from Jurassic Park Vineyard

100% Barrel fermented.

Aged in 25% new French Oak and 75% neutral French Oak.

Going back to the time of the Cistercian monks, the religion for making Chardonnay has been to just put it in an oak barrel and let God do the rest. Well… we deviated from that orthodoxy just a bit. 

91 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Variations on a Theme wine bottle

Variations on a Theme

2017

71% Sauvignon Blanc, from McGinley.

29% Marsanne, from Windrock Vineyard.

We’re all about variations on the theme of white wines, but this wine is also a blend of eight different variations on Sauvignon Blanc and Marsanne.    

92 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA Wall of Sound wine bottle

Wall of Sound

2017

56% Rousanne, Windrock Vineyard

44% Viognier, Windrock Vineyard

This wine is the best example yet of our Wall of Sound approach to winemaking.  Eight different wines went into creating this blend. Our goal was to make a wine that exhibits more complexity and layers of flavor than we could have achieved using simpler methods.  

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA X-2 wine bottle

X-2

2017

100% Albariño

This wine is one of our “X-wines”, which reflect some of our experiments in winemaking.  Typically these are very low-production wines that explore a new or novel approach to fermentation or wine production.  The techniques involved may (or may not) find their way into our main blends in subsequent vintages.  The X-2 explores carbonic maceration of Albariño, and we are not aware of anyone else having ever done it before with Albariño.  Carbonic maceration is normally associated with certain red wines (especially Beaujolais), but rarely has it been used with white varieties.  It involves placing the intact grape clusters in a carbon dioxide rich environment and letting fermentation begin within the berries of intact grape clusters.  We blended in some stainless barrel-fermented Albariño to get us up to a whopping total of 17 cases.

91 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

2016 Vintage

Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA wine bottle

Blasphemy

2016

100% Chardonnay, from Donnachadh Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills.

100% Barrel fermented.

Aged in 25% new French Oak and 75% neutral French Oak.

Going back to the time of the Cistercian monks, the religion for making Chardonnay has been to just put it in an oak barrel and let God do the rest. Well… we deviated from that orthodoxy just a bit.  

92 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

91 Points – Vinous

90 Points – Wine Enthusiast

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Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA wine bottle

Barrel Distortion

2016

100% Albariño, from Plum Orchard Lane Vineyard, Templeton Gap District.

96% barrel-fermented.

43% in a neutral oak barrel.

53% in a stainless steel barrel.

4% fermented on the skins.

Most Albariños are made to be light, crisp, and aromatic, and are typically produced in large stainless steel tanks. We aimed for something a bit different.  

92 Points – The Wine Write

91 Points – Wine Enthusiast

90 Points – Vinous

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Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA wine bottle

Variations on a Theme

2016

68% Sauvignon Blanc, from Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara.

32% Marsanne, from Griva Vineyard, Arroyo Seco.

We’re all about variations on the theme of white wines, but this wine is also a blend of eight different variations on Sauvignon Blanc and Marsanne.     

93 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

91 Points – Vinous

91 Points – Wine Enthusiast

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Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA wine bottle

Wall of Sound

2016

52% Viognier, from Shokrian Vineyard, Santa Barbara County.

48% Roussanne, from Zaca Mesa Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley.

This wine is the best example yet of our Wall of Sound approach to winemaking.  Eight different wines went into creating this blend. Our goal was to make a wine that exhibits more complexity and layers of flavor than we could have achieved using simpler methods.  

92 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

92 Points – Vinous

92 Points – Wine Enthusiast

92 Points – The Wine Write

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Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA wine bottle

Analog in a Digital Age

2016

81% Marsanne, from Griva Vineyard, Arroyo Seco. Marsanne fermented and aged in an Amphora.

19% Chardonnay, from Donnachadh Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills.  Fermented and aged in neutral oak barrels.

Technology has brought us a lot of great things, but sometimes a bit of magic is lost along the way.   

93 Points – The Wine Write

92 Points – Purely Domestic Wine Report

92 Points – Vinous

92 Points – Wine Enthusiast

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Monochrome Wines Paso Robles, CA wine bottle

X-1

2016

100% Sauvignon Blanc, from Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara

25% skin fermented

75% barrel fermented (stainless)

At Monochrome, we like to experiment.  A lot.  Each vintage, we hope to release a very small quantity of one of our experimental efforts to give wine lovers a chance to try something totally different.

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