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Tamber Bey Winemaker on How Her Hands-On Approach Leads To More Authentic Wine
October 10, 2023
Tamber Bey was founded by Barry Waitte in 1999. Much has remained the same: namely, the winery’s commitment to creating authentic, premium expressions of some of the most sought-after grapes in California.
But recently, there was one notable change: Barry hired a new winemaker. After a successful two decade career in tech, Barry decided to upend his life and turn his passion—wine—into his career, he immediately sought out advice and mentorship from the best in the business.
Robert Mondavi, Andy Beckstoffer, David Pearson and Ren Harris shared advice, and Barry's team of winemakers—including founding winemaker Thomas Brown and longtime winemaker Derek Flegal—helped put his paradigm into action. Barry acquired his own auspicious vineyards sites in Yountville and Oakville, and established relationships with key Grand Cru vineyards, including Bien Nacido Vineyard, Burnside Vineyard and Jericho Canyon Vineyard, creating a range of ultra-premium wines that reflect each region’s microclimates and terroirs.
But with the hiring of Sally Johnson Blum, he believes Tamber Bey has embarked on a new era.
“She has already made a few adjustments to our winemaking, and she’s off to a great start,” Barry says. “Adding Sally to the world of Tamber Bey just as a great vintage is coming up, I am anticipating very good things.”
Sally says she’s looking forward to great fruit after a promising season, and she’s particularly excited to work with Petit Verdot.
“I’m very excited to not be working with drought conditions this year,” she explains. “We had great rain this winter and spring, so we have a nice, healthy-looking crop and we’re in a great position to drop fruit and bring our crop levels to that ideal point, rather than wishing we had a little more.”
The Petit Verdot that goes into the Deux Chevaux Vineyard Rabicano Bordeaux Blend is, Sally says “grown in Deux Chevaux vineyard, which is a great site for Petit Verdot. It’s a little cooler, so we’re really able to hang it for a very long time and maintain this great acidity—but it also has floral notes, some violet and cassis. We round it out with a little Cabernet and Merlot and I think it’s just delicious.”
Sally, as Barry notes, has a resume that augurs great things. A University of California, Davis, graduate, she cut her teeth at St. Francis Winery & Vineyards, and then embarked on a 15-year tenure at Pride Mountain Vineyards, where she earned two Robert Parker 100-point scores, and her wines routinely made the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list. Most recently, she was winemaker at Robert Mondavi Winery.
As excited as the Tamber Bey team is to have someone of her pedigree steering the ship, Sally is just as excited to be there.
“I’m very excited,” she says. “We are producing about 8,000 cases of wine here, so that means everything is very hands-on boutique. I love working for family-owned companies, and I love seeing how committed the Waittes are to the authenticity of their wines. They have the resources and the passion to put the quality into every aspect of the winemaking process.”
Sally says that every step of the winemaking process is carefully thought out and planned. Along with Barry, she and the vineyard team give “each barrel a grade—A through F,” and then they make a blend that is sourced “only from our tap barrels. They have to have an A score to make it into the blend. We call that our best barrel program. It’s something only a family winery completely focused on quality can do.”
Sally also utilizes top-of-the-line cellar technology, like optical sorting, which micro-scans every grape post-harvest, to eliminate any that don’t meet the winemaker’s specifications. It’s all about optimization: a sorter ensures that every grape that gets fermented and aged, is much closer to perfection in terms of acid and sugar levels, than they ever would be if the team relied on the naked eye alone.
The vineyards themselves, of course, are also key.
“My passion really starts in the vineyard,” Sally notes. “I’ve always been very lucky to be really involved in the farming aspects of making wine. I like to be really aware of how the farming is going and really make those sensitive adjustments to crop level leaf pulling, shoot thinning. My job is to bring out all of the flavor and intensity that is potentially there in each of the wines.”
Sally is there with the grapes, every step of the way—a feat that would be virtually impossible if she had fewer resources at her disposal, or a higher lot of wine to make.
“We’re able to do everything by hand because of our size,” Sally marvels. “I can be running pumps, doing brix checks myself, switching from hot to cold glycol based on flavor and temperature. Those steps are critical, and you don’t have the opportunity to do them at a bigger facility.”
She touches, she says, “every bottle of wine.” That is, when she’s not working the bottling line, driving the forklifts and monitoring progress in the vineyards.
That passion and precision is foundational if your focus is ultra-premium, artisanal wine.
Ready to taste the passion for yourself? We’ve got you covered.
Tamber Bey Vineyards Deux Chevaux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019: The initial impressions are numerous, with black raspberry, cassis, crushed rock, and cigar box. The aromatics pair well with the taste of graphite, blackberry, cassis, vanilla bean, crushed rock, baking spices.. Finishing texture is focused, with firm tannins that persist for a lengthy finish.
Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022: Lively flavors of grapefruit, white peach, guava, white flower and candied apricot provide the perfect introduction to this racy, playful wine that balances serious quality with serious fun. On the palate, the wine undulates with layers of texture, flavor and zippy acidity. This wine is pure elegance in a bottle – and total deliciousness in your glass.
