Baileyana Winery, the first of the Niven Family of Wineries was founded over 25 years ago by Catharine Niven. Located in the Edna Valley in the heart of San Luis Obispo County. Catharine's husband Jack introduced her to the wine industry in the early 1970's via their move to the Edna Valley on California's Central Coast. Pioneering the planting of the first winegrapes in this area, they founded Paragon Vineyards. Jack focused on the large-scale business while Catharine busied herself with her own smaller project; a 3 ½ acre parcel in their front yard. She went at it with passionate detail, just as with any of her other fascinations. Her research drew her to Burgundy, the world's ultimate wine producing region. She quickly learned that California's widely-spaced plantings and trellising system known as "California Sprawl" were not necessarily the best vineyard practices. Burgundian methods with tighter spacing and a more vertical approach to managing the canopy made sense to her. Despite advice from the "California experts," Catharine stuck to her guns, planted her vineyard the way she saw fit, and eventually proved she was right.

And once Catharine had outstanding grapes to work with, it was a natural next step to turn them into equally stellar wine. Named after the neighborhood where she and Jack first met, Catharine began Baileyana Winery. She was one of a very small number of women to own a California wine brand in those days.

She eventually passed the winery on to her four children. Two of them, Jim and John, took the lead and began the long-term process of growing the brand. Additionally, they laid the groundwork for the planting of their estate Firepeak Vineyard and the construction of Baileyana's new winery.

Today, with Jim and John's guidance, the third Niven generation is at the helm. Catharine's grandsons John and Michael are challenged with the task of taking her vision to the next level, and are proud to be afforded the opportunity. It was decided to hire veteran French winemaker Christian Roguenant in 1998. Born in Dijon, the capital of France's Burgundy region, Christian was exposed to many prestigious Burgundy domaines through attending client meetings with his banker father. He later earned a degree in enology and winemaking from the University of Dijon, and became the head enologist for Champagne Deutz, one of the grand marques of Champagne. His work took him all over the world, making wine on no less than five continents; Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, and South America.

After Christian oversaw the completion of a new state-of-the-art winery, they expanded the Niven family of wineries to include Tangent which makes alternative white varietals, Trenza which makes wines based on Spanish grapes, and Zocker and Cadre which each make just one signature wine. 

 

Albarino is a natural with seafood, particularly shellfish. Enjoy with simply prepared scallops or try Portuguese Steamed Clams- in Portugal, Albarino is called Alvarinho.

Last Sip:
Tangent is a SiP- or Sustainability in Practice- vineyard. SiP certified vineyards meet the following standard:
We realize that how we farm impacts everything beyond our fence line, so we work hard to protect our community, our workers, and our environment.
Social Responsibility We offer competitive wages, medical insurance,
training, and education because we know our people are a valuable resource.
Water Conservation We regularly monitor soils, plants,
and weather, irrigating vines only when needed.
Clean Water We keep water clean by growing grasses to reduce
erosion and filter storm runoff.
Safe Pest Management We introduce beneficial insects, attract
raptors, and plant enriching cover crops to keep vineyards healthy.
Energy Efficiency We minimize tractor use to reduce our carbon footprint, and use alternative fuels and energy sources like solar and wind.
Habitat We create wildlife corridors to give animals access to
traditional watering holes and food, helping to maintain biodiversity.