The second episode of the Syrah Seminar from Santa Barbara features Michael Larner of Larner Vineyards and Winery. Michael has always been very gracious with his time when we are in Santa Barbara and you can see several video interviews we did with him in the vineyard and his office on subject such as the Language of the Vines , Heat spikes during harvest , his Malvasia Bianca , the Ballard Canyon AVA , the history of his vineyard and of course Syrah

Michael’s background is in geology so it will be no surprise that the discussion with him during the seminar focus on soil. His labels for his mono varietal wines feature a soil column indicating the type of soil that these vines grow in within the vineyard. His blends feature a fee scale, which is used to separate soil particles. He also dives in a little on climate and how it makes Ballard Canyon “Syrah Territory”