Wine Enthusiast
Ojai Valley News
The mystery of Ojai Mountain: Intense wines made with elegance
Rarely do motorists turn right onto Sulphur Mountain Road — but those who do find one of Ojai's lesser-known mysteries: how wines of intensity and elegance are grown 2,800 feet above sea level, where sun is ferocious and weather unpredictable.
“You have to look at the wine business almost through a multigenerational lens and think about the land first, and if you take care of the land well, the wines will come.”
The article profiles winemaker Erich Bradley — whose résumé includes Repris Wines, Sojourn Cellars, and a founding role in the Moon Mountain AVA — as the architect of Ojai Mountain's voice. It also spotlights sommelier and head of hospitality Toshi Barnes, tracing his path from Chicago beverage programs to Ojai Valley Inn's Olivella restaurant and ultimately to Ojai Mountain. Bradley's winemaking philosophy centers on truth-telling through place: "I see my role as a truth teller. What I'm trying to do through the wines is express the truth of a certain place in a certain time."
The piece features tasting notes for six current wines poured during a guided vineyard experience, highlighting the role of cool maritime air and intense mountain sun in producing small, thick-skinned berries — the source of the wines' color, structure, and flavor concentration.