But for years that has been a reputation built upon Pinot and Chardonnay.

Those pillars aren`t going anywhere. But these winemakers are embracing more adventurous and intuitive practices and grape choices to express this place, honoring the local soils and coastal climate in new — and delicious — ways.

Ian Brand, Ian Brand Family Wines

Talk about brand management. Ian Brand, 38, has successfully shown a predictable regional wine industry how to rethink its identity.

At his unmarked warehouse on Dayton Street in industrial Salinas, he`s on his fourth personal-label vintage, while he helps produce several dozen other wines for other collaborators, including pioneering Pierce Ranch Vineyards and its atypical Iberian wines (including Tourbillons and Tourigas). His own portfolio includes five Le P`tit Paysan wines and four Spanish-leaning La Marea labels (an Albariño and three striking single-vineyard Grenaches) that reflect a tendency to steer away from bigger, oakier and richer towards brighter, more mineral-driven and aromatic.

Image courtesy and full article can be found at source sfchronicle.com