Municipal Winemakers - 'Is What Is It Is' - Chardonnay - Santa Barbara County, CA - 2025

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Our "Is What It Is" Chardonnay was farmed organically and hand-harvested from a cold foggy site in Santa Barbara County. In the winery, the juice was fermented on skins for two weeks before being pressed to old French oak barrels. No additions of yeast or anything else. We taste salty lemons and ginger in this wine.

Notes on the Producer

Santa Barbara, located about two hours north of Los Angeles, is widely considered to be one of the most dynamic winemaking regions in California today. With its wide range of microclimates, everything from delicate Riesling to powerful Syrah is successfully grown here, making this region as diverse as anywhere else in the world. There is a focus on innovation here as well. A relatively low price of entry for sourcing high-quality grapes means that young winemakers have more favorable conditions for getting fledgling projects off the ground – and invariably with young talent comes ambition and experimentation.

David Potter is one of the new guard making a name for himself in Santa Barbara. After honing his craft at Fess Parker, where he was the assistant winemaker for several years, and is currently Director of Winemaking Operations, Potter went on to launch his first brand, Municipal Winemakers, in 2007, with a focus on making high-quality wines at entry-level prices. In the fall of 2015, wanting to create more focused, single-vineyard wines, Potter opened Potek Winery, with a commitment to produce the best possible wines from Santa Barbara’s most exciting vineyards. The winemaking is rooted in traditional techniques with a reverence for site and a search for balance.

The name Potek is drawn from the story of the immigration of Potter’s great–grandfather from Romania to the United States. Berl Potek’s name was changed to Benjamin Potter as he passed through Ellis Island in 1917. His courage to search for a better life, and the immigrants’ experience of adaptation in a new environment inspires Potter’s approach to winemaking with traditional French techniques and grapes, grown in California. Potek Winery is built on generations of hard work and the constant search for better, while paying tribute to the bravery of exploration and strength in family.

The winery uses a minimalist approach to winemaking. With access to such unique and expressive vineyards, this is the best way to coax out the distinct facets of the individual wines. The wines are mainly aged in neutral oak and are treated as naturally as possible, with no fining or filtration before bottling. The resulting wines speak of their locations throughout Santa Barbara, and are a beautiful survey of the area.