Andrew Murray Vineyards/Wineries
One of the great privileges of conducting wine tours in Santa Ynez Valley is to visit and present a winery that is both a fine representation of our contemporary wine country but also an important part of its history. No winery fits this description better than Andrew Murray Vineyards on the Curtis Estate.
Winemaker Andrew Murray specializes in the wines of Rhone River Valley in the south of France, practicing his art in Santa Ynez Valley for more than 20 years. While he sources fruit from vineyards in Los Alamos and other subregions of the valley, he has since 2014 been based at the Curtis Estate, a vineyard of over 100 acres that was formerly the Firestone family’s Curtis Winery, a leading name in regional Rhone wines. Here, Andrew Murray has enhanced his international reputation as a craftsman of Rhone wines.
On the Curtis Estate, the Andrew Murray organization presents refreshing white wines such as Grenache Blanc and their Enchante, a crafted blend of Grenache Blanc and Rousanne. Single-varietal Grenache and Mouvedre are among the fine wines to be found here that you’d struggle to find in the hundreds of wineries in Napa, yet Andrew Murray’s several Syrah offerings are his best known.
But, now at the beginning of summer, nothing beats the Esperance Rose, a Cinsault-based classic to rival the best of Provence. On a Stagecoach wine tour you’ll enjoy the presentation of this and other excellent Andrew Murray wines by their exceptional hospitality staff, people who receive regular education and training by Andrew and his oenologist, McKenna, and look forward to sharing the joy of their vineyard’s fruit with you!
