ABOUT THE PRODUCER: Black Sheep Finds
The wines at Holus Bolus are made by husband & wife team Peter Hunken and Amy Christine, MW.
Peter Hunken got his start in winemaking in 2001 at Stolpman Vineyards, where he was the Assistant Winemaker until 2006. In 2003, he partnered with Sashi Moorman to start Piedrasassi and Holus Bolus, a brand dedicated to Syrah. In 2004, he met Amy Christine, his future wife, spitting wine in Lompoc. They founded Black Sheep Finds a year later, making their wines at
Stolpman.
In 2008, Peter decided to amicably split from Sashi to focus on Holus Bolus. Peter and Amy went on to develop other projects under the Black Sheep Finds umbrella, as they were both the black sheep of their families. In 2013, Amy passed the Master of Wine exam, writing her dissertation on Syrah in the US. While their work is very collaborative, Peter is the winemaker and Amy manages the vineyard. Amy also makes wine under her WineSlut label. In 2014, Amy and Peter realized their dream of having their own vineyard, which they named The Joy Fantastic (Amy loves Prince). What was formerly a hillside cow pasture, located in one of the farthest west sites in the Sta. Rita Hills appellation, just above the Domaine de la Côte vineyard was developed and planted with 3 acres of Pinot Noir (Swan, Mt. Eden, Pommard, 115 and 667), 1 acre of Chardonnay (Mt. Eden and 76) and 1 acre of Syrah (a mishmash of 5 clones). The first (small) crop was harvested in 2016. This vineyard is CCOF certified Organic. They also work with growers focused on producing high quality, organically grown grapes from unique sites.
Farming/vinification practices: Black Sheep Finds works closely with vineyards they purchase grapes from with acre contracts, in addition to their own vineyard, the Joy Fantastic. Amy and Peter reduced punching downs – previously 3 times a day, now once a day; they are pumping over instead. This is less work, but it still manages the cap and alleviates any volatile acidity (the wine is also blanketed with CO2), while resulting in wines with more elegance. There is less extraction, more finesse, and no bitterness on the finish. All the wines are unfined, and vegan.
In 2013, Amy passed the Master of Wine exam and can now call herself one of 24 women in the US to achieve the title.
- Bien Nacido Vineyard (Holus Bolus blanc) – the 5 acre block of Roussanne is farmed biodynamically. Goats eat the cover crop during the winter, and biodynamic preparations are used. The other parts of the vineyard (it is a very large vineyard) are SIP Certified Sustainable.
- Radian Vineyard (Amy & Peter Made This Pinot Noir) – this vineyard is farmed organically, though it does not yet have a certification.
- John Sebastiano Vineyard (Holus Bolus Syrah “Franc de Pied) – this vineyard is farmed organically, not certified.
- Presqu’ile Vineyard (Holus Bolus Syrah, “Presqu’ile Vineyard”) – this vineyard is SIP Certified sustainable.
- The Joy Fantastic Vineyard: in 2014, Amy and Peter realized their dream of having their own “estate” vineyard. What was formerly a hillside cow pasture, located in one of the farthest west sites in the Sta. Rita Hills appellation, was developed and planted with 3 acres of Pinot Noir (Swan, Mt. Eden, Pommard, 115 and 667), 1 acre of Chardonnay (Mt. Eden and 76) and 1 acre of Syrah (a mishmash of 5 clones). The first (small) crop was harvested in 2016. This vineyard is CCOF certified Organic.
