When Lindsey Blanchard and Ryan Kuhlmann met as aspiring lawyers in Minneapolis, they probably never imagined they would end up moving to a small town in California and starting a winery together. Now they have two wineries. Their newest venture in downtown Glen Ellen, Wolves Lovers + Thieves, is a celebration of sparkling wines made from unexpected grape varieties using three different production methods.

The story

Native Midwesterners Blanchard and Kuhlmann met during law school, and they might still be practicing lawyers today if it hadn’t been for a teaching job that brought them out to Sacramento. Living in California, the couple’s shared enthusiasm for wine soon deepened into something more serious.

Recognizing they had a lot to learn, they headed to Sonoma County and connected with winemaker Robert Rex at Deerfield Ranch in Kenwood. Renting space and equipment at the incubator winery, the couple found a mentor in Rex.

The married duo launched their first winery — the cheekily named Wine Snob* — in 2021. A year later, they made an experimental sparkling wine that led to their second venture: Wolves Lovers + Thieves. Opened in December 2025, the Glen Ellen tasting room showcases bubbles made using three traditional methods: ancestral, méthode champenoise and Charmat.

Blanchard and Kuhlmann make about 600 cases of sparkling wine each year.

The vibe

Wolves Lovers + Thieves sits on Arnold Drive in downtown Glen Ellen, across the street from Poppy and just around the corner from Wine Snob*. Though the brands could have shared a space, the founders wanted their distinctive sparkling wines to have their own venue and identity.

The “Wolves” tasting room has a stylish yet industrial look, with concrete floors, a steel bar and a mix of sofa and bistro table seating. A sliding glass door separates the room from the adjoining Garden Court Café. Vibrant watercolor paintings by Mexican-born local artist Maria de Los Angeles — the same images used for the Wolves Lovers + Thieves labels — adorn the walls.

On the palate

Self-described “type A” personalities, Kuhlmann and Blanchard are hands-on in the vineyard and low-intervention in the cellar. Though they’re not fans of the term “natural wine,” they try to use as little manipulation as possible when making their sparklers. The resulting wines share a bright purity, devoid of flaws or funk.

It’s bubbles only at Wolves Lovers + Thieves, but there’s a lot of variety to explore within that realm. Among the winery’s four sparklers, two are made using the Champagne method, one is a pétillant-natural made with the ancestral method and one represents the Charmat technique. Each production method expresses itself differently in the glass, and learning about the nuances is what makes a visit to this tasting room so interesting and fun.

The 2024 Raised by Wolves Sonoma Valley Pinot Noir ($36) is a lively pet-nat that’s rosy in color with a touch of cloudiness from the spent yeast left inside the bottle. It shows fresh berry flavors and an appealing citrus accent. You don’t encounter many sparkling Gewürztraminers in these parts, let alone examples made in the super-dry “brut nature” style, so don’t miss the 2022 Jealousy from Potter Valley ($72). It’s bright and floral with notes of ginger. The 2025 Incognito from Russian River ($54) is a sophisticated, intensely fruity Charmat sparkler made from Pinot Meunier — a grape normally relegated to blending status.

Tastings cost $35 per person.

Beyond the bottle

I love any excuse to wander the beautiful Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen, and there’s a compelling one coming up on April 19. The park is hosting artist Maria de Los Angeles, creator of the Wolves Lovers + Thieves wine labels, for a nature-inspired watercolor painting workshop. The full-day, immersive event ($250) includes refreshments. If birding is more your speed, join the Birds and Words walk at Jack London with guide and author Rebecca Lawton on April 12 ($20).

Wolves Lovers + Thieves, 13647 Arnold Drive, Unit 2, Glen Ellen. Open noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Walk-ins welcome, but reservations are recommended. 707-337-9523, wolvesloversthieves.com

The post At Wolves Lovers + Thieves in Glen Ellen, Nobody Puts Bubbly in a Corner appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Fact: Nearly all grapes have pale-colored pulp inside, even red grapes.

Red wines become red not because of the color of the juice inside the grapes but because of the skins on the outside. When red grapes are crushed and fermented with their outer skins to make a red wine, the heat of that fermentation extracts red color and flavors. Take away those outer skins, and those characteristics no longer play a part in the final wine. In other words, it is possible to make a white wine out of red grapes.

It’s not a new concept. Winemakers have been doing this for ages. In fact, two out of the three main varieties used to make Champagne, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, are red. But leaving the red skins behind to make still white wines from reds is a more recent trend.

A few local winemakers, including Mari Jones of Emeritus Vineyards in Sebastopol, Shalini Sekhar of Ottavino Wines in Sonoma and Waits-Mast in the Anderson Valley, have been experimenting with making still white wines from Pinot Noir — essentially a sparkling wine without the fizz.

But more recently, Cindy Cosco of Sonoma’s Passaggio Wines has been experimenting with making still white wines from rustic Italian reds like Nebbiolo and Sangiovese.
When Cosco founded the label in 2007, her intent was to be a white wine producer. She’s also made some fantastic reds over the years, but the 2024 portfolio is once again focused primarily on whites. “I’ve come full circle,” she said — but in a more unique and interesting way than she ever thought.

Cosco’s first foray into these whites-from-reds was a happy accident.

“I had done a Cab Franc Blanc for a friend back in 2018 — it was supposed to be a rosé, but it came out white. He sold out, people loved it so much,” she said. “So, I thought, I’ll try it again, but on purpose. And if this last year taught me anything, it’s that people are looking for something different. When you tell them you have a white red, it creates interest.”

Winemakers like Cosco and Jones tweak the production process when working a red into a white wine. The grapes are picked earlier, fermentation temperatures are lower and the winemaking is done in neutral, stainless-steel vessels — no oak. The result is a lighter, higher acid, lower alcohol version of their red-expression counterparts, perfect for sipping on the patio on a spring afternoon.

Passaggio Wines 2024 Sangiovese Bianco, $29

“When you taste it blind, you’d never know it was a red, but you definitely wouldn’t know what kind of white wine it is,” says Cosco. The surprise, she comments, is how the grape’s innate florality shines through — maybe even more so from the delicate winemaking process.

Passaggio Wines 2024 Cabernet Franc Blanc, $30

Just a delicate nod to the red wine original, Passaggio’s Cab Franc Blanc is layered with subtle herbaceous notes and red-berry fruits, lifted by a bright, vibrant acidity.

Passaggio Wines 2024 White Nebbiolo, $29

“Tar and roses” is a common descriptor for this native Piemonte red wine that typically reaches alcohol levels of 14% or above. While the nose gives a little wink to white roses, the palate blooms with juicy just-ripe white plums and strawberries, balanced by a lean 12.9% alcohol by volume (ABV). “Pair with seafood or white pasta dishes,” advises Cosco.

Passaggio Wines, 14301 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen, 707-719-9813, passaggiowines.com

The post A Creative Glen Ellen Vintner Makes White Wines From Rustic Italian Reds appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.