Alamati Wine

Alamati Wine

90 Easy Street, Buellton CA, 93427
alamatiwine.com

Region: Santa Barbara County

Owners: Cooper Allebrand and Niko Comati

Winemakers: Cooper Allebrand and Niko Comati

About: Alamati is a shared project by two best friends and local Santa Barbara winemakers. Cooper Allebrand and Niko Comati both work as assistant winemakers for prominent wineries in Santa Barbara. We both grew up together in Santa Barbara and started Alamati out of a shared passion for wine, food, and our local community. Santa Barbara County’s uniquely diverse growing regions allow us to work with the grape varieties we love without compromising quality. Lesser-known grapes that began as an experiment for us have become a crucial aspect of our project’s identity. Our goal is to make delicious wines while also working to support and build relationships with local artists, chefs, and musicians. The name Alamati is a blend of our two last names and is a representation of our friendship and 50/50 share of both business and winemaking.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? We started our project out of love for Nebbiolo. While Nebbiolo is not “undiscovered” by any means worldwide, it is not an easy variety to find in Santa Barbara. Our experience with it has shown that it grows beautifully here. Niko was fortunate to be able to work a harvest in Piemonte and brought back a firsthand knowledge of how classic producers make it. Working with Nebbiolo also led us to add Dolcetto to our collection, which has become one of our favorites as a perfect complement to go along with our Nebbiolo. Dolcetto also probably fits the “undiscovered” label better.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Dolcetto was the grape we discovered at the start of our project. The grower we work with recommended adding it to our program due to the fact that Nebbiolo needs much more time in barrel for aging. Dolcetto has become our everyday drinker. It needs very little aging time and jumps out of the glass in terms of fruit and energy. It is a fan favorite and something that is very versatile in terms of food pairing as well.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes?