LIOCO is the result of a years-long conversation between Matt Licklider (a seasoned wine import specialist) and Kevin O'Connor (former wine director at Michelin Two-Star Spago-Beverly Hills) about whether California could produce a true "wine of origin."
With LIOCO everything begins in the vineyard--without a compelling vineyard site, there is little chance of creating a distinctive wine. Inspired by traditional European winegrowing practices, they seek out vineyard sites with tougher soil, older vines, and some stress-producing aspect (altitude, extreme temperature, poor soil, etc). Then we simply shepherd the grapes from bud to bottle in the least intrusive way possible.
The 2009 unoaked chardonnay "sonoma county", like all of LIOCO's wines, was grown from the ground up. No purchased juice was used. Hand picked and sorted and naturally fermented in 100% stainless steel using a wild yeast. It underwent a natural malolactic fermentation, and was bottled without fining or filtration.