Racines began with a road trip. In 2016, Étienne de Montille and his Domaine de Montille chef de cave Brian Sieve drove the Pacific Coast from Oregon to Santa Barbara, looking for somewhere to make wine outside France. They worked through the Willamette Valley, the Sonoma Coast, the Santa Cruz Mountains. At the end of it they chose the Sta. Rita Hills, and brought in Santa Barbara winemaker Justin Willett of Tyler Winery to join them. The first vintage was 2017. 

The vineyards they work with are among the appellation's most significant. Sanford & Benedict supplies fruit from the original 1971 plantings. Bentrock sits on rocky, exposed ground at the western end of Santa Rosa Road, north-facing parcels that catch full ocean influence. La Rinconada, neighbouring Sanford & Benedict, is planted to Mt. Eden cuttings that Richard Sanford brought down from Northern California decades ago. Wenzlau sits on a steep hillside above the Santa Ynez River, farmed organically by the Racines team. Across the sites, the approach is consistent: native yeast fermentations, whole-cluster inclusion for the Pinot Noirs, extended elevage, and no rush.

What makes Racines worth paying attention to is what the project freed its makers from. De Montille and Péters carry centuries of accumulated responsibility in their own villages. Here, that weight lifts. The approach is still precise, still rooted in restraint, but the wines arrive without the expectations that come with a famous appellation name.