Dave Potter, the man behind Municipal Winemakers, got his start in the industry working at Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez Valley, before opening his hugely popular tasting room in Santa Barbara's Funk Zone. Potter studied the vine arts in Australia and France before applying his knowledge in this industrially decorated tasting room and bar.
"After spending our formative years traveling and studying terroir and techniques, we are now working hard to make honest, interesting, and delicious wines for the people of this world," says Potter. "We do this with love - carefully and slowly." Potter is one of the few vintners who actually makes his wine in downtown Santa Barbara, as opposed to just having a downtown tasting room.
Colorful and unpretentious, Municipal Winemakers markets to the Millennial generation of wine consumers. The tasting room experience is as much as part of the brand as the wine itself. Between sips, visitors will notice the Asteroids video game, a handicraft vending machine, old file cabinets, reclaimed wood, and of course the killer patio situation.
Municipal Winemakers' grapes are sourced from Rodney's and Tierra Alta Vineyards in Santa Barbara County. The wines were created by using handpicked grapes that were fermented as whole clusters and then basket pressed. The wine was then matured in French barrels and never racked. Whole-cluster fermentation is an old method in which the grape stems are not removed.
