The year 2024 wasn’t kind to California wine, which produces 85 percent of the country’s supply. Industry analysts pointed to declining consumption related to wellness trends and purse tightening.
Additionally, beverage categories such as ready-to-drink cocktails and craft beer siphoned market share from millennials, aged 27 to 42, who represent the largest chunk of wine drinkers, according to Yountville, California-based Wine Market Council.
The preliminary Grape Crush Report for California further dampened spirits in its February release, which estimated the state’s 2024 wine grape tonnage at 2.8 million, down from 3.7 million in 2023 and marking the lowest crush in 20 years.
However, in a sea of sour news, the industry is also abuzz with the growing popularity of white wine, particularly alternative, non-chardonnay options.
In WineBusiness Monthly‘s annual “Hot Brands” feature, published in February, the magazine zeroed in on nine U.S. producers who are weathering the wine storm.
The Sonoma-based publication selected brands from Oregon, Montana, New Mexico, and Texas, along with five from California.
Only one hailed from the Central Coast—Cadre Wines of San Luis Obispo.
Owned by John and Lucy Niven of Avila Beach, the winery produces sauvignon blanc, albariño, and grüner veltliner, with its 2023 Sea Queen albariño making the cut on the “Hot Brands” list.
“Cadre is built on deep roots in the San Luis Obispo wine region,” said Niven, whose grandfather, Jack Niven, planted historic Paragon Vineyard in Edna Valley in 1973. “Continuing my family’s tradition of innovation, my wife and I launched Cadre … to highlight the endless potential of aromatic white wines from the San Luis Obispo Coast.
“Being included in this exclusive list is a testament to our [efforts].”
Cadre is staying lean and mean by specializing in niche wines produced at Center of Effort in Arroyo Grande and capitalizing on decades-long distributor relationships, without the need for a traditional tasting room.
The end results are highly regarded, sustainable wines that regularly earn top scores from Wine Enthusiast magazine. The Nivens’ most recent 2024 vintage achieved 94 points for Sea Queen albariño; 94 points and editor’s choice for Beautiful Stranger, a white blend; 93 points for Band of Stones grüner veltliner; and 91 points for Stone Blossom sauvignon blanc.
The industry’s recognition of Cadre’s albariño is particularly gratifying for Niven.
“I have a lot invested in albariño emotionally,” he said, explaining that he and his cousin Michael Blaney convinced their family to plant 45 acres of albariño in the mid-2000s.
“We took an amazing trip to Portugal and Spain to immerse ourselves in the varietal with our winemaking and vineyard team back in 2007 and saw the who’s who of producers there and came back just so energized,” Niven said.
“We can never [stake a] claim as being the OGs that brought albariño to California because there were three other gentlemen prior to us—Michael Havens in Napa, Bryan Babcock in Santa Barbara, and Alan Kinne. Kinne planted 5 acres here in the Edna Valley via cuttings from Virginia that originated in Spain. We took over a lease on that vineyard which exposed us to the varietal.
“The other two cuttings coincidentally came from the same estate in Spain—Morgadio—which is a famous albariño producer. So those are the guys who started experimenting with it, but I’d like to think that we were the ones to take it to the next level. Our cuttings at Paragon are from Morgadio via these other vineyards, so we’re once removed.”
Niven is equally devoted to sauvignon blanc, another grape that thrives in the SLO Coast American Viticultural Area.
“People say everybody makes sauvignon blanc, so why should that trip your triggers,” he said. “But, for me, and most people don’t realize it, but 99 percent of all sauvignon blanc in California is grown in a warm climate—Paso, Napa, Sonoma. These are great wines and great regions, but there’s only 1 percent in cool climates like this, and stylistically it’s just such a different beast.”
He pointed the “greatest sauvignon blanc regions in the world”—Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in France, Friuli in Italy, and Marlborough in Australia—which are all cool-climate regions.
“So California is doing its California thing, but we bailed from that and have this style that aligns more with some of those great Old World regions.”
Cadre’s other variety, grüner veltliner, has “kind of always been the great unknown. When I convinced my family to plant 12 acres, the local industry thought we were crazy.”
But to Niven, these wines were not only the ones he was most passionate about, they made the most sense business-wise.
“If we were making chardonnay and pinot, we would be nowhere near where we are now because there’s plenty … in the market.”
He and Lucy launched Cadre after Niven Family Wine Estates disbanded in 2020. At one time, the company included Edna Valley Vineyards, which was sold in 2011, along with Baileyana Winery, Paragon Vineyard, Orcutt Road Cellars, and others.
Niven nabbed Baileyana’s former assistant winemaker, Shanna Vanderstoel, to helm Cadre’s winemaking team.
“When crafting aromatic white wines, her focus is on preserving their vibrant aromatics and lively layered flavors. But these wines aren’t just simple sippers. … We often describe our wines as where tension meets texture,” he said, “and Shanna’s experience ensures this balance is achieved while preserving everything Mother Nature provides.”
Armed with a Cal Poly degree in wine and viticulture and more than a decade of experience at Baileyana in SLO, Kenneth Volk Vineyards in Santa Maria, Firestone Vineyard in Los Olivos, and Waimea Estates in Nelson, New Zealand, Vanderstoel juggles winemaking duties at Cadre with a production administrator position at Phase 2 Cellars in SLO.
The Arroyo Grande resident said she was humbled to be recognized by WineBusiness Monthly, adding that “John is uber meticulous, and we work very closely throughout the whole process.”
“He trusts me to take the reins during harvest,” she continued, “but we are constantly working together to bring the wines to life every year.”
Looking ahead, she said she wants to continue “to help John make wines that are inspired by their European varietal counterparts while keeping their Edna Valley character at an accessible price point,” she said.
The team also hopes to introduce new varietals, including chenin blanc, vermentino, pinot blanc/bianco, and some of the newer clones of sauvignon blanc.
Their grapes are primarily sourced from 180-acre Davenport Vineyard, a slice of the former Paragon Vineyard, with some albariño from Spanish Springs and Morro View and some grüner from Jack Ranch, all in the SLO Coast AVA, he said.
Currently, Cadre produces less than 10,000 cases annually, although its wines are now available in most states, and most recently in New York and New Jersey.
However, the team has no intention to become a large brand.
“We will take the market as far as it wants to take us. But it’s not going to be pushing a boulder uphill. Well, anything in the wine industry right now is pushing a boulder uphill. But I don’t want to do what I did previously—manage wines that sought volume and a larger distribution footprint,” he said. “That was a lot, so we’re just organically growing.”
He is proud to continue his family’s legacy in winemaking and hopes his two children follow suit, but it’s up to them. They can “choose this lifestyle if they want it, but no pressure,” he said.
“I think of my grandfather,” he reminisced. “He took a huge leap of faith in planting his vineyards in Edna Valley, [home to] a bunch of dairy cattle and garbanzo beans. He was definitely going down a path that no one had really gone down.” Δ
Flavor Writer Cherish Whyte thinks the Nivens’ niche of aromatic whites are delicious. She’ll be sipping Sea Queen at cwhyte@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Mar 6-16, 2025.