From his winery based in Salinas, Ian Brand works with vineyards in Monterey and nearby AVAs to capture the quality that rocky soils and the marine-influenced climate of the greater Monterey Bay area have to offer.
He divides his winemaking into three labels: French-inspired good-value wines under the name Le P’Tit Paysan, Spanish-inspired wines as La Marea, and a small range of single-vineyard wines under the name I. Brand and Family. In describing the evolution of the P’Tit Paysan wines, Ian says:
“We did not set out to make these wines. We discovered great vineyards at the edge of sensible farming and decided to bring them to light. The farther we looked, the more we found—remote, challenging vineyards, with hard, depleted soils, and intense sunlight tempered only by the coastal breeze. Vineyards capable of producing only the most idiosyncratic wines. Our goal as winemakers is to lightly polish the roughest edges and leave the idiosyncrasy intact. It is here in the back country, filled with individual character, where Le P’Tit Paysan comes to life.”
