Leucadia Scores New Local Winery & Restaurant

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Cheers to the tipster who sent us up to Leucadia to check in on the progress of Solterra Winery & Kitchen. Owner Chris Van Alyea, a Carlsbad resident, was raised in Sonoma County and has been making wine for almost 15 years for a number of labels, including his family's Christopher Cameron Vineyards.

Van Alyea has spent over two years transforming a 1950's building and an empty lot into 10,000 square feet of urban winery and restaurant on North Coast Highway 101. He's planted muscat and tempranillo grape vines behind the building, which is projected to be open for business in a month.

Solterra will operate a wine production facility, and all wine will be made, barreled and bottled on site from grapes sourced from Sonoma, Paso Robles, San Diego County, and Baja. Van Alyea projected that he'll produce 2,000 cases a year of 12 to 14 varietals including viognier, syrah, sangiovese and grenache. The primarily new world-style wines, some matured in neutral oak barrels purchased from Far Niente Winery, will be available on tap in their tasting room, along with 25 other wines in the bottle that Van Alyea has produced since 2003.

At night, the space will transform into a 60-seat restaurant serving Spanish-style tapas; lunch and brunch service may soon follow. Van Alyea also plans to conduct wine-making demos and educational classes.
· Solterra Winery & Kitchen [Official Site]
· All Plywood Reports on Eater [~ESD~]