From wine clubs to store shelves to Instagram feeds, “clean wine” is popping up all over the place these days, with marketing claims promoting health consciousness, sustainability, transparency in ingredients and more. You may even have a bottle of it in your home right now.

Mark and Jeff Pisoni grew up in an agricultural family. Their grandfather farmed fruit in the Salinas Valley in 1952 but their father was determined to grow vineyards and bought a ranch in the rugged Santa Lucia Highlands.

For over a year, my wanderlust has been frustrated and stifled. I’ve dreamed of vacations in far off lands, drinking regional wine, exploring unusual cuisines, nestling in at a neighborhood pub in an unfamiliar place, listening to music, chatting with locals and absorbing the vibe and local culture. Obviously, in 2020 and early in 2021, exotic holidays were the stuff of fantasies, so my husband and I have made do with quick, although infrequent, getaways.