Pain-Perdu
Pain Perdu translates to “lost bread”, a dessert made by taking stale bread and whipping it up into a delicious, even beautiful dish. The name aims to explain winemaker Fabien Castel and co.’s relationship to the Santa Barbara region and their ambition to explore its untapped potential of terroir, original micro-climates, and its people.
The project was born out of serendipity and friendship: The meeting of an unconventional winemaker, who trained with an old master from the Central Coast, and a family of passionate wine professionals who developed a unique culture of sharing stories that enrich the wine experience. It came together in the winter of 2023 when three land stewards agreed to work with Castel—each farmer tending to vineyards with interesting micro-climatic and geologic influences and resulting fruit characteristics that Castel could envision as single-plot bottlings or a critical component of a blend.
