Instagram story viewer> @lottyashley> Posts

Ashley Holland

@lottyashley

2.3K

followers

4311

following

@readhollandwines | Wine | Travel | Food | Horses | 🐈 | Me

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Happy fall, my favorite season. 🍂

Ashley surprised me with tickets to an autumnal equinox sound bath last night, and we spent such a beautiful evening among the flowers. Harvest is always about grabbing whatever time we can together, so with things wrapping up early this year, we made the most of it.

Then back to her place for “Would you like a glass of bubbles before you leave?”

And another splash. And another splash.

Lots of soul-affirming laughter and a few more inside jokes secured.

Love you, Ashley. What a lovely way to welcome fall.

Extra bonus: my chakras are now aligned. taken in Bees N Blooms by @lottyashley

85

10

25 days ago

Today was Riesling day for @readhollandwines ! It’s very rare that I use absolutes in wine but I have no doubt about this, nobody in California makes better Riesling. Wiley Vineyard is an outstanding site for Riesling as you’ll hear why from Brad Wiley in this video. And my friend @lottyashley has the talent to get the most from this site. I spent 10 years in the German wine society and developed a true love for Riesling. I learned from my friend @hawk_wakawaka to taste California Riesling differently, to appreciate the different qualities you find here. Ashley’s Wiley Vineyard Riesling is truly world class. It has a texture that I’ve never tasted in Riesling from anywhere else. My high praise was confirmed one night I had @paulpujol over for dinner, an amazing New Zealand winemaker that makes some pretty outstanding Riesling too. We opened some amazing bottles that night and the only bottle we finished was the Read Holland Riesling, he went back and filled his glass three times. I watched him contemplating what he was tasting in every sip. If you haven’t tried this wine, I highly recommend you get some. It’s amazing!
•
•
#ReadHollandWines #Riesling #WileyVineyard #AndersonValley #CaliforniaWine by @lottyashley

138

51

a month ago

As I move from the Summer Solstice toward the harvest portal, I want to give thanks.

Getting to create is a privilege, & I’m endlessly grateful that this is the form my creativity gets to take. 🍷 Through vineyards, wine, remarkable people, and places I never imagined I’d see.

None of this happens alone. Thank you to my collaborators, growers, mentors, cellar teams, family, & friends who make this life possible.

And especially to @brashleyvineyards @adonnawines & @summerdreamswines for trusting me to help tell your stories through wine. It is an honor. 📸 @quickdrawpics @jackiedouches @jakwonderly @donna.kato.104

Hacienda Sequoia went Platinum!!!! Gaaaah proud winemaker moment 1% of the wines out of 17k go through to this judging round. The only California Pinot Noir to take that award. 🥹 @decanterawards @brashleyvineyards

Brad Wiley checking out some 2A @readhollandwines has a new source! 🍇

Wildflowers at Bevel Vineyard in Anderson Valley

It's true, the earth does laugh in 🌹🪻🌸🌺🌷🌼

Thank you, top 20 Sonoma County Chardonnays! @readhollandwines 2023 Peugh Vineyard. @decanter @carolquintela

Just a little morning Dujac! With the best hostess! @kristinvixen

@tonnelleriefouailly @adonnawines @zephyr_selections learning more about 🪵 @tonnelleriefouailly

The Hill of Hermitage 🖤

Côte-Rôtie

Germany, your Chardonnay I am so beyond impressed. This visit & chat @martin_metzger91 @weinmetzger 💛

Burgundy, swoon

@readhollandwines bb Pinot Noir Cluster

Tufa hillside Pinot & all the obsidian 🖤🪨 a girl can fit in her pockets.

The art of cooperage. Gorgeous 😍

Bevel Vineyard we love you!!! We have been working to bring this site to regenerative for 4 years. Grazing 🐑, no till, and all sorts of organic love!

Medusa meets Medusa @quickdrawpics by @lottyashley

243

58

3 months ago

Stabulation: recently my dear friend Ashley Holland @lottyashley and I have been getting together in her beautiful backyard garden (it’s her happy place). We drink wine and talk about everything, but of course about wine and winemaking. Last week Ashley mentioned to me using “Stabulation” to develop texture and a more pleasurable mouthfeel in wine. I wasn’t familiar with the technique so I asked her to explain. I’m so lucky to have Ashley as a friend because she explains so much to me about the trials and tribulations of winemaking. Whether it’s the things you need to do to overcome a problem. Or in this case to just make better wine.
•
•
I decided that if Ashley would allow me to video her response, I can share the amazing knowledge Ashley is so willing to share with me. So yesterday I asked Ashley about Stabulation again. There’s a reason so many wines Ashley make are winning prestigious awards. It’s diligence and attention to detail. As you’ll see in her explanation about stabulation that going the extra mile is what makes it possible to produce world class wines. The first time I tasted Ashley’s wine I noticed a textural element that made her wine standout.
•
•
I hope you enjoy this video, I would like to share more of these with all of you. Please share any questions you might have about getting great wine from the vineyard to your table.
•
•
#AshleyHolland #ReadHolland #Stabulation #winemaking #LearningWine taken in Santa Rosa, California by @lottyashley

236

27

4 months ago

The person I’ve made the most crudo for to try is my dear friend @lottyashley , it’s not even close. I bet I’ve made at least 15 different crudo for Ashley. I love her honesty evaluating my many different experiments with the amazing fish from @annasseafoodmarket . This weekend I knew Anna’s had some special bluefin Otoro tuna belly from Spain. I really wanted to try it so there wasn’t anyone I’d love to experience this amazing fish with more than Ashley, I was so happy she could come by. When I went to pick up the tuna it turned out the Spanish tuna was mostly for a special event here in Sonoma County with some of the world’s best Sushi Chefs. So I got a beautiful block of Japanese Otoro. Luckily Anna had a few oddly shaped pieces of the Spanish Otoro so we could do a side by side, this would be even more fun!
•
•
To pair I pulled out a bottle of 2015 @champagne_billecart_salmon Le Rosé Champagne Extra Brut that Ashley previously gave me. A fantastic pairing and outstanding wine. The Otoro was delicious, both the Japanese and Spanish were fantastic, though we thought the Spanish had slightly more fat marbling. I did a classic Italian crudo for tuna belly of olive oil, Meyer lemon juice and zest, capers and sea salt. It was delicious and allowed the tuna to shine.
•
•
For our entrée I made Ashley her first try of Classic Jersey Italian Cheese Lasagna made with a very local @bellwetherfarms Basket Ricotta, so good! We let Vincent from my @invintory app choose the pairings. A 2018 @birichino_official Besson Vineyard Vieilles Vignes Grenache and a 2019 @matthiasson_wine Matthiasson Vineyard Schioppettino both very good wines but the wine that improved the most with the pairing was definitely the Birichino making Vincent right again. So much fun letting Ashley go find the wines in my new cellar and just a super fun night with my favorite crudo partner!
•
•
#Otoro #Crudo #annasseafood #BillecartSalmon #Birichino taken in Santa Rosa, California by @lottyashley

166

8

4 months ago

“It’s called having friends, choosing each other, getting found, being fished out of the rubble. It blows you away, how this wonderful event ever happened—me in your life, you in mine.” – Anne Lamott

Same quote every year because nothing says it better.

Happy Birthday to my soul sister, Willow’s Auntie Ashley, the family I got to choose. 🌻

If you’re lucky, there are people who come into your life and make it bigger, brighter, funnier, less scary, and far more magical than even this magic-believing girl could conceive of. You are one of those people.

You are both fairy and Valkyrie.

Mischievous and holy.

A fierce believer in beauty and possibility and wild ideas. In finding beauty where other people might miss it. In impossible dreams, getting your hands dirty, and showing up for the people you love.

Doing life with you through laughter (the kind where you can’t catch your breath), tears (the kind where you can’t catch your breath), loss, joy, triumph, reinvention, and all the ordinary Tuesdays in between is one of the greatest gifts of my life.

“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” – Richard Bach

You are my true family.

You blow me away. Always.

May this year bring you as much wonder, love, adventure, laughter, and goodness as you bring to the rest of us.

Happy Birthday, my friend. ❤️ by @lottyashley

127

7

4 months ago

Winemaking Real Reel ✨ I 🩷 what I do! Drink more wine, because it’s delicious, has been around for 8k years, and makes life all the more enjoyable. #winemakingprocess #winemakers #smallwinery #organicfarming #winemakeseverythingbetter by @lottyashley

213

34

5 months ago

SIRENE 🍷 Winemaker Takeover On Wednesday, April 1, Ashley Holland @lottyashley — Winemaker & Co-Founder of Read Holland Wines @readhollandwines — takes over Sirene for a special evening.

Ashley crafts wines with a poet’s intuition and a scientist’s precision, drawing on experience from Marlborough, New Zealand, to Anderson Valley. Her Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Chardonnay beautifully express each vineyard’s story with clarity and nuance.

Join us on Wednesday April 1st 5PM–9 PM to meet Ashley and experience her wines. by @lottyashley

156

12

7 months ago

Tomorrow night. Spirit of Pigs & Pinot.

This isn’t just a wine dinner. It’s a night about mentorship, mastery, and what happens when two generations of Sonoma County winemaking sit at the same table.

@bobcabralwines legendary winemaker, raconteur, mentor. @lottyashley his former mentee, now one of the county’s finest in her own right. Together, they’re bringing award-winning Pinot Noirs paired with Chef @shanemcanelly’s heritage pork dishes and a one-of-a-kind dessert by Pastry Chef Taylor Kelley.

Expect storytelling. Expect incredible wines. Expect the kind of evening that reminds you why Sonoma County is so special.

Just a few seats remain, grab yours at our link in bio. See you tomorrow! taken in Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen by @lottyashley

110

2

7 months ago

As soon as I saw @watchmesip ‘s Zinfandel pairing recommendation I knew I wanted to try it! It’s really easy and over delivers with deliciousness! Brie, cranberry and crispy prosciutto baked in puff pastry. I had it assembled and in the oven in less than 15 minutes. To pair I chose the current release of the 2023 @ridgevineyards Lytton Springs old vine field blend. This vintage actually has an enough Zinfandel to be classified as a Zinfandel on the label. It’s was awarded the Number 3 wine on this year’s @wine_spectator Top 100 Wines. It’s the highest a Zinfandel has ever placed on the list. Both the wine and this pairing by @watchmesip are fantastic! So fun to share it with my friends and super talented winemakers @lottyashley & @chriscondos
•
•
#WhatchMeSip #RidgeVineyards #Zinfandel #DryCreekValley #winelover winestagram winetasting wine winemaker WineGeek foodie taken in Santa Rosa, California by @lottyashley

82

6

10 months ago

For anyone left that loves wine and food but doesn’t follow @sommvivant , you need to right now. She not only has excellent on camera skills. She’s so knowledgeable about food and wine. When I saw her recommendation of White Cheddar Popcorn and a Chardonnay pairing, all I could think was why I never thought of that!!
•
•
I paired my dear friend @lottyashley ‘s @readhollandwines 2023 Chardonnay Russian River Valley Peugh Vineyard. It’s 70 year old vines that are dry farmed. This is truly outstanding Chardonnay! I’m so glad I opened one for this amazing pairing!
•
•
#sommvivant #ReadHolland #ReadHollandWines #chardonnay #whitecheddarpopcorn taken in Santa Rosa, California by @lottyashley

75

9

a year ago

When my mom was living with me and Willow, I sometimes took her to the senior center so she could be around people. They had arts and crafts time, and she’d come home with little drawings and notes. At first, I didn’t think much of them, until I found a notebook filled with words that felt like echoes of that time of our life together.

She had written down things we used to say to each other. One was from a game I made her play: every morning, looking in the mirror, she had to say, “I am living under a lucky star and everything is going my way.” She hated it, of course. She preferred a little grumpiness with her coffee and bacon; But I insisted. Somewhere along the way, it became our thing. Now it is mine.

She also copied and reimagined words from a book we read to Willow: No matter where you are or what you do, my love will always come back for you.” And then one special line just for Willow: “You are my darling, my angel, my star.”

Her handwriting was so distinctly hers. Strong, a little stubborn, with those flourishes that only belonged to her. Her doodles too: suns, stars, trees, angels. Simple, but full of love.

For a while, I was not sure what to do with them. Then it came to me. I copied one of the notes, framed it, and sent it to my brothers. I sent one to my cousin Teresa too, who was an angel to us all in those last couple of years of Mom’s life. And I sent one to my friend Ashley, who helped me so much while Mom was living here, baking potatoes and keeping her company with conversation and television on the nights I had to work late.

Now each of us has Mom’s words hanging in our homes, a reminder of the message she never stopped saying when we were kids: Always say I love you. Never let anyone wonder how you feel.

The notes feel like a sweet I love you and goodbye kiss until we see each other again. Her love always comes back for us, in her own hand, in her own words. And it always will.
🐞♥️ by @lottyashley

58

9

a year ago