Future Perfect Wine

Future Perfect Wine is made from hand-gathered fruit, and is hand crafted from brilliant vineyards in Santa Barbara County, California. We spoke with Winemaker Sunny Doench Stricker, whose name is the perfect description of her approach to wine.

How did you get into winemaking?

I learned about wine growing up and traveling throughout Europe. Wine is a staple in the Old World and an integral part of the lifestyle. Traditionally, with lower alcohol wines in Europe, you can enjoy a glass at lunch or dinner and still achieve the business of your day. I enjoy wines like that: bright fruit, balanced acid, lower in alcohol that don’t knock you to the ground but rather, feel elegant and sexy. Those are the wines I try to make.

When I moved to Los Olivos about five years ago, my husband and I bought a tiny farm with goats and chickens and I started mentoring under female winemaker, Jessica Gasca and subsequently with Amy Christine (MW) and Peter Hunken of Holus Bolus.

All the while, I saved my dough and started making my wine until Amy Christine encouraged me to open a tasting room and to just go for it. That is how Future Perfect was born – out of the belief and encouragement from a friend and female winemaker who convinced me that my wines were special. Amy and Peter invited me to share their winery space to get started. That’s the kind of supportive and incredible community you’ll find in Santa Barbara County.

What do you think it is that makes curling up with a good bottle of wine on a chilly, winter night so luxurious?

Well, aside from the fact that Hollywood has done a beautiful job romanticizing that very image, curling up with a good bottle of wine on a chilly night is like being swallowed in the arms of a loved one and reminded that everything will be okay. It’s the sensation that, for a moment, all is well and you’re invited to feel comfort, peace and joy. You’re valuable, and carving out time like that always feels very luxurious.

Santa Barbara County is such a phenomenal backdrop to do what you love. How does the lifestyle and landscape influence your winemaking?

I never get over how breathtaking Santa Barbara County is with all of its microclimates and the incredible landscape. Every morning is different when I drive out to the vineyards or the winery. Every mile is different. Sometimes I’m in fog and then sunshine and then mist and back to fog, with rolling hills of vineyards and horse ranches in the backdrop. My heart feels so full in my chest, every single day, and I am so grateful that I get to be a winemaker here. It’s like winning the lottery for where in the world to get to be a winemaker.

What is the most luxurious wine you make and why?

My Sparkling Wine program is Méthode Champenoise, which takes quite a long time and is very costly, but it’s a passion project for me because Champagne and bright, dry sparkling wines are my favorites to enjoy. I always say “tiny bubbles, tiny troubles!” so making my Sparkling Rosé (given 92 points by Wine Enthusiast) and Blanc de Blanc in the Traditional Champagne Method is very important.

Future Perfect also believes in love, kindness and inclusivity. We welcome everyone into our tasting room and every June (beginning this past June 2022), we release a PRIDE Rosé, made from Grenache, to support the effort towards acceptance, inclusion and freedom for all. The PRIDE Rosé is a project I began with two of my friends Jenae Unruh and her wife Nikki Faragasso. It was given 90 points by Wine Enthusiast, and it’s a very limited release but one that brings so much joy.

Any fun stories from winemaking over the holidays?

I’m incredibly lucky to have been invited to make my production of Future Perfect Wine at Grassini Family Vineyards in Happy Canyon, beginning this past harvest, 2022. Grassini’s winemaker, Bradley Long and I are good friends and he and I, along with their mighty winery team, have spent harvest days wearing bright colored wigs and processing fruit under a giant disco ball in the winery. My barrel room there has all my barrels stacked on hot pink barrel racks with rainbow and unicorn chalk art on the barrels and Grassini has fully embraced the spirit that is Future Perfect. It’s been a blast! We’re having a fantastic time making very serious wine. And that’s how it should be, right?