Cantiga Wine Works
Cantiga Wineworks is a small family winery nestled in California's Sierra Foothills. They craft wines using classical methods that are rarely seen today, reviving the art of winemaking designed for long-term cellaring. Their focus is on producing food-friendly wines, reclaiming wine's traditional role at the dinner table. Cantiga’s wines are made through gentle, minimal intervention techniques, and are fermented without malolactic fermentation to preserve the natural varietal character, acidity, and balance. They also use minimal sulfites and avoid unnecessary processing.
Winemaker Rich Rorden has been involved in winemaking for as long as he can remember, learning much of his technique from his father, Bud. In making wine for Cantiga Wineworks, Rich seeks to preserve the family’s winemaking methods while adapting them to meet the unique challenges of commercial production. Before founding Cantiga, Rich worked as a mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry. A graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he spent over a decade at TRW in Manhattan Beach, designing satellites for both commercial and government projects. Rich now applies the same meticulous attention to detail to his winemaking craft.
